News

Susan G. Komen®, the world's leading breast cancer organization, recognized two widely respected and innovative breast cancer researchers this week, announcing that Donald McDonnell, Ph.D., and Laura Esserman, M.D., have been selected as this year's recipients of the Brinker Awards – Komen's highest scientific honor. This year's Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction in Clinical Research will be presented to Laura Esserman, M.D., M.B.A., Director, Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center, Alfred A. de Lorimier Endowed Chair in General Surgery, Professor of Surgery and Radiology, University of [...]

We are pleased to announce that Marissa A. Boeck, MD, MPH, currently a clinical fellow in Trauma and Emergency Surgery at ZSFG, will be joining our faculty in the fall.  Dr. Boeck has been appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Division of General Surgery. She will serve as an acute care surgeon at Parnassus and as an acute care and trauma surgeon and surgical critical care intensivist at ZSFG. She will also serve as a member of the core leadership team of the new UCSF Center for Global Surgery and Health Equity.  Dr. Boeck earned her BA in Philosophy from the Macaulay Honors College at [...]

UCSF Surgeon-scientist Lucy Kornblith, M.D. (PI) and her mentee, Zachary Matthay, M.D. (Co-PI) were awarded two grants for their proposed COVID-19-related research by the UCSF COVID-19 Rapid Response Pilot Grant Program, supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, and National Institutes of Health (sponsored by the UCSF Academic Senate, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, and the Research Development Office). The first award will support their proposed prospective study entitled "CO-ACIT: COVID-19 Associated Coagulopathy, Inflammation, and [...]

The team of Learning Health Systems (LHS) K12 scholars, Tasce Bongiovanni, MD, MPP, MHS, William Brown III, PhD, DrPH, MA, James Harrison, PhD, and Matt Pantell, MD (pictured above left to right) are awardees of two grants: a Clinical & Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Resource Allocation Program (RAP), and a CTSI K Scholars Program Team Science Award, to support their work in better understanding the role of social determinants of health (SDH) and opioid prescribing, misuse/Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), screening, and treatment.   The CTSI RAP grant, on which Dr. Brown serves as [...]

The UCSF Department of Surgery congratulates UCSF medical student Mary Kathryn (Katy) Abel, AB and Rita Mukhtar, MD on their respective research and mentorship awards presented at the 2020 Inquiry Symposium ceremony on April 29, 2020. Mary Kathryn (Katy) Abel, AB, an MD Candidate at UCSF (Class of 2021), was awarded the "Long-Term Deans Prize in Research and Scholarship" for her research project "Clinical Outcomes after Standard Interventions in Invasive Lobular Carcinoma of the Breast." Awarded to only five medical students each year, the prestigious Dean's Prize recognizes outstanding [...]

"Getting the news that you have cancer is overwhelming and frightening. The COVID-19 crisis adds another layer of anxiety. But know this: you can protect yourself from COVID-19 without compromising your cancer treatment. Don't panic. In the vast majority of cases, a diagnosis of cancer is not an emergency even though it feels like one. There is time to learn about your options and sort out what is right for you. For now, there will be changes to how we do things. Some of the changes will feel disruptive, but many will lead to better, more patient-centered care. Minimizing your chances of [...]

"Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative (QLHC), a non-profit organization focused on uniting patient care and research, and sponsor of the adaptive platform I-SPY 2 Trial™, announced today a unique pre-competitive consortium created for an I-SPY COVID Trial to rapidly identify therapies to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in critically ill COVID-19 patients. Approximately 10-15% of patients infected with SARS-CoV2 develop a severe acute respiratory illness, and nearly 70% of patients admitted to an ICU require ventilation for an average of two weeks; it is estimated over half [...]

We are pleased to announce that Ronald B. Tesoriero, MD, FACS has joined the Department of Surgery faculty as Associate Professor based at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG). Dr. Tesoriero will serve as an attending physician on the Acute Care Surgery Service as well as on the Trauma and General Surgery Services, and in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) at ZSFG. He will also be appointed as the General Surgery Residency Site Director at ZSFG. Dr. Tesoriero has extensive experience in the management of traumatic injuries, and in the care of complex critically ill patients [...]

The Department of Surgery has launched a new Faculty Affairs and Development Portal. The portal provides an array of tools and resources for our diverse faculty to achieve success in academic surgery over the arc of their careers through mentorship and leadership development.   The portal also provides resources for faculty to develop and update their Department of Surgery biography and UCSF research profile, and to build a presence on social media. Resources for writing effective publications and grant applications are also available. In addition, the portal provides resources aimed at [...]

The Department of Surgery congratulates transplant surgeon Sandy Feng, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Surgery and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Surgery, on being named the next Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Transplantation (AJT). The full joint news release from ASTS and AST appears below: Feb 07, 2020 On behalf of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, we are pleased to announce the selection of Sandy Feng, MD, PhD, as the next Editor-in-Chief of our shared journal, The American Journal of Transplantation [...]

The Department of Surgery is pleased to announce that Jessica Gosnell, M.D. has been named Associate Surgery Clerkship Director. Dr. Gosnell is an Associate Professor of Surgery in the Division of General Surgery. Her clinical practice is in endocrine surgery, focused on diseases of the thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal glands, and acute care surgery. In her research, Dr. Gosnell studies new treatments for thyroid cancer through translational work and clinical trials, with a particular focus on multiple endocrine neoplasia and medullary thyroid cancer. Dr. Gosnell earned her BA in Biology [...]

Original Investigation Association of Demographic and Program Factors With ABS Qualifying and Certifying Examinations Pass RatesJAMA Surg. Published online October 16, 2019.Heather L. Yeo, MD, MHS, MBA, MS; Patrick T. Dolan, MD, MS; Jialin Mao, MD, MS; Julie A. Sosa, MD, MARead Abstract Key Points Question  Is there an association between sociodemographic factors and American Board of Surgery board examination passage rates? Findings  In this study of 662 individuals, trainees of Hispanic ethnicity were more likely to not attempt either of the board examinations (qualifying and [...]

UCSF surgeon-scientist Lucy Zumwinkle Kornblith, MD is a co-investigator on a newly awarded $2M Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program in collaboration with the UCSF Department of Laboratory Medicine, and OHSU Division of Trauma, Critical Care, and Acute Care Surgery, for the study of "Freeze Dried Platelet Extracellular Vesicles as a Hemostatic Adjunct to Resuscitation for Prolonged Field Care." The DOD/CDMRP funded study is a multicenter, multi-investigator grant with primary investigators Dr. Shibani Pati (Department of Lab Medicine, UCSF) and Dr. [...]

Rachael Callcut, MD, MSPH and Kalpana Harish, MPH have been honored by selection to participate in the 2020 UC Women's Initiative for Professional Development, a platform to support UCSF's emerging leaders, from among a pool of candidates throughout the UC system. Dr. Callcut is Associate Professor of Surgery based in the Department of Surgery at ZSFG. She is also Director of Data Science and Program Director of the Smarter Health Artificial Intelligence Initiative at the UCSF Center for Digital Health Innovation. Kalpana Harish is Administrative Director and Director of the Research Program [...]

New artificial intelligence-powered technology may soon help reduce delays in diagnosing a collapsed lung, or pneumothorax, which is a serious condition that can be treated with quick intervention. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that works with portable X-rays to rapidly screen for collapsed lung. The technology was developed by GE Healthcare and UC San Francisco researchers. Pneumothorax occurs when air leaks into the chest cavity, compressing the lungs and causing a partial or complete collapse. Tens of thousands of [...]

We are pleased to announce that Andre Campbell, M.D. has been named the Inaugural Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the Department of Surgery. Dr. Campbell is a Professor of Surgery in the Division of General Surgery and an attending trauma surgeon at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (ZSFG). As Vice Chair for DEI, Dr. Campbell will provide vision and leadership for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across the department's clinical, research and training enterprise. He will partner with the Department's Vice Chair for Faculty [...]

Dr. Laura Esserman is on a mission to bring the blockchain to health care. I can already hear the audible groans and see the general eye-rolling—I get it. There have been plenty of bold claims when it comes to blockchain, the decentralized ledger technology, in pretty much every sector from food to medicine. So far, the sizzle to steak ratio has been out of whack, and skepticism is integral to good science. But Esserman, a renowned surgeon and director of the UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center, believes blockchain can slash the cost of cancer drug development while spurring new [...]

"The story of women in surgical leadership in the Bay Area begins with Dr. Nancy Ascher, who became Chair of Surgery at UCSF in 1999, making her one of just four female chairs in the United States at the time. A world-renowned transplant surgeon, revered for her sharp clinical acumen and technical prowess in the operating room, Dr. Ascher led UCSF by example from 1999-2016. During this time, she also grew the Department into an oasis for female surgeons, with women currently representing more than 30% of the faculty and over 50% of the trainees in the surgical residency. In 2018, Dr. Julie [...]

Behind any landmark cure is years of medical research. But the old goal of research — to find a one-size-fits-all treatment for a disease, based on a set of standard protocols — must radically change to further and diversify advances in the field, experts argued at the TIME 100 Health Summit on Thursday. "We're all in it, at the end of the day, for our patients," said Dr. Laura Esserman, professor of surgery at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. "We want to get people to a better outcome." In the field of breast cancer, for example, the same cancer screening and [...]

The Department of Surgery is pleased to announce that Elizabeth C. Wick, M.D. and Jason H. Pomerantz, M.D. have been appointed Co-Chairs of the Department of Surgery Research Committee. Dr. Wick is a professor of surgery in the Section of Colorectal Surgery. She is an experienced laparoscopic surgeon, treating the entire spectrum of colorectal conditions including diverticular disease, inflammatory bowel disease, colon and rectal cancer, anal cancer, and perianal disease with a patient-‐centered approach. Dr. Wick has contributed to the understanding of almost every aspect of perioperative [...]