Rachel R. Kelz, MD MSCE MBA FACS
Professor of Epidemiology and Surgery;
Executive Vice Chair, Department of Surgery;
Director, Center for Surgery and Health Economics;
Director, Center for Precision Resource Utilization
Rachel R. Kelz, MD MSCE MBA FACS is the William Maul Measey Professor of Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery with an active endocrine surgery practice and formal training in health services research. She serves as the Executive Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery, and the Director of the Center for Surgery and Health Economics. Dr. Kelz serves as the co-Director of the Endocrine Disease Team at the Abramson Cancer Center and the Director of the Center for Precision Resource Utilization at PennMedicine.
Dr. Kelz has focused her research on surgical outcomes, surgical education, and the advancement of surgical quality. She has received private and public grant support for her work, has authored numerous chapters and more than 350 peer-reviewed manuscripts. Dr. Kelz has edited two books on surgical quality and safety. She is currently funded by the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute on Minority Health and Disparities.
Dr. Kelz has received numerous awards for her work including the Gordon P. Buzby Award for leadership, the Mentorship Award from the Department of Surgery, and the Christian R. and the Mary F. Lindback Award for distinguished teaching from the Provost’s office at the University. The Lindback is the most prominent educational award given by the University. Dr. Kelz was awarded the Samuel Martin Health Evaluation Sciences Award for her contributions to the field of health services research and the FOCUS Award for the Advancement of Women in Medicine. Most recently, Dr. Kelz was awarded the 2025 Faculty Mentorship Award by the Agnew Surgical Society.
Dr. Kelz is actively engaged in the advancement of Surgery through her work in national organizations. She is the immediate past President of the Society of Clinical Surgery and serves as the Recorder for the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons. She is the co-Chair of the American College of Surgeons Quality Verification Program committee. Dr. Kelz fosters excellence in scientific publication via her roles as a Deputy Editor to JACS, an Associate Editor of Annals of Surgery, and an editorial board member of JAMA Surgery, and SURGERY. She is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and a member of the American Surgical Association, the Southern Surgical Association, the Society of Clinical Surgeons, the Halsted Society, the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons, the Society of University Surgeons, the International Association of Endocrine Surgeons, and the American Thyroid Association.
Dr. Kelz holds a BS in Mathematics from Union College in Schenectady, NY, an MD from Yale University in New Haven, CT, a MS in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA, and an Executive MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA.