New Faculty Recognition

Department of Surgery New Faculty: August 2022

This August, the Department of Surgery welcomes six new faculty members to the Division of Urologic Surgery, the Section of Abdominal Transplant Surgery, the Section of Acute and Critical Care Surgery and the Section of Vascular Surgery.

August New Faculty

Division of Urologic Surgery

The Division of Urologic Surgery welcomes Zeynep Gul, MD, as an assistant professor. She earned her medical degree in 2015 from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Gul completed her general surgery internship at Mount Sinai Beth Israel in 2016 and her urology residency at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York in 2020. Gul recently completed her Society of Urologic Oncology Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she was awarded funding by the American Urologic Association for her research in disparities of telemedicine use. Gul specializes in general urology.

Section of Abdominal Transplant Surgery

The Section of Abdominal Transplant Surgery welcomes Jennifer Yu, MD, as an assistant professor. Yu has been with the School of Medicine since her undergraduate years. At Washington University, she earned her BS in biomedical engineering and applied sciences (chemical engineering) in 2008, her medical degree in 2012 and her masters in population health sciences in 2015. Yu also completed her surgical oncology/clinical research fellowship, general surgery residency and, most recently, abdominal transplant fellowship at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Yu specializes in abdominal transplantation and has conducted extensive research on medical education, breast cancer pathology and treatment and a range of other topics. She brings expertise in robotic surgery to the growing robotic HPB-GI and transplant programs at Washington University.

Section of Acute and Critical Care Surgery

After completing his critical care fellowship at Washington University earlier this year, Rami-Al Aref, MD, joins The Section of Acute and Critical Care Surgery as an instructor. Al-Aref earned his medical degree in 2016 from Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan. He completed his general surgery residency in 2021 at Stamford Hospital/Columbia University in Stamford, Connecticut. Al-Aref specializes in emergency general surgery, trauma surgery, robotic surgery and surgical critical care and has extensive experience treating conditions such as appendicitis, cholecystitis, hernia, bowel obstructions, diverticulitis and soft-tissue infections.

Patrick Craft, DO, also joins the Section of Acute and Critical Care Surgery as an instructor after completing his surgical critical care fellowship at Barnes-Jewish Hospital this year. He earned his osteopathic medical degree from the West Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2015 and completed his general surgery residency at Berkshire Medical Center at the University of Massachusetts, University of New England in 2020. Craft is a member of the American College of Surgeons, the American College of Osteopathic Surgery and the American Osteopathic Association. He specializes in surgical critical care.

Section of Vascular Surgery

The Section of Vascular Surgery welcomes Katherine Holzem, MD, PhD, as an assistant professor. With this new position, Holzem continues her work with Washington University, having earned her medical degree and doctorate from the School of Medicine in 2015 and having completed her vascular surgery residency there this year. Holzem specializes in vascular surgery and has experience treating conditions such as aneurysm, aortic dissection, claudication, blood clots and chronic venous insufficiency.

Genevieve Hayek, MD, joins the Section of Vascular Surgery as an assistant professor. Hayek recently completed her vascular and endovascular fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine. She earned her medical degree from the University of Queensland School of Medicine in Queensland, Australia in 2014 and completed her general surgery residency at Ochsner Clinic Foundation at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, Louisiana in 2020. In 2015, as one of the first recipients of a research grant awarded to the graduates of the University of Queensland/Ochsner Clinical School graduates, Hayek created database of over 800 breast cancer patients which was used to create several different published retrospective studies. She specializes in general surgery.

The Department of Surgery welcomes Gul to the Division of Urologic Surgery; Yu to the Section of Abdominal Transplant Surgery; Al-Aref and Craft to the Section of Acute and Critical Care Surgery; Holzem and Hayek to the Section of Vascular Surgery and offers congratulations to each for their appointments.