Surgical Infection Society

What Surgical Infection Society does

The Surgical Infection Society (SIS) is a US-based, nonprofit professional medical society founded in 1984 and dedicated to understanding, preventing, and managing surgical infections. The organization serves a multidisciplinary clinical and research membership spanning surgeons (general, trauma, acute care, burn), infectious disease physicians, critical care and infectious disease pharmacists, and surgical infection researchers across 14+ countries and four continents. SIS operates primarily through four revenue streams: membership dues, journal subscriptions (the peer-reviewed Surgical Infections journal, published via Liebert Publishing), annual meeting registration fees, and charitable donations. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and membership is processed through a self-service portal at portal.sisna.org with annual renewal cycles and a fellowship designation (FSIS) recognizing distinguished members.

SIS's core deliverables are content and community rather than technology products. The product portfolio includes the Surgical Infections journal, the Source Control Podcast (distributed on Spotify with ~2,400 listens per episode), annual scientific meetings (now in the 44th–46th iteration for 2025–2027), evidence-based clinical guidelines and position papers, and a tiered awards program (Joseph Susman Memorial Award, Sawyer Award, Multicenter Studies Award, Trainee Travel Awards, Altemeier Lectureship, Innovation Award, Presidential Citation Award). The underlying technology stack is minimal and third-party: GrowthZone for event management, JotForm for application forms, and standard CMS/podcast hosting — there is no proprietary technology, API, or AI/ML capability.

The Society's go-to-market is community-led, recruiting members through its journal, podcast, webinars, annual meetings, and social media presence (LinkedIn, X, Facebook). It has established joint guideline partnerships with the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the Chest Wall Injury Society, and the International Surgical Wound Complications Advisory Panel (ISWCAP), alongside collaborations with the WHO on surgical hand hygiene priorities and promotion of AHRQ's MRSA prevention toolkit. Between 1984 and 2012, SIS distributed nearly $3 million across 116 scholarships and awards, demonstrating long-running programmatic scale. Governance is via an elected President and Board; Lillian S. Kao, MD, MBA, MS, FACS, FSIS was elected President in May 2026, succeeding Marc Jeschke.

Name

Surgical Infection Society

Legal name

Surgical Infection Society

Website

https://sisna.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Surgical Infection Society is a US-based nonprofit professional medical society founded in 1984, serving surgeons, infectious disease physicians, pharmacists, and researchers worldwide through its peer-reviewed Surgical Infections journal, Source Control Podcast, annual scientific meetings, clinical guidelines, and awards programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Leesburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: SIS generates revenue through annual membership fees from healthcare professionals including surgeons, infectious disease physicians, pharmacists, and researchers. Members receive access to the journal Surgical Infections, annual meetings, webinars, and networking opportunities.
2. Journal Subscriptions: The society publishes the peer-reviewed journal 'Surgical Infections' and members receive subscriptions as part of membership. Non-member subscriptions and institutional access provide additional revenue.
3. Annual Meeting Fees: The 44th, 45th, and 46th Annual Meetings (among others) generate revenue through registration fees for attendance at educational conferences, workshops, and scientific sessions.
4. Donations: The society accepts charitable contributions to support research awards, scholarships, and the Susman Award endowment.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Surgical Infection Society (SIS) is a professional medical society that advances the research, prevention, and management of surgical infections. It delivers its mission through individual and institutional membership, a peer-reviewed journal (Surgical Infections), an annual scientific meeting, clinical practice guidelines, position papers, podcasts, scholarships and awards, and partnerships with industry and other medical societies.

Product overview

The Surgical Infection Society offers a portfolio of professional resources including the Surgical Infections Journal (the official peer-reviewed publication), the Source Control Podcast (audio discussions on clinical topics), annual meetings, and various awards including the Joseph Susman Memorial Award and Multicenter Studies Award. The society also publishes evidence-based guidelines and position papers on surgical infection management, and provides trainee travel support and fellowship recognition. The AHRQ MRSA Prevention Toolkit represents an educational resource for member use.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Surgical Infections: The official journal of the Surgical Infection Society providing comprehensive information on biology, prevention, and management of post-operative infections.
• Source Control Podcast

Products and services

• Surgical Infections Journal Peer-reviewed scientific journal covering original research, reviews, and clinical findings on surgical infections; targeted at surgeons, infectious disease physicians, pharmacists, microbiologists, and researchers.
• SIS Membership Individual and institutional membership categories (Active, Associate, Candidate, Honorary, etc.) providing access to journal content, member directory, voting rights, and reduced meeting registration; serves surgeons, ID physicians, pharmacists, researchers, and trainees.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $3 million in scholarships and awards distributed to 116 individuals (1984-2012)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• International Surgical Wound Complications Advisory Panel (ISWCAP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 March 2025SIS-E (European chapter) partnered with ISWCAP and Essity to deliver a webinar on international surgical wound complications, demonstrating international guideline collaboration.
• EssityminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 12 March 2025Corporate partner in SIS-E webinar on surgical wound complications advisory panel, supporting education and awareness initiatives.
• Chest Wall Injury SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Joint development of recommendations for antibiotic use during surgical stabilization of traumatic rib or sternal fractures to reduce implant infection risk, published as official SIS-Chest Wall Injury Society guidelines.
• Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Joint guideline development on diagnosis and management of complicated intra-abdominal infection in adults and children, representing collaboration between surgical and infectious disease specialties.
• International Surgical Infection SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with International Surgical Infection Society on research initiatives including the landmark NEJM publication on surgical hand hygiene education video developed with Dr. Khadaroo from University of Alberta and Alberta Health Services.
• Alberta Health Services, Surgery Strategic Clinical NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on surgical hand hygiene education video published in NEJM (September 2023), representing clinical network partnership for quality improvement initiatives.
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReference to AHRQ Toolkit for MRSA Prevention targeting surgical site infections, with SIS featuring and promoting evidence-based resources developed by federal agency.
• World Health OrganizationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWHO and International Surgical Societies working to mandate surgical hand hygiene as top priority to decrease surgical infections globally.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA): The largest US professional society for infectious disease physicians; collaborates with SIS on joint guidelines (e.g., complicated intra-abdominal infection) and overlaps on antimicrobial stewardship and SSI content, serving many of the same clinician members.
• Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA): Professional society focused on healthcare epidemiology and infection prevention, overlapping significantly with SIS on SSI prevention, antimicrobial stewardship, and hospital-acquired infection guidelines.

Broad incumbents

• American College of Surgeons (ACS): The dominant broad-incumbent surgical professional society in the US; publishes overlapping SSI guidelines, runs quality improvement programs (NSQIP), and competes with SIS for surgeon engagement and industry sponsorship.
• European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID): European incumbent covering clinical microbiology and infectious diseases; overlaps with SIS on intra-abdominal infections, antimicrobial resistance, and guideline development, with a broader but related membership base.
• Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM): Major professional society for critical care clinicians; shares SIS members (e.g., critical care pharmacists managing severe surgical infections) and overlaps on sepsis, antimicrobial stewardship, and ICU infection topics.
• American Society for Microbiology (ASM): Largest life sciences microbiology society in the US; overlaps with SIS on microbiology, infectious disease, and antimicrobial resistance research dissemination.

Regional players

• Surgical Infection Society - Europe (SIS-E): European regional chapter of the SIS network that collaborates on webinars (e.g., with ISWCAP and Essity) and shares the same surgical infection focus, but serves primarily European members.

Emerging players

• American Burn Association (ABA): Specialty society addressing burn care; SIS publishes research on burn wound infections and microbiome studies (e.g., Deepak Ozhathil et al.), creating a meaningful but partial overlap in clinical and research focus.
• Chest Wall Injury Society: Specialty society focused on chest wall injuries; collaborated with SIS on antibiotic guidelines for surgical stabilization of rib/sternal fractures, reflecting a tighter partnership peer than a direct competitor.
• International Surgical Wound Complications Advisory Panel (ISWCAP): International advisory panel focused on surgical wound complications; partnered with SIS-E on a 2025 webinar, addressing closely adjacent content on surgical site infections and wound healing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/surgInfxSoc
• Facebookfacebook.com/SurgInfxSoc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/surgical-infection-society

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Surgical Infection Society