Department of Surgery News

The annual Association For Surgical Education (ASE) meeting took place from April 29th – May 1st. 2021, and throughout the three days, several research presentations were presented. 14 of those presentations were given by our team members, and we couldn't have been prouder. Below are the topics of the presentations and every person who was involved in each. At UCSF, we are deeply committed to Surgical Education and wanted to highlight all who've given their time to intense research and making sure we continue to move forward. Thank you!   PP64: THIRD-YEAR MEDICAL STUDENT PERCEIVED KNOWLEDGE [...]

We are thrilled to announce that on April 30th, 2021, Adnan Alseidi, M.D., Ed.M was formally inducted as the next President of The Association for Surgical Education during the ASE annual meeting. ASE is the global leader for surgical education across the continuum of education from medical students, residents, fellows, faculty development, and simulation. Dr. Alseidi has spoken about his recent appointment and is working on a considerable number of initiatives to be released over the next couple of years. These multiple avenues include Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, educator [...]

We are pleased to announce that Amar Nijagal, MD has been selected for the AASLD CTORA Award (American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Foundation) for his proposal & work focused on hepatoblastoma. The award provides Dr. Nijagal with $200K of funding for 2 years and is intended to fund his research project entitled "Defining the role of tumor associated myeloid cells in pediatric hepatoblastoma." This is a vital stepping stone for his lab & continuing science. For more information on the ASSLD CTORA Award, please visit http://www.aasldfoundation.org/ 

The UCSF Department of Surgery held the 34th Annual J. Engelbert Dunphy Resident Research Symposium on Wednesday, April 14, 2021. The program honors the life and accomplishments of J. Engelbert Dunphy, M.D., a legendary surgeon and former chair of the UCSF Department of Surgery, by showcasing the scholarly work of residents, fellows, and medical students in the Department of Surgery. This year's virtual symposium featured one plenary session and three concurrent sessions, where over 40 learners had the opportunity to present their work. Jayme Locke, M.D., MPH, Professor of Surgery and the [...]

The UCSF Department of Surgery is pleased to host the 34th annual J. Engelbert Dunphy Resident Research Symposium, to be held virtually on Wednesday, April 14, 2021, beginning at 7:00am PDT. The program will showcase the research of residents, fellows, and medical students in the Department of Surgery, and honors the life and accomplishments of J. Engelbert Dunphy, M.D., a legendary surgeon and former chair of the UCSF Department of Surgery. The symposium will feature the 2021 Dunphy Professor Jayme Locke, M.D., MPH, who will present the Keynote Lecture, "Surgery, Science & Advocacy: [...]

The UCSF Department of Surgery has extended journal clubs to the virtual world. All fourth-year medical students are welcome to participate. The goal is to offer medical students applying for sub-internship programs a glimpse of the Department of Surgery's innovative academic profile, despite limited travel during the pandemic.  Virtual journal clubs will be held every two months. Discussions will be led by UCSF faculty, fellows and residents from various surgical subspecialties and will highlight new, emerging, or landmark scientific work. Quan-Yang Duh, M.D., Chief of Endocrine Surgery, [...]

The Department of Surgery warmly welcomes our new General Surgery Preliminary residents. We congratulate these new members of our program and look forward working with them as they launch their surgical careers.  UCSF Department Of SurgeryPGY-1 General Surgery Preliminary Residents (2021-22) Mishaal AliUniversity of Wisconsin Ahmad AljobehMayo Clinic  Rachel BorthwellUCLA Fara DayaniUCSF         Elizabeth GerzinaBaylor Grace HaHofstra/Northwell Iram ShafqatUCLA Ramsey SittaWayne State University

The UCSF Plastic Surgery Residency Program is pleased to announce three new categorical residents, the newest members of our UCSF Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery family. The class of 2028 is a diverse, talented group, ready to begin their journey to becoming innovative surgeons and leaders. We congratulate our new interns and look forward to their arrival at UCSF in June.  UCSF Department Of SurgeryPGY-1 Categorical Plastic Surgery Residents (2021-22) Greta DavisUCSD Oblaise MercuryEmory University Casey Tompkins-RhoadesUniversity of Pittsburgh

The Department of Surgery is pleased to introduce the General Surgery Resident Class of 2028! We congratulate our eight new categorical residents and are thrilled for them to join the UCSF Surgery family in June. It is an honor to have the opportunity to partner with these future leaders in surgery as they begin their training. UCSF Department Of SurgeryPGY-1 Categorical General Surgery Residents (2021-22) Alison BaskinUniversity of Michigan Kara FaktorUCLA Axel Gomez CasarezUCSF Sophia HernandezUCSF         Alexandra HighetUniversity of [...]

The UCSF Vascular Surgery Integrated Residency Program welcomes our new categorical resident comprising the class of 2026. We are honored to partner with an accomplished resident as she begins her journey to becoming an outstanding surgeon and leader in surgery. We congratulate our new intern and look forward to her return to UCSF Vascular in June. UCSF Department of Surgery PGY-1 Categorical Vascular Surgery Resident (2021-22) Iris Liu UCSF

We are pleased to announce that Deborah Stein, MD, MPH, FACS, FCCM has been elected the next President of the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST) at its virtual annual meeting this week. EAST is a distinguished organization with more than 2,600 members that provides a forum for the exchange of knowledge to advance the care and rehabilitation of the injured patient. EAST places emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration, scholarship, fellowship and developing leadership among young surgeons active in the care of the injured patient.  For more information on EAST, please [...]

Mignote Yilma, M.D., a general surgery resident, was accepted into the National Clinician Scholars Program (NCSP) at UCSF, starting in the 2021-22 academic year. The NCSP is a prestigious two-year post-doctoral fellowship that trains scholars in community-partnered research, implementation and dissemination sciences, and health system transformation. The goal of the program is to train healthcare leaders to work in diverse settings and cultivate health equity. As one of five NCSP Scholars, Dr. Yilma will work with a mentorship team from a variety of disciplines and will participate in formal [...]

UCSF Transplant Surgery's Dr. Nancy Ascher, is profiled in a four part documentary series produced by BBC Studios' The Science Unit will premiere globally December 9 2020 on Netflix. The Surgeon's Cut profiles four ground-breaking surgeons from around the world, each with a visionary approach to their craft. "They're philosophers, storytellers and pioneers in their fields. Four surgeons reflect on their lives and professions in this inspiring docuseries." The documentary profiles Dr. Nancy Ascher's journey growing up with an intellectual family, her feminism and the determination she [...]

 (Greenwich, CT – December 3, 2020) Guinness World Records officially recognized the National Kidney Registry (NKR) for the longest kidney transplant chain in the world. This massive chain was supported by the combined efforts of 25 transplant centers, it included 70 surgeries, facilitated 35 transplants and was featured on ABC News's Nightline. "Kathy Hart, a Good Samaritan donor, started Chain 357, the longest chain in the world, on January 6th, 2015. Her generous gift to a stranger beganat the University of Minnesota Medical Center and the chain ended at UW Health in Madison, Wisconsin on [...]

Zachary Matthay, M.D., a general surgery research resident, received the basic science award at the Northern California Chapter of the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma Resident Research Competition, held virtually on October 21st, 2020. His presentation, titled "Leveraging the Catecholamine Response after Trauma: An Opportunity to Enhance Platelet Dependent Hemostasis?" examined the relationships between catecholamine surges after injury with platelet dependent hemostasis and viscoelastic clot strength in a cohort of trauma patients. The translational research study was [...]

Hillary Braun, M.D., a general surgery research resident, was recently named to the Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group (DICG). The DICG is an international organization of transplant professionals whose purpose is to "promote, implement and uphold the Declaration of Istanbul so as to combat organ trafficking, transplant tourism and transplant commercialism and to encourage adoption of effective and ethical transplantation practices around the world". Dr. Braun's research time has been spent, in part, investigating the impact of travel for transplantation on the liver transplant system [...]

The UCSF Department of Surgery held the 33rd Annual J. Engelbert Dunphy Resident Research Symposium virtually on Wednesday, October 28, 2020. The program showcased the laboratory research of residents, fellows, and medical students in the Department of Surgery, and honors the life and accomplishments of J. Engelbert Dunphy, M.D., a legendary surgeon and a former chair of the UCSF Department of Surgery. This year's J. Engelbert Dunphy Visiting Professor, Melina R. Kibbe, M.D., FACS, FAHA, Professor and Chair of Surgery at UNC-CH, delivered an inspiring keynote presentation titled, "Conducting [...]

We pleased to announce that Ajay Maker, MD, FACS has been named the Chief of the new Division of Surgical Oncology in the Department of Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. He will lead Surgical Oncology services, including breast, colorectal, endocrine, hepatopancreatobiliary, and melanoma/sarcoma surgery, at UCSF via the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, the VA of San Francisco, and our centers across the greater Bay Area. Dr. Maker comes to UCSF from his hometown of Chicago, where he is a tenured Professor [...]

The UCSF Department of Surgery is pleased to announce that third year UCSF medical student Mary Kathryn (Katy) Abel, A.B. was awarded the inaugural Thomas K. Hunt Memorial fellowship from the Division of General Surgery for her research project: "Optimizing outcomes in invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast: addressing barriers to clinical trial enrollment and personalizing therapy," with mentor Rita Mukhtar, M.D., assistant professor in the Division of General Surgery. Under the leadership of Hobart Harris, M.D., MPH and supported by the Division of General Surgery and the Department of [...]

The UCSF Department of Surgery will hold the 33rd annual J. Engelbert Dunphy Resident Research Symposium virtually on Wednesday, October 28th, 2020. The 2020 Symposium, originally scheduled for April 8th, will be held via Zoom for the safety of all participants. The Department is honored to host Dr. Melina R. Kibbe, M.D., Professor and Chair of Surgery at UNC-CH as the 2020 Dunphy Professor.  The J. Engelbert Dunphy Resident Research Symposium showcases the laboratory research of residents, fellows, and medical students in the Department of Surgery and honors the life and accomplishments [...]