Triton Talks: Surgery and Art History with Dr. James Chang

In this Triton Talk, Dr. James Chang, Professor of Surgery at Stanford, will discuss his long-term collaboration between Hand Surgery, Anatomy, and Art History. Please join us for our third installment of our special lecture series, exploring the interface of Art, Science, and Technology.

While training in surgery, Dr. Chang saw correlations between the Rodin hand sculptures and actual hand and microsurgery patients.  This concept became the basis for a Stanford undergraduate course where students dissect human limbs and learn reconstructive techniques in order to diagnose and treat Rodin’s hands. The Rodin hands have now been scanned, and computer graphics have been used to allow a look inside Rodin’s hands. This was the focus of an exhibit at the Cantor Arts Center.

Dr. Chang’s lecture will discuss how he uses Rodin’s hands for teaching anatomy and surgery.  He will make clinical correlations to specific hand conditions and hand operations. Lastly, he and Stanford student Beatriz Stix-Brunell will introduce their latest project animating the anatomy of Rodin’s Gates of Hell.

Free parking is included, as well as refreshments and light snacks.

Questions? Please contact [email protected]

Dr. James Chang is currently the Johnson and Johnson Distinguished Professor and Chief of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Stanford University.

Dr. Chang graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences with joint degrees in Biology and Economics. He spent a year with Volunteers in Asia as a lecturer in English at the Beijing University of Science and Technology in Beijing, People’s Republic of China. Following this, he graduated from Yale Medical School with Alpha Omega Alpha and Cum Laude honors. From 1991 to 1993, he was a Sarnoff Laboratory Research Fellow at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center. He then completed a residency in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Stanford University Medical Center and a Hand and Microsurgery Fellowship at UCLA Medical Center.

He has spent the majority of his career at Stanford where he is currently Professor of Plastic Surgery and Orthopedic Surgery at Stanford University Medical Center. He is also an Attending Surgeon at Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital. 

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