Laura J. Esserman, M.D.

Education

M.D., Stanford University, Stanford, California, 1983

Residency

General Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 1991

Fellowship

Breast Cancer, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 1988

Board Certifications

American Board of Surgical Oncology

Hospital Affiliations/Admitting Privileges

University of California, San Francisco

Dr. Laura Esserman is Associate Professor of Surgery and Radiology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the Director of the Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center at the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Esserman received her undergraduate degree from Harvard and her M.D. from Stanford University, where she completed her residency and an oncology fellowship. After completing her training, she was awarded a Hartford fellowship to enable her to pursue her MBA at the Stanford University School of Business.

Dr. Esserman has a joint appointment in the Departments of Surgery and Radiology. She also serves on the Executive Committee of the Center for Integrative Medicine at UCSF and is the co-leader of the Breast Oncology Program of the UCSF Cancer Center. Dr. Esserman’s practice is devoted to diseases of the breast, particularly breast cancer. The Breast Cancer Center she helped to create is a place where patients are looked at as a whole person, and are not identified by their disease. This philosophy is behind her interest in helping women become more involved in their own decision-making process.

Dr. Esserman is also involved in research and furthering the knowledge of providers as well as patients. Current projects include: the development of a vaccine for treatment of ductal carcinoma; developing MRI imaging as a surrogate marker of disease and response to improve cancer staging and enable the introduction of novel therapeutics. She also speaks continuously at many public and private forums and has published numerous articles covering topics from immunology to health policy and health care delivery.