Britney R Harris, MD

I grew up on a farm in Indiana and attended Purdue University and completed a BS degree. I earned my MD degree at WVU, where I enjoy serving a unique, underserved population and joining a strong "Mountaineer" family.

Resident

Organization:

West Virginia University School of Medicine

Department:

Surgery

Classification:

Resident

• MD, West Virginia University, 2019
• BS, Purdue University, 2015

• Sadler NM, Harris BR, Metzger BA, Kirshner J.N-cadherin impedes proliferation of multiple myeloma cancer stem cells. Am J Blood Res. 2013; 3(4):271-85. eCollection 2013.
• Harris BR, Borgstrom DC, Hazard-Jenkins H.  Rare Her2-positive breast cancer in a transgender male highlights potential therapeutic implications of androgen therapy.  ACS Case Reviews in Surgery.  Accepted Aug 2018.

Podium Presentations:

• Harris BR, Swain ED, Feng J, Wen S, Stemple JT, Thomay AA, Cardinal JS, Marsh JW. Does surgical volume trump disparities in predicting outcomes following hepatopancreaticobiliary (HPB) surgery? American Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association Annual Meeting.  March 2018.
• Lyle CA, Harris BR, Adkins D, Wen S, Cardinal JS. Risk factors for 30 day readmission rates after hepatectomy and pancreatectomy for benign disease: an ACS NSQIP database review. American Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association Annual Meeting.  March 2018.

Poster Presentations:

• Harris BR, Zheng MM, Riofski MV, Woods J, Colby DA, Kirshner J.  The Therapeutic Effects of 15-Methylene-Eburnamonine on Cancer Stem Cells in Breast to Brain Tumors.  Presented at the Purdue University Undergraduate Research and Poster Symposium, Lafayette, IN.  March 2013.

• 2018:  Esther Brooker and Kay Nozdrovicky Global Health Travel Scholarship
• 2018: Richard A. Vaughan, MD Scholarship. WVU Department of Surgery
• 2018: Gold Humanism Honor Society  (GHHS) WVU School of Medicine
• 2017: Paul Ambrose Scholars Program. Association for Prevention Teaching and Research

Professional Societies/Committee/Memberships

• 2019 - Present: American College of Surgeons Resident Member
• Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) WVU School of Medicine
• American College of Surgeons
• Phi Beta Kappa Academic Honor Society Member

Leadership Positions

• 01/2018-05/2019: WVU Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) Vice President
• 05/2016 – 05/2017: WVU Surgery Interest Group Co-Leader
• 03/2016 – 05/2017: Culinary Medicine Interest Group Vice President
• 09/2015-05/2018: SAFE (Student and Faculty Experience) Clinic Co-Founder and Co-President

Personal Interests

• Dr. Harris loves exploring West Virginia with her boyfriend, also a resident at WVU.  Spending time with her dog, hiking, playing sports (basketball, volleyball, soccer), cake decorating, and crochet.

Brief bio:

I was born and raised in a small town in Indiana.  After college I was drawn to West Virginia for a number of reasons. First, was the kindness and welcoming nature of those in West Virginia. They make it easy to immediately feel at home. Second, there are unlimited opportunities for adventures with hiking and biking trails all throughout not only the state abut also Morgantown. I liked that if I needed some time to destress after work I could enter a trail or go see a waterfall just a couple minutes from my house. Lastly, although I love the outdoors, I also want a place with a variety of good food, concerts, and places to go dancing. With the university being just downtown, a lot of these additional attractions are brought to the area.

What attracted me to WVU Residency?

After college, I was drawn to West Virginia for a number of reasons. The kindness and welcoming nature of those in West Virginia. They make it easy to feel at home. Second, there are unlimited opportunities for adventures with hiking and biking trails all throughout not only the state but also Morgantown.

What makes our program unique?

As a medical student, I saw the early experience residents were able to obtain in the operating room. I also liked the diversity in the department, in particular, the strong female leadership and mentorship. Another unique aspect of this program is the fresh tissue-training program where perfused cadavers are used to simulate real operating conditions. I feel that our residency is family-oriented. With a significant other who is also in residency, it has meant a lot to me that the program works with his department to coordinate our vacation schedules to ensure we have time to see each other. Furthermore, when residents have needed aid, there has been a surplus of help offered by other residents. Residency is hard but having that strong of a support system makes it possible to navigate.

What do I like about Morgantown?

 I like that if I needed some time to distress after work I could enter a trail or go see a waterfall just a couple minutes from my house. Although I love the outdoors, I also wanted a place with a variety of good food, concerts, and places to go dancing. With the university being just downtown, many of these additional attractions are brought to the area. I enjoyed exploring West Virginia for 4 years in medical school and was lucky enough to match at WVU for residency as well.

Awards:

• 2019-2020, West Virginia University Department of Surgery Intern of the Year
• First place Women In Surgery Career Symposium Poster Competition

Professional Societies/Leadership:

• American College of Surgeons – Resident member, Selected member of Fundamentals of Surgery Curriculum Advisory Council
• Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS)
• Phi Beta Kappa Academic Honor Society Member

Publications:

• Musgrove KA MD, Spear CR MD, Abbas K MD MHCM, FACS, Harris BR MD, Abbas G. Robotic pulmonary segmentectomy. J Thorac Dis. Published online ahead of print. 2020.
• Musgrove K MD, Spear CR MD, Kakuturu J, MD, Harris BR, MD, Abbas F, Abdelsattar JM MBBS, Abbas G MD, MHCM, FACS. Robotic Assisted Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy: Ivory-Lewis Approach. Shanghai Chest. Published online ahead of print. 2020.
• Harris BR, Borgstrom D, Hazard-Jenkins H. Rare HER2-Positive Breast Cancer in a Transgender Male Highlights Potential Risks of Androgen Therapy. ACS Case Reviews in Surgery. 2019;2(4):6-8.
• Sadler NM, Harris BR, Metzger BA, Kirshner J.  N-cadherin impedes proliferation of multiple myeloma cancer stem cells. Am J Blood Res. 2013; 3(4):271-85. eCollection 2013.

Presentations:

• Harris BR, MD, Musgrove KA, MD, Hogg ME, MD, Marsh JW, MD, Zeh HJ, MD, Zureikat AH, MD, Schmidt CR, MD, Boone BA, MD. Formal Robotic Training Reduces the Learning Curve of Robotic Pancreaticoduodenectomy. American Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association Annual Meeting.  March 2020
• Harris BR, MD, Stout C, MD, Chambers J, PhD, Szoka N, MD FACS. Small Bowel Anastomosis Training Simulator: Design and Bench Testing. Women in Surgery Career Symposium. Clearwater, FL. Feb 2020
• Harris BR, Swain ED, Feng J, Wen S, Stemple JT, Thomay AA, Cardinal JS, Marsh JW. Does surgical volume trump disparities in predicting outcomes following hepatopancreaticobiliary (HPB) surgery? American Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association Annual Meeting.  March 2018
• Lyle CA, Harris BR, Adkins D, Wen S, Cardinal JS.Risk factors for 30 day readmission rates after hepatectomy and pancreatectomy for benign disease: an ACS NSQIP database review. American Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association Annual Meeting.  March 2018

Personal Interests:

• Playing sports (especially basketball, volleyball, and soccer), mountain biking, rock climbing, skiing, cake decorating.