Kelsey Koch

Kelsey was born and raised in the Upper Midwest. She obtained her undergraduate degree at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in the Black Hills, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. She then attended medical school at the University of South Dakota, Sanford School of Medicine, graduating Magna Cum Laude. She completed her General Surgery residency at the University of Iowa and was honored to serve as the Chief Resident for her program in her final year.

In addition to clinical outcomes research, Kelsey completed fellowships in surgical education research and educational leadership during her dedicated research time while focusing on transcriptional mechanisms of cancer biology as a T32 fellow under the guidance of Ronald J. Weigel, MD, PhD, MBA. She chose to pursue a career in Cardiothoracic Surgery after having the privilege to care for surgical oncology patients during her residency training. She is interested in both surgical education research as well surgical education leadership and plans to practice in a setting that allows her to continue to research and educate while providing exceptional care for patients.