HAILE T. DEBAS (1937– ), surgeon and educator, gained national recognition as a gastrointestinal investigator and has made original contributions to the physiology, biochemistry, and pathophysiology of gastrointestinal peptide hormones. In 1987 Dr. Debas, who is keenly interested in education, was recruited to chair the department of surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. Under his leadership, the department has become one of the best academic departments of surgery in the United States. Dr. Debas was elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine in 1990.