The WashU Medicine Clinical Research Training Center is excited to share that TL1 trainee Christopher Noda, MD has been selected as the winner of the 2026 Association for Academic Surgery (AAS) Ethics Committee Essay Competition.
Christopher Noda, MD is a resident in the WashU Medicine Department of Surgery in the Division of Pediatric Surgery. As a TL1 trainee, he is dedicating his research to “The Impact of Diagnosis on Flourishing within Pediatric Patient’s Caregivers,” and his research, in combination with his residency and life experiences, has lent itself to his powerful essay submission “I am Here to Spend Time with You.”
Dr. Noda described the inspiration for his submission:
How do we be present with patients in their suffering? A patient encounter with only 3 sentences taught me perhaps it’s more about sharing ourselves, than necessarily anything else that starts the process.
Christopher Noda, MD
The AAS Essay Competition welcomed personal narratives, analytical essays, and creative writing that expounded upon the theme “Living Your Values,” and was open to medical students, residents, fellows, and attending surgeons/physicians who were candidates or active members of the AAS. Not only will all submissions be published on the AAS blog, but as the competition winner, his essay will be featured in a future issue of the Journal of Surgical Research. He gratefully acknowledges Kathryn Rowland, MD, MPHS, and Marguerite Spruce, MD, for their editorial support.
What’s truly inspiring about this achievement is not only Dr. Noda’s well-crafted and captivating writing but the potential for a tighter-knit community. The essay encourages people to open their circles, form connections, and deepen their empathy.
I saw through my mentor what the ancients knew: to ease another in their suffering, we first start by offering ourselves. This concept translates into our word ‘compassion’, literally “to suffer with.”
Christopher Noda, MD, “I am Here to Spend Time with You”
The celebration of his tremendous work doesn’t stop with the essay competition either. Dr. Noda was among other health care researchers and caregivers invited to share their artwork and personal stories at the In Our Words: Gratitude showcase. This event hosted by the WashU Medicine Bernard Becker Library and WashU Medicine Office of Education is a community-building initiative that will occur on March 26, 2026.