Dr. Howard is a professor of surgery and has served on the Indiana University School of Medicine faculty since 1992. He directs the IU Pancreas Research Group.
The Willis D. Gatch Professorship in Surgery was established to honor the memory of Dr. Gatch, who in 1912 was one of the initial professors of surgery at the recently established Indiana University School of Medicine. The inventor of the first hand-cranked hospital bed and a method for accurately measuring blood loss during operations, Dr. Gatch established the first surgery residency program in Indiana and served as dean of the medical school from 1932-46.
Dr. Howard completed his medical degree at the University of Oklahoma. His residency in surgery was at the University of California – Los Angeles, where he was the chief resident from 1991-92. He was a research fellow at the Center for Ulcer Research and Education at UCLA and completed a surgery residence at The Queen’s Medical Center and city Hospital, Nottingham, United Kingdom.