Please fill us in on where your career path has taken you since your 2000 graduation from the General Surgery Residency program at MIHS:

I did a Multiorgan Transplant Fellowship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and a Small Bowel Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh.  I also obtained a MS in Clinical Outcomes Research and Statistics from the University of Michigan, which was an 18 month course held over one extended weekend each month which I took while in a faculty job.   I worked as a multiorgan transplant surgeon in Pittsburgh, PA, Philadelphia, PA, Gainesville, FL, the Bronx, NY and now in Buffalo, NY (University at Buffalo; Erie County Medical Center) where I am Division Chief of Transplantation.

Where were you located prior to your residency program and what brought you to interview in Phoenix, AZ?

Before residency I was in Reno, Nevada.  I interviewed in Phoenix because they offered me an interview and I went everywhere I was invited.

We all love hearing intern stories.  Do you have one to tell?

I have a lot of fond memories of my intern year and residency.  Maricopa was a great place with great people.  I remember teaching interns how to do a flex sig and enjoying their learning about the efficacy (release of stool) of the procedure.  I remember a prisoner with RLQ pain.  I was a 4^th year and didn’t think it was appendicitis, so I didn’t operate on him.  The 5^th year who took over the service the following day determined that it was best to remove the appendix and booked the case.  The next day at morning report we learned that it was a negative operation because the appendix was not present.  It had already been removed previously.  That was a fun moment for me.

Tell us about a surgical experience where you realized – yes, I am a surgeon! 

I think I always knew it.  My dad was a carpenter and I knew through working with him I was good with my hands.  I thought of doing ob/gyn at first, because it is “female friendly” with some operating, but realized during the rotation that it was not a good fit.  I loved my surgical rotation but didn’t think I would get into a general surgery residency until I happened to read my file.  I don’t remember how I had access to my file, but in it I saw a review of me from the department chair.  The review was actually good and at exactly that moment I thought it was possible, and decided to pursue general surgery.

Can you fill us in on your work life and practice today?  In our prior conversation you mentioned grant applications.  What research are you participating in?

I have been Division Chief for a little over three years now.  It’s the best position I’ve had and I am loving every moment of it because I have the opportunity to follow my vision of a transplant program (both the clinical and research aspects) and set the tone for the staff culture.

During my career, I’ve been successful at doing clinical research and publishing manuscripts, but I never reached the bar of obtaining national grant funding.  Early on, I didn’t apply for grants because I didn’t have any idea that motivated me enough to want to go through the rejection process that inevitably comes with pursuing funding.

Last year, a light bulb went off and a cool idea popped into my head and other things came together (the hospital offered me a grant writer and I met a grant funded PhD to be my co-PI) and I submitted a HRSA grant which was funded on the first try.  So now I am even more busy running the clinical program and growing our research mission and doing research that I think will be impactful.

Please share about your family:

I have a wonderful boyfriend who comes with three cats and tolerates my career extremely well.  I’m thankful that my mom is still alive, and my brother and I have a good relationship.

Give us one or two of your favorite memories from your residency at MIHS:

I remember scoring really high on the ABSITE and people being surprised and thinking I was smart afterwards.  I remember a lot of fun conversations with food in the conference room with Dan and Ramon and Devon.  I remember getting to operate and not having to watch others operate too much.   Residency was a great time!