Dr. Teresa Purzner MD PhD FRCSC is a clinician scientist neurosurgeon with a special interest in neuroncology and general neurosurgery. She completed her residency training at the University of Toronto, and her PhD training at Stanford University. Her lab, run jointly with her husband Dr. James Purzner, is focused on interdisciplinary approaches to identifying novel drug targets for brain cancer as well as the translation of promising new drug targets into human-ready therapeutics. Her work has led to the identification of a critical new drug target in the brain tumor medulloblastoma – a discovery that she has since translated into a novel drug for both brain cancer and skin cancer, currently being tested in phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials. This work has resulted in her being named a Stanford Interdisciplinary Graduate fellow, Biox fellow and SPARK fellow, and has earned her both national and international recognition including the Annual Award of the American Academy of Neurological Surgery, the K.G. McKenzie prize for Basic Science Research, AANS Louise Eisenhardt Award and the Neurosurgery Research and Education Fellowship.

She is a mom, an entrepreneur, and design-thinker, having created her own baby food company as well as redesigned the Integrated Brain Tumor Program.

Links:

1. Integrated Brain Tumor Program: https://surgery.queensu.ca/administration/announcements/integrative-brain-tumor-program-achieving-best-class-patient-outcomes
2. https://www.ibtp.ca/purzner-lab
3. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/economy/article-how-a-neurosurgeon-used-her-entrepreneurial-background-to-revamp-a/
   
   

Dr. Patrick Murphy is a trauma and acute care surgeon at Medical College of Wisconsin. In this episode we discuss his recent paper, “Understaffed and overworked: The stark reality of acute care surgeon staffing in the United States, an Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma multicenter study.” This conversation turned into more than just a discussion around workforce planning, but also around how surgeons are compensated and surgical culture.

Links:

1. Murphy, Patrick B. MD, MPH, MSc; Coleman, Jamie J. MD; et al; The ACS Staffing Authorship Group. Understaffed and overworked: The stark reality of acute care surgeon staffing in the United States, an Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma multicenter study. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery ():10.1097/TA.0000000000004700, July 4, 2025. | DOI: 10.1097/TA.0000000000004700
2. Murphy PB, Nahmias J, Bonne S, Coleman J, de Moya M. Defining the acute care surgeon: American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) panel discussion on full-time employment, compensation and career trajectory. Trauma Surg Acute Care Open. 2024 Sep 30;9(1):e001500. doi: 10.1136/tsaco-2024-001500. PMID: 39363886; PMCID: PMC11448165.
3. Murphy PB, Coleman J, Karam B, Morris RS, Figueroa J, de Moya M. A national study defining 1.0 full-time employment in trauma and acute care surgery. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2022 Apr 1;92(4):648-655. doi: 10.1097/TA.0000000000003504. PMID: 34936589.
4. Murphy PB, Coleman J, Maring M, Pokrzywa C, Deshpande D, Al Tannir AH, Biesboer EA, Morris RS, Figueroa J, de Moya M. Early career acute care surgeons' priorities and perspectives: A mixed-methods analysis to better understand full-time employment. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2023 Dec 1;95(6):935-942. doi: 10.1097/TA.0000000000004037. Epub 2023 Jun 15. PMID: 37418689.
5. Smith RN, Freedberg M, Bailey J, DeMoya M, Goldberg A, Staudenmayer K. The importance and benefits of defining full-time equivalence in the field of acute care surgery. Trauma Surg Acute Care Open. 2024 Jul 4;9(1):e001307. doi: 10.1136/tsaco-2023-001307. PMID: 38974220; PMCID: PMC11227842.
6. Robinson C, Lawless R, Zarzaur BL, Timsina L, Feliciano DV, Coleman JJ. Physiologic stress among surgeons who take in-house call. Am J Surg. 2019 Dec;218(6):1181-1184. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2019.08.023. Epub 2019 Sep 19. PMID: 31570199.
7. Adi Kumar on Cold Steel: https://open.spotify.com/episode/52Hg2cCLGLZejD0QSfI9le?si=xSHFcSrPRdOOZ_RT_QWsAA

Dr. Brian Cameron is a retired pediatric surgeon who has spent much of his life dedicated to global surgery. In this conversation, we discuss his new book Ripples from the Rupununi: Dr. Aidun’s Healing Journey. We talk about what it takes to write a book and also discuss the book itself.

Let us know in the comments or via email: Have you ever thought about writing a book?

Links:

1. E78 Brian Cameron On Global Surgery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdetQSXBRMQ
2. Ripples from the Rupununi. https://books.friesenpress.com/store/title/119734000491425890/Brian-H.-Cameron-Ripples-from-the-Rupununi
3. Surgical training in Guyana: the next generation. Cameron BH, Martin C, Rambaran M. Can J Surg. 2015 Feb;58(1):7-9. doi: 10.1503/cjs.010414. PMID: 25621909 Free PMC article.
4. Evaluating the long-term impact of the Trauma Team Training course in Guyana: an explanatory mixed-methods approach. Pemberton J, Rambaran M, Cameron BH. Am J Surg. 2013 Feb;205(2):119-24. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2012.08.004. Epub 2012 Dec 13. PMID: 23246285
5. International surgery: the development of postgraduate surgical training in Guyana. Cameron BH, Rambaran M, Sharma DP, Taylor RH. Can J Surg. 2010 Feb;53(1):11-6. PMID: 20100407 Free PMC article.
6. Teaching in Fiji: practising medicine, coping with coups. Cameron BH. CMAJ. 1989 Apr 1;140(7):833-5. PMID: 2924235 Free PMC article. No abstract available.