Elizabeth Gress is a graduate of Williams College and has held various research development and program management roles in the Department of Surgery since 2007. In 2017, she earned a Master of Public Affairs degree from UC Berkeley. 

As Program Lead, Liz plays a key role in goal-setting, strategic planning, and execution of Surgical Innovations’ programs and activities. Liz has been involved in Surgical Innovations since its inception, helping develop and launch the initiative in 2012 and now managing its operations. Working closely with faculty leadership, Liz oversees Surgical Innovation’s accelerator and seed funding program, organizes project teams, performs program outreach, and coordinates with stakeholders across campus to develop policies and resources to improve the climate for surgical innovators at UCSF.  

Liz came to her present position after several years as the administrator of the UCSF Pediatric Device Consortium, an FDA-funded "think tank" for pediatric medical device development that has incubated over 15 new pediatric devices and led to six spin-out companies. A successful grant writer, Liz has helped raise over $9 million in government and private funding for medical research, device development, and innovation infrastructure at UCSF. She is also experienced with FDA regulatory submissions, UCSF laboratory and clinical research protocols, and technical writing and editing.