Dr. Petroze is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Section of Pediatric Surgery. A Kentucky native, she attended the University of Kentucky for undergraduate studies and completed her medical training at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Petroze completed general surgery training at the University of Virginia and pediatric surgery fellowship training at the Montreal Children’s Hospital at McGill University in Quebec, Canada. She completed a masters degree in public health at the University of Virginia. She is board-certified in general surgery and pediatric surgery. Following training, Dr. Petroze practiced as an attending pediatric surgeon for five years at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida.

Dr. Petroze is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa. She is also an active member of the American Pediatric Surgical Association, the Association for Academic Surgery, the Global Initiative for Children’s Surgery, the Canadian Association of Paediatric Surgeons, the Association of Women Surgeons, and Women in Surgery Africa.

Clinical Specialization:
Dr. Petroze focuses on all aspects of pediatric surgery, with special interest in neonatal surgery, minimally invasive surgery, surgical oncology, and pediatric congenital colorectal conditions. Dr. Petroze’s research, teaching and advocacy focuses on access to equitable care in underserved populations both internationally and domestically as well as patient and family-centered outcomes. She has particular interest in surgical oncology, including tumors like neuroblastoma, Wilms tumor, ovarian masses, lung masses and metastatic disease, liver tumors, and sarcomas and is the Surgical Director for the multidisciplinary Mott Solid Tumor Oncology Program.

Dr. Petroze serves as the Vice Chair for Global Surgery for the Department of Surgery. A previous National Institutes for Health Fogarty International Clinical Research Fellowship awardee and then mentor, Dr. Petroze continues to focus her research, teaching, and advocacy on access to equitable care in underserved populations both internationally and domestically. She completed the first WHO comprehensive nationwide assessment of surgical capacity with the Ministry of Health of Rwanda and collaboratively developed and implemented a hospital-based trauma registry at two university hospitals. Dr. Petroze was instrumental in the development of the Surgeons Overseas Assessment of Surgical Need (SOSAS) study, which has been used to assess neglected surgical disease at the population level in dozens of countries since. She is the recipient of the 2012 American College of Surgeons/Pfizer Surgical Volunteerism Award, the 2015 Association of Women Surgeons Resident of the Year, and the 2021 University of Florida International Educator of the Year for her global health educational commitments, research and advocacy. She has served as an examiner for pediatric surgery certification in COSECSA (College of Surgeons of East Central and Southern Africa) and is currently continuing her nearly 15-year partnership in Rwanda through the development of a prospective neonatal surgical outcomes database and focusing on collaborative educational exchanges.