Raise a Glass: Dr. Alec Clowes Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award

He also served as the treasurer of the ISCVS North American Chapter and as the chair of the SVS Fellows Council for two terms. A long-standing member of the Western Vascular Society, he served as its president in 2007. He played a critical role as an advocate for vascular surgery within the American College of Surgeons, serving as Chair of its Research Committee and establishing the current ongoing partnership with ACS in the jointly funded K­ award program. This program has been a model for other surgical professional societies. Based on his signature interest in vascular biology, he has also made significant contributions to the American Heart Association and the North American Vascular Biology Organization.

While on the faculty of the University of Washington, he served 12 years as division chief of vascular surgery, contributing to the clinical and scientific training of numerous students, residents, and fellows. His tenure has also included serving as acting chair of surgery, vice-chair for research, and associate director of the MD-PhD program since 2006.

His highly productive laboratory was a fertile ground for the training of many successful clinician scientists who have gone on to prominent careers in the United States and around the world.

As a clinician he has focused his interests and educational efforts on vein graft surgery, carotid surgery, and noninvasive diagnostics. What is perhaps least known about him is that he is a highly respected and talented clinical vascular surgeon in his own community.

Dr. Starnes was able to accumulate all of Dr. Clowes’ 237 manuscripts and have them bound into six volumes with his family crest on the cover.

During his illness, Dr. Clowes has pursued his professional interests to the best of his abilities, and continued writing a biography about his grandfather.“I would not like to die with a mind full of regrets,” Dr. Clowes explained in the video. “I would like to deal with the issues that are still pressing me in real time, and do them before that moment comes.”

For Dr. Clowes, however, his family has been his greatest gratification. He and his wife Susan have three granddaughters. “And [they are],” he said, “really the joy of my life.” VC