John D. Newkirk, Ph.D., MD is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, Inc and is a member of several professional societies. These include the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the American College of Surgeons, and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Inc. (ASAPS), which is the premier society for plastic surgeons, whose practice emphasis is cosmetic or aesthetic surgery. After obtaining the degrees of Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy from the Department of Biochemistry of Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University, he received his MD degree from Northwestern University School of Medicine. Dr. Newkirk trained in general surgery at the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center and Loyola University of Chicago. He completed training in plastic surgery at Foothills Hospital, the University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. After 15 years of private practice in Central Pennsylvania, he returned to the Carolinas. At the same time, Dr. Newkirk has also been actively involved in developing policies to make surgery in an office setting safe, as he has been a facility examiner for the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgical Facilities, Inc. for several years, and presently serves on two AAAASF committees.