STITCHing Interdisciplinary Innovation for Impact in Global Surgery

Year: 2026

Prerequisites: None

Speaker Information

Dr. Esther Chin is an Obstetrician/Gynecologist, Assistant Professor, and Global Health Lead of McMaster University’s Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Ob/Gyn Clerkship Director at McMaster’s School of Medicine, and Founding Program Director of McMaster’s new Graduate Diploma in Global Surgery at the School of Global Health & Social Medicine. She completed medical school and residency at McMaster and holds a Master's in Global Surgical Care from the University of British Columbia (UBC). She is an Adjunct Professor at UBC in the Branch for Global Surgical Care where she teaches a Master’s course in Global Surgical Disability and also Adjunct Faculty at the University of Global Health Equity (Rwanda) where she teaches medical students and MSc in Global Health Delivery (Global Surgery Track) students. With a group of Biomedical Engineers, she co-developed STITCH, a patent-pending, realistic, portable, reusable surgical simulator. STITCH is used by clinicians globally for lifesaving surgeries for postpartum hemorrhage – the leading cause of maternal deaths worldwide. She has worked clinically in Angola, Guatemala, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Her areas of interest and research are global surgery curricula, health equity, surgical care systems, medical & surgical education, maternal mortality/morbidity, and obstetric fistula.