Thoracic Oncology News & Events

We are pleased to announce that Johannes Kratz, MD has been selected as UCSF's first Medical Director of Robotic Surgery. Johannes has served as co-Director of the UCSF Health Robotic Executive committee from 2018-2022 and in 2022 became sole director of the same. Under his careful stewardship, robotic surgeries have grown year over year adding additional service lines and placing UCSF at the forefront of technological innovation in the use of robotic technology in surgery. Johannes has led the development of a robotics dashboard tracking both volume and key performance indicators important [...]

Each year INTERLINK identifies the nation's top-performing transplant programs through our Performance Model Program. Their analytical approach has identified University of California SanFrancisco Medical Center as INTERLINK's #1 performing program for lung transplantation in their Programs of Excellence network. In recognition of this outstanding performance, INTERLINK is presenting them with the 2023 Chairman's Award for transplant excellence. Please join us in congratulating the UCSF Health, Lung Transplant program for their excellent performance!  

On National Women Physicians Day, the Muriel Steele Society and the UCSF Department of Surgery honor the amazing team of women surgeons, scientists, learners, and staff that have made so many important contributions to improving the lives of our patients. About the Muriel Steele Society at UCSF The Muriel Steele Society is an inclusive community dedicated to inspiring, supporting, and promoting women surgeons so they can thrive at all stages of their careers. We will be hosting events throughout the year to foster a strong community of allies and to achieve the goal of continued [...]

Committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion UCSF and the Department and Surgery are committed to building a broadly diverse community, nurturing a culture that is welcoming and supportive, and engaging diverse ideas for the provision of culturally competent education, discovery, and patient care. Chancellor Awards for Diversity Chancellor Awards for Diversity recognize the outstanding efforts of individuals who demonstrate a strong dedication to diversity. Individuals recognized are leaders and pioneers in their respective fields and to the communities in which they serve. We are proud [...]

Andrew Wisneski, MD, recent General Surgery Residency graduate class of 2022 and first -year Thoracic Surgery Resident won the Lawrence W. Way Critical Thinking Award. The Lawrence W. Way Critical Thinking Award, chosen by faculty only, recognizes the chief resident who has demonstrated a notable ability to critically interpr et and apply current medical concepts to the care of each patient. The award is named in honor of Dr. Way, Professor Emeritus, and was established in 2013.

Melissa H. Coleman, MD accepted a new Medical Leadership position and is now the Director of UCSF Medicine's Clinical Immersive Experiences (CIEx).  CIExes are elective opportunities meant for career exploration or skills building in areas of clinical interest. Medical students will have six 2-week blocks during which they will participate in three to four 2-week CIExes. Committed to medical education, Dr. Coleman also serves as the associate program director for the Thoracic Surgery Residency Program and has won numerous teaching awards. Dr. Coleman is board certified in Thoracic Surgery [...]

Dr. Melissa H. Coleman is one of the seventh faculty members in the UCSF Department of Surgery to receive the Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educator's Excellence in Teaching Award 2021. The Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators is dedicated to creating an environment that enhances the status of teachers at UCSF, promotes and rewards teaching excellence, fosters curricular innovation, and encourages scholarship in medical education.  The Academy's Excellence in Teaching Awards are peer-nominated and recognize the many "front-line" faculty members who are involved in teaching [...]

We are excited to announce that Tom C. Nguyen, MD, FACS, FACC has been named the new Chief of the Division of Adult Cardiothoracic Surgery and the Helen and Charles Schwab Distinguished Professor of Surgery in the Department of Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco.  Dr. Nguyen comes to UCSF from the University of Texas Houston (UT-H), where he is Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Chief of Cardiac Surgery, Director of Minimally Invasive Valve Surgery, and Co-Director of Structural Heart Disease.    At UT-H, Dr. Nguyen flourished in a productive practice, with more than [...]

UCSF surgeon-scientist Johannes R. Kratz, M.D. was awarded a Junior Clinical Investigator Award from the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Care Center. This mentored award is given to a junior clinical investigator to support their research efforts in the early stages of their career. Dr. Kratz was given this prestigious award to pursue the study of the tumor immune microenvironment in high-risk early-stage lung cancer.   The Kratz lab focuses on the genetic and immunological mechanisms that drive early-stage, surgically resectable thoracic malignancies. These malignancies include lung [...]

In recognition of Melissa H. Coleman, M.D.'s professionalism, excellence, dedication, and contribution to the teaching of the Thoracic Surgery Residents, Dr. Coleman was selected to be the recipient of the UCSF Thoracic Surgery Residency Program Teaching Award for FY19-20. Coleman earned her medical degree from the Weill Cornell Medical College at Cornell University. Subsequently, Coleman completed her General Surgery Residency followed by a Surgical Critical Care and Clinical Nutrition Fellowship at Brigham and Women's Hospital of Harvard University in 2014, 2015, 2016 respectively. In [...]

Since the first community-transmission of Covid-19 was identified in the United States on February 26, 2020,1 the medical community has experienced an upheaval like never before. Looking to the experiences abroad, urgent steps were taken to reduce surgical cases and preserve inpatient capacity for a potential surge of Covid-19 patients.2 Many patients in need of nonurgent but essential surgical care were delayed those services. At the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), we recognized the need to avoid adverse outcomes associated with delaying much-needed cancer, cardiovascular, [...]

Barbara C. S. Hamilton, M.D., M.A.S., a cardiothoracic surgery fellow at UCSF, has been awarded a UCSF COVID-19 Related Rapid Research Pilot Initiative grant for her project titled "Safe reinstitution of elective surgeries with universal testing at UCSF during the COVID-19 pandemic". The project has been chosen for funding by the UCSF Chancellor's COVID Gift Fund within the Initiative Collective in the overall amount of $5,000 for a one-year project period. Dr. Hamilton is mentored in her research activities by Dr. Johannes Kratz, Associate Program Director of the Thoracic Surgery Residency [...]

"Looking at the genomic aspect of tumors allows us to get deeper than just looking at the microscopic appearance of the tumor and see how aggressive they are biologically," said Johannes Kratz, MD, FACS, director of minimally invasive and robotic thoracic surgery at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and coauthor of the study that was published in December 2019 in JAMA Network Open. "We can make a more accurate prediction of which patients will recur and better predict survival." Dr Kratz said that incorporating molecular analyses to determine patients' prognoses helps address [...]

Kai Ihnken, M.D. has been awarded the Inaugural UCSF Thoracic Residency Program Teaching Award for FY2018-2019, in recognition of his outstanding teaching efforts for thoracic surgery residents inside and outside of the OR.  Dr. Kai Ihnken is cardiac and heart transplant surgeon who specializes in advanced state-of-the-art surgical therapies for heart failure. Dr. Ihnken received his medical degree from Justus Liebig University, Giessen Germany with Summa cum laude. Subsequently, he completed residencies at J.W. Goethe University and Albert-Ludwigs University in Germany and Stanford [...]

UCSF surgeon-scientist Johannes R. Kratz, M.D. has been awarded the Michael DeBakey Research Scholarship by the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) and AATS Foundation. This two-year research scholarship is awarded annually to a single North American surgeon committed to pursuing an academic career in cardiothoracic surgery. Dr. Kratz was given this prestigious award for the study of genetic and immunologic determinants of recurrent early-stage lung cancer. The Kratz Lab focuses on the genetic and immunological mechanisms that drive early-stage, surgically resectable thoracic [...]

Greg J. Haro, MD, a general surgery resident at UCSF, has been named a 2019 STAT Wunderkind by STAT News, a journal that reports the latest in health, medicine, and scientific discoveries. This prestigious award is given to early-career scientists who are performing groundbreaking research. Dr. Haro is currently a PGY-4 general surgery resident who completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in the UCSF Thoracic Oncology Lab. His work, featured in his STAT Wunderkind piece, is dedicated to the modernization of lung cancer staging based upon the incorporation of patient-specific gene [...]

The Department of Surgery warmly welcomes our new clinical fellows for the 2019-20 academic year, a diverse group of surgeons bringing a rich array of experiences from leading institutions.  Abdominal Transplant Surgery Carrie Thiessen, M.D., Ph.D. Clinical Fellow (PGY-6)Abdominal Transplant Surgery Steven Wisel, M.D., B.S. Clinical Fellow (PGY-6)Abdominal Transplant Surgery Advanced GI/MIS/Bariatrics Kiavash R. Koko, M.D. Clinical Fellow (PGY-6)Advanced [...]

UCSF Assistant Professor Bhairavi Tolani, Ph.D., a member of the UCSF Thoracic Oncology Lab, was awarded the Hellman Family - Early Career Faculty Award for 2019-2020.  Established by Warren & Chris Hellman and their children in 1994, the purpose of the Hellman Fellows Program is to support the research of promising assistant professors who show capacity for great distinction in their chosen fields of endeavor. Dr. Tolani received this prestigious award for the study of autophagy as a therapeutic strategy in pancreatic cancer.    Dr. Tolani's research is focused on developing targeted [...]

Despite adoption of molecular biomarkers in the management of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the recently adopted 8th Edition staging utilized only clinicopathologic characteristics, and validated improvement in risk stratification of early-stage disease remains elusive. We therefore evaluated the integration of a clinically-validated molecular prognostic classifier into conventional staging.... Incorporation of a molecular prognostic classifier significantly improved identification of high-risk patients and survival predictions compared to conventional staging. TNMB may lead to [...]

Gavitt A. Woodard, M.D., a cardiothoracic surgery fellow at UCSF, has been awarded an Intuitive Surgical Robotics Fellowship from the American Association of Thoracic Surgeons (AATS) Foundation. This opportunity provides advanced robotic training and certification to a select group of fellows each year. Dr. Woodard will attend the course with her sponsoring faculty mentor Johannes Kratz, M.D. who leads the Thoracic Robotic Surgery Program at UCSF.  While a general surgery resident at UCSF, Dr. Woodard received her Robotic Qualification Equivalency Certificate (QEC) from Intuitive Surgical. [...]