Gitonga Munene, MD, named new chair for the Department of Surgical Sciences at WMed

Gitonga Munene, MD
Gitonga Munene, MD

Gitonga Munene, MD, an associate professor and division chief for the Division of Surgical Oncology at WMed, and the West Michigan Cancer Center, has been named the medical school’s new chair for the Department of Surgical Sciences. 

Dr. Munene’s new role takes effect on October 1. He replaces Keith Kenter, MD, who is leaving WMed at the end of September to return to his alma mater — the University of Missouri-Columbia — where he earned his MD degree. 

Dr. Munene’s new duties come as the medical school replaces the Department of Surgical Services with the Department of Surgical Sciences, also effective October 1, to better represent its depth of offerings. The updated department includes the divisions of General Surgery, Gynecologic Oncology, Medical Engineering, Obstetrics and Gynecology,  Orthopaedic Surgery, and Surgical Oncology. 

Dr. Munene will continue as an associate professor and division chief for Surgical Oncology at WMed and the West Michigan Cancer Center in addition to serving as department chair. 

“I am honored and privileged to have been selected for this important role,” Dr. Munene said. “I’m excited about the opportunity to maintain and surpass the traditions of clinical excellence, educational innovation, and research that have existed in the divisions that are now part of the Department of Surgical Sciences.” 

Dr. Munene brings a breadth of experience to the position. He earned his medical degree from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and completed his surgical residency training at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. He then received fellowship training in surgical oncology at the Tom Baker Cancer Center in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and was a research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard University in Boston. 

As chair, Dr. Munene said a few of his main goals for the Department of Surgical Sciences include “maintaining a collegial culture of collaboration within the divisions; continuing to serve the most needy in our community to improve health equity; emphasizing physician, resident and student wellness as we continue to grow; and expanding our clinical services by identifying unmet needs within the community.”