Dr. Winchell is an internationally renowned expert in care of the critically injured and the development, design, and operation of trauma systems. He is the G. Thomas Shires II Professor of Surgery, Professor of Medical Ethics in Medicine, and Chief of the Division of Trauma, Burns, Acute and Critical Care at Weill Cornell Medicine. He heads one of the leading Level 1 trauma centers in New York City and oversees the internationally recognized William Randolph Hearst Burn Center.

Dr. Winchell received his undergraduate degree at the California Institute of Technology, his M.D. from Yale University, and did his internship, General Surgery residency, and Trauma and Critical Care Fellowship at the University of California, San Diego. He is board certified in general surgery, with added qualifications in surgical critical care. He served on the faculty at UCSD as Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery until 1999, and prior to joining Weill Cornell, he was a Visiting Professor of Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston and Chief of Trauma at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center.

Dr. Winchell is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, currently serving as Governor for the Manhattan Council Chapter. He served on the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma for over 20 years, in various roles including Chair of the Trauma Systems Evaluation and Planning Committee, member of the Executive Committee, and Special Consultant for International Quality Programs. Dr Winchell has led the development and evolution of trauma systems throughout the world, including his seminal work in the Committee on Trauma's Trauma System Consultation Program, and work with the WHO Global Alliance for the Care of the Injured.

Dr. Winchell is the author of more than 100 scientific papers and book chapters, and has given over 200 regional, national, and international presentations. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, a section editor for the European Journal of Trauma, and reviewer for several other journals including Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Open, the Archives of Surgery, and the World Journal of Surgery. He is a fellow or member of the American Surgical Association, the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, the American Burn Association, the New England Surgical Society, the International Society for Surgery, the International the Association for Trauma Surgery and Intensive Care, the Western Trauma Association, and the Society of Critical Care Medicine as well as other national and regional scholarly societies.