Jessica Santos-Parker, MD, MS, PhD, is a General Surgery resident at UCSF interested in access to surgical care, emergency general surgery, and minimally invasive surgery. She was born and raised in California, a proud Chicana, and is the first in her family to go to a 4-year college. She earned her BS in Exercise Biology at UC Davis where she competed in Cross Country and Track. She went on to receive her MS in Anatomy from Wright State University then a PhD in Integrative Physiology from University of Colorado, Boulder studying Vascular Aging before completing an MD at University of Michigan.
She is interested in pursuing a career in academic emergency general surgery and minimally invasive/robotic surgery, with a research focus on improving access to surgery and surgical education. During her time as a scholar she is working on implementation research on access to tertiary/quaternary referral centers and the relationship and impact these centers have with their surrounding communities. She is also working on the team to establish UCSF as an American College of Surgeons Emergency General Surgery Verification Center to improve standard of care for emergency general surgery. She knew in medical school she wanted to be part of the NCSP fellowship program that provides her with the tools and framework to perform this work. She is currently completing her certificate of implementation science.
Throughout her academic career she has found purpose in education and outreach and has continued this as a UCSF Surgical Education Fellow, serving on the GME and Department of Surgery DEI committees and performing outreach and exposure to surgery from middle school to medical school students.
Her training at UCSF and fellowship through NCSP has provided her invaluable tools and skills to improve access to surgery and standard of surgical care. She also enjoys spending time with her husband and co-surgery resident Keli, and they feel fortunate to be on this journey together.
Research Interests: Improving access to surgical care, with a focus on bridging the gap in care from community to tertiary centers