Professor of Surgery
Mayo Clinic
Dr. Amy Degnim has been a member of the Mayo Clinic staff since 2003. Currently, she serves as consultant in the Department of Surgery and Professor of Surgery, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. Dr. Degnim’s clinical practice consists of benign and malignant breast disease. She led development of a nationally recognized breast surgery program at Mayo Clinic with national and international presence. She developed the Multidisciplinary Breast Fellowship at Mayo Clinic and served as Program Director for five years. Dr. Degnim’s main research effort focuses on improving the ability to predict breast cancer risk for individual women by studying premalignant changes in breast tissue. She leads the Mayo Clinic Benign Breast Disease Cohort, a multidisciplinary research study involving approximately 15,000 women, with the goal of improving the accuracy of breast cancer risk prediction and prevention. Aspects of this large research effort include the study of histology, immunology, genomics, and mammographic changes that are associated with risk of developing breast cancer. She has developed clinical and research expertise in high risk breast lesions, biomarkers of breast cancer, and breast cancer risk prediction. Dr. Degnim also leads research efforts related to improving quality of breast surgery by reducing complications of surgery. She has pioneered clinical research on breast lymphedema and also clinical trials on the use of drain antisepsis techniques to reduce surgical site infection.