James Lau is a general surgeon who specializes in minimally invasive and bariatric surgery. He has been active in medical education at two different institutions for thirteen years and has been at Stanford for over eight years. He is the associate program director for the surgery residency and is the medical student surgery core clerkship director at the Stanford School of Medicine. He created a simulation center and program for the Department of Surgery at the University of Nevada School of Medicine 12 years ago from the ground up. Upon his arrival to Stanford, he positioned the Goodman Surgical Education Center and the Education Fellowship to new heights of curricular and research rigor.

He serves as a mentor for the surgical education fellows and is the champion for many medical education initiatives for the Department of Surgery at Stanford. Since becoming the Assistant Dean for Clerkship Education for the Stanford School of Medicine, he has made improving the educational environment for medical students and coordinating support and guidance for the struggling student his mission. Lau’s research interests have culminated into the creation, deployment, and assessment of interdisciplinary in-situ simulations in the Operating Room environment to improve patient safety through teamwork and communication. James has also recently completed his Master’s Degree in Health Professions Education from the University of Illinois-Chicago in order to better serve as an educational mentor for faculty, fellows, residents, and medical students. His passion is to empower others to reach their potential through teaching and mentorship especially through innovation in any form it takes.