Carla Pugh

University of Wisconsin

Carla Pugh

University of Wisconsin

Biography

Dr. Pugh is a Professor of Surgery and Vice-Chair of Education and Patient Safety at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (UWSMPH). Her clinical specialty is Acute Care Surgery. Prior to joining the faculty at UWSMPH, Dr. Pugh held the titles of Associate Professor of Surgery and Associate Professor of Education at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL.

During her Surgery Residency at Howard University in Washington, D.C., Dr. Pugh recognized that there was a need for new and innovative modes for assessing hands-on clinical skills. While obtaining a PhD in education at Stanford University, Dr. Pugh was awarded a method patent on the use of haptic sensors and data acquisition technology to measure and characterize the sense of touch.

Dr. Pugh is nationally recognized for her research on the use of simulation technology to assess and quantitatively define hands-on clinical skills. Currently, more than 100 medical and nursing schools use one of Dr. Pugh’s sensor enabled training tools for their students and trainees. In addition, in 2011 Dr. Pugh received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from President Obama. Dr. Pugh also delivered a TEDMED presentation at TEDMED2014 in San Francisco, CA.