May 24, 2019

Dr. Eisenberg Receives Merit Grant

Dr. Dan Eisenberg, an associate professor in the Division of General Surgery, was awarded a 3-year $750,000 VA HSR & D Merit Grant.

"Appropriate detection and management of obesity in veterans with spinal cord injury (SCI) relies on consistent measurement of body mass index (BMI) and proper interpretation of BMI when it is assessed," said Dr. Eisenberg. "Our goal is to assess the quality of guideline-concordant obesity screening in veterans with SCI who receive care in the Veterans Health Administration to understand why some VA facilities do better than others in screening and to evaluate the need for adjusted BMI-based morbidity risk zones for individuals with SCI."

April 22, 2019

Stanford Surgical Resident Featured in Forbes

For the fully story on Dr. August click here

March 14, 2019

Dr. Seib Joins Endocrine Team

Dr. Carolyn Dacey Seib will join Stanford Division of General Surgery as an Assistant Professor in the MCL effective April 28. Seib earned her medical degree at New York University before completing her residency at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Most recently, she was a clinical instructor at UCSF and Director of their Endocrine Surgery Clinical Immersive Experience (CIEx) rotation for 3rd-year medical students.

"We are delighted to have Dr. Seib join Stanford. She is a gifted surgeon and educator," said Chief of General Surgery Dr. Electron Kebebew. "We also look forward to her scholarly work impacting patient care on the endocrine service."

February 14, 2019

Asia Game Changers Awards West Honors Dr. So

Dr. Samuel So, director of the Asian Liver Center, has been chosen as a 2019 Asia Game Changer West Awards Honoree. Dr. So will officially be given the award at the Asian Game Changer West Gala on April 9. According to their website, the event "identifies and honors true leaders who are making a positive contribution to the future of Asia."

January 18, 2019

Dr. Staudenmeyer Joins MX Advisory Committee.

Dr. Kristan Staudenmeyer, an associate professor in the Division of General Surgery, was recently elected to the Manifest MedEx (MX) Advisory Committee. MX is California’s largest health information exchange. As a committee member, Staudenmeyer will provide MX with guidance on key decisions and policies and in turn will have unique access to the world of health information and policy.

January 14, 2019

General Surgery Residency Announces Clinical Collaboration with Intermountain Health

Starting in May, Stanford’s General Surgery Residency Program will include a new elective surgical endoscopy rotation with Intermountain Healthcare (IMH).

“The Stanford General Surgery Residency Program trains doctors to become the leaders and surgeons of the future,” said said Dr. Mark Ott, chief medical director at IMH. “Part of the surgical future is exposing all of us to a world where different healthcare systems collaborate to deliver even better care locally and at a distance.”

Read the article.

October 24, 2018

Dr. Foster Wins ACSCC Excellence in Research Award

Dr. Deshka Foster, a professional development resident in the Division of General Surgery, received the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress Excellence in Research Award. The award is given to the top scoring abstracts submitted for presentation at the Congress. Dr. Foster won in the surgical oncology category for her abstract "Clonal Analysis of Local Fibroblasts in Wound Healing and Tumor Stroma."

October 8, 2018

ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators Selects Three Stanford Surgeons

Three Stanford Surgeons were selected to join the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Academy of Master Surgeon Educators: Dr. Jim Korndorffer, vice chair of education, Dr. Jim Lau, director of the Goodman Surgical Education Center, and Dr. Carla Pugh, director of the Technology Enabled Clinical Improvement Center. The academy was created in 2014 "to recognize and assemble a cadre of Master Surgeon Educators of national and international renown who will work closely with the ACS Division of Education to advance the science and practice of avant-garde surgical education and training." Drs. Lau and Pugh were inducted as part of the inaugural class. 

Learn more about the academy.

October 1, 2018

Dr. Spain Voted President-Elect of AAST

Dr. David Spain, chief of Stanford's Acute Care Surgery Section, was voted president-elect of The American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST). Dr. Spain will assume the presidency at the end of the AAST business meeting in September 2019 and will preside over the 2020 meeting in Hawaii.

"This is a great testament to his leadership and impact on the field," said Department of Surgery Chair Dr. Mary Hawn.

September 11, 2018

Dr. Staudenmayer Appointed to HCRT Study Section for AHRQ

Dr. Kristan Staudenmayer, an associate professor in the Division of General Surgery, has been appointed to the Health Care Research Training (HCRT) Study Section for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The study section reviews research training and career development grants.

"[This appointment] is a testament to her outstanding work and being a thought leader in the field," said General Surgery Division Chief Dr. Electron Kebebew.

September 6, 2018

Dr. Hong Receives Immunology T32

Dr. Wan Xing Hong, a professional development resident in the Division of General Surgery, was awarded an Immunology T32 from the National Institutes of Health to study immunotherapy in solid tumors. The grant is for approximately $49,000 for 1 year, with the option to apply for renewal.

"I will be studying neoadjuvant application of locally administered immunotherapy in solid tumors, starting with the triple negative breast cancer mouse model," said Hong. "As a general surgery resident, I frequently help care for patients suffering from a variety of different tumors; these experiences really drive home the clinical relevance of the questions that we ask each day in lab."

September 4, 2018

Dr. Zak Joins General Surgery

Dr. Yulia Zak will join the Division of General Surgery's Bariatric and Minimally Invasive Surgery section as a Clinical Assitant Professor effective December 1, 2018. Dr. Zak graduated from Stanford's General Surgery Residency Program in 2014 before completing her fellowship in MIS at Massachusetts General Hospital. Most recently Dr. Zak was a member of the faculty at Mount Sinai.

August 27, 2018

Dr. Kopecky Wins AΩA Postgraduate Fellowship

General Surgery Resident Dr. Kimberly Kopecky was awarded a 2018 Alpha Omega Alpha (AΩA) Postgraduate Fellowship for her project titled: Interactive Communication Curriculum for Surgical Residents. Kopecky will receive $2,000 over the next two years to support her research.

July 16, 2018

Dr. Chandler Receives Funding From CHRI

Dr. Julia Chandler, a professional development resident in the Division of General Surgery, has been named the Ernest and Amelia Gallo Endowed Postdoctoral Fellow by the Child Health Research Institute (CHRI). Chandler will receive $105,000 to support her study "Improving Care for Pediatric Trauma Patients: Screening and Secondary Prevention for Post-Traumatic Stress."

July 9, 2018

Dr. Choi AAST Receives Research and Education Foundation Scholarship

Division of General Surgery Resident Dr. Jeff Choi (PGY2) was the recipient of one of nine Research and Education Foundation Scholarships from the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST). The scholarship will facilitate Choi's attendance at the AAST's annual meeting.

"This year, the AAST annual meeting will be held in conjunction with the World Trauma Congress in San Diego, where I hope to learn more about trauma surgery and especially, connect with trauma surgeons from South Korea," said Choi.  

July 6, 2018

Dr. Shelton Named Colorectal Surgery Section Chief

The Division of General Surgery's Dr. Andrew Shelton has been named Colorectal Surgery Section Chief effective immediately.

"Dr. Andy Shelton has served more than ably as the acting Colorectal Surgery Section Chief since Dr. Mark Welton’s departure one year ago," said General Surgery Chief Dr. Electron Kebebew in his announcement to the Division staff. "We look forward to his continued leadership and growth of the section."

June 22, 2018

2018 Surgery Interns Welcomed With Improved Boot Camp Curriculum 

The 2018 Stanford Surgery intern boot camp is unlike any before it, with instructors employing a flipped- classroom model to accommodate all learning styles and expand instruction time. 

“Historically, boot camps have lasted a week or four days but because interns have more and more competing interests—learning Epic, onboarding— the physical boot camp schedule has been compressed,” said Dr. Edmund Lee, a Stanford surgical education fellow and visionary behind the novel curriculum. “We asked ourselves: is there a better way?”

Read the article.

June 10, 2018

Stanford Surgery Graduates First IR Interns

For the first time in its history, Stanford Surgery will graduate interns into the field of Interventional Radiology (IR) on June 10, 2018.

“We’re treated exactly the same as how they treat all of the other interns,” said Dr. Lynne Bettinger, one of the three IR interns including Drs. James Hui and Stephan Leung. “I think a lot of people don’t even know that we aren’t general surgery residents.”

Read the article.

May 31, 2018

Faculty Recognized at Annual Stanford Medical Staff Awards Dinner

Several Division of General Surgery faculty members were recognized at the Annual Stanford Medical Staff Awards Dinner on May 31, 2018.

Former Division of General Surgery Chief Dr. Ralph Greco was presented a Lifetime Honorary Medical Staff Award while Clinical Associate Professor Dr. Martin Bronk received a Likelihood to Recommend Award. The Likelihood to Recommend Award is presented to physicians with Likelihood to Recommend top box scores in the 99th percentile, ranked nationally. Drs. Carl Bertelsen, Dan Azagury, Frederick Dirbas, George Poultsides, Jeffrey Norton, and current Department of Surgery Chair Dr. Mary Hawn all received Likelihood to Recommend Honorable Mentions. These physicians' box scores were in or above the 90th percentile, ranked nationally.

May 30, 2018

Residents, Faculty Honored at MD Program Teaching Awards

Three faculty members and two residents from the Division of General Surgery were honored at the 2018 MD Program Teaching Awards ceremony on Wednesday, May 30th.

General Surgery Residents Dr. Ioana Baiu (PGY2) and Dr. Laura Mazer (PGY5) received the Arnold P. Gold Foundation's Humanism and Excellence in Teaching Award.

"As surgery residents, we are incredibly lucky to be working with brilliant and motivated Stanford students. This is an integral component of our training as future academic surgeons, allowing us to learn the basics of teaching and mentoring from very early on," said Baiu. "[My students] remind me every day how exciting and interesting my job is and inspire me to be a role-model and a better physician. I owe a large part of my training at Stanford to my students who teach me patience and provide me with an insatiable thirst for knowledge."

Clinical Associate Professor Martin Bronk and Clinical Professor Dr. James Lau both received the Award for Excellence in Promotion of Humanism. Lau also received the Arthur L. Bloomfield Award in Recognition of Excellence in the Teaching of Clinical Medicine along with Associate Professor of Surgery Dr. Kristan Staudenmayer.

May 17, 2018

Dr. Weiser Examines A Decade of the Surgical Safety Checklist

Dr. Thomas Weiser, an associate professor in the Division of General Surgery, was a lead author on the editorial "Ten Years of the Surgical Safety Checklist" published by BJS May 17, 2018. Dr. Weiser will also take part in the May #BJSconnect twitter chat on Thursday, May 24 at 11AM PST. 

May 15, 2018

2018 Kountz Fellowship Awarded to Lawrence Brown

The 2018 Samuel L. Kountz Diversity Fellowship has been awarded to Lawrence Brown. Brown is an MD candidate at Meharry Medical School in Nashville, TN. He has an MPH from Yale University and an MHS also from Meharry. 

May 13, 2018

Drs. Korndorffer and Morris Elected into ASA

Vice Chair of Education Dr. Jim Korndorffer and S-SPIRE Center Director Dr. Arden Morris were elected into the American Surgical Association as new members.