Kathryn Rowland, MD, MPHS, joins the Division of Pediatric Surgery as an associate professor of surgery, effective October 7.
Rowland has expertise in minimally invasive surgical techniques applied across the breadth of pediatric general surgery, with a specialized clinical interest in pediatric surgical oncology.
“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Rowland back to WashU Medicine,” says Colin Martin, MD, chief of the Division of Pediatric Surgery, who is the Brad and Barbara Warner Professor of Surgery. “Her vast experience with pediatric solid tumors, coupled with the strengths of the clinicians and researchers here, will position St. Louis Children’s Hospital and WashU Medicine to be a regional and national leader in pediatric oncology.”
In addition to her surgical expertise, Rowland is an accomplished surgical educator with a focus on character formation during medical education. She has published peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on surgical and medical training, created innovative curricula for character education for future physicians, and has delivered invited lectures on the shaping and becoming of a “good” doctor at academic hospitals across the country. Beginning in 2025, Rowland will serve as program director for the WashU Medicine Pediatric Surgery Fellowship.
Rowland earned her medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where she also completed general surgery residency training. While at WashU Medicine, Rowland earned a master of population health science degree. She then completed a pediatric surgery fellowship at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. She is currently an assistant professor of pediatric surgery at the University of Chicago and a faculty fellow for the Hyde Park Institute where she serves as the course director for the Scholars in Ethics and Medicine program. She is the vice-chair for the American Pediatric Surgical Association Ethics committee.
“Wash U has always been home to me. I am very much looking forward to the opportunity to return to shape the future of character education in medicine and to train the next generation of Wash U students, residents, and fellows,” says Rowland. In regards to her clinical role, she says: “I can’t imagine a more exciting opportunity than to help lead the advancement of pediatric surgical oncology care at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.”
The Department of Surgery welcomes Kathryn Rowland, MD, MPHS, to the Division of Pediatric Surgery.