Carlos A. Pellegrini, M.D.
Brian K. Ross, Ph.D. M.D.
Richard Satava, M.D., F.A.C.S
Thomas J. Benedetti, M.D., MHA
Mika N. Sinanan, M.D., Ph.D.
Sara Kim, Ph.D.
Jacob Rosen, Ph.D.

Staff

Faculty & Faculty Development Groups

Directors

Carlos A. Pellegrini, M.D.
Chairman

Carlos A. Pellegrini, M.D. is professor of surgery, chair of the Department of Surgery, and holder of the Henry N. Harkins Endowed Chair in Surgery at the University of Washington.

He received his M.D. in 1971 from the University of Rosario Medical School in Argentina. After training in general surgery in Argentina, he completed a second residency at the University of Chicago.

In 1979 he was appointed to the faculty of the University of California, San Francisco, where he developed and directed the Center for GI Motility. As an active gastrointestinal surgeon at UCSF, he was recognized on several occasions by residents and students for his teaching.

In 1993 he became chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle. A world leader in minimally invasive gastrointestinal surgery, Dr. Pellegrini is a pioneer in the development of videoendoscopy for the surgical treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease and esophageal motility disorders, particularly achalasia.

At the University of Washington he developed two major clinical research programs: the Center for Videoendoscopic Surgery and the Swallowing Center. He was a leader in developing the UW Institute for Surgical and Interventional Simulation (ISIS) and is board chair of the institute.

Dr. Pellegrini has been a leader in medical education and was a major contributor to the fundamental reform of residency work hours. In 1996, in recognition of his role in the strengthening of all clinical, teaching, and research programs of the Department of Surgery, he became the first holder of the Henry N. Harkins Endowed Chair in Surgery, named for the first chairman of the UW Department of Surgery.

Currently, he is a Regent of the American College of Surgeons, a Director of the American Board of Surgery, President of the Society of Surgical Chairs, Chair of the Digestive Disease Week Council and he is a past-president of the American Surgical Association.  He has recently been named as Vice-President of the World Organization for Specialized Studies on Diseases of the Esophagus (OESO) and President of the OESO 9th World Congress which will be held in 2008.

Dr. Pellegrini serves on several editorial boards and publishes regularly in the field of minimally invasive surgery for upper gastrointestinal diseases, esophageal cancer, and related areas, as well as the field of training and new technologies for preparing surgeons in this area. His bibliography lists more than 300 articles, chapters, editorials, and books, as well as 11 surgical videos and movies.

Brian K. Ross, Ph.D., M.D.,
Executive Director

Brian K. Ross, M.D., Ph.D., UW Medicine professor of anesthesiology, received his Ph.D. in physiology/pharmacology from the University of North Dakota in 1975. He completed postdoctoral research in respiratory diseases at the University of Washington in 1979, where he also received his M.D. in 1983. In 1984, he completed an internship in UW School of Medicine. In 1986, Dr. Ross completed a fellowship in Obstetrical Anesthesia from the University of California at San Francisco. In 1987, he completed a residency in anesthesiology, also at the University of Washington.

Dr. Ross has been on the UW School of Medicine faculty since 1987. In 2003, he was appointed full professor status. Dr Ross has been involved in medical simulation at the UW since 1996, when he developed the initial curriculum for the Department of Anesthesiology. Since then, he has developed 20 courses for medical students, residents, and nurses.To promote careers in health care, he performs outreach to local high schools, conducting full-scale virtual operating room scenarios using the human patient simulator. Dr. Ross is the energy behind the advancement of medical simulation within the Department of Anesthesiology, reaching throughout the UW schools of medicine, nursing, and dentistry.He identified equipment and designed the labs that became the cornerstone of the Institute for Surgical and Interventional Simulation (ISIS). Based on his vision and expertise in medical simulation, Dr. Ross was appointed by the dean of the School of Medicine to serve as the first executive director of ISIS in November 2005.He will take ISIS into its next phase, as it expands into its new offices and labs in the UW Medical Center Surgery Pavilion, and as ISIS establishes itself as the medical simulation resource for the UW, community, industry, and the five-state WWAMI region (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho).

Richard Satava, M.D., F.A.C.S.,
Senior Executive Advisor

Richard Satava, M.D., F.A.C.S., is professor of surgery at the University of Washington and senior executive advisor for ISIS. In addition, Dr. Satava serves as the director of research at the Telemedicine and Advanced Technologies Research Center (TATRC). Prior to that, he was the program manager of advanced biomedical technology at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and special assistant in advanced surgical technologies at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command in Ft. Detrick, Maryland.

Previous positions include professor of surgery at Yale University and a military appointment as professor of surgery (USUHS) in the Army Medical Corps assigned to general surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. His undergraduate training was at Johns Hopkins University, medical school at Hahnemann University of Philadelphia, internship at the Cleveland Clinic, surgical residency at the Mayo Clinic, and a fellowship with a master of surgical research at the Mayo Clinic.

Dr. Satava has served on the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Committee on Health, Food and Safety. He is currently a member of the Emerging Technologies and Resident Education Committee and the Informatics Committee of the American College of Surgeons, is past president of the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons, past president of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons, and is on the Board of Governors of the National Board of Medical Examiners, as well as on a number of surgical societies.

He is on the editorial board of numerous surgical and scientific journals, and active in numerous surgical and engineering societies. He has been continuously active in surgical education and surgical research, with more than 200 publications and book chapters in diverse areas of advanced surgical technology, including Surgery in the Space Environment, Video and 3-D Imaging, Telepresence Surgery, Virtual Reality Surgical Simulation, and Objective Assessment of Surgical Competence and Training.

During his 23 years of military surgery he has been an active flight surgeon, an Army astronaut candidate, MASH surgeon for the Grenada invasion, and a hospital commander during Desert Storm, all the while continuing clinical surgical practice. While striving to practice the complete discipline of surgery, he is aggressively pursuing the leading edge of advanced technologies to formulate the architecture for the next generation of medicine.

Thomas J. Benedetti, MD, MHA
Associate Director, ISIS Experts Group

Thomas J. Benedetti,MD, MHA, is professor and Vice Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Washington.

He received his M.D. in 1973 from the University of Washington in Seattle and completed his obstetrics and gynecology residency and maternal fetal medicine fellowship at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Dr. Benedetti joined the faculty at the University of Washington in 1979, serving as Director of the Maternal Fetal Medicine Division, Department of Ob-Gyn from 1983-2002. He received his masters in Health Administration from the University of Washington in 2000.

Dr. Benedetti has been recognized throughout his academic career by residents and peers for his teaching as well as excellence in research at both the University of Southern California and the University of Washington.

Dr. Benedetti's main clinical research interest has been in birth trauma. He spent a recent sabbatical in Bristol England studying at the Bristol Simulation Center and Southmead Hospital. He has adapted a prototype Birthing Trainer developed in Bristol by Limbs and Things Corporation for simulations at the University of Washington for shoulder dystocia and other obstetric emergencies. Dr Benedetti serves on the Editorial Board of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, presents at Simulation Conferences, and is a guest faculty at other simulation centers, including the University of California, Davis. As a result of his interest and expertise in shoulder dystocia simulation, he was appointed Associate Director and Head of Experts Group, Institute for Surgical and Interventional Simulation, in January 2006.

Mika N. Sinanan, M.D., Ph.D.,
Associate Director R&D Medicine

Mika N. Sinanan, M.D., Ph.D., professor of surgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine, received his M.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1980. He completed his residency at the University of Washington in 1988 and then joined the faculty of the UW Department of Surgery. Dr. Sinanan received his Ph.D. in gastrointestinal physiology in 1991 from the University of British Columbia. In addition to his School of Medicine appointment, Dr. Sinanan is an adjunct associate professor in the UW Department of Electrical Engineering.

Widely published and recognized as a leader in minimally invasive gastrointestinal surgery, Dr. Sinanan became co-director the Center for Videoendoscopic Surgery at the UW School of Medicine in 1993.

Dr. Sinanan is committed to the advancement of robotic surgery and was the Co-PI of a grant from the Department of Defense, “Studying Mini Robot Design for Military Telesurgery in the Battlefield.”

Dr. Sinanan’s other positions include medical director of the Surgical Specialties Center and chief of medical staff and associate administrator of quality for UW Medical Center. As chair of the Surgery Pavilion Project Management Committee, Dr. Sinanan was instrumental in the design and planning of the new 160,000-square-foot wing of UW Medical Center, where the Institute for Surgical and Interventional Simulation (ISIS) will have its labs and offices in early 2007.

Sara Kim, Ph.D.
Associate Director for Education and Curriculum

Sara Kim, Ph.D., associate professor of Medical Education and Biomedical Informatics as well as Family Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, received her Ph.D. in education in 1999 from University of Washington. Dr. Kim is also an adjunct professor in Pediatric Dentistry in the School of Dentistry and associate lecturer in the College of Education. She is currently the Associate Director of Education and Curriculum at the Institute for Surgical and Interventional Simulation (ISIS).

With her training in educational technology, Dr. Kim has implemented and evaluated numerous Web-based distance education tools for training medical students. She has published her work in major journals in medical education such as Academic Medicine, Medical Education, and Teaching and Learning in Medicine.

Her primary roles in ISIS involve developing curricula materials for key procedures taught at ISIS, overseeing the process of peer-reviewing curricula content, developing Web-based cognitive training tools and mentoring junior faculty members with grant writing and publications.

Jacob Rosen Ph.D.,
Associate Director R&D Engineering

Jacob Rosen Ph.D., is a Research Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, with adjunct appointments in the Departments of Surgery, and Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Rosen is a co-director of the Biorobotics lab (BRL) - Dept. of Electrical Engineering and a director of engineering research and development at ISIS. Dr. Rosen received his B.Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering, M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Tel-Aviv University in 1987, 1993 and 1997 respectively.

Dr. Rosen leads and serves as PI & co-PI of multiple interdisciplinary research efforts including but not limited to "Raven" - a portable surgical robot for open and minimally invasive telesurgery, the "Red DRAGON" - a multi modal simulator for minimally invasive surgery, along with an objective skill assessment methodology for medical simulators based on Markov Models, and neural control of upper limb wearable robot (Exoskeleton). His research interests focus on medical robotics & simulation, biorobotics, human centered robotics, surgical robotics, wearable robotics, rehabilitation robotics, neural control, and human-machine interface.

Staff

Alan Au
Graduate Research Assistant

Farrah Leland (Batchelor), JD
Program Manager

Jim Goddard
Senior Computer Specialist

Todd Krinke
Laboratory Technician

Sam Park
Laboratory Technician

Megan Sherman
Program Coordinator

Faculty*, Adjunct Faculty & Faculty Development Group

Anesthesiology
GREGORY DEMBO, MD
CHRISTOPHER KENT, MD
STEFAN LOMBAARD, MB ChB, FANZCA*
LYNN MARTIN, MD
JULIA METZNER, MD*
KEN PLITT, CRNA
IRENE ROZET, MD
DANIEL RUBENS, MB BS, FANZCA
HOWARD SCHWID, MD
GOURI SIVARAJAN, MB BS*
MURALI SIVARAJAN, MB BS
KAREN SOUTER, MB BS, FRCA*
MARTA STRUTYNSKA-LONGAWA, MD
YOURI VATER, MD, PhD
ALEXANDER VITIN, MD, PhD*

Cardiothoracic Surgery
THOMAS VARGHESE, MD*

Dermatology
DANIEL BERG, MD

Department of Engineering and Computer Science
BLAKE HANNAFORD, PhD

Family Medicine
MARK BEARD, MD
FREDERICK CHEN, MD, MPH

General Surgery
SAJIDA AHAD, MD
KAREN HORVATH, MD, FACS
AARON JENSEN, MD
BRANT OELSCHLAGER, MD
ROGER TATUM, MD
ANDREW WRIGHT, MD*

Human Interface Technology (HIT) Lab
PETER OPPENHEIMER, MS
SUZANNE WEGHORST, PhD

Internal Medicine
JENNIFER BEST, MD
MELISSA HAGMAN, MD*
THOMAS REA, MD, MPH

Interventional Radiology
SANDEEP VAIDYA, MD

Medical Education
FREDERIC WOLF, PhD
DOUGLAS BROCK, PhD
DOUGLAS SCHAAD, PhD

Neonatology
THOMAS STRANJORD, MD

Neurological Surgery
RICHARD ELLENBOGEN, MD FACS

Nurse Anesthetist
KEN PLITT, CRNA

Obstetrics and Gynecology
KATIE EASTWOOD, MD*
MICHAEL FIALKOW, MD*
ANNE-MARIE AMIES OELSCHLAGER, MD
RON SWENSON, MD

Ophthalmology
BRYAN SIRES, MD
MICHAEL WU, MD

Orthopaedics
ROBERT DUNBAR, MD
JOHN GREEN, MD
LISA TAITSMAN, MD, MPH

Otolaryngology
ROBERT STANLEY, MD, DDS
MARK WHIPPLE, MD

Pediatrics
RICHARD MOLTENI, MD

Pulmonary Medicine
PAULA CARVALHO, MD

Quality Improvement
JULIE DUNCAN, MA, RN

School of Nursing
GAYLENE ALTMAN, PhD, RN
JUVANN WOLFF, ARNP
BRENDA ZIERLER, PhD

Transplant Surgery
RAMASAMY BAKTHAVATSALAM, MS, FRCS(G)

Urology
THOMAS LENDVAY, MD
SANGTAE PARK, MD, MPH

Vascular Surgery
MARK MEISSNER, MD