Residency Leadership

Dr. Yanagawa is an Associate Professor of Thoracic Surgery and Director of the General Surgery Residency Program at UCLA. She is a member of the UCLA Thoracic Oncology Program Tumor Board as well as the UCLA Sarcoma Tumor Board, and has developed a thriving clinical practice in thoracic surgical oncology. She is a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Guidelines panel for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer/Mesothelioma/Thymomas and Thymic Malignancies.

Catherine Lewis, MD, MEd, is Associate Program Director for the General Surgery Residency and Professor of Surgery. With a Master of Education in the Health Professions, she supports the program through mentorship, oversight, curricular innovation, and educational leadership. Clinically, Dr. Lewis specializes in Acute Care Surgery, with expertise in trauma, emergency general surgery, and surgical critical care.

Areti Tillou, MD, is Vice Chair for Education for UCLA’s School of Medicine and Department of Surgery, Professor of Clinical Surgery, and Director of the UCLA-CASIT Education Institute. As Assistant Designated Institutional Official for UCLA’s Graduate Medical Education Program, she oversees the full surgical training curriculum - including didactics, skills labs, cadaver labs, and simulation, demonstrating her deep commitment to surgical education. 

Formosa Chen, MD MPH is an Associate Program Director for the General Surgery Residency Program and Associate Professor of Surgery. She is board certified in General and Colorectal Surgery, and her clinical practice is located at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, a Los Angeles County safety net hospital. Dr. Chen also serves as a mentor for medical students and conducts medical education research as part of the UCLA Surgical Education Research Group. 

Mark Girgis, MD is the Associate Program Director for the General Surgery Residency program and Director of Robotic Surgery. He specializes in robotic approaches to surgical oncology in his clinical practice as well as research endeavor through technological advancements and ground breaking research. He is the PI of multiple clinical trials and his research focuses on the molecular pathophysiology of cancer and developing novel small molecules targeting cancer for radioligand therapy. 

James Wu, MD is an Associate Program Director, responsible for resident Mentorship and Career Development. Together with Dr. Tillou, Dr. Wu organizes the UCLA formal surgery curriculum. He is also an assistant professor and endocrine surgeon, with a clinical practice focused on thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal disease. Dr. Wu manages the Endocrine Surgery Research Group, which is engaged in clinical trials, translational, and health services research pertaining to endocrine disease. 

Chi Quach is the Director of Surgical Education.  She provides support to all residency and fellowship in programs in the Department of Surgery. 

Karina serves as the General Surgery Residency Coordinator and manages the daily operations of the residency program, including scheduling, accreditation compliance, faculty and resident support, and event coordination. Karina serves as the central point of communication between residents, faculty, and institutional leadership to ensure smooth program function and alignment with ACGME and departmental standards.