UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery hosted the Perry Initiative at Mission Hall at the UCSF Mission Bay campus in San Francisco on Dec. 9, 2025. The program provides medical students, residents, fellows and attendings with hands-on instruction and mentorship to inspire young women to pursue careers in orthopaedic surgery and engineering. (Photo: UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery)
UCSF’s Perry Initiative Continues to Shape the Next Generation of Women in Orthopaedics
Through mentorship, hands-on experience, and role models, this long-running program opens doors and inspires young women to redefine the future of orthopaedic surgery and engineering.
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 11, 2026 — Last December, in a bright lecture hall at UCSF Mission Bay’s Mission Hall, a group of medical students leaned over synthetic bones, their hands guided by residents, fellows, and attendings who once were in their shoes. Laughter mixed with concentration as drills and saws were carefully maneuvered, and questions about careers, ambition, and opportunities filled the room.
The occasion was the UCSF Perry Initiative, a national program that has spent more than a decade inspiring young women to pursue careers in orthopaedic surgery and engineering—fields where they have long been underrepresented. The Perry Initiative was founded in 2009 at UCSF by engineer, Dr. Jenni Buckley, and Orthopaedic Hand Surgeon, Dr. Lisa Lattanza, and carries forward the legacy of Dr. Jacquelin Perry, a pioneering orthopaedic surgeon whose work in gait analysis changed medicine and who championed mentorship for women in the field.
UCSF Orthopaedic Surgery residents, from left, Dr. Kelly Bach, Dr. Sara Kiani, Dr. Alicia Asturias and Dr. Kyla Petrie guide UCSF medical students as they repair femur fractures during a hands-on workshop at the UCSF Perry Initiative event. (Photo: UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery)
“The UCSF Perry Initiative is about showing these students that they belong in this field,” said Dr. Stephanie Wong, an Associate Professor and Orthopaedic Surgeon who led the event. “We are helping them see that not only can they succeed, they can lead. For the young women in that room, the program offers a vision of what they can achieve and the confidence to pursue it.”
The program’s impact stretches far beyond one evening. About 85 percent of high school alumnae go on to careers in STEM, and more than 20 percent of medical student participants ultimately match into Orthopaedic residency programs.
UCSF Sports Medicine and Shoulder Fellow Dr. Nyaluma Wagala, at center, instructs UCSF medical students during a hands-on workshop at the UCSF Perry Initiative. (Photo: UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery)
This year, more than 20 medical students joined UCSF residents, fellows, and attendings for the evening, moving between stations that included intramedullary nailing and external fixation of a femur fracture using a hands-on saw bone model. Current residents Drs. Natalie Kucirek, Kelly Bach, Sara Kiani, Alicia Asturias, Katherine Woolley, Rachel Gottlieb and Kyla Petrie, along with fellow Dr. Nya Wagala, guided each step, offering both expertise and encouragement. Faculty—including Drs. Stephanie Wong, Eliana Delgado, Kelsey Collins, and Aenor Sawyer—shared personal stories of navigating obstacles and triumphs in Orthopaedic Surgery, showing the students what a career in the field can look like.
“Seeing women at every stage—medical students, residents, fellows, faculty—makes it clear how much growth, mentorship, and support matters,” Dr. Wong says. “The Perry Initiative is about expanding possibilities, building confidence, and creating a community where women can thrive, lead, and redefine the face of Orthopaedic Surgery and Engineering.”
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