Here are 15 physicians under the age of 45 years old who have accomplished a lot early on in their careers. The surgeons on this list are leaders of hospital departments, entrepreneurs and board members of professional and community organizations.
This list was compiled through nominations and editorial research. Please contact Laura Dyrda at ldyrda@beckershealthcare.com with questions about this list and recommendations for who to include on future young physician leaders lists.
Alicia Arnold, MD. Sacred Heart Hospital (Eau Claire, Wis.). Dr. Arnold is a board-certified radiologist running an Eau Claire, Wis.-based private practice. She is affiliated with Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire and serves as a medical correspondent for the WEAU-Eau Claire TV station as well as on the Wisconsin Medical Society's board of directors. In April, the Wisconsin Medical Society honored Dr. Arnold with the Young Physician Leadership Award during the society's annual meeting.
Eric Beck, DO. University of Chicago Medical Center. Dr. Beck is an attending physician in the University of Chicago Medical Center's emergency department. He has also served as the chief innovation officer, chief clinical integration officer and associate CMO for mobile healthcare provider Evolution Health and American Medical Response, a large medical transportation company. He is now the CEO of Evolution Health.
Rebecca A. Cerrato, MD. Mercy Medical Center (Baltimore). Dr. Cerrato is an orthopedic surgeon at the Institute for Foot and Ankle Reconstruction at Mercy Medical Center. She has chaired several surgical courses throughout her career, with a special focus on complex injuries and foot and ankle reconstruction. She is also the director of Mercy's foot and ankle fellowship program and volunteers with the Helping Up Mission in Baltimore, which provides services for men battling addiction, homelessness and poverty.
Elizabeth Dailey, MD. Marin General Hospital (Greenbrae, Calif.). Dr. Dailey is the medical director of the total joint preplacement program at Marin General Hospital and focuses her practice on minimally invasive and evidence-based approaches to care. She is a member of the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society as well as the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
Hilary Fairbrother, MD. NYU Langone Medical Center (New York). Dr. Fairbrother is an emergency medicine physician with NYU Langone Medical Center and assistant professor in the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Emergency Medicine. She is the chair of the Young Physicians Section of the Medical Society of the State of New York and has authored publications in the AMA Journal of Ethics and the Annals of Emergency Medicine.
Azadeh Farin, MD. MemorialCare Health System (Fountain Valley, Calif.). Dr. Farin is a neurosurgeon by training and a member of the Physician Leadership Academy at MemorialCare. She was the first woman in more than 25 years to complete a general surgery internship and neurosurgery residency at the Los Angeles-based University of Southern California and recently received a full patent for a spinal device invention. She was the chair of her New Haven, Conn.-based Yale University Political Union before earning her medical degree. She also won the Miss Greater Los Angeles USA Pageant.
Leah Kelley, MD. Marin General Hospital (Greenbrae, Calif.). Dr. Kelley leads Marin General's breast program and received the 2015 Healing Professional recognition from the organization Zero Breast Cancer. In addition to her practice, Dr. Kelley focuses on research and authored several articles for peer-reviewed journals
Karl Koenig, MD. Dell Medical School, University of Texas (Austin). Dr. Koenig led the joint replacement program at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., before joining Dell Medical School's staff as the joint replacement program division leader. Dr. Koenig has experience launching programs to address underserved and indigent people in high value, outcomes-driven care settings.
Khalid Kurtom, MD, FAANS, FACS. Neurosurgery Department of The University of Maryland School of Medicine (Easton, Md.). Dr. Kurtom focuses on minimally invasive spine and brain surgery. He is a board member of the University of Maryland Community Medical Group and chairs two group committees focused on quality. Dr. Kurtom received the Arthur B Cecil Award from UM Shore Regional Health.
Steven Lee, MD. John Muir Health (Walnut Creek, Calif.). Dr. Lee serves as the Orthopedic Quality Outcomes Physician Leader at John Muir Health and is responsible for analyzing clinical data, developing best practices and recommending ways to improve quality and patient experience. He also serves on the orthopedic technology committee at the hospital, which assesses and vets new technology. Dr. Lee earned the Leadership Academy Scholarship Award from the California Medical Association in 1997.
Gene Liu, MD. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles). Dr. Liu is a practicing otolaryngologist who joined Cedars-Sinai in 2008. He helped grow the hospital's ENT practice from one physician and a physician assistant to eight physicians and four PAs in five years. Dr. Liu received Cedars-Sinai's Physician of the Year award in 2014 and Spirit Award in 2015, honoring his leadership and commitment to the hospital. He has served on 25 hospital committees and chairs three committees.
Shaun P. Setty, MD. Long Beach Memorial and Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach (Calif.). In his current role, Dr. Setty leads the pediatric and adult congenital cardiac surgery program at Long Beach Memorial and Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach, one of few hospitals in the nation where congenital heart disease patients can access life-long care in one location. He is the Helen E. Hoag Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery and triple-board certified in surgery, thoracic surgery and congenital heart surgery. In addition to his clinical practices, he has published several peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.
Brian W. Su, MD. Marin General Hospital (Greenbrae, Calif.). Dr. Su is the director of spine surgery at the Marin Spine and Brain Institute and focuses his practice on cervical spine disorders. He has authored more than 20 full-length manuscripts and book chapters in addition to giving 50-plus podium presentations. He is a member of the American Orthopaedic Association's Emerging Leaders Program and active in spine surgery research and device innovation.
Wang Teng, MD. Saddleback Memorial Medical Center (Laguna Hills, Calif.). Dr. Teng is the medical director of Saddleback's peripheral vascular center and one of few surgeons qualified to perform the fenestrated abdominal aortic aneurysm stent graft. He is a co-leader of a large health system's cardiovascular services in Los Angeles and Orange counties and serves on the board of an ambulatory surgery center joint venture with three locations and around 100 physician partners.
Shawn Tsuda, MD. University of Nevada School of Medicine (Reno). Dr. Tsuda is the chief of minimally invasive and bariatric surgery at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. He was the first surgeon in Nevada to receive certification in the LINX Reflux Management System for patients with severe gastroesophageal reflux disease. He performs the LINX procedures at miVIP Surgery Centers in Las Vegas.