SLU's Surgical Residency Program Graduates First All-Female Class

For the first time in Saint Louis University history, the Department of Surgery General Surgery Residency Program has an all-female graduating class. 

The five-member class will soon leave SLU. The graduating class members and their next assignments are:

• Faidah Badru, M.D., pediatric surgery fellowship at the University of Florida;
• Jennifer Keller, M.D., surgical oncology fellowship at John Wayne Cancer Institute;
• Jennifer Lobb, M.D., trauma critical care fellowship at the University of Miami Ryder Trauma Center;
• Laura Peck, D.O., minimally invasive surgery fellowship at Wayne State University; and
• Annie Mooser, M.D., will report to the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan Aircraft Carrier as a staff surgeon.

Lobb said she was drawn to SLU because of the strong female leadership and large proportion of women attending surgeons and residents in the program.

“It has been great to get the message out there that women are prevalent in surgery and that surgery is a perfectly feasible career for a woman, which seems like wasn’t the perception until recently,” Lobb said. “Also, we had one of the best fellowship match years in SLU surgery history, so I’m quite proud of all of us for accomplishing that.”

Lobb began her residency with an interest in breast oncology, but shifted course while at SLU.

“I’m particularly interested in health care disparities and global surgery, and I found trauma to be the perfect fit for me. We are fortunate at SLU to have some of the most amazing, skilled and smart trauma surgeons in the country,” Lobb said. “Many of them have military experience and have done some incredible things while saving lives while abroad. Being able to work alongside them and learn from them, especially during my 4th year of residency as trauma chief, was the most enjoyable experience of my life. ”

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Established in 1836, Saint Louis University School of Medicine has the distinction of awarding the first medical degree west of the Mississippi River. The school educates physicians and biomedical scientists, conducts medical research, and provides health care on a local, national and international level. Research at the school seeks new cures and treatments in five key areas: infectious disease, liver disease, cancer, heart/lung disease, and aging and brain disorders.