Dr. Donald E Low, MD is the President of the Ryan Hill Research Foundation and Emeritus Chief of Thoracic Surgery and Thoracic Oncology at Virginia Mason Medical Center. Dr. Low’s clinical interests include all aspects of general Thoracic Surgery but are focused on the treatment of Esophageal Cancer, Barrett’s esophagus, benign tumors of the esophagus, primary and revisional antireflux surgery, paraesophageal hernia and achalasia. Dr. Low is a Board Certified General Thoracic Surgeon, Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgery of Canada. He has received Honorary Fellowships from the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, the Royal College of Surgeons of England and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. His research interests have focused on the improvement in pathways of care associated with esophagectomy, and he is responsible for the ERAS Society Guidelines associated with esophagectomy. His other major research interests include assessing the importance of body composition on outcomes in patients with esophageal cancer and in standardizing outcome reporting and definitions associated with the surgical treatment of esophageal cancer. He is responsible for the formation of the Esophageal Complications Consensus Group (ECCG) and the International Online Esodata database and is President of the International Esodata Study Group (IESG).