SASS
How to Apply
We have reserved one spot for the SASS track which is comprised of the same 5 clinical years of surgical training as the standard track and no Professional Development time. Applicants interested in this position must specifically rank the SASS track on their match list for the NRMP and make it clear to our program that they would like to be considered for this position by contacting Residency Coordinator Anita Hagan or by selecting the SASS track in ERAS. Applicants who apply to our SASS track should also rank the traditional categorical track in NRMP.
SASS track NRMP Code 1820440C1
Stanford Accelerated Surgeon Scientist (SASS) residents can complete residency in 5 years. As part of a structured program to guide them in their professional development, they will have the following expectations:
Prior to Starting Internship
To support the SASS residents in their work, the SASS advisor will contact them upon matching in the program. The SASS advisor will help them to identify fields of interest for their academic pursuits and to identify potential Pl to serve as a research mentor.
Internship
During the internship year, the trainee will identify a Pl, acquire essential skills for scientific inquiry, and prepare a one-page NIH-format Specific Aims page on the project they wish to pursue. The specific aims should include both career goals and research goals.
Recruitment of medical students to assist with the research through the Med Scholar Program and the Stanford Society of Physician Scholars is encouraged.
During internship, they will attend the Association for Academic Surgery Fall Course on Early Career Development that takes place prior to the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress in October.
For additional support, SASS resident will be encouraged to participate in the Stanford Grant Writing Academy for all aspects of grant writing.
PGY-2 through PGY-5
SASS residents will begin to develop a 6-page, 4-year, collaborative proposal with the potential Pl based on their Specific Aims. The proposal should be in the format of a NIH K-level grant and could include a potential budget up to $20,000 over the 4-year period that the Pl could use to support the SASS resident research. As PGY-2 residents and beyond, the SASS resident will work continuously on their research proposal to add preliminary data and to refine the experimental plan. In addition to the approved budget of up to $20,000 over four years, there will be additional funding of up to $1000 per year to support attending one academic meeting if they have an abstract accepted for presentation.
SASS Residents
Booyeon Han, MD, PhD
Start date: 2022
Graduation date: 2027 (expected)
Chuner Guo, MD, PhD
Start date: 2020
Graduation date: 2025 (expected)
Dr. Chuner Guo's research background is in cell fate reprogramming and single-cell technology development. She is interested in understanding fibroblast heterogeneity and tissue regeneration.
Erin Devine, MD
Start date: 2019
Graduation date: 2024 (expected)
Sunnie Wong, MD, PhD
Start date: 2019
Graduation date: 2024 (expected)
Sunnie Wong, MD PhD, is a categorical general surgery resident on the Stanford Accelerated Surgeon Scientist Track. She is interested in the omentum and is fascinated by its exceptionally versatile surgical applications. She is investigating a population of regulatory T cells (Treg) that resides in the omentum, and is conducting animal studies to elucidate the role of these tissue-specific Treg in local and systemic immune tolerance. She believes that Treg cell-based therapy is a promising approach to improve the outcome of tissue and organ transplantation, as well as inflammatory bowel disease.
Courtney Olsen, MD
Start date: 2018
Graduation date: 2023 (expected)
Ioana Baiu, MD
Start date: 2016
Graduation date: 2021
Ioana Baiu, MD, MPH will be starting her Cardiothoracic Surgery fellowship at Stanford. She has contributed 24 manuscripts to the JAMA Patient Page.
Aleah Brubaker, MD, PhD
State date: 2014
Graduation date: 2019
Aleah Brubaker, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Division of Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Surgery of the Department of Surgery at UC San Diego. She specializes in adult and pediatric liver and kidney transplantation. Her research has appeared in Transplantation and Clinical Transplantation.
Kristen Rumer, MD, PhD
State date: 2013
Graduation date: 2018
Kristen Rumer, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor of Colorectal Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. She investigates inflammatory bowel disease from the population, patient, and cellular level.
Hadiza Kazaure, MD
State date: 2012
Graduation date: 2017
Hadiza Kazaure, MD is an assistant Professor of Surgery in the Division of Surgical Oncology (Endocrine Surgery) in the Department of Surgery at Duke University. She was recently funded by the AMerican College of Surgeons on "Scaling and Spreading Electronic Capture of Patient-Reported Outcomes Using a National Surgical Quality Improvement Program."