Carla Pugh

Carla Marie Pugh is an American surgeon. She was elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine in 2021 for "pioneering sensor technology research that helped to define, characterize and inspire new and innovative performance metrics and data analysis strategies for the emerging field of digital health care."

Carla Pugh
Pugh in 2011
Born
Berkeley, California, USA
Spouse
Joseph Towles
​
(m. 2003)​
AwardsPresidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
Academic background
EducationBSc, neurobiology, University of California, Berkeley
MD, 1992, Howard University College of Medicine
PhD, 2001, Stanford Graduate School of Education
ThesisEvaluating simulators for medical training: the case of the pelvic exam model (2001)
Academic work
InstitutionsStanford University
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Early life and education

Pugh was born and raised in Berkeley, California. She completed her Pre-medical degree at her hometown University of California, Berkeley before entering Howard University College of Medicine.[1] Upon earning her medical degree, she completed her residency in general surgery at Howard University in 1997.[2] Following this, Pugh wished to "learn about learning — about curriculum, about assessment — in a structured way" and subsequently enrolled at the Stanford Graduate School of Education for her PhD in Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education.[3]

While conducting her PhD, Pugh built fake breasts in her laboratory from everyday off-the-shelf items to teach students how to properly conduct breast exams. She attached sensors to the models so teachers could know whether the students were using appropriate pressure or touching the correct areas.[4] She also developed the E-Pelvis, an electronic pelvic mannequin attached to a computer monitor, to improve medical students' skills.[5] In 2003, the E-Pelvis gained a licensing agreement for wide-scale manufacturing.[4]

Career

Northwestern University

Following her PhD, Pugh joined the faculty at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. As an associate professor, Pugh continued her efforts in improving medical students' skills when conducting breast and pelvic exams.[6] Her research team began building a set of 100 sensor-enabled breast examination simulators with simulated abnormalities and also analyzed which palpation techniques were most effective for diagnosing cancer.[7] As a result of her research, Pugh was recognized for her accomplishments in an exhibit titled "New Frontiers In Academic Surgery" at the United States National Library of Medicine in 2007.[8] A few years later, Pugh received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from President Barack Obama "for her novel research to develop the first physical test that measures medical students’ and physicians’ ability to perform a clinical exam of breasts and diagnose cancer."[7]

In 2013, Pugh was elected to the American Surgical Association and was also named to the editorial board of the American Educational Research Journal.[3]

University of Wisconsin–Madison

Pugh eventually left Northwestern to join the faculty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as an associate professor in the Department of Surgery at their University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.[9] During her tenure at the institution, she was also named faculty leader for the Department of Surgery’s Simulation & Engineering for Surgical Education. As a result, she received the 2017 Vilas Faculty Mid-Career Investigator Award.[10]

Stanford

Pugh returned to her alma mater, Stanford, in December 2017 to take a dual role as a professor of general surgery and director of the Technology Enabled Clinical Improvement Center.[11] While serving in these roles, she was elected a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering[12] and was selected as one of the 2019 Olga Jonasson Distinguished Member Award recipients.[13] Later that year, Pugh joined a multi-institutional collaboration called the Surgical Metrics Project to harvest data from audio and video recordings of surgeons and wearable sensors that measure motion, brain waves and tactile pressure.[14]

In 2020, Pugh was elected president of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons for the 2021–2022 term.[15] She was also named to the American Board of Surgery Council for six years.[16] In 2021, she was elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine for "pioneering sensor technology research that helped to define, characterize and inspire new and innovative performance metrics and data analysis strategies for the emerging field of digital health care."[17]

Personal life

Pugh married her husband Joseph Towles in 2003.[3]

References
  1. Chappell, Robert (October 14, 2016). "Simulations, Sensors and Surgery: How Dr. Carla Pugh Hopes to Transform the Medical Profession". Madison 365. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  2. "Carla Pugh, MD, PhD". Stanford University. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  3. Gemperlein, Joyce (14 October 2015). "Carla Pugh, PhD '01". Stanford Graduate School of Education. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  4. Morgan, Richard (February 12, 2008). "Building Organs Even the Prudish Can Handle". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  5. Brandt, Michelle E. (March 6, 2002). "E-Pelvis builds student skills in difficult-to-learn procedure". Stanford University. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  6. Turner Trice, Dawn (June 29, 2010). "Hands-on Approach to Breast Exams". Northwestern University. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  7. Paul, Marla (September 28, 2011). "Northwestern Inventor Wins Highest Presidential Award". Northwestern University. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  8. Paul, Marla (February 26, 2007). "SURGEON HONORED FOR HER INVENTIONS IN NATIONAL EXHIBIT". Northwestern University. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  9. "Eight honored by UW–Madison as Outstanding Women of Color". University of Wisconsin–Madison. July 22, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  10. "CARBONE CANCER CENTER MEMBERS RECOGNIZED AS VILAS PROFESSORS". University of Wisconsin–Madison. July 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  11. Bruzzese, Stephanie (Fall 2018). "Hands-on". Stanford University. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  12. "Faculty elected to American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering". Stanford University. April 12, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  13. "Dr. Pugh Receives AWS Award". Stanford University. July 8, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  14. Armitage, Hanae (December 11, 2019). "Tracking the movements, minds of surgeons to improve performance". Stanford University. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  15. "Dr. Pugh Elected President of SBAS for 2021-22". Stanford University. April 29, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  16. "Dr. Pugh Elected to ABS Council". Stanford University. March 5, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  17. "Four professors elected to the National Academy of Medicine". Stanford University. October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2021.

Carla Pugh publications indexed by Google Scholar

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