School of Medicine
Showing 351-400 of 416 Results
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Ken Suzuki
Postdoctoral Scholar, General Surgery
BioKen Suzuki is a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University's Department of Surgery. He received his PhD in Economics from the University of California at Santa Cruz in June 2024. Before UC Santa Cruz, he earned his MA in Economics from Hitotsubashi University in 2017 and his BA in Economics from Yokohama National University in 2015. His research interests include health economics, applied microeconomics, econometrics, and statistical causal inference. His research utilizes large administrative datasets from the Veterans Health Administration (VA) to examine how health policies affect patient healthcare utilization and health outcomes.
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Karl G. Sylvester
Professor of Surgery (Pediatric Surgery)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsScholarly interests include investigation of molecular markers of human disease that provide diagnostic function, serve as targets for possible therapeutic manipulation, or provide insight into mechanisms of human disease. Specific diseases of interest include common conditions of pregnancy, gut microbial ecology and Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC).
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Candice N. Thompson, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Surgery - General Surgery
Masters Student in Epidemiology and Clinical Research, admitted Autumn 2023BioDr. Thompson is a board-certified, fellowship-trained general surgeon who specializes in breast surgical oncology. She is a clinical assistant professor of surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine and the Medical Director for the Office of Cancer Health Equity.
Dr. Thompson clinical interests include treatment of women and men who have breast cancer, benign breast disease, genetic mutations, family history of breast cancer, or other breast cancer risk factors. Procedures performed by Dr. Thompson include lumpectomies (partial mastectomies) using oncoplastic techniques and hidden scar methods, skin- and nipple-sparing mastectomies, simple mastectomies with aesthetically flat closure, oncoplastic procedures, benign breast lesion excisions, axillary node dissections, and sentinel lymph node biopsies.
She completed a breast surgical oncology fellowship at Stanford University under the mentorship of one of the world’s foremost experts in the field. She completed her general surgery training at Georgetown University, where she was the co-administrative chief resident. She is passionate about equitable care and addressing healthcare disparities, especially in breast cancer.
Dr. Thompson works closely with medical oncology, radiation oncology, plastic surgery, genetics, and other breast cancer specialists in a multidisciplinary setting to provide high quality, evidence-based, and individualized care. Dr. Thompson is a strong advocate for patient education and empowerment and strives to deliver compassionate care to patients and their families.
Her research has focused on Nipple Sparing Mastectomies, Community Engagement for Breast Cancer in the Black Community, Immune responses during breast cancer treatment, and prognostic role of Circulating Tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the management of breast cancer. She also has strong research interests in community engagement, health disparities, oncoplastic surgical options, and cancer biomarkers. She has delivered presentations on a wide range of topics related to breast cancer at national and regional meetings including NRG Oncology, ASBrS, ASC.
For her scholarship and research achievements, Dr. Thompson has won numerous honors and awards. She has earned the resident teaching award during her chief year at Georgetown. She was awarded the Stanford Cancer Institute Clinical Innovation Fund Grant for her work in educating the Black Community about Breast Health and Breast Cancer (2022). She was also awarded the prestigious NCI Early-Surgeon Scientist Program (ESSP) Award to support her early career as a surgeon scientist(2024). She also serves on the AAS Academic Advancement Committee, NRG Oncology Surgical Oncology Committee, NCCN Breast Screening and Diagnosis Panel, and TOUCH Black Breast Advisor for Pink Table Talk.
Dr. Thompson is a member of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS), Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO), Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS), Association of Women Surgeons (AWS), National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®), and American Medical Association (AMA).
Outside of work, Dr. Thompson enjoys pilates, tennis, baking, sewing, wine tasting, and traveling. -
Antonio Tomasso
Postdoctoral Scholar, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
BioAntonio Tomasso is an NWO Rubicon Postdoctoral Scholar. As part of his MSc in Medical Molecular and Cellular Biotechnology at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, he explored the immunomodulatory and neurotrophic roles of neural stem cells (NSCs) following spinal cord injury. As a Research Assistant at Karolinska Institute, he delved into the signaling pathways required for NSC activation and migration after spinal cord injury, and the limited regenerative abilities of mouse and human heart.
During his PhD, he investigated the molecular mechanisms of tissue regeneration in planarians, axolotls and spiny mice. He conducted research as a Visiting Fellow at the University of Kentucky and the Hubrecht Institute.
His research demonstrated that MAPK/ERK signaling acts as a molecular switch between regeneration and fibrosis in adult mammals and can be activated to stimulate a regenerative response, including new hair follicle formation, in scarring wounds.
He contributed to a pioneering study showing that spiny mice can recover heart function after infarct through enhanced angiogenesis, ECM remodeling and epicardium regeneration. He also played a key role in spatial transcriptomic studies that defined regenerative and fibrotic gene signatures in spiny mice, laboratory mice and gerbils.
He earned a PhD cum laude in Molecular and Cellular Life Sciences at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine.
He has been awarded an NWO Dutch Research Council Rubicon Postdoctoral grant to conduct research on the molecular drivers of fibroblast activation in wound healing and organ fibrosis.
His ultimate research aim is to crack the code of tissue regeneration and rejuvenation, reversing organ scarring and preventing fibrosis in injuries and pathological conditions, through the identification of therapeutic targets for enhanced tissue repair and functional recovery.
Driven by his innate curiosity and passion for science, he loves tackling new challenges, thinking outside the box, and building interdisciplinary collaborations to push forward the boundaries of knowledge.
His career goal is to serve as a group leader, fostering a collaborative environment where everyone can thrive, achieve their goals and leave a lasting impact through community-building and scientific discoveries for the benefit of humankind. -
Kenneth Tran, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Surgery - Vascular Surgery
BioDr. Tran is a vascular surgeon in the Vascular and Endovascular Surgery Division at Stanford Health Care. He is also a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Surgery, Division of Vascular Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Dr. Tran’s clinical expertise includes the entire spectrum of vascular surgery, including minimally invasive strategies for aortic aneurysm repair and multiple methods of managing peripheral vascular disease. He also specializes in treating cerebrovascular disease (problems with blood flow in the brain) using carotid angioplasty and stenting, transcarotid artery revascularization, and conventional carotid surgery. In addition, Dr. Tran offers comprehensive dialysis access management and treats venous reflux (when leg veins fail to return blood to the heart).
Dr. Tran has a special interest in minimally invasive techniques for repairing complex aortic conditions using custom stents placed inside blood vessels (endografts). He has expertise in designing, fabricating, and implanting physician-modified endografts tailor-made to each patient’s unique aortic anatomy. This technique expands the ability to offer minimally invasive repair to more patients.
Dr. Tran’s research efforts focus on utilizing novel computational approaches to better understand and optimize blood flow patterns after complex aortic repair. This work has helped improve the understanding of how different types of aneurysm repair perform long term. Dr. Tran hopes to use these research findings to improve clinical outcomes for patients with aortic aneurysmal disease.
Dr. Tran has published his work in numerous prestigious peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Vascular Surgery, JAMA Surgery, and the European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery. He has presented at the podium at numerous national and international conferences.
Dr. Tran has received multiple research awards, including the Vascular and Endovascular Surgery Society’s Medtronic Resident Research Award and Best Resident Presentation at the Swiss Society for Vascular Diseases. In addition, he received the Young Researcher Prize at the European Symposium on Vascular Biomaterials for his research related to complex aortic repair hemodynamics (blood flow). Dr. Tran also coauthored a chapter in the book Complications in Endovascular Surgery. -
Amber Trickey
Casual - Non-Exempt, Stanford-Surgery Policy Improvement Research and Education Center
BioAmber W. Trickey, PhD, MS, CPH, is a health services biostatistician working with the S-SPIRE Center. She supports multidisciplinary teams in research design, implementation, and analysis. Dr. Trickey obtained degrees in epidemiology and biostatistics, and certifications in public health and SAS data analysis. She has evaluated data quality in surgical and trauma care, supported multiple clinical trials, and led data validation studies using the ACS-NSQIP surgical registry and administrative claims. Dr. Trickey has contributed to public and private grants on surgical safety, healthcare quality metrics, simulation-based training, team communication, error disclosure, and emergency services.
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Jacqueline Tsai, MD, FACS
Clinical Associate Professor, Surgery - General Surgery
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research interests are focused on improving breast cancer surgeries. I am interested in novel techniques in surgery to improve cosmetic outcomes, minimize surgical re-excisions and possible augmented reality technologies to enhance surgery.
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Jamie Tung, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Surgery - General Surgery
BioDr. Tung is a fellowship-trained surgeon in the Stanford Health Care Chest Wall Surgery Program. He is a clinical instructor in the Stanford Medicine Department of Surgery.
His areas of expertise include trauma, general, and critical care surgery. He excels at the surgical treatment of chest wall injury, including stabilization of rib fractures.
In his research, Dr. Tung has investigated gastrotomy tube complications. He has participated in the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma study of the surgical treatment of liver injury. Other research interests include massive transfusion strategies and education regarding pre-hospital trauma management.
Dr. Tung has co-authored articles on complications of hernia surgery and other topics. His work has been published in The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery and Case Reports in Surgery. He also co-authored a chapter on chest wall surgery in the Textbook of Emergency General Surgery.
Dr. Tung has made presentations at the American College of Surgeons Annual Meeting, Academic Surgical Congress, and other conferences. Topics include massive transfusions, prehospital trauma care, burn resuscitation, and complications of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) in trauma patients.
He is a member of the American College of Surgeons, Chest Wall Injury Society, Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma, and Association for Academic Surgeons. He is a member of the Stanford Medicine Trauma Committee and other committees. He has worked as and is a certified emergency medical technician (EMT) as well as a tactical physician. He also has served as a “Stop the Bleed” instructor with Stanford Medicine as well as with other institutions where he practiced previously.
Dr. Tung is fluent in English and Cantonese. He is proficient in Mandarin. -
Jenny Lymary Veliz-Urzua, DNP, FNP-BC
Affiliate, Surgery - General Surgery
BioJenny L. Veliz-Urzua, DNP, FNP-BC is Nurse Practitioner for GI Surgical-Oncology at Stanford Health Care Center. She graduated with her Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) degree from Yale University School of Nursing in 2006. Her area of clinical practice includes hepatobiliary, pancreas, gastrointestinal and peritoneal malignancies. She has worked closely with Dr. Byrne Lee, Program Director for Regional Cancer Therapies, to optimize HIPEC patient care experience.
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Banita Verma
Postdoctoral Scholar, General and Vascular Surgery
BioI am Banita Verma, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University, currently working with Dr. Fredrick M. Dirbas at the Department of Surgery. Our research focus is to understand the type of cell death and the nature of immune responses triggered by FLASH versus conventional radiotherapy in various murine breast cancer models. Additionally, we aim to explore the role of DAMPs released by dying cells in generating immune responses after both FLASH and conventional radiotherapy. Furthermore, we are interested in studying the mechanism behind the low toxicity of the FLASH compared to conventional radiotherapy to the adjacent non-cancerous tissue. To accomplish this goal, our laboratory is actively collaborating with Dr. Bill Loo, who holds great expertise in the field of radiation oncology.
Before joining Stanford University, I served as a postdoctoral researcher at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden from 2021-2023. My research aimed to study the activation mechanism of Cholineacetyltransferase (ChAT), a pivotal enzyme in acetylcholine synthesis. This enzyme is known to be hypoactive in neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Our group successfully synthesized novel compounds capable of enhancing ChAT activity.
I completed my doctoral research in cancer biology at the Department of Experimental Medicine and Biotechnology, PGIMER Chandigarh, India, in 2021. My work was the evaluation of role of TNF-α mediated Necroptosis in breast cancer cells. My primary research interests are cancer biology and cell death pathways. -
Brendan C. Visser, MD
Professor of Surgery (General Surgery)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Visser's research interests span the breath of his clinical practice. Areas of active research include the multidisciplinary treatment of pancreatic neuroendocrine cancers, technical aspects of minimally invasive pancreatic and liver surgery, and trends in the management of hepatobiliary cancers in California, focusing on socioeconomic and instituional barriers to appropriate care.
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Edward Vizcarra
Postdoctoral Scholar, Transplantation Surgery
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsImmunology, Epstein–Barr virus, Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children
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Todd Wagner
Professor (Research) of Surgery (Surgery Policy Improvement Research and Education Center) and, by courtesy, of Health Policy
BioTodd Wagner is a Professor in the Department of Surgery at Stanford University. He studies health information, efficiency and value, and health care access. He is particularly interested in developing learning health care systems that provide high value care. In addition to his role at Stanford, he Directs the Health Economics Resource Center at the Palo Alto VA, where he is a VA Research Career Scientist and he co-directs the VA/NCI Big Data Fellowship.
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James Wall
Associate Professor of Surgery (Pediatric Surgery)
On Partial Leave from 07/01/2024 To 06/30/2025Current Research and Scholarly InterestsHealth Technology Innovation
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Irene Wapnir, MD
Professor of Surgery (General Surgery)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsClinical trials in operative procedures such as Nipple-sparing mastectomy, arm lymphatic mapping, skin perfusion and Treatments for Breast Cancer, especially local recurrence. Dr. Wapnir is institutional Principal Investigator and Chair for National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) clinical trials. Laboratory and translational research includes exploring the activity of breast iodide transporter in breast cancer brain metastasis.
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Thomas G Weiser, MD, MPH
Clinical Professor, Surgery - General Surgery
BioDr. Thomas Weiser is a general, emergency, and trauma surgeon, and surgical intensivist. He treats and cares for injured patients and those with acute surgical emergencies as well as manages critically ill surgical patients in the Intensive Care Unit.
His research is focused on evaluating the role surgical care plays in the delivery of health services in resource poor settings, in particular low and middle income countries. He is interested in barriers to access and provision of surgical care, the quality of surgical services, and outcomes research as well as the science of implementation, how improvements can be made, and how to strengthen compliance with best practices and change behaviors for the better. He also has an interest in domestic policy as it relates to trauma outcomes, trauma systems, insurance coverage and costs of care, and firearm violence.
Dr. Weiser's projects have focused on the quality of surgical care, strategies for improving the safety and reliability of surgical delivery, and team communications. He works closely with Lifebox, a nonprofit focused on improving surgical and anesthetic safety worldwide, where he was previously the Consulting Medical Officer. Lifebox delivers programs throughout the world in combination with local partners including individual professionals, professional societies, hospitals, other NGOs, and ministries of health. Lifebox works with hospitals in Ethiopia, Liberia, Madagascar, India, Honduras, and Nicaragua, amongst others, to improve care and evaluate the impact of our work. A few programs of particular impact are the distribution of low cost devices to improve the safety of care (including pulse oximeters for the routine monitoring of patients undergoing anesthesia and a new surgical headlight program) and Clean Cut, a surgical infection prevention and control program now being introduced in several countries.
From 2006-2009, he was part of the World Health Organization’s Safe Surgery Saves Lives program where he quantified the global volume of surgery and created, implemented, evaluated, and promoted the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist. He has worked with the WHO and the World Bank, and is completing a Gates Grand Challenge Grant-funded study to improve the safety of cesarean section in Ethiopia.
He is a Program Director at Wellcome Leap where he leads Surgery:Assess/Validate/Expand (SAVE). -
Ian Whitmore
Professor (Teaching) of Surgery (Anatomy)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe development of better regimes for teaching Anatomy using Cadavers.
