SAAS Stories Essay Competition Winner 2024

The Presidential Address at the 10th Annual Meeting of the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons (SAAS) was delivered by Ankush Gosain, MD, PhD, President of SAAS, titled “The Power of Parts and the Strength of the Whole: A SAAS Reflection and Vision.” The address blended personal reflection, historical context, and a forward-looking strategic roadmap for the society’s next decade.

At the 10th Annual Meeting of the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons (SAAS), attendees had the opportunity to hear the Kuo Family Lectureship delivered by Jackie Wong of McKinsey & Company. His lecture, “Inclusive Leadership in the Workplace,” provided a data-driven and pragmatic examination of how inclusion—or the lack thereof—shapes workplace experience and leadership advancement across industries, with clear relevance to academic medicine and healthcare.

At SAAS, we come to find community, support, inspiration, and mentorship. This year, we interviewed Dr. Maggie Liang (Cedars Sinai Gynecologic Oncologist) about her first SAAS meeting and Dr. Herb Chen (UAB Endocrine surgeon, former Foundation President and one of the founders of SAAS).

Our winter stories include submissions from Alex Park, Peyton Seda, and Ayesha Ng

The 2025 SAAS meeting hosted one of its most influential sessions yet: a gathering of current and former chairs, chiefs, and national leaders to reflect on the Society’s first decade and to chart the course forward.

Dr. Christian Miguel de Virgilio was the second person chosen for the inaugural Carlos A. Pellegrini lectureship, following the titular speaker himself who gave the talk last year. As Dr. Pellegrini could not attend in person, a video was played to introduce the lectureship.

This year, thanks to the joint SAAS and LSS meeting, we had the privilege of hearing the Latino Surgical Society (LSS) Presidential Address delivered by the first LSS president, Dr. Minerva Romero Arenas.

Dr. Mark Zhang is best known as the “app guy” who developed his first company at the MIT Hacking Medicine Conference. Dr. Zhang, the Director of the Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning (OHIL) at the Department of Veterans Affairs, described his journey…

The inaugural joint SAAS/LSS meeting, held at a stunning venue, opened with an insightful session led by Dr. Yuman Fong from City of Hope. Dr. Fong delivered welcoming remarks and shared the institution’s rich history, noting its role as the birthplace of insulin in 1978.

It was an easy quick flight from Iowa city to Buffalo. Faisal, a second-year Surgical Oncology fellow at Roswell Park, picked me up from the hotel and brought me to a local restaurant, Patina, where we enjoyed an excellent dinner with several key institutional leaders: Dr. Moshim Kukar (Chair), Sai (Vice President), Dr. Dakwar (Medical Director of Perioperative Services), Dr. Steven Nurkin (Chief Value Officer), and first-year fellow Elizabeth Olecki

On behalf of Dr. Yuman Fong, City of Hope Department of Surgery Chair, we are so excited to welcome you to the Orange County on September 4-5, 2025 for the 10th Annual SAAS meeting and the inaugural SAAS/Latino Surgical Society (LSS) Joint Meeting.

On behalf of Dr. Yuman Fong, City of Hope Department of Surgery Chair, we are so excited to welcome you to the Orange County on September 4-5, 2025 for the 10th Annual SAAS meeting and the inaugural SAAS/Latino Surgical Society (LSS) Joint Meeting.

On behalf of Dr. Yuman Fong, City of Hope Department of Surgery Chair, we are so excited to welcome you to the Orange County on September 4-5, 2025 for the 10th Annual SAAS meeting and the inaugural SAAS/Latino Surgical Society (LSS) Joint Meeting.

Read the essays from the SAAS Communications Committee’s second SAAS Stories Essay Competition.

The Society of Asian Academic Surgeons has launched its very own podcast – SAAS Sounds!

The Society of Asian Academic Surgeons has launched its very own podcast – SAAS Sounds!

Read the essays from the SAAS Communications Committee’s second SAAS Stories Essay Competition.

SAAS members discuss the environment around diversity, equity, and inclusion and how academic institutions have adapted to the pressure.

Dr. Jessica Zagory shares her experiences as the SAAS Peter and Margaret Wang Visiting Professor to the University of Tennessee – Memphis.

We interviewed Dr. Ben Wei, a UAB thoracic surgeon, and Dr. Hueylan Chern, a UCSF colorectal surgeon, who are cousins and reconnected at the SAAS social event at the New Orleans Aquarium.

Read the essays from the SAAS Communications Committee’s second SAAS Stories Essay Competition.

Kim I de la Cruz, MD, recipient of the SAAS-SUS Leadership Agility Scholarship, reflects on the experience.

Tania K. Arora, MD, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham presents “Don’t let DEI DIE!” as part of her visit to Loyola University.

SAAS President Dr. Eugene Kim discusses the ups and downs of his professional journey during his Presidential Address at this year’s SAAS Annual Meeting.

Dr. Ala Stanford from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of the Mid-Atlantic discusses health equity during her keynote address at this year’s SAAS Annual Meeting.

At the 2024 SAAS Annual Meeting, Dr. Heung Bae Kim from Boston Children’s Hospital discusses his journey in surgical innovation at the Kui and Wai Fong Keynote.

Author Patricia Park discusses the complex layers of identity and belonging in this year’s Kuo Family Lecture at the 2024 SAAS Annual Meeting.

Drs. Dong-Jun Min, Ankush Gosain, and Chrissy Guidry discuss building a personal brand in the Professional Development Session at the 2024 SAAS Annual Meeting.

The Society of Asian Academic Surgeons will hold its ninth annual meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, Sept. 5-6, 2024, with keynote speaker Patricia Park.

Daniel Chu, MD, recounts his visit to Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan, for the 4th Fundamentals of Surgical Research and Career Advancement Course.

Christy Yoon-Hee Chai, MD, reflects on the Society of University Surgeons Mid-Career Academic Surgery Professional Development Course on Feb. 5, 2024.

Carlos H.F. Chan MD, PhD, recaps recent work from the SAAS Communications Committee on The Lotus Scroll and on social media.

Read the first few stories from the SAAS Communications Committee’s first-ever SAAS Stories Essay Competition.

Congratulations to the 2024-2025 SAAS Visiting Professors, as well as our other recent award and accolade recipients: Drs. Oliver Eng, Annabelle Fonseca, Kevin Koo, Tammy Holm, Victoria Lai, Melanie Ongchin, James Wu, Jessica Zagory, Zhi Ven Fong, Christy Yoon-Hee Chai, Lillian Kao, Sandra Wong, Danny Chu, and Brenessa Lindeman.

Read the latest from Eugene S. Kim, MD, incoming president of the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons.

Carlos H.F. Chan, MD, PhD, from the University of Iowa reflects on his visit to Mayo Clinic in Florida as a 2023-2024 SAAS Visiting Professor for the Raymond and Rose Tseng-SAAS Lectureship.

Jeffrey B. Velotta, MD, from Kaiser/University of California San Francisco, reflects on his visit to City of Hope as a 2023-2024 SAAS Visiting Professor.

SAAS leaders and members Drs. Susan Tsai, Eugene Kim, Tracy Wang, Tejal Brahmbhatt, Jennifer Kuo, Vikas Dudeja, Connie Shao, and Gopika SenthilKumar served as panelists for the National South Asian Medical Student Association (SAMSA) conference.

Dr. Tracy Wang gifted four medical students and current Associate Members of the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons—Gopika SenthilKumar, Paulina Gutkin, Carson Gehl, and Ajiel Bamayor—a SAAS auction item purchased at our annual conference, a “Self-Care Day with Dr. Jennifer Tseng.”

SAAS members attend a Japanese whiskey tasting fundraiser, hosted by Dr. Herbert Chen at the 2023 SAAS Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland.

General Surgery Resident Natalie Nadia Hisae Merchant, MD, discusses lessons learned from her family and their history and how they have influenced her experiences, identity and perspective.

The SAAS Sips for Medical Students Series is a casual, low-stress setting for trainees to interact with SAAS leaders. The Nov. 2, 2023, event focused on “Acing the Residency Interview.”

This year’s Kuo Family Lecture was given by Jason Kalirai, PhD, at the 2023 SAAS Annual Meeting. Dr Kalirai is the Mission Area Executive for Civil Space in the Space Exploration Sector of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.

Susan Tsai, MD, MHS, delivered her Presidential Address to the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons at the 2023 SAAS Annual Meeting, titled “Navigating the Bamboo Ceiling: Empowering AAPI Surgeons for Success.”

Johns Hopkins University’s Kazuhiko Yamada, MD, PhD, delivered the SAAS 2023 Kui and Wai Fong Lectureship where he discussed his work in xenotransplantation.

Watch videos from the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons’ eighth annual meeting, held Sept. 14-15, 2023, and hosted by Hopkins Medicine.

As the surgical workforce makes strides toward greater gender and minority representation, Dr. Meghal Shah proposes ways to make the operating room, including surgical instrument design, more accessible for everyone.

Join the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons in Baltimore, Maryland, September 14-15, 2023, for the SAAS 8th annual meeting, hosted by Johns Hopkins Department of Surgery and Dr. Andrew Cameron.

Congratulations to our members for their recent accomplishments, including Dr. Mayur B. Patel who has been named Chief of the Division of Acute Care Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

This season’s “A Moment with SAAS” features one of our founding members, Dr. Herbert Chen, chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

We share program faculty and attendee reflections from the SAAS Executive Healthcare Leadership Academy, Jan. 26-28, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

SAAS congratulates Drs. Kenric Murayama, Thomas Varghese, Ankush Gosain, Shaun Kunisaki, and Vikas Dudeja for their recent accomplishments.

Congratulations to the 2023-2024 SAAS Visiting Professors: Drs. Tania Arora, Monica Dua, Emily Keung, Anai Kothari, Aarti Mathur, and Jeff Velotta.

Medical students Gopika SenthilKumar and Nate Verhagen attended their first SAAS meeting in September and said the meeting offered a place for trainees to build new, lasting relationships.

One of the highlights of the 2022 SAAS 7th Annual Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, was Dr. Allan J. Tsung’s SAAS Presidential Address, “Have I Truly Made It?”

This “A Moment with SAAS” features SAAS President Dr. Susan Tsai and General Surgery Resident Dr. Alice Lee, both from the Medical College of Wisconsin.

“Why do we always have to play the side part? Why aren’t we the protagonist of the story?” asks award-winning filmmaker Debbie Lum at this year’s 2022 Kuo Family Lectureship.

The 2022 Kui and Wai Fong Lectureship was delivered by Professor David Hu from Georgia Institute of Technology. David Hu is a professor of mechanical engineering who draws inspiration from his observation of nature.

Connie Shao, MD, discusses the importance of sustainability in surgery in this issue of the Lotus Scroll.

Andrea Gillis, MS, discusses the importance of membership in the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons in this issue of the Lotus Scroll.

In light of recent events, the Lotus Scroll dives into the experiences of Asian Americans with regard to diversity, equity, and inclusion work in medicine.

Congratulations to the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 Society of Asian Academic Surgeons Visiting Professors!

Join us for the long-awaited, in-person annual meeting of the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons in Honolulu, Hawaii, September 16-19, 2022.

The Society of Asian Academic Surgeons would like to congratulate our members on their many recent accomplishments.

Tracy S. Wang, MD, MPH, delivered her Presidential Address to the Society during the 2021 SAAS 6th Annual Meeting, focusing on her thoughts regarding Asian American identity in relation to her role as SAAS president for the past two years.

Hahrie Han, PhD, gives a talk on social movements, titled “People, Power, and Politics in 21st c. America,” at the 2021 Kuo Family Lectureship.

James Lee, MD, presents “Innovations in Surgical Education: Metacognition and Technology in Surgical Training” at this year’s Kui and Wai Fong Lectureship.

SAAS President Dr. Allan Tsung discusses this year’s SAAS annual meeting, the pandemic and the future of the society in his December 2021 President’s Message.

This year’s SAAS annual meeting will be tentatively held in person, Sept. 25-26, 2021, at the Northwestern School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Lindsey Zhang discusses the recent rise in hate crimes, racial discrimination and violence toward the Asian American community.

Dr. Hassan Mashbar, a trauma fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses his experience with Ramadan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Lotus Scroll interviews George Yang, MD, PhD, former president of the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons.

Congrats to the winners of the SAAS Resident/Fellow Development Scholarships and the Association of Women Surgeons Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Awards.

The fifth annual Society of Asian Academic Surgeons meeting is now virtual and will be held Sept. 24-25, 2020, from 3-5 p.m. EST.

Congratulations to the 2018-2019 SAAS Foundation Visiting Professors! SAAS Foundation Visiting Professorships support travel to host institutions for junior faculty to give grand rounds and increase the national visibility of rising stars in academic surgery.

This year, SAAS was active more than ever on Twitter! In addition to updates and announcements, more content was created for our followers to improve engagement, highlight issues and events important to our society and members, and promote the activities at SAAS.

The deadline to submit an abstract for the 2020 SAAS Annual Meeting is May 27.

First, as the current pandemic continues to affect our communities and families, we want to express our profound gratitude to our surgical colleagues and to all healthcare professionals who are the frontlines of caring for patients with the SARS-CoV2 virus/COVID-19.

The Lotus Scroll is honored to interview Kenric Murayama, MD, this year’s host of the SAAS Annual Meeting.

SAAS President Dr. Tracy Wang discusses how far the Society has come and what’s in store for 2020 in her December 2019 President’s Message.

SAAS held its 2019 Annual Meeting at the Boston Medical Center, Sept. 26-27, with more than 148 scientific presentations and breakout sessions.

At this year’s American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress, SAAS received approval for a seat on the ACS Board of Governors.

The fourth annual meeting of the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons will be held in Boston, Massachusetts, Sept. 26-27, 2019, and promises to be an incredibly fun, impactful and meaningful gathering of academic surgeons, trainees and students from both the U.S. and abroad.

Jennifer Tseng, MD, MPH, is the James Utley Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at Boston University School of Medicine and surgeon-in-chief at Boston Medical Center.

Welcome to the launch of Lotus Scroll, the official newsletter of the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons (SAAS). Through the Lotus Scroll, we are excited to distribute and enhance the vision of SAAS: to promote diversity and inclusion in academic surgery through the sponsorship and development of its leaders.