Using medicine to enact social justice drew me to healthcare. My experiences with patient populations both domestically and abroad has allowed me to develop an idea of “surgical justice”: the use of surgery to address social justice issues. Plastic and reconstructive surgery lends itself perfectly to this idea, whether it be working with individuals with clefts, burn victims, injured veterans, or the gender diverse population. I plan to use my career to work towards “surgical justice” through the lens of advocacy, policy, research and the patients I will serve.
I studied Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at the University of Arizona. After graduating Summa Cum Laude and with Honors, and receiving the Most Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis Award, I continued to study Biochemistry and Biophysics, eventually receiving a Master of Science. My research was focused on protein evolution and function. I spent the year after my graduate studies as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Zürich in Switzerland. My work in the laboratory of Dr. Andreas Plückthun focused on protein engineering as a means to target and kill breast cancers.
At Stanford University School of Medicine, my research focused on global health, especially in Central Europe. I worked with clinics in Albania and the World Health Organization in Kosovo as a David L. Boren Fellow. Upon return to Stanford, I pursued wound healing and stem cell research in Dr. Michael T. Longaker's Laboratory as an Howard Hughes Medical Institute Medical Research Fellow.
I completed my residency in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Washington and fellowships in gender-affirming surgery at the University of Michigan and Universitair Ziekenhuis Gent (Ghent University Hospital) in Ghent, Belgium. Clinically, I am interested in microsurgery, pediatric soft tissue reconstruction and gender-affirming surgery. I hope to be a leader in Plastic Surgery, doer of "surgical justice," and relentless patient advocate.
I studied Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at the University of Arizona. After graduating Summa Cum Laude and with Honors, and receiving the Most Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis Award, I continued to study Biochemistry and Biophysics, eventually receiving a Master of Science. My research was focused on protein evolution and function. I spent the year after my graduate studies as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Zürich in Switzerland. My work in the laboratory of Dr. Andreas Plückthun focused on protein engineering as a means to target and kill breast cancers.
At Stanford University School of Medicine, my research focused on global health, especially in Central Europe. I worked with clinics in Albania and the World Health Organization in Kosovo as a David L. Boren Fellow. Upon return to Stanford, I pursued wound healing and stem cell research in Dr. Michael T. Longaker's Laboratory as an Howard Hughes Medical Institute Medical Research Fellow.
I completed my residency in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Washington and fellowships in gender-affirming surgery at the University of Michigan and Universitair Ziekenhuis Gent (Ghent University Hospital) in Ghent, Belgium. Clinically, I am interested in microsurgery, pediatric soft tissue reconstruction and gender-affirming surgery. I hope to be a leader in Plastic Surgery, doer of "surgical justice," and relentless patient advocate.
