AWS & AWSF News

NEWS & DEADLINES

• Conference & Gala Registration is now open! Register now for Early Bird Pricing.
• AWS Fellowship Grants are now accepting first round applications from eligible members, including those in a clinical fellowship. Submit by June 11.
• Apply to be in the Shining Star Leadership Coaching Program by June 11.
• AWSF Resident Travel Award applications are open through June 25! Submit an application to receive funds to support your travel to the 2026 AWS Annual Conference.
• Become a reviewer for the 2027 AWS Edition of the American Journal of Surgery. Apply here by June 18.
• The 2026 LSS & AWS Visiting Professor is Dr. Helen M. Johnson. Host applications are now open and due by July 29.
• Applications now open for the ACS 2026 Claude H. Organ Jr., MD, FACS Traveling Fellowship. Submissions due by July 10.
• Submit a nomination by June 26 for the 2027 BJS Award - an international recognition award that celebrates an individual's excellence in surgical science.

• Read the AWS Blog and apply to be an author.
• Listen to new episodes on the AWS Podcast.
• Check out opportunities on the AWS Job Board.
• Follow AWS on Instagram.

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.

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.

Moving from Known to Unknown

by AWS Research Fellow,  Holly Lewis MD PhD

MENTOR SPOTLIGHT: Stacey Darwish

Ms. Stacey Darwish (MBChB, FRCS) is a Consultant Spine Surgeon based in the National Spine Injuries Unit (NSIU @nsiuresearchgroup), Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, St. Vincent’s University Hospital, and Mater Private Network in Dublin, Ireland. She was awarded an MBChB from the University of Glasgow and continued her medical training by earning her FRCS in Trauma and Orthopaedics from the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh. She then furthered her training and expertise by embarking on fellowships in both paediatric & adult deformity (Scottish National Deformity Service, Edinburgh) and complex adult spine surgery (National Spine Injuries Unit, Dublin), focusing on evolving technologies including navigation and robotics. As both a nationally and internationally renowned researcher, Ms. Darwish is currently interested in research topics revolving around trauma, frailty, and evolving surgical technology. Most recently she was integral in the commencement of mixed reality navigation in Mater Misericordiae University Hospital.

Book Review: Take Care of Them Like My Own: Faith, Fortitude, and a Surgeon’s Fight for Health Justice

By Dr. Ala Stanford, M.D.

Review by Sophie Hockran