Latest Surgery News & Announcements

Yale cardiac and thoracic surgery faculty and trainees played a leading role at the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) 62nd Annual Meeting in New Orleans, La., with Division Chief Marc Pelletier, MD, serving as program director for the conference. Under his leadership, the team contributed extensively to programming through research presentations, plenary sessions, and trainee-focused initiatives. Notable presentations included studies on failure-to-rescue after coronary artery bypass grafting, financial literacy among trainees, and the development of CORGI, a custom GPT model for automated operative reporting.

The Department of Surgery hosted its third annual Surgery Student Social on Jan. 30, bringing together medical students, faculty, and residents from across Yale School of Medicine. Led by Felix Lui, MD, and organized by Danette Morrison, the event provided an informal setting for students to engage with representatives from six departments and 16 surgical specialties.

Stephen Healy, MS, has been appointed associate director of faculty and staff affairs for the Integrated Business Office serving Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, and Anesthesiology, and Lisa Turner, MA, joins as manager of faculty and staff affairs supporting the Department of Surgery.

Joohyun Kim, MD, PhD, associate professor of surgery at Yale School of Medicine, has received pilot funding from the Yale Liver Center to develop a new form of life-support for patients with severe liver failure. The project is supported in part by the Yale Liver Center award NIH P30 DK034989 Clinical and Translational Core.

Kurt Schultz, MD, a general surgery resident at Yale School of Medicine, has received a Yale OHER Award for his study linking patient-reported social needs to postoperative complications. His research found that patients with at least one health-related social need had higher complication rates, longer hospital stays and were less likely to be discharged to a permanent residence.

A dozen awards honored 15 people at January's Yale Cancer Center Annual Awards for work in 2025.

Melanie Sion, MD, assistant professor of general surgery, trauma, and surgical critical care, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Association for Women Surgeons (AWS) Foundation for a three-year term. A leader in global surgical initiatives, Dr. Sion also serves as chair of the American College of Surgeons International Subcommittee and recently represented both organizations at a surgical education event in East Africa.

Yale School of Medicine faculty, Mehra Golshan, MD, MBA, and Siba Haykal, MD, PhD, have received a $1.1 million philanthropic gift to support their research and clinical work in the Department of Surgery. Established by the Healthnetwork Foundation through the bequest of a grateful patient family, the fund recognizes their close collaboration in delivering patient-centered, multidisciplinary surgical care that integrates oncologic and reconstructive expertise. The endowed support will advance innovation in surgical research and care delivery, reinforcing the impact of cross-specialty teamwork on patient outcomes and quality of life.

Prashanth Vallabhajosyula, MD, MS, professor of cardiac surgery at Yale School of Medicine and surgical director of the Aortic Institute at the Yale New Haven Health Heart & Vascular Center, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of The Thoracic Surgery Foundation (TSF), the philanthropic arm of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS).