Post-doctoral Research Fellow
University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Kwak was born and raised in the Midwest. She received her undergraduate degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Johns Hopkins University. During her time in college, she conducted research involving an oral cancer mouse model and also spent a summer at the Johns Hopkins Brady Urological Institute developing laser capture microdissection protocols to identify prostate cancer biomarkers. After graduation, she stayed in Baltimore for 2 years working at the Kennedy Krieger Institute with adolescent patients with severe behavioral disorders. Dr. Kwak then completed her medical education at Boston University School of Medicine where she supplemented her schoolwork with clinical research examining the effect of social determinants of health on pancreatic cancer outcomes. After committing to general surgery, she began residency at the University of California San Francisco East Bay where she recently completed her third year. She now is a part of the T32 Training Program in Surgical Oncology at the University of Pennsylvania. Under her mentor Dr. Ronald DeMatteo, she is studying cancer immunology, specifically the role of macrophages in gastrointestinal stromal tumors. She hopes to pursue a fellowship in surgical oncology and become a physician scientist at an urban academic center. Outside of the lab and operating room, Dr. Kwak enjoys traveling, scuba diving, and trying new restaurants with her friends and family.