Sarah Spaulding came to THANC in 2018 after graduating from Yale. During her time as a Research Associate, she has spearheaded several exciting clinical research projects and outreach initiatives. As a researcher, Sarah has presented novel surgical approaches for invasive thyroid cancer and published on new reconstructive techniques to treat pharyngoesophageal stenosis. She has also served as the coordinator for THANC’s Tumor Board and Journal Club series, working closely with world-class otolaryngology experts from around the globe to bring exciting research advances and lively discussion and debate to our clinician base each week.
Sarah has enjoyed the close friendships and second family she has found within our small team, serving as THANC’s unofficial social events and party planner. Some of her favorite memories at the Foundation are organizing THANC morning spin classes, cultural lunches for Asian American Heritage Month, and after-work happy hours. Some of her favorite clinical experiences are learning to stain pathology slides from our Site Chair, learning vertical mattress suturing from our ENT residents, and conducting sensory testing on our mandibulectomy patients. As a Research Associate, Sarah has learned the importance of mentorship in medicine, finding mentors in many of our healthcare team members, and also serving as a mentor for our first-year Research Associates and Summer interns.
In the fall, Sarah will start as a first-year medical student at Yale School of Medicine. For Sarah, THANC has been instrumental in her journey to become a physician, giving her the unique opportunity to serve as an integrated member of our medical team and interface closely with patients. Sarah believes her training at THANC has expanded her innovative problem-solving abilities, combining research and clinical skills to come up with creative solutions to patient problems. She is looking forward to growing and applying these skills to a career as a clinician-researcher in cancer.
We will deeply miss Sarah’s warm spirit at the THANC office, but know she will bring so much fun and energy wherever she goes in the future!
