Daniel Robertson

Biography

Daniel Robertson is a Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Dr. Robertson completed his general surgery training at the University of Washington in 2003, and fellowships in both pediatric surgery and pediatric minimally invasive surgery at the University of Alabama-Birmingham in 2006. During the course of his 18 year career as a pediatric surgeon, he has performed over 8,000 operations with special interests in pediatric laparoscopic and thoracoscopic techniques and in pediatric surgical oncology. He has leveraged the use of 3D modeling and immersive applications in pediatric surgery, particularly for preoperative planning for complex pediatric oncology cases. Along with colleagues from the Advanced Imaging and Modeling (AIM) lab at the Jump Simulation Center, his current research includes the development of a pneumothorax computational model to detect small pulmonary metastases to improve the accuracy of thorascoscopic surgical resection. He is using patient-specific 3D modeling to attempt to automate and improve staging of neuroblastic tumors. In addition, he is researching the impact of immersive technologies on the informed consent process for patients and their parents as well as how these technologies shape and modify surgeon approach and anatomical understanding. He has presented his work internationally, including at the Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons conference in Quito, Ecuador and at St Jude’s Children’s Research hospital in Memphis. He was selected as moderator for the session on 3D modeling and VR applications at the American Association of Pediatric Surgeons in 2024. 

Dr. Robertson has received several teaching awards for mentorship of residents and medical students including the David Tapper Memorial Teaching Award at the University of Washington and was  a finalist for the OSF Healthcare System Innovator of the Year in 2023.  Dr. Robertson has travelled to Peru, Honduras, and western Ukraine for surgical mission trips, with plans for Nagpur,India in January, 2025.  When not working, Dr. Robertson enjoys mountain climbing, most recently summiting Mt. Rainier in 2023.