News

In My Own Words: Dr. Suzanne Inchauste’s Trip to Ethiopia

I finished my first month as faculty at the UW–Madison Department of Surgery by traveling to ALERT Comprehensive Specialized Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. ALERT hospital partners with the Ministry of Health and University of …

From the Operating Room to the Open Roads: Cycling to Cure Childhood Cancers

During his career as a pediatric surgeon, Dr. Jeffrey Du Bois spent countless hours in the operating room saving people’s lives. Now, as a retired surgeon, Dr. Du Bois is using his passion for saving lives …

Dr. Benjamin Cher to Serve as Program Committee Member for AAS

Dr. Benjamin Cher, general surgery resident, was recently invited to serve as a program committee member for the Association for Academic Surgery (AAS). The principal responsibility of the Program Committee members is to review the …

Dr. Muhammed Murtaza Honored with Vilas Faculty Mid-Career Investigator Award

Dr. Muhammed Murtaza, Associate Professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology, was awarded a 2025 Vilas Faculty Mid-Career Investigator Award. This award will provide Dr. Murtaza with flexible research funding over the next three years. …

Lab Student Recognized at 2025 Chancellor’s Undergraduate Award Ceremony

UW–Madison hosted the annual Chancellor’s Undergraduate Award Ceremony on April 28. This ceremony serves as an opportunity to celebrate the extraordinarily talented undergraduates for their academic excellence, public service, and undergraduate research. Brooke Miller, an …

DOS Faculty and Residents attend SNMA AMEC 2025

The Student National Medical Association (SNMA) Annual Medical Education Conference (AMEC) took place in St. Louis from April 16-25, 2025. This year’s theme was “Higher: Surpassing, Optimizing, Advancing and Reimagining our Purpose.” This theme invited …

Incoming Rural General Surgery Resident First to Graduate from Accelerated UW Med School Program

Dr. Sharon Weber Awarded the Medical Alumni Citation – Distinguished Alumni Award

Dr. Sharon Weber, Professor and Chair of the Division of Surgical Oncology, was awarded the Medical Alumni Citation – Distinguished Alumni Award by the Wisconsin Medical Alumni Association (WMAA) at the WMAA Awards Banquet on …

OHNS Faculty Member Awarded Prestigious NIH Career Development Award

Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Assistant Professor Ruth Davis, MD, was recently awarded a 5-year, $711,000 career development award from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. NIH career development awards provide …

Dr. Hee Soo Jung Elected to the American Board of Surgery Council

Dr. Hee Soo Jung, Associate Professor in the Division of Acute Care and Regional General Surgery, was recently elected to the American Board of Surgery (ABS) Council. His six-year term will begin on July 1, …

DOS Faculty and Residents Take Part in Health Disparities Conference

The AHANA-MAPS Pre-Health Society, a UW–Madison student organization for African, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American students, hosted its 13th annual Healthcare Disparities Conference on April 12, 2025. The theme of this conference was “Health Equity …

Brown Lab Awarded Grant to Study Potential New Treatment for Type 1 Diabetes

The lab of Division of Transplantation Assistant Professor Matthew E. Brown, PhD, is hyper-focused on creating hypoimmune stem cells – cells that can evade recognition and destruction by the human immune system. Why? Because stem …

Wisconsin Surgery Research Roundup: March 2025

Wisconsin Department of Surgery members engage in remarkable research that yields many impactful publications every month. We’re highlighting several of these publications monthly to showcase the diversity of research in the department; see selections from …

Dr. Sean Ronnekleiv-Kelly Receives Grant to Study the Link between Three Rare Biliary Cancers

Division of Surgical Oncology Associate Professor Sean Ronnekleiv-Kelly, MD, has devoted much of his scientific career to the study of fibrolamellar cancer, a rare but deadly form of liver cancer that affects young adults. So …

Company Founded by Dr. Yousif Hanna Named to 2024 Most Disruptive MBA Startup List

Dr. Yousif Hanna, General Surgery resident, and his company, Oxkair, were recently recognized on Poets & Quants’ list of the Most Disruptive MBA Startups of 2024. Dr. Hanna and his co-founder, Edouard Tessier-Blais, created Oxkair …

Dr. Carrie Thiessen Awarded Prestigious NIH Career Development Award

Division of Transplantation Assistant Professor Carrie Thiessen, MD, PhD, was recently awarded a 5-year, $956,000 career development award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. NIH career development awards provide early-stage …

Zafar Awarded Grant to Explore Social Determinants of Health in GI Cancer Surgery Outcomes

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers – such as pancreatic, colorectal, and liver cancer – often require surgical treatment. Because these procedures are complex, complications can happen. “Cancer surgery complications are associated with a variety of factors, including …

UW Health Transplant Center Completes its 1,000th Heart Transplant

Cho Lab Receives Funding from the Draper Technology Innovation Fund

Division of Plastic Surgery Assistant Professor Daniel Cho, MD, PhD, specializes in the treatment of infants and children with birth defects that affect the head and skull. One such defect, craniosynostosis, is a serious condition …

Doctoral Student in Odorico Lab Receives Prestigious Graduate Training Award from UW Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Center

Second-year Cellular and Molecular Biology PhD student Caterra Leavens’ mission to develop a cure for Type 1 diabetes is personal; as a Type 1 diabetic herself, she is very familiar with the complexities of the …