Biography

Tania K. Arora, M.D., joined the UAB Department of Surgery's Division of Surgical Oncology as professor in July 2024. She also serves as the Department's Vice Chair of Access and Engagement. 

Born in England and raised in Virginia, Dr. Arora earned her medical degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, in Richmond Virginia,  where she also completed her general surgery residency, a 2-year  NIH T-32 research fellowship,  and  a 2-year fellowship in complex general surgical oncology.  For over 11 years, Dr. Arora has been engaged in the multidisciplinary care of complex cancer care.

She is double board-certified by the American Board of Surgery in  general surgery and complex surgical oncology and is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. She is passionate about surgical education and has been a residency program director and assistant dean.  Dr. Arora currently holds leadership and committee positions with the American College of Surgeons, the Association of Academic Surgeons, the Society of Surgical Oncology, the Association of Surgical Education, and Association of Program Directors in Surgery.

Her research interests include curriculum design and implementation, and quality improvement - with an emphasis on improving clinical outcomes for all cancer patients and equality in healthcare and medical education.

Education

Medical School
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia

Residency
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
General Surgery

Fellowship
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
Complex General Surgical Oncology Fellowship

Certifications

American Board of Surgery

American Board of Surgery Complex General Surgical Oncology

Honors and Awards

Teaching Excellence Award (2014 - 2018)

Academy of Master Surgeon Educators, Associate Member, American College of Surgeons (Inducted October 2021)

American College of Surgeons Innovative Grant for DEI (November 2021)

Alpha Omega Alpha (Inducted in 2022)

Association of Surgical Education Coin for Recognition of Service (2023)

Selected Publications

Lockhart, V., Chen, Z. E., Liu, H., Li, J., Blansfield, J., Arora, T., ... & Lin, F. (2019, March). A Comparison of Whipple Grossing Methods: Whole Mount Versus Conventional. In LABORATORY INVESTIGATION (Vol. 99). 75 VARICK ST, 9TH FLR, NEW YORK, NY 10013-1917 USA: NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP.

Arora TK, Dent D, Morris-Wiseman L, Nfonsam V. Diversity in the Last Decade of the Association of Program Directors in Surgery: A Descriptive Analysis of Leadership and Future Directions. J Surg Educ. 2019 Nov-Dec;76(6): e125-e131. doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2019.08.016. Epub 2019 Sep 5. PMID: 31495745

AM Driesen, MA Romero Arenas, TK Arora, et al. Do general surgery residency program websites feature diversity? J Surg Educ, 77 (2020), 10.1016/j.jsurg.2020.06.014

Salles A, Milam L, Sevdalis N, Alseidi A, Mellinger J, Stefanidis D, Nahmias J, Kulaylat AN, Kim RH, Falcone JL, Arora TK, Phitayakorn R, Cochran A, Multi-institutional Surgical Education Interventions A Scoping Review. Published ahead of print. (Ann Surg 2019; xx:xxx–xxx).

Fisher B, Fluck M, Shabahang M, Blansfield J, Arora, TK. Differences in Outcomes Between Urgent Surgery and Elective Surgery for Gastric Adenocarcinoma. J Surg Res 2020 Jan:245: 619-628. PMID: 31522035.

Shepp, K, Paterniti, T, Kozman, D, Forehand, W, Arora, TK, Martin, E, Page, R. Postpartum diagnosis of a recurrent metastatic gastrointestinal tumor. North American Proceedings in Gynecology and Obstetrics. Vol 1 issue 2. Fall 2021.

Wehrle, C. J., & Walker, M., & Worthey, A., & Jones, C., & Lewis, F., & Arora, T. K. Barriers to Accurate Measurement and Recording: A Needs Assessment and Focus Group Interviews. Journal of Surgical Research. 2020, Aug; Pub Status: Accepted

Rosenkranz, KM, Arora, TK, Termuhlen, PM, Stain, SC, Misra, S, Dent, D, Nfonsam, V. Diversity Equity and Inclusion in Medicine, why it Matters and how do we achieve it? JSE. November 2020, Accepted.

Invited Commentary. JAMA Surgery. Time to Seize the Awakening. Arora, TK, Greenburg, C. (April 2021).

Wehrle CJ, Lee, SW, Devarakonda AK, Arora TK, Patient and Physician Attitudes Toward Telemedicine in Cancer Clinic Following the COVID-19 Pandemic. DOI: 10.1200/CCI.20.00183 JCO Clinical Cancer Informatics no. 5 (2021) 394-400. Published online April 6, 2021

Joshi A, Abdelsattar, J, Castro-Verela A, Werhle CJ, Cullen C, Pei K, Arora TK, Dechert TA, Kauffman R. Incorporating Mass Casualty Incidents Training in Surgical Education Program. Accepted, Global Surgical Education. April 2022

Cox JS, Wehrle CJ, Mejias C, Devarakonda AK, McKenzie JA, Arora TK. General Surgery Twitter during COVID-19: Tweets, Trends, and Implications for Recruitment Strategies. Am Surg. 2021 Dec 31348211060414. doi:10.1177/00031348211060414

Ruiz, TL, Sellers, BS, Devarakonda, A, Wehrle, CJ, Arora, TK. A Novel Mock Oral Curriculum for Senior Surgery Residents: Results of a Pilot. Accepted Journal of Surgical Research. March 2022.

Janeway M, Wilson S, Sanchez SE, Arora TK, Dechert T. Citizenship and Social Responsibility in Surgery: A Review. JAMA Surg. Published online April 06, 2022. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2022.0621

Wilson, SB, Arora TK, Abdelsattar, JM Campbell A, Friel, CM, Geary AD, Hess DH, McCarthy MC, Sanchez SE, Scott DJ, Dechert T. Supporting Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in Surgery Residencies: Creating a More Equitable Training Environment. In Submission, Global Surgical Education. May 2022.

Morris-Wiseman, Lillah, Nfonsam, V, Dent, D, Arora TK. Leadership in the APDS: A report of Progress, Accepted August 2022. Journal of Surgical Education.

Wilson SB, Arora TK, Abdelsattar JM, Campbell A, Friel CM, Geary AD, Hess, DS, McCarthy M, Sanchez S, Scott DJ, Dechert T. Supporting Diversity Equity and Inclusion in Surgery residencies: creating a more equitable training environment. Accepted Dec 2022 Global Surgical Education (2023) 2:12.

Invited commentary: Rasic G, Arora TK, The Abusive Learning Landscape of Medical Students: Perception of Poor Patient Outcomes and Lack of Reporting: Invited Commentary to “Survey of Student Mistreatment Experienced During the Core Clinical Clerkships” Accepted, American Journal of Surgery, February 2023

Douglas, W, Dent D, Arora TK, Diversity and Inclusion Analysis of the Association of Program Directors in Surgery’s Annual Conference from 2010-2022. Accepted. March 2022. Journal of surgical Education

Rasic G, Wiseman Lillah, Ortega G, Dent D, Nfonsam V, Arora TK. Effective Mentoring Across Differences – Best Practices and Effective Models to Address the Needs of Underrepresented Trainees in Surgical Residency Programs. Accepted. Journal of Surgical Education. March 2022.

Collins RA, Herman T, Snyder RA, Haines KL, Stey A, Arora TK, Geervarghese S, Phillips JD, Vicente D, Griggs CL, McElroy IE, Wall AE, Hughes TM, Sen S, Valinejad J, Alban A, Swan JS, Mercaldo N, Jalali MS, Chhatwal J, Gazelle GS, Rangel E, Yang CJ, Donelan K, Gold JA, West CP, Cunningham C. Unspoken Truths: Mental Health Among Academic Surgeons. Annals of Surgery. November 2023.

Contact

Campus Address

BDB 569

Phone
Patient Appointments and Questions: 205-934-3028 (Access Center - Surgical Oncology)
Patient Appointments and Questions: 205-801-9034 (Breast Clinic)
Academic Office: 205-934-6574

Email
tkarora@uabmc.edu