The Yale School of Medicine Department of Surgery is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 Mastery Grants, the latest iteration of the department’s annual academic development awards. The initiative serves as an internal funding mechanism designed to foster a research culture that encourages innovative ideas and interdisciplinary exploration across the academic missions.
This year’s initiative reinforces the department’s commitment to personal and professional mastery as a guiding principle for FY24-25. The overwhelming response and quality of proposals led the advisory committee—chaired by Drs. Benjamin Judson and John Morton—to secure additional departmental funds, allowing 13 outstanding proposals to receive awards.
“The strength and creativity of these diverse proposals exceeded our expectations and reflect the department’s dedication to mastery and growth. We look forward to seeing the positive impact of these innovative projects.” shared Drs. Judson and Morton.
Awardees will have one year to implement their projects. Selected recipients may also be invited to present their findings at a future department forum.
2024 Mastery Grant Recipients
- Justin Bader, MD - General Surgery Resident - The Implementation of a Generative AI Platform to Improve Educational Quality of Surgical Morbidity and Mortality Conferences
- Robert Becher, MD, MS - Associate Professor of Surgery (General, Trauma & Surgical Critical Care) - Mastering Clinical and Research Excellence in Geriatric Surgery
- Jane Cowan, MD, MPH - Assistant Professor of Surgery (General, Trauma & Surgical Critical Care) - Sleep, Scheduling, and Optimum Surgeon Performance
- Courtney Gibson, MD, MS - Associate Professor of Surgery (Endocrine) - EMR-Driven Referral Pathways Leveraging Automated Screening for Enhanced Detection of Primary Aldosteronism and Specialty Care Integration
- Tyler Jones, MD - Assistant Professor of Surgery (General, Trauma & Surgical Critical Care) - Curbside Consults
- Michelle Kim, MD, MS – Clinical Instructor - WHOOP for Wellness: Quantifying Recovery Patterns in Surgical Interns During 24-Hour Call Shifts
- Donovan Lockwood, MD – Otolaryngology Resident - Enhancing Surgical Ergonomics with Nekspine Using a Cervical Spine Orthotic for Surgeons
- Samuel Miller, MD – Chief Resident, General Surgery - Increasing Utilization of Care Signature Pathways by Yale Surgery Providers
- Suresh Mohan, MD - Assistant Professor of Surgery (Otolaryngology) - Yale Surgical Coaching Program Pilot Towards Skill Mastery, Burnout Reduction
- Olivier F. Noel, MD, PhD – Plastic Surgery Resident - Leveraging Novel Technologies to Establish a Microsurgery Simulation Tool for the Surgical Trainee
- Lucy Ruangvoravat, MD - Assistant Professor of Surgery (General, Trauma & Surgical Critical Care) - Second Victim Syndrome in Surgical and Emergency Medicine Trainees after Trauma Resuscitations
- Cecelia Smith - Chief of Staff - Yale Surgery Library and Book Club
- Lee Ying , MD, PhD, MS, MPhil - Chief Resident, General Surgery - Preventing Future Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders through Micro-Workout Training in Surgical Residency
Advisory Committee
- Dr. John Morton
- Dr. Benjamin Judson
- Dr. Jessica Olino
- Dr. Vikram (Vik) Mookerjee
- Junila Cardona