Carrie Y. Peterson, MD, MS, FACS, FASCRS

Scott R. Steele, MD, MBA, FACS, FASCRS, FPSCRS (Hon.)

Dr. Carrie Y. Peterson is a Professor of Surgery in the Division of Colorectal Surgery and serves as the Associate Vice Chair for Quality at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) in Milwaukee, WI. Carrie was born in Marquette, MI, and lived in the Upper Peninsula for a decade until her family moved to Wisconsin in the late 1980s. She spent her high school years in Plymouth, WI, also known as the Cheese Capitol of the United States, where her parents still have a small farm. She grew up riding horses, making forts, and playing baseball with the neighbor kids. In high school, she spent a year being tortured on the swim team, before having more fun cheerleading, but was mostly a self-proclaimed “band-nerd.” She then attended UW-Eau Claire and majored in psychology, prior to attending medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She then went on to complete her General Surgery residency at UC-San Diego and spent a year at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center training in Colorectal Oncology Surgery, followed by Colorectal Surgery Fellowship at NY Presbyterian Hospital–Weil Cornell Medical Center in New York, NY. She joined the faculty at MCW in 2014, where she also obtained a Master's Degree in Clinical and Translational Research.

Dr. Peterson has a very busy clinical practice and loves that she can make people feel better every day. While treating all aspects of colorectal disease, her clinical practice focuses mainly on colorectal malignancies and minimally invasive surgery. Yet, whether it's treating a fissure, removing a cancer, or making someone laugh, she states, “there is nothing like the impact a surgeon has on patients…and colorectal offers a chance to build relationships with patients every day; they are often scared, uncomfortable, and embarrassed by their symptoms, and I get to help them relax, remember that everyone poops, and explain what needs to be done. It's so rewarding for me to hear from patients that I've set their mind at ease, and they can't wait to ‘put it all behind them.’”

She has published multiple peer-reviewed manuscripts, book chapters, and has lectured around the world on various topics of colorectal surgery. Her research has focused on quality improvement initiatives both in and outside of the operating room. She is also a funded researcher on several projects, including techniques in surgery and pain control in the postoperative setting. Despite this, she maintains a busy clinical schedule along with teaching and mentoring many medical students, residents, and fellows. She is also actively involved with several national committees for the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, Association of Academic Surgery, and Society of University Surgeons, among others. She serves as a reviewer for several national and international peer-reviewed journals, including Surgery, American Journal of Surgery, Surgical Endoscopy, and DC&R.

In her free time, she enjoys staying active—being a runner since medical school and competing in races and fun events of all distances. She's completed numerous triathlons at this point and has traveled around the world to enjoy experiencing new places on these routes. When not sweating, she enjoys snuggling on the couch with her husband and cats while reading a good novel, preferably with a fantasy theme (and enjoying this long before it was cool). They also love to travel, often to various locales for “hikes” to see beautiful landscapes and countryside. As she says, “The joy is in the journey to get there, and the rewards are always worth it, so I'm always a willing participant to the adventure.”

Looking at her bio and CV, and getting to know her through the years, it is truly amazing to comprehend how she gets it all done! On behalf of the readers and staff of Clinics in Colon and Rectal Surgery, I want to sincerely thank Dr. Peterson for serving as a Guest Editor and for providing us with an incredible issue on an important topic of Artificial Intelligence in Surgical Research, Education, and Patient Care.

Publication History

Article published online:
30 December 2025