Dr. Ward is an Assistant Professor at the Oregon Health & Science University; prior to joining she was at the University of Utah from 2022-2026, she trained with world-renowned experts at the Medical College of Wisconsin and the University of California San Diego. Dr. Ward grew up in Michigan where she earned her medical degree at the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University. She completed her general surgery residency and a two-year research fellowship at the University of California San Diego. She completed her training with a two-year Complex Surgical Oncology and completed an AHPBA Certified hepato-pancreatic biliary surgery fellowship at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She is board certified in both general surgery and complex general surgical oncology.

Dr. Ward has active research and has led trials on understanding the impact of psychosocial health on cancer patient outcomes and patient-reported outcomes and how to address it with short video based interventions.

Dr. Ward’s primary research focus is defining the impact of psychosocial health on the long-term and short-term outcomes for cancer patients.