Assistant Professor
Associate Vice Chair, Global Surgery Equity
Assistant Program Director for Global Surgery, General Surgery Residency Program
Associate Scientist, O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB
Areas of Interest
global surgery, global oncology, disparities, health services research, financial toxicity, oncoplastics
Biography
Dr. Lily Gutnik joined the UAB Division of Breast and Endocrine Surgery in November 2021 as an assistant professor. She also supports the General Surgery Residency Program as assistant program director for global surgery. Additionally, Dr. Gutnik serves the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB as an associate scientist in the Cancer Control and Population Science Program. In 2022, she was appointed to the Sparkman Center for Global Health Scholars Program. She is the inaugural Associate Vice Chair of Global Surgery, helping build and expand UAB's global collaborations.
Dr. Gutnik completed her undergraduate degree at New York University and her Medical Degree at the Medical School for International Health—a collaboration between Ben Gurion University in Israel and Columbia University in New York. She also holds a Masters in Public Health from Harvard University.
Dr. Gutnik completed a research fellowship at the Center for Surgery and Public Health at Harvard University/Brigham and Women's Hospital where she gained valuable experience in health services research. Dr. Gutnik served on the Finance and Economics Committee of the Lancet Commission for Global Surgery. Her longstanding research passion has revolved around the impact of breast cancer screening and early detection in low-resource settings, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Her research is supported by ASCO, NIH, and industry partners.
Dr. Gutnik was previously a Fulbright and Fogarty Fellow in Lilongwe, Malawi where she established and evaluated the efficacy of Malawi’s first breast cancer screening initiative by activating laywomen to become trained breast health workers. In addition, she serves in an advisory board member for international NGOs: (i) Know Your Lemons, which focuses on education and awareness materials; (ii) Kibir Desta- providing quality cancer care to underserved populations in Ethiopia. She is a committee member of PreTac—a franchisee of Discovering Hands in Geneva, Switzerland which focuses on training blind women to become clinical breast examiners. She was a UICC Young Leader in 2023-24 cohort and Birminham Business Journal 40 under 40 honoree.
Honors and Awards
Society of Surgical Oncology Presidential Scholars Program, 2026
UAB Pittman Scholar, 2026
Birmingham Business Journal’s 40 under 40, 2025
UAB Patient Experience Excellence Award FY 2025, Outstanding Care provider and leader with overall satisfaction score of 95%
UAB Dean’s Excellence Award in Mentoring, Junior Faculty, 2024
Lloyd Nuhus Scholarship to World Congress of Surgery, 2024
Breast Surgery International Free Paper Prize, 2024
UAB Patient Experience Excellence Award FY 2024, Outstanding Care provider and leader with overall satisfaction score of 95% Or greater of all ambulatory providers across UAB Medicine
UICC Young Leaders Program 2023-24 Cohort, 2023
UAB Patient Experience Excellence Award FY 2023, Outstanding Care provider and leader with overall satisfaction score of 95% Or greater of all ambulatory providers across UAB Medicine
National Academy of Medicine Emerging Leaders Forum, 2023
UAB MHRC Excellence in Mentoring Award, 2022
Fogarty UJMT Challenge Contest Winner "How has the UJMT Fogarty Global Health Fellows Program helped you grow as a person and as a professional? 2019
Dr. Fang Ching Sun Memorial Award for dedication to working with vulnerable populations, Harvard University, 2014
Fulbright-Fogarty Scholar in Public Health 2014-2015
UJMT Fogarty Global Health Post-Doctoral Fellow 2015-2015
Frederick Knox Sheldon Traveling Fellowship, Harvard University 2014-2015
Association of American University Women, Post-doctoral fellowship, 2014-2015
Education
Medical School
Medical School For International Health - Ben Gurion University in collaboration with Columbia University
Graduate School
Master of Public Health, Harvard University
Residency
University of Utah Health Care, General Surgery
Internship
Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, General Surgery
Fellowships
Harvard University Center for Surgery and Public Health, Research Fellow
Duke University Health Care, Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship
Contact
Office Address
BDB D515
Phone
Patient Appointments and Questions: 205-801-9034
Academic Office: 205-975-5477
Email
lgutnik@uabmc.edu