Program Overview

Surgical Endocrinology Fellowship

The Surgical Oncology Department at MD Anderson offers a one-year advanced training fellowship in Surgical Endocrinology accredited by the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons (AAES). This unique fellowship is designed to provide a solid foundation for a career in academic endocrine surgery.

Objectives of the Program

The program is a collaborative effort within the Department of Surgical Oncology that focuses on multidisciplinary care at a large academic cancer center. The fellowship's mission is to provide training through three primary modalities:

1. Clinical exposure: The fellow will have a graded clinical experience through an apprentice model with expert faculty in the operating room and the outpatient clinic.
2. Formal didactics: The fellow will attend organized weekly multidisciplinary conferences that offer dialogue and education on clinical endocrinologic issues.
3. Research: The program provides for integrated research under the mentorship of one or more members of our multidisciplinary faculty.

Highlights of the Fellowship

• The fellow will spend 8 months working with the Surgical Endocrinology faculty and 1 month working with the Head and Neck Surgery faculty and 1 month with HPB services.
• Advanced surgical techniques, particularly retroperitoneal and laparoscopic adrenalectomy, minimally invasive parathyroidectomy, reoperative cervical procedures, and surgical treatment of advanced thyroid tumors, will be part of the surgical curriculum.
• Fellows will have broad exposure to endocrine neoplasias and will participate in several separate weekly multidisciplinary case-based and research conferences.

Application Process

One fellowship position is offered each year, with the potential for extension to a second year to focus on further research and academic development. Candidates should be board eligible in general surgery and should apply through the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons fellowship match.

Faculty

• Paul Graham, M.D., Program Director, Associate Professor
• Sarah Fisher, M.D., Associate Program Director, Assistant Professor
• Nancy Perrier, M.D., Professor
• Elizabeth Grubbs, M.D., Professor

Current Fellows

• Jennine Weller, M.D., Ph.D., 1st year fellow

Alumni

• Omair Shariq (2025) - HPB Fellowship, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
• Gili Halfteck (2024) - University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR
• Thomas Yamashita (2023) - Emory Healthcare
• Bernice Huang (2022) Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
• Aditya Shirali (2022) University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL
• Sarah Fisher (2019) The University of TX MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
• Jonathan Zagzag (2018) New York Surgical Partners, Roslyn, NY
• Minerva Romero (2017) Weill Cornell Medicine, Brooklyn, NY
• Kristin Long (2016) University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI
• Ashley Stewart (2015) Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC
• Ashley Cayo (2014) Aurora Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI
• Lilah Morris (2013) Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
• Shabir Abadin (2013) Amita Health Medical Group, Aurora, IL
• Paxton Dickson (2011) The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Knoxville, TN
• Christine Landry (2010) Baylor Scott & White Health, Dallas, TX
• Glenda Callendar (2009) Hartford Healthcare Medical Group, Bridgeport, CT

Living in Houston

MD Anderson is located within Houston's Texas Medical Center the largest medical city in the world. The area is rich in academic and cultural opportunity, with numerous parks, museums, and entertainment venues nearby.

Recent Publications

• Temporal Trends in Outcomes in Patients with Adrenocortical Carcinoma: A Multidisciplinary Referral Center Experience.
• Recurrence after successful parathyroidectomy-Who should we worry about?
• Evaluation of risk factors, long-term outcomes, and immediate and delayed autotransplantation to minimize postsurgical hypoparathyroidism in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1): A retrospective cohort study.
• A Blood-based Polyamine Signature Associated With MEN1 Duodenopancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor Progression.
• It's not a mystery, it's in the history: Multidisciplinary management of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1.
• Parathyroid Surgery: What Radiologists Need to Know.
• The North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society Consensus Guidelines for Surveillance and Management of Metastatic and/or Unresectable Pheochromocytoma and Paraganglioma.
• Pathology data set for reporting parathyroid carcinoma and atypical parathyroid neoplasm: recommendations from the International Collaboration on Cancer Reporting.
• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the practice of endocrine surgery.
• ATF4 loss of heterozygosity is associated with poor overall survival in medullary thyroid carcinoma.
• Patient Perspectives on the Extent of Surgery and Radioactive Iodine Treatment for Low-Risk Differentiated Thyroid Cancer.
• Neoadjuvant selpercatinib for advanced medullary thyroid cancer.
• Understanding the clinical course of genotype-negative MEN1 patients can inform management strategies.
• Perceptions of opioid use and prescribing habits in oncologic surgery: A survey of the society of surgical oncology membership.
• Risk of thyroid cancer after therapeutic irradiation in adult patients: An Age-Based surveillance, epidemiology, and end results analysis.
• Radiomic mapping model for prediction of Ki-67 expression in adrenocortical carcinoma.
• Primary hyperparathyroidism and hypertension.
• Risks of Hypoparathyroidism After Total Thyroidectomy in Children: A 21-Year Experience in a High-Volume Cancer Center.
• Comparative Performance of the 7th and 8th Editions of the American Joint Committee on Cancer Staging Manual for Adrenocortical Carcinoma.
• New Directions in Treatment of Metastatic or Advanced Pheochromocytomas and Sympathetic Paragangliomas: an American, Contemporary, Pragmatic Approach.
• Cytoreductive Surgery of the Primary Tumor in Metastatic Adrenocortical Carcinoma: Impact on Patients' Survival.