Ava Yap, MD, MHS was born in Canada and spent her upbringing in Hong Kong before moving to the US for college. She is now a general surgery trainee at UCSF. She previously worked in a range of healthcare systems in Canada, Peru, Ecuador, Uganda and Malaysia, all which fostered a dedicated interest in addressing the global health inequity witnessed during her travels.

She is mentored by the Director of the UCSF Center of Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia (CHESA) Dr. Doruk Ozgediz. She also collaborates with the pediatric surgical team in Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and charity KidsOR to work towards alleviating the tremendous deficit in pediatric surgical capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa. She completed her Master’s in Health Sciences and conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) that demonstrated that implementation of a pediatric operating room in Uganda was very cost effective. These results strengthened international partnerships with involved sites in low-middle income countries (LMICs), expanded operating room facilities in 21+ LMICs, and mobilized stakeholders to take notice in the investment of pediatric surgical infrastructure worldwide.

In her residency research years, she completed a 2-year CHESA health equity fellowship, partnering with KidsOR, Mulago National Referral Hospital, and other global organizations to continue the economic and clinical evaluation of surgical capacity building in low resource settings as she plans to forge a career towards global academic pediatric surgery. Her health equity interests were also rooted domestically, as she collaborated with the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program in Pediatrics to investigate the association between social determinants of health and postoperative outcomes in children, led by her mentor and Associate Program Director Dr. Lan Vu.

She additionally has an interest in perioperative sustainbility and have integrated herself with the UCSF Sustainbility committee, working alongside Director Dr. Seema Gandhi to pilot reusable textiles in the perioperative space.