Sanziana Roman, MD, FACS
Professor
Surgery
School of Medicine

Endocrine surgeon

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Dr. Sanziana Roman brings two decades of experience in her surgical treatment of tumors of the adrenal, thyroid, and parathyroid glands. She has a particular interest in minimally invasive approaches to surgery and is one of few surgeons around the world with a high-volume practice in posterior retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy (PRA). In addition, she has vast experience in treating pediatric thyroid nodules and tumors, including children and adolescents with congenital hypothyroidism and goiter, Graves’ disease, thyroid cancer, as well as inherited syndromes, such as Multiple Endocrine Neoplasias. Dr Roman earned her medical degree at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York NY, and completed her surgical residency training at Yale University, New Haven, CT. Prior to coming to UCSF, she was the Chief of Endocrine Surgery at Yale University for 13 years, subsequently becoming a tenured professor of surgery and the Associate Chief of the Advanced Oncologic Surgery Division at Duke University, Durham, NC, where she remained on faculty for more than five years. There, she established the Center for Adrenal Disease and the Duke Pediatric Thyroid Center. Dr. Roman has been listed in the publication America’s Top Doctors. She is board certified in surgery.

Dr Roman is a dedicated medical educator and is the Director of Clinical Teaching (F2) and Career Launch (CL) Curricula for medical students in the School of Medicine at UCSF.

Prior to becoming a surgeon, Dr. Roman was an opera singer. She combines her love for singing and surgery by focusing her skills on saving the patient’s voice during neck operations. During the COVID pandemic, she teamed up with the San Francisco Opera and is the inventor of the VOXCV singing mask, which helped many opera singers return safely to live performing during the pandemic. The mask design was a finalist in the US Department of Health and Human Services BARDA Mask Challenge, 2021.

Awards

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  • Member of the Academy of Master Surgeon Educators, American College of Surgeons, 2022
  • Member of the Academy of Medical Educators, UCSF, 2020
  • Alpha Omega Alpha, UCSF, 2019
  • Barbara Troxell Prize in Music, Cornell University, 1990-1991
  • Falconer Prize for Operatic Performance, Cornell University, 1989-1991

Education & Training

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  • Education, Teaching Scholars Program University of California 2020
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training University of California 2018
  • ALICE Program -- Academic Leadership, Innovation, and Collaborative Engagement Duke University 2016
  • Surgery Yale University 06/1999
  • MD Medicine Columbia University 05/1994
  • BS German Literature, Music Cornell University 05/1990

Interests

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  • Pheochromocytoma
  • Paraganglioma
  • Cushing's Syndrome
  • Aldosteronoma
  • Adrenal tumors/cancer
  • Hyperparathyroidism
  • MEN1
  • 2A and 2B
  • Thyroid Cancer
  • Thyroid goiters
  • Graves’ disease
  • Hyperthyroidism
  • Parathyroid disease

Publications (233)

Top publication keywords:
Clinical ClerkshipThyroid DiseasesThyroidectomyEducation, Medical, UndergraduateHyperparathyroidism, PrimaryThyroid NeoplasmsThyroid GlandPheochromocytomaAdrenalectomyStudents, MedicalParathyroidectomyGeneral SurgeryAdrenal Gland NeoplasmsEndocrine Surgical ProceduresCarcinoma, Papillary

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