News & Events

We are pleased to announce that the Muriel Steele Society website has officially launched! The Muriel Steele Society (MSS) was established in honor of Muriel Steele, MD, the first woman surgeon at San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH) — now Zuckerberg San Fransisco General (ZSFG). Throughout her career, Dr. Steele experienced significant prejudice and overcame enormous obstacles on the road to becoming a phenomenal surgeon. MSS is an inclusive community dedicated to inspiring, supporting, and promoting women surgeons so they can thrive at all stages of their careers. We are comprised of [...]

In this pilot randomized clinical trial of 21 first-year surgery residents led by PI Carter Lebares, MD,  director of the UCSF Center for Mindfulness in Surgery, taking a modified mindfulness-based stress reduction class was associated with higher mindfulness, lower stress, better executive function scores, faster motor skills, and unique activation of neural substrates associated with executive control and self-awareness during an emotional regulation task compared with control participants. Mindfulness-based stress reduction appeared to mitigate stress and enhance executive function in [...]

What is the background for this study? Dr. Lebares: This study was inspired by extensive evidence of the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) for mitigating stress and enhancing performance in other high-stress populations like police and the military. We know that overwhelming stress is related to burnout and to cognitive errors – two critical issues within surgery, today. This prompted us to tailor and streamline an MBI specifically for surgeons, and to test it in our trainees. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Dr. Lebares: This was a pilot study, as [...]

UCSF general surgery resident Elizabeth Lancaster, M.D. received the APDS (Association of Program Directors in Surgery) Best Resident Paper Award for presentation of her paper, Residents as Key Effectors of Change in Improving Opioid Prescribing Behavior, at Surgical Education Week 2019 in Chicago, IL. With mentors Dr. Kenzo Hirose and Dr. Liza Wick, Dr. Lancaster developed a quality improvement program focused on improving post-operative analgesia prescribing patterns amongst general surgery residents. Her paper highlights the important role of residents in the quality improvement process [...]

Gavitt A. Woodard, M.D., a cardiothoracic surgery fellow at UCSF, has been awarded an Intuitive Surgical Robotics Fellowship from the American Association of Thoracic Surgeons (AATS) Foundation. This opportunity provides advanced robotic training and certification to a select group of fellows each year. Dr. Woodard will attend the course with her sponsoring faculty mentor Johannes Kratz, M.D. who leads the Thoracic Robotic Surgery Program at UCSF.  While a general surgery resident at UCSF, Dr. Woodard received her Robotic Qualification Equivalency Certificate (QEC) from Intuitive Surgical. [...]

The Department of Surgery is deeply saddened to announce the passing of our friend and colleague, Dr. Donald D. Trunkey who died on Wednesday at the age of 81. Dr. Trunkey was an internationally renowned trauma surgeon and is considered the father of modern trauma systems. He served as Chief of Surgery at San Francisco General Hospital from 1978 until 1986. He was then appointed Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at the OHSU School of Medicine, a position he held until 2001.  Following a first-year internship at the University of Oregon School of Medicine and a two-year stint [...]

The 32nd Annual J. Engelbert Dunphy Resident Research Symposium was held Wednesday, April 17, 2019 at UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay. 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, Dr. Lillian Kao, Professor and Division Chief of Acute Care Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston [...]

The 32nd Annual J. Engelbert Dunphy Resident Research Symposium will be held Wednesday, April 17, 2019 at UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay beginning at 8:30 a.m. The Department of Surgery is honored to have UTHealth professor Lillian S. Kao, MD, MS as this year's visiting 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 of J. Engelbert Dunphy, M.D., a legendary surgeon and a former chair of the UCSF Department of [...]

The Department of Surgery held a faculty retreat on March 1-2, 2019 at the San Francisco Film Center on the Presidio. Faculty took time out from their hectic personal and professional lives to participate. Throughout the event, their enthusiasm, caring, passion for patients, science, education, and service shined. The event was facilitated by Peter Coughlan, PhD, with support from members of the Better Lab, led by Amanda Sammann, MD, a UCSF trauma surgeon, and Stanford Design Impact. The committee organizing the event also included Syreeta Shepherd, Mike Panion, MBA, Stanley J. Rogers, MD, [...]

Hillary Braun, MD, a third-year (PGY-3) general surgery resident at UCSF, has been awarded a prestigious two-year resident research scholarship by the American College of Surgeons for 2019-2021. The scholarships are supported by the generosity of Fellows, Chapters, and friends of the College, to encourage residents to pursue careers in academic surgery.  Dr. Braun's research will focus on  the impact of domestic and international travel for transplantation on disparities in U.S. solid organ transplantation with the goal of generating data to inform national policy around these issues.  Dr. [...]

The UCSF Department of Surgery had a strong presence at the annual educational meeting of the Northern California American College of Surgeons held on March 15-16, 2019 at the Claremont Hotel Club and Spa in Berkeley, CA. Department faculty moderated numerous panel discussions and learners were selected for podium presentations based on their submission of high-quality research abstracts. UCSF general surgery residents  Andrew Wisneski and Anamaria Robles had amongst the highest scoring abstracts, landing them as finalists in the basic science category of the 4th Annual Thomas R. Russell [...]

The UCSF Plastic Surgery Residency Program welcomes our new residents. The class of 2027 is comprised of three outstanding women, ready to embark on their surgical journey. We are incredibly proud of our new residents and all of their accomplishments. We hope to empower them during their time here at UCSF and we're excited to see them grow into remarkable surgeons.  They're all exceptional and will be an amazing addition to our team.    UCSF Department Of SurgeryPGY-1 Categorical Plastic Surgery Residents (2019-20)

The Department of Surgery warmly welcomes our eight new general surgery categorical residents comprising the Class of 2026. We congratulate this diverse, highly accomplished group for matching into our program. We look forward to the arrival of our new intern class in June and are honored to be part of their journey as they train to become future leaders in academic surgery.   UCSF Department Of SurgeryPGY-1 Categorical General Surgery Residents (2019-20)

The Muriel Steele Society invites you to celebrate International Women's Day at UCSF by recognizing our fantastic women surgeons and supporting initiatives that help us achieve gender equity that enable all of us to excel.  To stimulate frank discussions about gender parity, inclusion and diversity, we'd like to share the lecture of Joan Reede, MD, MS, MPH, MBA, delivered at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress in 2018.  Olga M. Jonasson, MD, Lecture: A path toward diversity, inclusion, and excellence | The Bulletin  Each time a woman stands up for herself, without [...]

Arya Zarinsefat, M.D., a UCSF general surgery resident and research fellow in the Sarwal Lab, has been awarded a prestigious UCSF-Gladstone Center For AIDS Research (CFAR) Mentored Scientist Award.  Dr. Zarinsefat's research will focus on better understanding the genes and process of rejection in kidney transplantation of HIV-infected recipients. The study will apply an innovative method of discovering rejection in HIV-infected kidney transplants by performing DNA cytosine methylation sequencing of plasma samples of individuals with rejection. Methyl-Seq is a novel next-generation [...]

The UCSF Department of Surgery had a banner year at the Pacific Coast Surgical Association (PCSA) annual meeting in Tuscon, Arizona on February 15-18, 2019 Seven department faculty were voted in as active members: Jade Hiramoto Elizabeth Wick Carter Lebares Rita Mukhtar Amar Nijagal Ankit Sarin Aaron Jensen Our UCSF faculty and learners were also recognized for their outstanding research, with a number of abstracts being chosen for podium presentations, several garnering awards.* Our medical student, Norah Liang, mentored by Dr. Lan Vu, of Pediatric Surgery, won her award [...]

The UCSF Department of Surgery was among the strong performers at the 14th Annual Academic Surgical Congress held in Houston, Texas on February 5-7, 2019, placing sixth in quality scores among academic medical centers that submitted at least 10 abstracts and three prestigious awards. The Association for Academic Surgery is the world's largest organization dedicated exclusively to the promotion of surgical research. The Association for Academic Surgery and Society of University Surgeons host the yearly Academic Surgical Congress, the premier gathering place for young surgeon-scientists in [...]

Quoc-Hung "Key" Nguyen, MD, a UCSF general surgery resident and a research fellow in the basic science laboratory of Tippi MacKenzie, M.D., received two prestigious awards at the 14th Annual Academic Surgical Congress held in Houston, Texas on February 5-7, 2019. His participation was underwritten by the Department of Surgery Resident Travel Fund, recently established by the Department to promote excellence in resident research and participation in major surgical conferences. Dr. Nguyen's abstract, "In Utero Enzyme Replacement Therapy in Sly Syndrome Penetrates Blood-Brain Barrier and [...]

We are pleased to announce that Emily Finlayson, M.D., M.S., FACS, professor of Surgery, Medicine (Geriatrics), and Health Policy at the University of California San Francisco has been named the new Vice Chair for Faculty Affairs and Development in the Department of Surgery. Dr. Finlayson received her MD at Harvard Medical School and MS from the Center for Evaluative Clinical Sciences at Dartmouth Medical School. She completed her general surgery residency at UCSF and her fellowship in colorectal surgery at the Mayo Clinic. Her NIH-funded work includes population-based analyses, clinical [...]

UCSF endocrine surgeon Sanziana A. Roman, M.D., FACS, was the organizer of a symposium centered on the experiences of women surgeons from around the world. In an article published in the December 2018 edition of the World Journal of Surgery, seven women surgeons drawn from diverse geographical backgrounds recounted their personal stories told in compelling narratives. Dr. Roman is professor of surgery in the UCSF Division of General Surgery. She also holds the positions of Director of Learning and Teaching in the Procedural Specialties and Dean's Diversity Leader for Leadership Equity and [...]