Research Summary

Julie Ann Sosa, MD, MA, FACS is professor and chair of the Department of Surgery and holds the Leon Goldman, MD, Distinguished Professorship in Surgery. She also is a Professor of Medicine and Affiliated faculty of the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies.

Dr. Sosa was born in Montreal and raised in upstate New York. She received her AB at Princeton, her MA at Oxford, and her MD at Johns Hopkins, where she also completed the Halsted residency program and a fellowship. Her clinical interest is in endocrine surgery, with a focus in thyroid cancer. She is widely published in outcomes analysis, as well as cost-effectiveness analysis, meta-analysis, and survey-based research.

Dr. Sosa is the elected editor in chief of the World Journal of Surgery, having served previously as deputy editor of JAMA-Surgery and associate editor of the Journal of Surgical Research. She is on the editorial boards of the Annals of Surgery, Surgery, Annals of Surgical Oncology, Endocrine, Hormones and Cancer, Journal of the American College of Surgeons, Journal of Thyroid Research, and the International Journal of Endocrine Oncology. She is Treasurer of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) and serves on the Board of Directors/Executive Council of the ATA, International Thyroid Oncology Group, and Association for Academic Surgery Foundation. She has served on ATA guidelines committees for hyperthyroidism, thyroid nodules, and differentiated thyroid cancer, and on the NCCN guidelines committee for neuroendocrine tumors. She is the current chair of the ATA practice guidelines committee for differentiated thyroid cancer.

Dr. Sosa has published more than 320 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 60 book chapters, and has authored/edited 7 books. She has been the recipient of grants from the NIH/NCI, FDA, Paget Foundation, the Association for Academic Surgery, the Donaghue Foundation, the American Geriatrics Association/Hartford Foundation, the Connecticut Stem Cell Research Fund, and industry.

Research Funding

  • April 1, 2023 - March 1, 2028 - Addressing Surgical Disparities at the Root; Working to improve diversity in the surgical workforce , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH NIMHD; Cornell University, Sponsor Award ID: R01MD018464
  • September 1, 2019 - July 31, 2023 - A novel natural history study of medullary thyroid carcinoma: Incorporating the patient perspective to inform advanced disease management , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01FD006650
  • January 16, 2015 - February 28, 2017 - Single cell analysis of intratumoral heterogeneity in parathyroid neoplasia , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21CA192004

Education

Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, AB, 06/1988, Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Affairs
Worcester College, University of Oxford, MA, 06/1990, Human Sciences
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, MD, 06/1994, Medicine
Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, Other training, 06/1998, Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program
Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, Resident, 06/2001, Halsted Residency in General Surgery

Honors & Awards

  • 2022
    Distinguished Service Award, American Thyroid Association
  • 2022
    Castle Connolly Top Doctor in the Bay Area
  • 2022
    UCSF Chancellor's Award for the Advancement of Women
  • 2021
    Moonshot Award, California Academy of Sciences and the Association of Science Technology Centers IF/THEN Gender Equity Project
  • 2019, 2020, 2021
    Castle Connolly's Exceptional Women in Medicine
  • 2020
    Mentoring and Teaching Honor and Official Member of the Dept of Medicine, given by the residents and Women in Leadership Development (WILD) group to recognize outstanding teaching, mentoring and professionalism by a faculty member, UCSF, 1/24/20
  • 2020
    UCSF Muriel Steele Society Honor Roll, for mentorship and sponsorship of women faculty and learners
  • 2020
    Elected full Member, Academy of Master Surgeon Educators, American College of Surgeons
  • 2017
    Woman of the Year in Thyroidology, American Thyroid Assn, Victoria, CA
  • 2017
    Lewis E. Braverman Distinguished Lectureship Award, American Thyroid Assn, Victoria, CA
  • 2016
    PO Granberg Lecturer, Swedish Society for Endocrine Surgeons
  • 2016
    Invited International Visitor, Younger Fellows Section, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
  • 2015
    Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Class of 2016
  • 2015
    Distinguished Alumna Award, Johns Hopkins University
  • 2014
    Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars, Johns Hopkins University
  • 2010
    Association for Academic Surgery International Visiting Professorship Award (AAS/RACS)
  • 2006
    Dennis Jahnigen Career Development Award, American Geriatrics Association
  • 2005
    Research Career Development Award, Claude D. Pepper Center at Yale
  • 2005
    JJ Roslyn Faculty Research Award, Association for Academic Surgery
  • 2004
    John G Haddad Award, The Paget Foundation

Selected Publications

  1. Sosa JA. The World Journal of Surgery Welcomes Dr. Sherry Wren of the USA as a New Associate Editor. World J Surg. 2023 Jul 19.  View on PubMed
  2. Keenan BP, Sibley A, Zhang L, Westring AF, Velazquez AI, Bank EM, Bergsland EK, Boreta L, Conroy P, Daras M, Hermiston M, Hsu G, Paris PL, Piawah S, Sinha S, Sosa JA, Tsang M, Venook AP, Wong M, Yom SS, Van Loon K. Evaluation of Culture Conducive to Academic Success by Gender at a Comprehensive Cancer Center. Oncologist. 2023 Jul 13.  View on PubMed
  3. Sosa JA. The World Journal of Surgery Welcomes A/Professor Savio George Alberto da Piedade Barreto of South Australia as a New Associate Editor. World J Surg. 2023 Jun 22.  View on PubMed
  4. Sosa JA. The World Journal of Surgery is Pleased to Welcome Dr I Ethem Gecim to Our Editorial Board. World J Surg. 2023 Aug; 47(8):1836.  View on PubMed
  5. Sosa JA. The World Journal of Surgery is Pleased to Welcome Dr Erin Andrade to Our Editorial Board. World J Surg. 2023 Aug; 47(8):1837.  View on PubMed
  6. Sosa JA. The World Journal of Surgery is Pleased to Welcome Dr Thomas Weiser to our Editorial Board. World J Surg. 2023 Jun 02.  View on PubMed
  7. Sosa JA. The World Journal of Surgery is Pleased to Welcome Two New Assistant Editors for Visual Abstracts and Social Media to Our Leadership Team. World J Surg. 2023 Aug; 47(8):1833-1834.  View on PubMed
  8. Sosa JA. The World Journal of Surgery is Pleased to Welcome Dr David Hughes to Our Editorial Board. World J Surg. 2023 May 30.  View on PubMed
  9. Sosa JA. The World Journal of Surgery is Pleased to Welcome Dr Shrirang Kulkarni to our Editorial Board. World J Surg. 2023 May 30.  View on PubMed
  10. Sosa JA. The World Journal of Surgery is Pleased to Welcome Dr Yoshihiro Nabeya to Our Editorial Board. World J Surg. 2023 May 30.  View on PubMed
  11. Sosa JA. The World Journal of Surgery is Pleased to Welcome Prof Edoardo Virgilio to Our Editorial Board. World J Surg. 2023 Aug; 47(8):1835.  View on PubMed
  12. Baskin A, Sosa JA. Leveraging social media for mentorship in surgery. Surgery. 2023 May 24.  View on PubMed
  13. Ullmann TM, Sosa JA. Delay in Surgery for Papillary Thyroid Cancer: A Proxy for Lower-Quality Care? J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2023 Apr 21.  View on PubMed
  14. Tu CL, Chang W, Sosa JA, Koh J. Digital spatial profiling of human parathyroid tumors reveals cellular and molecular alterations linked to vitamin D deficiency. PNAS Nexus. 2023 Mar; 2(3):pgad073.  View on PubMed
  15. Callison K, Pesko MF, Phillips S, Sosa JA. Cancer Screening after the Adoption of Paid-Sick-Leave Mandates. N Engl J Med. 2023 Mar 02; 388(9):824-832.  View on PubMed
  16. Sosa JA. The World Journal of Surgery Welcomes Professor Dileep N. Lobo of the UK as a New Associate Editor. World J Surg. 2023 Mar; 47(3):563.  View on PubMed
  17. Ullmann TM, Papaleontiou M, Sosa JA. Current Controversies in Low-Risk Differentiated Thyroid Cancer: Reducing Overtreatment in an Era of Overdiagnosis. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2023 01 17; 108(2):271-280.  View on PubMed
  18. Pugh CM, Kirton OC, Tuttle JEB, Maier RV, Hu YY, Stewart JH, Freischlag JA, Sosa JA, Vickers SM, Hawn MT, Eberlein TJ, Farmer DL, Higgins RS, Pellegrini CA, Roman SA, Crandall ML, De Virgilio CM, Tsung A, Britt LD. Addressing the Surgical Workplace: An Opportunity to Create a Culture of Belonging. Ann Surg. 2023 04 01; 277(4):551-556.  View on PubMed
  19. Collins CR, Abel MK, Shui A, Intinarelli G, Sosa JA, Wick EC. Preparing for participation in the centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' bundle care payment initiative-advanced for major bowel surgery. Perioper Med (Lond). 2022 Dec 09; 11(1):54.  View on PubMed
  20. Sosa JA. The World Journal of Surgery Welcomes Dr Linwah Yip of the USA as a New Associate Editor. World J Surg. 2023 02; 47(2):287.  View on PubMed

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