UAB General Surgery Resident Connie Shao, M.D., MSPH, was awarded the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons (SAAS) and Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) Resident Travel Award.

The award comes with an $1,000 stipend to fund travel to the SAAS annual meeting on Sept. 16-19 in Honolulu, HI.

SAAS was founded in 2011 to focus on the personal and professional development of Asian academic surgeons with the belief that the best way to increase Asian representation in the leadership of academic surgery is to prepare future generations to succeed.

AWS, founded in 1981, is a non-profit educational and professional organization. With approximately 3,000 members of all genders, AWS is one of the largest organizations dedicated to enhancing the interaction and exchange of information between women surgeons.

Shao is honored to receive this prestigious award and is looking forward to representing the UAB General Surgery Residency program at the annual meeting. 

“I am grateful to my mentors and colleagues for encouraging me to apply for this award,” said Shao. “SAAS is an incredibly important organization to me and I am so thankful for their and AWS’s support.”