Panel
Carter Lebares, MD, FACS
Assistant professor of surgery, University of California San Francisco (UCSF)
Dr. Lebares is a clinically active gastrointestinal surgeon specializing in acute care surgery and advanced minimally invasive surgery of the foregut. She earned her MD from the University of Minnesota, completed surgical residency training at UCSF, and performed fellowship training at IRCAD in France. Her academic research focuses on understanding the burden of stress among surgeons, effects on cognition and performance, factors (individual, systemic, and institutional) that influence this process, and on developing and testing a tailored mindfulness-based intervention called Enhanced Stress Resilience Training (ESRT). In the role of principal investigator, she has conducted a national cross-sectional study of burnout and distress in surgery trainees, a comprehensive feasibility study of formal mindfulness training in surgery interns, and two pilot RCTs in surgery PGY-1s testing the effects of ESRT on burnout, executive function, epigenetic markers of physiologic distress, motor skills, and functional neuroimaging during an emotional regulation task. She has disseminated her findings locally, nationally, and internationally, working to bring feasible and effective mindfulness-based cognitive skills to surgeons in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, sub-Sahara Africa, and the Middle East, as well as to veterinarians within the American Zoologic Association. She lives in San Francisco, CA.
Mary L. Brandt, MD, FACS, FAAP
Professor of surgery and pediatrics, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans
Dr. Brandt is an internationally recognized pediatric surgeon, clinical researcher, and educator. She is currently professor of surgery, Tulane University, following a long and distinguished career as professor of surgery, pediatrics, and medical ethics at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX. She also held numerous leadership roles at Baylor College of Medicine including program director of general surgery, vice chair of education in the department of surgery, and senior associate dean of student affairs.
An established and successful clinical researcher, Dr. Brandt has published more than 220 peer-reviewed publications, 26 chapters, and two books. In addition to pediatric surgery, she has interest and expertise in physician wellness and speaks and writes regularly on compassion fatigue, work-life balance, and the art of medicine.
Yue-Yung Hu, MD, MPH, FACS
Attending physician, pediatric surgery; member, Lurie Children's Surgical Foundation; assistant professor of surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago
Dr. Hu is a pediatric surgeon at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and a health
services researcher at the Surgical Outcomes and Quality Improvement Center at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. Her research focuses on surgical education, wellness, and outcomes. She is co-principal investigator of the SECOND Trial, a national study of the learning environment and resident well-being in 215 general surgery residency programs. She is also an associate program director of the general surgery residency program at Northwestern.
Lauren DeCaporale-Ryan, PhD
Clinical psychologist and assistant professor of psychiatry, medicine, and surgery, University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), NY
Dr. DeCaporale-Ryan is a clinical psychologist specializing in physician-patient communication coaching, interprofessional teams, and clinician well-being. At the URMC, she is an assistant professor of psychiatry, medicine, and surgery. She is the co-director of the URMC Physician Communication Coaching Academy and is director of their adult psychology internship, associate director of the integrated care family psychology fellowship, and associate program director of resident wellness in general surgery. She maintains a clinical practice serving aging individuals, those with chronic medical illness, and their families.
Taylor S. Riall, MD, PhD, FACS
Professor and interim chair of the department of surgery, University of Arizona, College of Medicine – Tucson
Dr. Riall is a professor and interim chair of the department of surgery at the University of Arizona, College of Medicine – Tucson. Her clinical expertise is in general and pancreaticobiliary surgery, including pancreatic and periampullary cancer, acute and chronic pancreatitis, gallstone disease, gastrointestinal cancer, and general surgery. She has extensive expertise in comparative effectiveness and health services research. Her research has focused on the quality of cancer care and the care of surgical patients. Dr. Riall was president of the Society of University Surgeons in 2018. She is also an executive leadership coach and trained at the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching. She applies her leadership training as a developmental tool to help surgeons and residents reach their full potential by raising self-awareness, developing emotional intelligence, clarifying their goals, identifying and addressing personal challenges, and consciously improving and integrating the many facets of their lives.
* Dimou FM, Eckelbarger D, Riall TS. Surgeon Burnout: A Systematic Review. Journal of the American College of Surgeons. 2016; 222(6): 1230-9.
