Global Surgical Innovation
Annual National Conference 2023

On April 1st, the Michigan Global Surgery Student Alliance hosted the Annual Global Surgery Conference centered around the theme of surgical innovation. From the Big House to the conference opening by UM President Ono to the black tie gala, our GSSA students orchestrated an unforgettable weekend for 72 universities, connecting over 500 student leaders! Check out the following link below to learn more about the event.

Click here to download the 2023 National GSSA Annual Report, and read about the conference on Page 11!

Referral System for Ectopic Pregnancy (RSEP) Project Team

RSEP, or Referral System for Ectopic Pregnancy, is a six-membered GSSA project team working in collaboration with Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) located in Accra, Ghana. KBTH is the largest referral hospital in Ghana and West Africa that serves a vast network of patients in the region, and this team of six has had the honor of collaborating with two local OB/GYN physicians at KBTH, including Dr. Perez Sepenu M.B.B.S and Dr. Promise Sefogah MBChB MGCS MPH. With the help of UM advisor and clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecolgy, Dr. Emma Lawrence MD MS, RSEP is currently seeking KBTH and UM IRB approval for a proposed study to (1) evaluate and describe the current clinical and referral processes for the diagnosis and management of ectopic pregnancy at KBTH and (2) gauge an understanding of both patient and provider perspectives on the referral and treatment pathway for ectopic pregnancy. The team has received funding from the University of Michigan’s Center for Global Health Equity as well as the University of Michigan’s Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives.

Read more on the scientific background and problem statement below:

An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg implants outside of a woman’s uterus, in a location that cannot support fetal development.1 Over 90% of cases implant in the fallopian tube, between the ovaries and uterus.2 In rare cases, they can also occur in the ovaries, cervix, or abdominal cavity. Pregnancies outside of the uterus cannot support a growing embryo, often leading to severe bleeding and rupture of the fallopian tube. This causes intra-abdominal hemorrhage and hemodynamic compromise, and can potentially result in death.2,3
While only 2% of pregnancies are ectopic, they are the primary contributor to maternal morbidity and mortality in the first trimester, accounting for 75% of early-pregnancy maternal mortality and 8% of global maternal deaths.2,4 Ectopic pregnancy remains a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality, especially in cases where delays in care lead to a rupture of the fallopian tubal pregnancy. In Ghana, limited access to healthcare, diagnostic tools, and standardized protocols makes the timely diagnosis and care of ectopic pregnancy challenging, with little data on referral practices and barriers to prompt effective management. This demonstrates an urgent need for an updated system to manage ectopic pregnancy in this region.

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1. Ectopic Pregnancy: What Is It? Cleveland Clinic. Accessed July 13, 2025. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9687-ectopic-pregnancy

2. Chong KY, de Waard L, Oza M, et al. Ectopic pregnancy. Nat Rev Dis Primer. 2024;10(1):94. doi:10.1038/s41572-024-00579-x

3. Say L, Chou D, Gemmill A, et al. Global causes of maternal death: a WHO systematic analysis. Lancet Glob Health. 2014;2(6):e323-e333. doi:10.1016/s2214-109x(14)70227-x

4.Carvalhais BS, Resende MGD, Costa LAM da, Fernandes BP, Barros BER de. Diagnósticos diferenciais essenciais na avaliação clínica da Apendicite Aguda. Res Soc Dev. 2024;13(8):e13213846708-e13213846708. doi:10.33448/rsd-v13i8.46708

Ilustrated: RSEP Team Members Romir, Diya, Nathalie, and Kayla (N/P: Amby and Varsha) after Oral Presentation at 2025 GSSA Research Symposium

Global Health Equity Challenge 2024/CSEP Project Team

At the the 2024 University of Michigan Student Organization Global Health Equity Challenge, six of our GSSA members [Jina Patel, Angelina Hamati, Venkatesh Alagappan, Jaffy Jeevaraj, Sophia Fisher, and Aanchal Jain] presented their project titled “Evaluating Current Practices of Patient Education of Cesarean Section Wound Care in Ethiopia" infront of an audience of judges, achieving an outstanding second-place finish in the competition. This placement in the pitch competition provided an award of $3,000 going towards our chapter's fund, along with priceless experiences in interdisciplinary collaboration and problem-solving for those involved.

Read more on the scientific background and problem statement below:

This project team's mission is rooted in identifying the relationship between health literacy and C-section surgical site infection rates in St. Paul's Hospital located in Ethiopia. The source of this problem statement lies in the fact that routine surgical and medical procedure protocols are well standardized across Ethiopian hospitals like St. Paul's, but that this specific site differs significantly in terms of health literacy and dissemination of patient self-care education. This discprepancy is thought to originate from several factors that set St. Paul's Hospital apart from nearby healthcare institutions, particularly its large size, central location, rate of emergency cases, and the more common incidence of language barriers affecting effective patient-provider communication. In particular, the statistics highlight that mothers who are discharged from the hospital with a greater level of education on Ceaserean section wound care are, in fact, 1.2 less likely to develop a surgical site infection (SSI) post-partum than those who do not receive such supplemental care information. Due to observations like these, CSEP's work in the past year has involved interviews with both providers and patients to observe whether a discrepancy in patient-provider communication on wound care truly exists. In doing so, this team of six has utilized a variety of resources to move the project forward, including surveys and visual aids, a proposed intervention to mitigate healthcare illiteracy on this topic, and collaboration with both local and global partners alike.

2024 End-of-Year Research Symposium

On April 21, GSSA held its End-Of-Year Research Symposium, providing members with the opportunity to present their own research in front of an audience, as well as engage with the projects of their peers. During the event, our organization had the pleasure of being joined by three wonderful Michigan Medicine guest speakers: Dr. Karin Muraszko, Dr. Joseph Kolars and Dr. Robin Petroze. Symposia like these provide students with the opportunity to practice their presentational skills, while learning about ongoing projects and discoveries in the world of medicine. Some research topics presented at the event included the following: Alveolar Neutrophilia, ECMO Chest Tube Complications, Ex-Vivo Heart Perfusion, Medulloblastoma Cell Lines, Cuprizone-induced Demyelinating Disease, the Efficacy of Medical Arabic, and more!

2025 End-of-Year Research Symposium

On April 12, GSSA held its second annual End-Of-Year Research Symposium, in collaboration with the Michigan State University GSSA chapter to provide members with the opportunity to present their research, engage in round-table discussions, as well as listen in on the healthcare experiences of experts in the field. During the event, our organization had the pleasure of being joined by several providers at Michigan Medicine like Dr. Sanjhai Ramdeen, as well as our wonderful advisor, Dr. Robin Petroze. As always, we remain extremely greateful to be able to host this event annually, and provide our members with an opportunity to network, learn, and open their minds to new perspectives in research, global healthcare, and beyond.

Partnership with ALL-SAFE

ALL-SAFE (short for African Laparascopic Learners for Safe Advancement for Ectopic Pregnancy) is a non-profit organization led by Michigan Medicine's Dr. Grace Kim that encompasses surgical modules responsible for teaching surgeons in LMICs to perform laparascopic surgery with limited need for physical educators and professional equipment. The ALL-SAFE/GSSA partnership has provided members with the chance to assist in ALL-SAFE's agenda, and provide volunteer work to advance their mission. For example, students this year have worked on creating ectopic pregnancy laparascopic surgery sets in the Medical School, transforming surgical modules into documents accessible by the United Nations Global Surgery Learning Hub (SurgHub), volunteering with the ALL-SAFE team at the 2024 Youth Summit, and collecting used laboratory materials for donation trips to partnering communities.

Think Global, Act Local Day (TGAL)

What does it mean to think global, but act local? With this 3-day initiative, Michigan GSSA was able to collaborate with a variety of other pre-health organizations on campus (CURIS, Alpha Tau Pi, ALCSI, Global Health Alliance, and ALL-SAFE) to organize a week of service and donation events to help support making surgical care more accessible across the African continent. Along with a series of virtual and in-person donation hustles organized throughout the week, our TGAL initiative concluded in a Day of Service held on January 12th, where members from the above organizations had the opportunity to rotate around different stations, participating in the following activities: crafting cards and blankets to be delivered to patients at Michigan Medicine, assisting in appendix model-making with the medical school organization ALL-SAFE, and painting white ribbons in support of lung cancer awareness.

The total amount of $500 USD accumulated through our donation efforts will be directly supporting the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS), an international organization focused on combatting the lack of surgical care in several countries within Africa through education and training.

If interested in learning more about the mission and work done by PAACS, or the appendicitis surgical model developed by ALL-SAFE, we recommend checking out the following links below!

GSSA 5k For Health Equity 2025

On April 19th, our chapter hosted a 5k race spanning the University of Michigan North Campus Complex in dedication of raising health equity awareness globally by running on the local level. As a part of this initiative, GSSA was able to raise a total of $1000 to support SAYDetroit, a free family health clinic centered in Highland Park, MI. As a whole, the event consisted of a total of 42 runners and plenty of volunteers dedicated to supporting the cause. Special thank you to everyone who participated on this special Saturday!

Michigan Medicine Workshops and Seminars

With the help of our club advisor and GSSA's continous involvement with Michigan Medicine physicians and research staff, our members have had the opportunity to participate in numerous events hosted by both the Medical School, as well as the Department of Surgery on med campus. Some of this year's events attended by our members and shown to the right include: the 2024 Diversity in Medicine Conference held at Palmer Commons, the 2024 Youth Summit at the Big House, and the 2023 Nth Dimensions Orthopaedic Surgery Workshop.

Global Colorectal Surgery Education Initiative

The Global Colorectal Surgery Education Initiative is a non-profit organization with a mission to revolutionize colorectal healthcare in Ghana and other LMICs by bridging the gap in specialized surgical expertise. This initiative has been founded by GSSA's previous club advisor and Michigan Medicine colorectal surgeon, Dr. Gifty Kwakye. Over the summer of 2023, our Marketing Committee worked on the initiative's website development, incorporating elements like the non-profit's projects, goals, research publications, and a number of testimonials from Ghanian resident doctors in training.

Community Service in- and outside of Ann Arbor

In the past year, GSSA's Outreach Committee was responsible for providing a series of volunteer opportunities for members both in- and outside of the university campus. Some of these opportunities ranged from volunteering with other pre-med student organizations (Blueprints for Pangea, Wolverine Support Network, RAPS), Ann Arbor Schools, homeless shelters (Delonis), community organizations in Detroit (Bountiful Pantries, Boys and Girls Club), and hospitals in the metro-Detroit area (Children's Hospital of Michigan).

Because of our commitment to volunteering and making an impact in our local community, GSSA is proud to have received the Community Engagement Award at the School of Public Health Honors Ceremony in April of 2024, as well as in April of 2025. We are extremely proud to have been honored with this recognition twice in a row, and look forward to continuing our community-based work in raising awareness around surgical disparities across the globe.