Philip Fillor Caushaj, MD is an internationally recognized surgeon who is a pioneer in laparoscopic colon and rectal surgery.  Dr. Caushaj was born in New York City and attended the prestigious Stuyvesant High School graduating in 1971. He then obtained his Bachelor of Arts at the New York University with a double major in Biology and Philosophy in 1975. He received the prestigious NYU Sherborne Vernon Dameral award and served as President of the Biology Group of NYU. He completed his medical education at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1979. Returning to his beloved New York City, he completed  the General Surgery Residency at Columbia University- The Presbyterian Hospital, under the direction of Keith Reemtsma, which he completed in 1984 and served as Academic Chief Resident 1983-1984. Subsequently, he completed his Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship at the Lahey Clinic Medical Center in 1985 studying under Malcolm Veidenheimer and John Coller. He is certified by the American Board of Surgery, the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery,  and has held certifications by the American Board of Surgery with special qualifications in Surgical Critical Care and certification by the American Board of Forensic examiners. He is a Senior Examiner for the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery.

He pursued his career in Academic Surgery within the UMass University hospital system initially- rapidly progressing to Associate Professor of Surgery and Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery. He served as Surgeon in Chief of Memorial Hospital at UMass. During his decade within the UMass system, he received numerous Teacher of the Year Awards from both the surgical house staff as well as the graduating medical students. He then proceeded to Yale University School of Medicine as Professor of Surgery and Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery as well as Surgeon in Chief of the Yale/Bridgeport Hospital. While at Yale, he was the Chair of the Strategic Business Unit for Bridgeport Hospital within Yale New Have Health. During his tenure at Yale, he received the prestigious Storer Award for Outstanding Teacher in 1998. He also received additional Teacher of the Year Awards from the Yale house staff. He then relocated to Pittsburgh where he served as Surgeon in Chief of the West Penn Allegheny Health System, Professor and Vice Chair of Surgery at Temple University and Adjunct Clinical Professor of Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. During his decade in Pittsburgh, he received multiple Teacher of the Year Awards and was recognized by the American Council of Graduate Education as a Parker Palmer Finalist as Outstanding Teacher. He has continued his career at Geisinger Medical Center, Kern Medical Center and for the last 11 years is currently the Vice Chair of Surgery and Senior Surgeon at Hartford Hospital and Professor of Surgery at the University of Connecticut.

He has published two textbooks- Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery (with Jacobs and Plasencia) and Textbook of Colorectal Surgery (with Larach and Salomon). He has over 120 peer reviewed publications and over 450 podium presentations. He has served on many national and international committees as well as several editorial boards. He is a Fellow of many societies including the American College of Surgeons, American College of Gastroenterology, American Gastroenterological Association, Society for Surgical Oncology, the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, and the International Society of University Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ISUCRS).

He has served on numerous committees as well as President of the Pittsburgh Surgical Society, the Pittsburgh Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, and the New England Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. During his 30-year association within the International Society of University Colon and Rectal Surgeons, he has served as Secretary General, Director General, Editor in Chief of the World Journal of Coloproctology, and as President 2016 to 2018. He is Emeritus Editor in Chief of the World Journal of Coloproctology and Chair of the Council of Past Presidents. He has been a recipient of numerous honors globally- and has numerous fellowships in surgical societies from Argentina, Bulgaria, Denmark, Lithuania, Japan, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.

For his humanitarian efforts on behalf of surgical education globally, he was awarded the Legion of Honor award from the Republic of Albania in 2016, the Danish Surgical Award of Honor, and an doctorate honoris causa from the Plovdiv Medical University of Bulgaria in 2006. Amongst other numerous honors, in 2005 he was inducted into the prestigious United States Laparoscopic Surgery Founders Society. He has been made Honorary Fellow of numerous international societies. The International Society of University Colon and Rectal Surgeons has established the Philip Fillor Caushaj MD, PhD Master Educator Award to be awarded annually. The first recipient is Dr. Richard Fortunato, a trainee of Dr. Caushaj, and will be awarded in Istanbul in 2022.

He continues his passion for education and teaches and guides research activities for medical students, surgical residents and research fellows at Hartford Hospital and the University of Connecticut. He remains clinically active and resides in Avon Connecticut. He pursues his hobbies of the US Presidency and gardening. He has two children Katherine and Samuel. His hobbies are the American Presidency, gardening and traveling internationally on mission endeavors.