Program Leadership

PRogram Director

George Sarosi, MD

George Sarosi is the Robert H. Hux Professor of Surgery and has been the Program Director for the General Surgery residency program since July of 2009. Dr. Sarosi earned his medical degree from Harvard University and completed his general surgery residency at University of Michigan Medical Center. Dr. Sarosi practices primarily at the Malcolm Randall VA Medical Center where he has a broad general surgery practice with a particular interest in upper gastrointestinal pathology. He was recruited to University of Florida in 2008 from UT Southwestern Medical Center. During his time at UF, Dr. Sarosi has won numerous teaching awards, the GME “Unsung Hero” Award, and served as the Department of Surgery Vice Chairman for Education and Medical Director of the UF Center for Experiential Learning and Simulation. He serves on the board of directors of the American Board of Surgery and has a special interest in exploring Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) as a foundation for competency-based surgical training.

George Sarosi, M.D.

Associate program director

Janice Taylor, MD, MeD

Janice Taylor, MD, MEd, is an associate professor in the division of pediatric surgery. Dr. Taylor earned her medical degree from The Ohio State University in 2003. She then completed her general surgery residency in 2010 at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and her pediatric surgery fellowship at the University of Texas at Houston in 2012. She received her Master of Education from UF, concentrating in curriculum and instruction. Dr. Taylor focuses on all aspects of pediatric surgery, with special interests in intestinal rehabilitation, neonatal surgery and minimally invasive surgery. She is the founder and surgical director of the UF Pediatric Intestinal Rehabilitation Program. Her non-clinical focus is surgical education, specifically in remediation, learner outcomes, and resource utilization. She is on the editorial board for PedSCORE and is active in publications from the education committee of the American Pediatric Surgical Association.

dr taylor

associate program director

Tyler Loftus, MD

Tyler J. Loftus, MD, is an acute care surgeon at the University of Florida. He earned his medical degree from Medical University of South Carolina and completed his surgical training and surgical critical care fellowship at University of Florida. His clinical interests are in aortic occlusion and hemorrhage control after traumatic injury with hemorrhagic shock, damage control resuscitation, and laparoscopic common bile duct exploration and stenting. His educational interests are in resident technical skills development as Director of the General Surgery Residency Technical Skills Training Program, advancing trauma care through the Advanced Surgical Skills for Exposure in Trauma and Advanced Trauma Operative Management curricula, and serving as an Associate Program Director for the General Surgery Residency. His research focuses on machine learning for personalized, patient-centered decision-making by using real-time risk assessments to identify and mitigate postoperative undertriage of high-risk patients to general wards and overtriage of low-risk patients to intensive care units. He is working toward a PhD in Biomedical Informatics while supported by an NIH K23 Career Development Award.

headshot of tyler loftus in white coat

Associate program director

Amalia Cochran, MD

`Dr. Amalia Cochran is a graduate of Texas A&M University for both her BA in Political Science and her MD and has an MA in Political Science from the University of Colorado. She received her general surgery training at the University of Utah and her burns/critical care training at UTMB and the Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Galveston. Her clinical work has focused on acute burn care, critical care in burns, and burn reconstruction. She is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and of the American College of Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Cochran she serves the surgery department as the Assistant Chair of Faculty Development and Associate Program Director in charge of leadership and mentorship programs. She has completed a Surgical Education Research Fellowship, has won university-wide and national teaching awards, and was named an Outstanding Alumni of Texas A&M College of Medicine in 2016 and a Distinguished Master Educator by the Association for Surgical Education in 2019. Her research interests lie in the areas of education, clinical outcomes, and the use of technology to enhance surgical education and patient care. She recently completed a graduate certificate in Native American Studies at Montana State University. Dr. Cochran is a Past President of the Association of Women Surgeons and of the Association for Surgical Education. She is a member of the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma and the American College of Surgeons Board of Governors. She also volunteers as the President of the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation. In her free time, Dr. Cochran enjoys running, cycling, and skiing; reading literary fiction; knitting; cooking and eating great food and spending time.

Dr Cochran