Dr. Gurjit Sandhu is a Surgical Education Scientist and Professor in the Department of Surgery and in the Department of Learning Health Sciences at the University of Michigan. Dr. Sandhu completed her B.A. in 1996 from the University of British Columbia, Canada and earned her PhD in 2006 from Queen's University, Canada. She joined the faculty at the University of Michigan in 2013.
Dr. Sandhu serves as the Director for the Center for Surgical Training and Research (CSTAR) in the Department of Surgery, University of Michigan and is the national Director for the Surgical Education Research Fellowship (SERF) through the Association for Surgical Education (ASE). She served as the Co-Chair for the American Board of Surgery (ABS) Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) Resident/Faculty Development Taskforce. Dr. Sandhu was selected to serve as a Faculty Associate for the Michigan Medicine Office of Wellbeing. Her area of interest with the Office of Wellbeing is at the intersection of learning environments, psychological safety, and wellbeing.
In 2022, Dr. Sandhu received the Distinguished Mid-Career Educator Award from the Association for Surgical Education.
.Dr. Sandhu's research focuses on the scholarship of teaching and learning, specifically looking at professional education, teaching methods, intraoperative entrustment, and the educational environment. Dr. Sandhu also uses her strengths as a qualitative researcher to support her work on social accountability in medical education, health equity and disparities, and physician wellness. She has over 100 publications. Dr. Sandhu is an Associate Editor for Global Surgical Education – Journal for the Association of Surgical Education and for the Journal of Graduate Medical Education.