Dr. King is the first Black female chair of surgery at an academic health science center in the United States.

A fellowship-trained hepatobiliary and pancreas surgeon, Dr. King completed her fellowship training at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., where she also earned a master’s degree in biomedical science. She completed her residency training in general surgery and a research fellowship in surgery at the University of Pittsburgh and earned her medical degree at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. King also holds a Master of Business Management from Brandeis University. She is a United States Army veteran, having served in Operation Desert Storm.

A prolific researcher, Dr. King has received numerous awards for her research in the areas of liver and pancreatic cancers and has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters. Her professional memberships include the American College of Surgeons, the Board of Trustees of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, and she serves as program chair of both the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons and the Society of Black Academic Surgeons. She is also an oral examiner for the American Board of Surgery.

She was recently named a fellow in the prestigious Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program for Women.