Latest Surgery News & Announcements

Sanjay Kulkarni, MD, and the Yale New Haven Transplantation Center’s living donor program are transforming lives through living kidney donations, which offer faster transplants, better outcomes, and longer-lasting organs. The story of David N., a Middlebury man with chronic kidney disease, highlights this impact. After years on dialysis and facing an eight-year wait for a donor, David’s life changed when Deborah Dooley, a childhood acquaintance, stepped forward to donate her kidney. Dr. Kulkarni emphasized the safety and benefits of living donations, made possible by minimally invasive procedures and quick recovery times, while calling for increased public awareness to address the organ donor shortage. Deborah’s selfless act underscores the profound difference living donors can make, giving recipients like David a renewed chance at life.

Yale medical student Jake Moscarelli has been selected to deliver an oral presentation at the prestigious American Association of Plastic Surgeons (AAPS) 103rd Annual Meeting on May 26. His project, “Dual Perfusion Superomedial Pedicle in Reduction Mammoplasty - A Prospective Intraoperative Radiographic Study,” is a collaboration with principal investigator Dr. Paris Butler. Chosen from over 1,054 submissions, with only 8% accepted for podium presentations, Jake’s work exemplifies innovation and excellence. Dr. Butler praised the achievement, calling it “extraordinary” and a testament to Jake’s talent and dedication.

Sara Pai, MD, PhD, has achieved FDA orphan drug designation for pembrolizumab to treat recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP), a rare and debilitating condition. This designation, based on an investigator-initiated clinical trial conducted by Dr. Pai at Massachusetts General Hospital, highlights significant clinical benefits, with 52% of treated patients showing marked improvement. Notably, this marks a rare instance of an investigator directly submitting the application to the FDA rather than the drug’s manufacturer. The designation is expected to enhance patient access and drive further research into this promising therapy.

Dr. Sajid Khan, Chief of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary & Mixed Tumors and Co-Director of Team Science at Yale School of Medicine, has been awarded a prestigious NIH-NCI R01 grant alongside Dr. Caroline Johnson, Associate Professor at Yale School of Public Health. Their study, “Role and Regulation of Asparagine in Colorectal Cancer,” explores how asparagine influences sex-specific differences in advanced colorectal cancer progression. The newly-funded project focuses on identifying biomarkers, understanding tumor growth mechanisms, and examining dietary and microbiota-derived asparagine.

The Yale School of Medicine (YSM) Department of Surgery has received a $1 million gift from Raj and Indra Nooyi to establish the Raj and Indra Nooyi Cancer Research Fund.

The Department of Surgery’s Outcomes Center research team, including Chin Siang Ong, MBBS PhD, Nicholas Obey and Eric B. Schneider, PhD, has unveiled SurgeryLLM, a cutting-edge AI framework designed to transform surgical decision-making. Published in npj Digital Medicine, their work combines Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) with large language models to enhance efficiency and patient safety. SurgeryLLM outperforms traditional LLMs by providing evidence-based recommendations, improving diagnostic support, and streamlining documentation. This innovation addresses workforce challenges in surgical services, offering a glimpse into an AI-empowered future with better outcomes and more efficient care.

The Yale Center for Weight Management has been recognized as one of Newsweek's America’s Best Weight Loss Clinics for 2025, the only facility in Connecticut and Rhode Island to earn this honor. Led by Drs. John Morton, Wajahat Mehal, and Ania Jastreboff, the Center takes a multidisciplinary, patient-centered approach to weight management, offering services ranging from dietary counseling and psychological support to advanced medical therapies and bariatric surgery. With over 10,000 successful procedures performed, the Center is a national leader in improving health outcomes related to obesity.

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.

In an effort to strengthen communication and connection within the department, the launch of the new Coffee Chats initiative introduces structured opportunities for candid, one-on-one conversations between department faculty and the Chair.