University of California San Francisco

Muriel Steele Society Announces Awards Honoring Pioneering and Influential Women in Surgery

Muriel Steele Society
June 18, 2019

This spring, the Muriel Steele Society announced the inaugural recipients of its two annual awards honoring pioneering and influential women in surgery. Please join us in congratulating all of these inspiring women!

The Muriel Steele Society Award

Kukreja Jasleen 200The Muriel Steele Society Award is voted on by the senior residents and given annually at the Chief Resident Graduation to a woman faculty member who embodies the spirit of Muriel Steele - a woman working to identify and address the unmet needs among our surgical patients and whose research and/or clinical work is shifting the paradigms within our field in order to positively impact the experiences and outcomes of our current and future patients.

This year, the inaugural MSS Award was given to Jasleen Kukreja, MD, MPH. Dr. Kukreja immigrated to the US from India at the age of 19 after receiving her Masters Degree in molecular biology and biochemistry. She went on to get a second bachelors degree from UC Irvine, complete medical school at UCLA and residency in general surgery at the Brigham and Women's Hospital. She was the first woman to graduate from the Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellowship at UCSF and went on pursue advanced training in minimally invasive lobectomy at Cedars-Sinai.

At UCSF, she has been a true pioneer, leading the way in minimally invasive lung resections, expanding the breadth of the cardiothoracic surgery program, catapulting the lung transplant program to the elite level at which it now operates, and pushing the boundaries with ex-vivo lung perfusion and ECMO. In addition to all this, her dedication to her patients is unmatched; she is easily one of the most available, responsive, detail oriented, and caring physicians at this institution. She continually strives to improve patient experiences and outcomes and perfectly embodies the trailblazing spirit of Muriel Steele.

The Muriel Steele Society Honor Roll

The annual Muriel Steele Society Honor Roll celebrates influential and inspiring women faculty, fellows and residents in surgery and surgical sub-specialties. Current trainees (both residents and medical students) are invited to nominate women who have had a positive impact on their training and the nominees are recognized at our annual Women in Surgery Reception. This years nominees are listed below.

UCSF General Surgery

  • Nancy Ascher, MD, PhD
  • Tasce Bongiovanni, MD, MPP, MHS
  • Hillary Braun, MD
  • Ariane Christie, MD
  • Isabelle Chumfong Le Leannec, MD, MEng
  • Patricia Conroy, MD
  • Emily Finlayson, MD, MS
  • Clara Gomez-Sanchez, MD
  • Barbara Hamilton, MD
  • Jade Hiramoto, MD
  • Yvonne Kelly, MD
  • Lucy Kornblith, MD
  • Elizabeth Lancaster, MD
  • Carter Lebares, MD
  • Marisa Pulcrano, MD
  • Sanziana Roman, MD
  • Amanda Sammann, MD, MPH
  • Carolyn Seib, MD, MAS
  • Nichole Starr, MD, MPH
  • Lygia Stewart, MD
  • Elaine Tseng, MD
  • Mika Varma, MD
  • Lan Vu, MD
  • Laura Wong, MD, PhD
  • Gavitt Woodard, MD

UCSF East Bay General Surgery

Katherine Stern, MD 

UCSF ENT

Nina Zhao, MD 

UCSF OB/GYN

Joanne Gras, DO 

UCSF OMFS

Jennifer Perkins, DDS, MD 

UCSF Ophthalmology

Julie Schallhorn, MD, MS 

UCSF Orthopedics

Nicole Schroeder, MD 

UCSF/CHO Orthopedics

Coleen Sabatini, MD, MPH 

Kaiser Oakland General Surgery

Francisca Maertens, MD 

UCSF Urology

Sima Porten, MD, MPH
Bogdana Schmidt, MD, MPH

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Muriel Steele Society