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Dr. Crisanta H. Ilagan Fellowship Match Announcement

Aug 9, 2024

Dr. Crisanta H. Ilagan

The Department of Surgery is excited to announce that one of the chief residents, Dr. Crisanta H. Ilagan, matched into Complex General Surgical Oncology fellowship at Loma Linda University Health, a world renowned non-profit academic medical center in Southern California. The two-year fellowship provides advanced training in the operative and multidisciplinary management of patients with complex and challenging neoplasms, integrating clinical research and state of the art cancer care with emphasis on the whole person care that addresses the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of a patient.

Born in the Philippines, Dr. Ilagan grew up in Vallejo, CA and completed her undergraduate work at the University of California – Berkeley, with dual degrees in Molecular & Cell Biology and Psychology and minor in Comparative Literature. Dr. Ilagan had a prolific career in health economics and outcomes research prior to completing her medical education on a full scholarship at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, where she focused on urban medicine, public health and working with underserved populations.

Dr. Ilagan was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Medical Honor Society as a surgical resident. Her research fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center focused on improving outcomes for patients undergoing major liver resection and pancreatic surgery. Using modern technologies in liver segmentation, one of her projects aimed to more accurately evaluate the optimal future liver remnant volume in combination with kinetic growth rate in patients undergoing major liver resection, specifically in patients who have received pre-operative chemotherapy and may have fibrosis or steatosis, to reduce morbidity and mortality in this patient population. Another project aimed to optimize patients physically, mentally, and emotionally before undergoing pancreatic surgery through a perioperative virtual mind-body program in hopes of reducing morbidity, length-of-stay, and potentially mortality. Dr. Ilagan feels grateful to be part of the field of surgical oncology she can best combine her passion for social justice, science, and research with the excitement and challenge of serving disadvantaged populations and helping people discover for themselves that they can have a new lease on life, become whole again, and pursue that which gives them meaning. Please join us in wishing Dr. Ilagan the best with all her future endeavors.