Mentor Spotlight: Dr. Karleigh Curfman

About the Mentor

Dr. Curfman was born and raised in Northeastern PA and attended The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) for undergraduate (2012), Ross University SOM for medical school (2016), and Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown PA for General Surgery Residency. She pursued a Minimally Invasive Surgery fellowship at MultiCare Health in Tacoma, WA (2022) and followed with a fellowship in Colon and Rectal Surgery at Louisiana State University New Orleans (2024). Since completion, she has worked as a minimally invasive colorectal surgeon at Conemaugh Memorial, covering all aspects of colorectal surgery, with a focus on colorectal cancer. She recently became the general surgery residency program director and also serves as residency research coordinator, ERAS committee chair, CoC committee chair, residency education chair, and robotics surgery committee. Additionally, and most importantly, she enjoys spending time with her family and three children—a 6-year-old, 4-year-old, and 2-year-old—who love enjoying outdoor time in suburban PA and anything to do with any sport.

Interview

What initially inspired you to pursue surgery, and what ultimately led you to specialize in colorectal and minimally invasive surgery?

BOOK REVIEW - SKILL:  Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well

Author: Douglas Stone and Shelia Heen

Book Reviewer: Alex Gerber

When a dean at my medical school recommended that the first-year class read Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well, I assumed it would be more of a review. Years of school had already given me a thorough education in being evaluated through exams, essays, lab reports, presentations, and more. If two decades of being a student teaches you anything, it’s how to absorb a steady stream of opinions about your performance and keep moving forward.

AWS & AWSF News

CALLS & DEADLINES

• September 28: The Application deadline for the Surgical Mentor Program has been extended - apply to be a mentor today!
• October 8: Applications are now open for the Better Mentors, Bigger Impact Cross Mentoring Program.
• October 23: AWS AAS Surgical Investigator Course Award is now accepting applications.

VIRTUAL PROGRAMS

BOOK REVIEW - SKILL:  The Facemaker: A Visionary Surgeon’s Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I

Author: Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris

Book Reviewer: Sarah Ludington

Despite aspiring to practice surgery one day, I had never truly considered its origins—surgical care seemed too essential to be able to trace its history back to a single moment of inception. While The Facemaker by Lindsey Fitzharris follows Dr. Harold Gillies, historically recognized as the “father of modern plastic surgery,” as he struggles to care for soldiers maimed in World War I, it also chronicles the earliest moments of plastic surgery, honors the ongoing battles after war that Gillies’s patients endured, and demonstrates how reconstructive surgery is fundamentally an act of creativity, collaboration, and deep human empathy.

Mentor Spotlight: Dr. Andrea Winthrop

About the Mentor

Dr. Andrea Winthrop is a pediatric surgeon at Kingston Health Sciences Center, Queen’s University, Kingston Ontario Canada. She graduated from Queen’s University, Kingston Ontario, and completed her general surgery residency at the University of Toronto, and pediatric surgery fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Dr. Winthrop is a Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at Queen’s University, and is currently the Director of Enhanced Clinical Experiences in the MD Program at Queen’s. Over several decades of practice, Dr. Winthrop has held many educational leadership positions at medical schools in both Canada and the United States, focusing on medical student education, surgical education, and mentoring medical students and residents pursuing careers in surgical disciplines. She frequently speaks on panels related to women in surgery, and surgery interest groups, as well as serving as faculty advisor for surgical enrichment opportunities for students.

Interview

Can you share your journey into surgery and what ultimately drew you to pediatric surgery?

Mentor Spotlight: Dr. Youmna Sherif

About the Mentor

Dr. Youmna Sherif is an Independent Plastic Surgery Resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Sherif completed her undergraduate degree at Duke University where she designed her own major exploring the impact of biopsychosocial factors on healthcare. Her passion for global health began during this time as she worked with Non-Governmental Organizations in Both Honduras and Turkey.  After graduating with honors, she went to Singapore to complete a Medical Education, Research and Evaluation fellowship at Duke-NUS School of Medicine. 

She subsequently matriculated into the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine where she completed her Medical Doctorate Degree. During medical school she continued to pursue global health efforts and explored the impact of biopolitics on the hepatitis C endemic in Egypt.

BOOK REVIEW - SKILL: 40 Principals That Surgeons, Athletes, and Other Elite Performers Use to Achieve Mystery

Author: Dr. Christopher S. Ahmad

Book Reviewer: Amy Lu

In SKILL, Dr. Christopher Ahmad delivers an insightful contribution to the literature of surgical education and performance science. Known as the head team physician for the New York Yankees and Chief of Sports Medicine at Columbia University, Dr. Ahmad brings a unique perspective as both an elite orthopedic surgeon and a trusted confidante to world-class athletes. With SKILL, he turns his attention to the process behind the outcome: how mastery is built, one principle at a time.

Book Review - Bold Women of Medicine: 21 Stories of Astounding Discoveries, Daring Surgeries, and Healing Breakthroughs

Book by Susan M. Latta
Review by Morgan Carter

Mentor Spotlight: Dr. Alan W. Flake

About the Mentor

Dr. Alan W. Flake is a world-renowned pediatric and fetal surgeon whose pioneering work has reshaped the field of fetal diagnosis and therapy. He is an attending surgeon in the Division of Pediatric General, Thoracic, and Fetal Surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), where he holds the Ruth M. and Tristram C. Colket, Jr. Endowed Chair in Pediatric Surgery. As a Professor of Surgery and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Flake is internationally recognized for advancing fetal intervention, neonatal surgery, regenerative medicine, and innovative treatments for life-threatening congenital disorders. His early experimental work in fetal lambs helped establish foundational principles in fetal surgery and continues to inform modern techniques used around the world.

For more than two decades, Dr. Flake has directed a highly influential National Institutes of Health funded research laboratory dedicated to developing prenatal therapies for genetic and anatomic abnormalities. Under his leadership, the Center for Fetal Research has achieved landmark breakthroughs, including in utero stem cell and gene therapy approaches and a physiologic support system for extremely premature infants with the potential to transform the treatment of prematurity. He has authored more than 350 peer-reviewed publications and over 100 review articles and book chapters, and he has served on numerous NIH study sections and editorial boards spanning hematology, stem cell biology, and fetal therapy. Dr. Flake is also widely respected for his mentorship of the next generation of surgeons, including the many women whom he has supported, trained, and championed as they rise to leadership roles across pediatric and fetal surgery.

Book Review - The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir

Book by Dr. Michele Harper
Review by Dr. Wissam Benhami

Mentor Spotlight: Dr. Chantal Reyna 

About the Mentor

Chantal Reyna, MD, MHA, FACS, FSSO is a fellowship trained, board certified surgeon, specializing in diseases of the breast. She completed general surgery residency at the University Of Nevada School Of Medicine and her breast surgical oncology fellowship at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Florida. She has experience practicing in a variety of clinical settings and is the current Oncology Clinical Lead of Breast Oncology and the Section Chief of Breast Surgical Oncology at Loyola University Medical Center. Her experience provides a unique perspective in clinical program building in both academic and community settings. She speaks nationally and internationally about career development, including professional identity and branding. She is currently on the executive council for the Association of Women Surgeons and the Latino Surgical Society. She is an avid soccer fan, musical theater fan, enjoys reading and traveling internationally.

Book Review - Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science

Book by Dr. Atul Gawande
Review by Amy Lu

In Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science, Dr. Atul Gawande offers a compelling and sobering examination of the practice of medicine from the vantage point of a surgical resident. Far from glorifying the field, Gawande embraces its imperfections, laying bare the uncertainties, moral ambiguities, and learning curves that define clinical decision-making. Through a series of narrated essays, he challenges the notion of physicians being all-knowing and infallible, instead presenting doctors as fallible human beings working within a system of high-stakes judgment.

Mentor Spotlight: Dr. Joan Delto

Book Review: Constipation Nation

Author: Dr. Carmen Fong, MD, FACS

Book Reviewer: Hannah Eng, OMS-IV

Mentor Spotlight:  Dr. Emily Faulks

Mentor Spotlight: Crystal Totten MD

Dr. Crystal Totten is a general surgeon at the University of Kentucky Healthcare in the Division of Gastrointestinal and Minimally Invasive Surgery and is an associate professor of surgery at UK College of Medicine. Additionally, she holds positions as Co-Vice Chair of Professionalism and Integrity, Medical OR Director of Good Samaritan OR, and Fellowship Director for GEMS Advanced GI MIS Fellowship. Dr Totten received her medical degree and completed her general surgery training at the University of South Florida and went on to complete a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery and abdominal wall reconstruction at UK in 2016. She returned to UK in 2018 where she specializes in laparoscopic and robotic procedures and has interests in swallowing disorders, hiatal hernia and abdominal wall reconstruction. She is a member of the American College of Surgeons, the Society of American and Gastrointestinal Surgery, and the American Hernia Society. 

Book Review: When Breath Becomes Air

Author: Paul Kalanithi 

Book Reviewer: McKenzie Mayer 

AWS Breaking the Glass Ceiling Program 2025

Denise Lo, MD

In June 2025, I attended the Emerging Women Executives in Health Care course at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. This 4-day program was attended by women of diverse professional and personal backgrounds united by a common goal to develop as leaders within their respective fields in health care. The course was divided into 3 themes over 4 days: Looking Inward, Leadership Deployed, and Leadership Expanded.

Book Review: Cutting a Path: The Power of Purpose, Discipline, and Determination

Author: Dr. Sheri Dewan

Book Reviewer: Taraf Jaro

Mentor Spotlight: Dr. Cornelia Griggs

Dr. Cornelia Griggs is a pediatric surgeon, critical care specialist and assistant professor in surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Griggs is the surgical director of the MGH Pediatric Weight Center as well as Quality and Safety Chair for the Division of Pediatric Surgery, Surgical PICU Director, and the Director of Pediatric ECMO. She is a health services researcher with a focus on the treatment and prevention of severe pediatric obesity and childhood injury prevention. She is also currently finishing a master’s degree in clinical effectiveness at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Griggs is also an author. Her first book, The Sky Was Falling, a national best-seller, was published in March of 2024.