Steven Stylianos, MD, Returns to Rutgers to Build a World-Class Pediatric Surgery Program

As a high school junior in Dumont, New Jersey, Steven Stylianos thought he had his future mapped out. When his guidance counselor asked about his plans, he said he wanted to be an architect. “Oh no,” she replied, without hesitation. “I see something very special in you—I think you’d be a wonderful physician.”

That conversation, brief and unexpected, changed everything. Stylianos took her advice, enrolled at Rutgers as a biology major, and set his sights on medical school. More than four decades later, after leading one of the nation’s top pediatric surgery programs at Columbia University, he’s back where it all began.

In December 2024, Stylianos joined Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School as professor of surgery and chief of the Division of Pediatric Surgery. He also serves as surgeon-in-chief at The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, an RWJBarnabas health facility in New Brunswick. His goal is ambitious: to build a premier academic children’s surgical program in New Jersey that keeps families close to home and rivals the most respected children’s hospitals in New York and Philadelphia.

“Wouldn’t it be great,” Stylianos said, “if a mom anywhere in the Garden State knew she could bring her child to New Brunswick and feel confident they’d get the best care available, without having to drive to Manhattan or cross into Pennsylvania?”

Creating a Destination

Stylianos brings more than 30 years of leadership experience to Rutgers, along with a vision for expanding and emphasizing multi-specialty pediatric surgical care. Under his watch at Columbia, he helped create and provided leadership for key clinical programs that transformed the institution into a nationally recognized powerhouse.

“Right now, there are three pediatric surgeons in New Brunswick, including me,” he said. “Within a year or two, I hope to grow that to five or six, adding subspecialty expertise along with research and educational opportunities that will strengthen our academic mission.”

In addition to expanding pediatric general surgery, one of his top priorities is establishing a congenital heart surgery program at Rutgers—a critical service that is currently outsourced to hospitals in neighboring states.  “From day one, I’ve been working with the dean and our partners at RWJBarnabas Health to build the infrastructure and surgical team to provide these procedures here,” Stylianos said. “Without that piece, our patients will continue to go elsewhere. We want to keep them in New Jersey.”

He’s also developing new interdisciplinary initiatives, including a team-based approach to adolescent obesity care, expanded treatment for vascular anomalies, and a roadmap to establish fetal surgery—a high-tech subspecialty that can correct certain birth defects before delivery.

Beyond the operating room, Stylianos is helping shape institutional strategy, from identifying unmet needs to establishing performance benchmarks. “They’re counting on me to identify the gaps that may not have been visible,” he said. “I can help prioritize for the dean, the chairman, the school, and the hospital. One of my goals is to expand interdisciplinary care by bringing together specialists across fields to better serve complex pediatric cases.”

Previously, at Columbia, Stylianos oversaw the launch of major programs in fetal surgery for conditions like spina bifida and congenital diaphragmatic hernia, as well as minimally invasive and robotic procedures. He also led teams that successfully separated five sets of conjoined twins, complex operations that required months of planning and extensive collaboration.

Leadership Grounded in Compassion

Stylianos’s commitment to pediatric surgery is matched by his deep compassion for families. “When a mother hands me her baby and says, ‘Please save my child,’ it’s one of the most powerful forms of human interaction,” he said. “It’s an incredible responsibility and a tremendous privilege.”

His dedication to compassionate care extends to his colleagues. At Columbia, he helped launch a peer support initiative for surgeons facing emotional stress. “Sometimes it’s not about surgical errors—it’s just that a patient doesn’t do well, and your usual coping mechanisms aren’t enough,” he said. “Peer support offers a space to talk through those experiences with someone who understands, a form of psychological first aid.”

He plans to bring a similar program to Rutgers, where interest in physician wellness is already growing. “We’re teaching the next generation of doctors not just how to care for patients, but how to care for each other,” he said.

A Mentor Who Opens Doors

Stylianos’s relationship with Rutgers was rekindled about fifteen years ago, when the Health Professions Office in the School of Arts and Sciences invited him to mentor premed students. He began by giving lectures, then started bringing students to Columbia to shadow his team in the OR, attend conferences, and later join virtual sessions during the pandemic.

“Every Thursday, we welcomed Rutgers students into our clinical world—trauma simulations, radiology reviews, journal clubs,” he said. Over the years, he’s mentored more than 300 students from Rutgers, Columbia, and other institutions. He now continues that work on campus in New Brunswick, offering one-on-one meetings and ongoing guidance.

Although still early in his tenure, Stylianos has expressed interest to Dean Amy P. Murtha in becoming more involved with the medical school. He’s eager to help guide and support the next generation of physicians, especially those navigating uncertainty about their career paths.

“They need more than academics,” he said. “They need someone to help them see where they might belong in medicine, and how to get there.”

Family and Full-Circle Moments

Stylianos’s values were shaped by his upbringing in a tight-knit Greek immigrant family in Bergen County. His parents believed deeply in the power of education. “Their message was simple: go to school, be somebody,” he said.

His sister became a pediatric ICU nurse at Columbia. For years, the siblings cared for the same children—he in the operating room, she at the bedside. His wife of 42 years, Joann, was one of the region’s first trained ultrasound technicians. The couple now lives at the Jersey Shore and has three daughters, four grandchildren, and a fifth on the way.

Stylianos is focused on what lies ahead. “We’re going to raise the bar here,” he said. “We’ll build a program that combines compassion with top-tier care, and we’ll do it right here in New Jersey.”

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