Dr. Pugh to Receive AWS Braunwald Award
August 7, 2025
Dr. Carla Pugh has been selected as the Association of Women Surgeons' (AWS) 2025 Nina Starr Braunwald Award recipient. This award recognizes a surgeon for their sustained, outstanding contributions to the advancement of women in surgery.
Dr. Crystal Johnson-Mann, an MIS/bariatric surgeon at the University of Florida, submitted Pugh's nomination. Johnson-Mann says she first met Pugh when Pugh visited the Medical University of South Carolina in 2017, where Johnson-Mann was a student.
"It was not lost on me at the time that she was also the first Black female surgeon that had visited our institution as a visiting professor during my entire residency and only the 2nd Black female attending surgeon I had encountered up to that point,” wrote Johnson-Mann in her nomination letter to the AWS.
Johnson-Mann was able to deepen her relationship with Pugh through their work with the Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS). "She is a staunch supporter of women in medicine and beyond. This is manifested in her demands for equitable treatment of women in surgery and her long history of mentoring women as high school students, pre-medical students, medical students, post-docs, residents, and female faculty,” she wrote.
Dr. John Stewart IV, the current president of SBAS, also wrote a letter of support for Pugh. He wrote, “Dr. Pugh is not only an innovator in the science of surgery, but she is also a role model of resilience, brilliance, and generosity. In honoring her, the AWS would be uplifting the very ideals that Nina Starr Braunwald embodied: vision, courage, mentorship, and transformational leadership in surgery.”
The award will be presented at the AWS's annual Gala on October 5, 2025 in Chicago.
Media Contact
Bio
About Stanford Surgery
The Stanford University Department of Surgery is dedicated to inventing the future of surgical care through:
• pioneering cutting-edge research,
• developing the next generation of leaders, and
• healing through incomparable surgical skills and compassion.
To learn more, please visit surgery.stanford.edu
The Latest
stanfordgensurg on InstagramDr. Wren Named Alum of the Year by Stritch School of Medicine
Congratulations to Dr. Sherry Wren, who has been named an Alum of the Year by Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine. Dr. Wren, who received her MD at Stritch in 1986, is being recognized for “Excellence in Community Service.” The award will be presented at the Stritch Reunion Weekend in October.
SurgeryA Smaller Incision Offers a New Approach to Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy
Stanford surgeon Dr. Jean Bao introduces endoscopic nipple-sparing mastectomy, a minimally invasive approach that uses a smaller lateral incision while preserving the breast skin and nipple. The technique may improve surgical visualization, reduce tissue retraction, and support an easier recovery for appropriately selected patients undergoing cancer treatment or risk-reducing surgery.
SurgeryPostdoc Spotlight: Ken Neiser, PhD
Ken Nieser, an investigator with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Stanford's S-SPIRE Center, applies statistical models to health data to study and improve healthcare quality, focusing on colorectal cancer screening disparities among veterans by combining quantitative data analysis with qualitative research involving patient and provider interviews.
SurgeryImproving Cancer Immunotherapy with Dr. Alma Cepika
Dr. Alma Cepika explains how TR1 cells regulate immune responses and how tumors may exploit these cells to suppress antitumor immunity. Could targeting TR1 cells help improve cancer immunotherapy?
SurgeryHTTC: Dr. Derrick Wan, 72nd PSRC Chair
Dr. Derrick Wan has been elected the 72nd President of the Plastic Surgery Research Council. He shares his journey to the presidency and his goals for the society.
Division of Plastic & Reconstructive SurgeryA Career of Compassion and Connection: Celebrating Elena Hopkins
Longtime nurse practitioner and program coordinator Elena Hopkins reflects on a career devoted to children with craniofacial conditions and their families.
Abdominal TransplantationMarc Melcher Receives 2026 John Levin Excellence in Leadership Award
Marc L. Melcher, MD, PhD, chief of the Division of Abdominal Transplantation and professor of surgery at Stanford Medicine, has received the 2026 John Levin Excellence in Leadership Award from the Stanford Health Care Board of Directors.
SurgerySamantha Ratanavipupong wins Inaugural StanfordMed Spark Tank
Samantha Ratanavipupong won Stanford Medicine’s inaugural Spark Tank for a clinical operations dashboard that combines billing data to help leaders identify coding and productivity gaps and better support faculty in meeting wRVU targets. The competition invited staff across the School of Medicine to pitch practical, innovative ideas, with organizers planning to build on the event’s success in 2027. Our own Cyrus Press took third.
Stanford Cardiovascular InstituteWhen Blood Vessels Trigger Heart Failure: A New Mechanism Driving Inherited Cardiomyopathy
“For many years, LMNA cardiomyopathy has largely been viewed through the lens of the cardiomyocyte,” said Nazish Sayed, MD, PhD, senior author of the study. “Our findings suggest that the endothelium is not simply a bystander. Endothelial cells undergo profound reprogramming that can actively contribute to fibrosis and cardiac dysfunction.”
SurgeryPostdoc Spotlight: Bo Liu, DDS, PhD
Bo Liu, DDS, PhD, transitioned from dentistry to research, becoming a senior research scientist at Stanford Medicine where she leads innovative work in plastic and reconstructive surgery