Latest Surgery News & Announcements

Mehra Golshan, MD, MBA, FACS, has been accepted as a member of the Academy of Master Surgeon Educators of the American College of Surgeons, the academy's highest membership designation. He will be formally inducted in September. Election as a member recognizes nationally and internationally distinguished surgeon educators for excellence in leadership, mentorship and innovation.

Ira Leeds, MD, MBA, has received a five-year, more than $3 million Veterans Affairs (VA) Career Development Award-2 (CDA-2) to study how psychosocial risk factors contribute to complications following major cancer surgery among veterans. His project will use artificial intelligence to identify psychosocial risks before surgery and evaluate a wraparound nurse navigation model to provide targeted support. Building on previous research showing that addressing these risk factors can reduce related postoperative complications by as much as 50%, the study aims to identify the factors most strongly associated with poor surgical outcomes and lay the foundation for interventions that improve recovery and long-term cancer outcomes for veterans.

Michelle Kim, MD, MS, assistant professor of surgery in the Division of Organ Transplantation & Immunology, recently performed Yale New Haven Hospital’s first two robotic living donor nephrectomies, marking a significant milestone in the hospital’s kidney transplant program. Using the da Vinci 5 robotic surgical system, Kim successfully removed donor kidneys from two women who each donated to their husbands, with both donors and recipients recovering well.

Kiran Turaga, MD, MPH, division chief of Surgical Oncology, along with Anup Sharma, PhD, research scientist, and co-principal investigators Mark Saltzman, PhD, Sterling Professor and chair of Biomedical Engineering, and Michael Girardi, MD, Evans Professor of Dermatology, received a $200,000, two-year POINTS award from Yale to advance a bioadhesive nanotherapy for colorectal and appendiceal cancers with peritoneal metastasis. The project will optimize a nanoparticle platform, generate preclinical data, and build resources to support future clinical translation and large NIH program grant applications.

After five years with Yale Surgery, Associate Communications Officer Stevi Kramer has accepted a new position with the Yale Peabody Museum's Student Programs Office, where she will begin on July 6. We thank Stevi for her many contributions and wish her continued success. We are also pleased to welcome Larissa Breedlove, who joins Yale Surgery as Communications Officer on July 13. Larissa comes to us from Weill Cornell Medicine, bringing extensive experience in healthcare communications, executive communications, and strategic storytelling. We look forward to the expertise and enthusiasm she will bring to our department.

Peter Gruber, MD, PhD, has been appointed chair of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery's (AATS) Scientific Affairs and Government Relations (SAGR) Committee for a three-year term. The appointment recognizes his leadership in pediatric cardiac surgery and research, as well as his commitment to advancing research, innovation, and advocacy in cardiothoracic surgery. As chair of SAGR, Gruber will help guide national efforts to strengthen research collaborations, funding opportunities, and technological innovation within the field of cardiothoracic surgery.

The Department of Surgery honored its 2025–26 Yale Surgery Citizenship Award recipients during the annual Summer BBQ on June 23 at Harkness Patio. The awards recognize faculty and staff whose dedication, collaboration, and service strengthen the department community. This year’s honorees were recognized for their outstanding contributions with the Extra Mile Award, which honors those who consistently go above and beyond, and the Helping Hand Award, which recognizes exceptional contributions to specific projects, initiatives, or circumstances. View photos from the event and see the full list of award recipients here.

The Department of Surgery congratulates Alfonsina (Allie) Fraschilla, MBA, division director, on completing the competitive Yale EMERGE Program, an eight-month leadership development initiative that includes executive coaching, leadership training, cross-functional collaboration, and a capstone project advancing Yale strategic priorities. Her capstone, “Reimagining the Yale Alumni Magazine,” explored ways to strengthen alumni engagement and lifelong connection through enhanced storytelling and audience engagement across platforms. Fraschilla oversees operations and finances for multiple surgical divisions and serves as interim division director for Transplant Surgery, reflecting her leadership across the department and broader Yale community.

Yale New Haven Hospital and the Department of Surgery at Yale School of Medicine (YSM) have launched an internal search for a surgical director for perioperative services. This key leadership role will partner with nursing, anesthesiology, and administrative leaders to advance quality and safety, operational excellence, patient experience, resource stewardship, and regulatory compliance across the perioperative environment. Open to YSM surgical faculty, the position reports jointly to the chair of surgery and surgeon-in-chief for Yale New Haven Health (YNHHS) and the senior vice president of surgical services for YNHHS. Applications, including a CV and letter of interest, are due by July 17, 2026.