News & Events: Leadership Appointments

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 [...]

We are pleased to announce the appointment of three new Associate Residency Program Directors for our general surgery residency program: Rita Mukhtar, MD as Associate Residency Program Director for Curriculum; Wen Shen, MD, MA as Associate Residency Program Director for Resident Professional Development; and Lan Vu, MD as Associate Residency Program Director for Assessment. All three appointments will be effective January 1, 2021. As the Associate Residency Program Director for Curriculum, Dr. Mukhtar will be primarily responsible for the curriculum of the general surgery residency program. [...]

We are pleased to announce that Joseph Cuschieri, MD, FACS, currently Professor of Surgery at the University of Washington, has been appointed the next Trauma Medical Director at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (ZSFG), commencing March 1, 2021. He also will be a Professor in the Department of Surgery. Dr. Cuschieri currently serves as the Associate Medical Director of Surgical Services at Harborview Medical Center, and Program Director for the Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at the University of Washington. His national service has included active roles in the [...]

We are excited to announce that Tom C. Nguyen, MD, FACS, FACC has been named the new Chief of the Division of Adult Cardiothoracic Surgery and the Helen and Charles Schwab Distinguished Professor of Surgery in the Department of Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco.  Dr. Nguyen comes to UCSF from the University of Texas Houston (UT-H), where he is Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Chief of Cardiac Surgery, Director of Minimally Invasive Valve Surgery, and Co-Director of Structural Heart Disease.    At UT-H, Dr. Nguyen flourished in a productive practice, with more than [...]

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Ryutaro Hirose has been named the inaugural Vice Chair of Clinical Operations and Value in the Department of Surgery. In his new role, Dr. Hirose will foster excellence and integration of our clinical practices within the UCSF Health System and its partners, and he will work together with surgical leaders at ZSFGH and the SFVA for clinical program development. He will promote efficient, cost effective, and accessible patient care, working to maximize revenues and ensure that faculty and staff have the systems and support they need to do their jobs [...]

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Elizabeth Wick will serve as the inaugural Vice Chair of Quality and Safety for the Department of Surgery. As Vice Chair, Dr. Wick will be responsible for oversight of the Department's quality and patient safety enterprise, focused in the perioperative space. She will collaborate with UCSF Health and the School of Medicine, managing interactions with other departments, centers and programs to promote collaboration that is focused on quality and patient safety.  Dr. Wick is a professor of surgery and Co-Chair for our Department's Research Committee.  She [...]

The Department of Surgery is pleased to announce the selection of Shareef Syed, MBChB, MRCS, assistant professor in the division of Transplant Surgery, as the new Associate Director of the UCSF Surgical Skills Center.  Dr. Syed is a general surgeon specializing in abdominal transplantation. After earning his medical degree at the University of Leicester, United Kingdom, Dr. Syed completed 3 years of medical and surgical residency in the UK National Health Service (NHS). During this time, he was admitted to the Royal College of Surgeons, UK.  Dr. Syed completed his general surgery residency [...]

The Department of Surgery is pleased to announce that Wen T. Shen, M.D., M.A. has been named Director of the UCSF Surgery Grand Rounds Education Series. Dr. Shen is an endocrine surgeon and a Professor of Clinical Surgery. In his new role, Dr. Shen will assess the ongoing educational needs of faculty and learners, and will oversee the content and scheduling of Department of Surgery Grand Rounds. Dr. Shen will work closely with Lygia Stewart, who led Grand Rounds for many years, during a time of transition, as well as with the Vice Chair for Education and the Chair to select Grand Rounds [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Matthew Y.C. Lin, M.D. has been named the UCSF Surgery Clerkship Director, starting January 2, 2020. Dr. Lin is an Associate Professor of Surgery in the Division of General Surgery. In his clinical practice, he cares for patients with conditions of obesity, gallbladder, intestines, stomach, and complex hernias. Dr. Lin is also a member of the acute care surgical service at the Parnassus campus. Dr. Lin received his medical degree at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, followed by a general surgery residency at Harbor – UCLA Medical Center. He then completed a fellowship in minimally [...]

The Department of Surgery is pleased to announce that Adnan Alseidi, MD EdM FACS has been named the inaugural Vice Chair for Education in the Department of Surgery, effective April 1, 2020.  As Vice Chair, Dr. Alseidi will work collaboratively with our educators and teachers to strengthen the Department's educational enterprise, including our residencies, fellowships, the Surgical Skills Center, and medical student clerkships and integration into the pre-clinical years. In addition, Dr. Alseidi will work closely with the Vice Chair for Faculty Affairs and the Vice Chair for Research to [...]

Doruk Ozgediz, MD, MSc, FACS, FAAP, will be returning to UCSF to become the inaugural Director of Global Surgery and Health Equity in the Department of Surgery starting March 1, 2020. He will also be a member of the Institute for Global Health Sciences, where he will serve on the Faculty Leadership Committee. Dr. Ozgediz will base his pediatric surgery practice at Mission Bay. He is coming to UCSF from the Yale School of Medicine, where he is an Associate Professor of Surgery. Dr. Ozgediz is certified by the American Board of Surgery in Surgery and Pediatric Surgery. He performs a wide range [...]

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 [...]

Hueylan Chern, M.D., an associate professor in the Section of Colorectal Surgery, has been named the new Director of the UCSF Surgical Skills Center. The UCSF Surgical Skills Center is accredited by the American College of Surgeons, and it is one of the crown jewels of the Department's teaching enterprise. It provides simulation based longitudinal and structured curricula, enabling learners to master both basic and advanced operative techniques. The lab also supports educational scholarship in teaching, curricular development, and research as a pathway to an academic career in surgical [...]

Sandy Feng, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Surgery at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), has been appointed the inaugural Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Surgery. In her new role, Dr. Feng will serve as a leader in advancing the research mission of the Department, with particular focus on deepening and broadening the Department's research portfolio, including basic and translational science, education and clinical/health services research, and innovation pathways. During her distinguished decades-long career at UCSF, Dr. Feng has mentored medical students, residents, [...]

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 [...]

We are pleased to announce that Deborah M. Stein, MD, MPH, FACS, FCCM, currently the R Adams Cowley, MD Professor in Shock and Trauma at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, has been appointed Chief of Surgery at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (ZSFG), commencing May 13, 2019.  Dr. Stein currently serves as the Co-Director of the Neurotrauma Center for the State of Maryland and as the Chief of Trauma at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.  Her national service includes active participation in major trauma, critical care, and surgical [...]