Residency Leadership

Demetrius E. Litwin, MD, MBA

Demetrius E.M. Litwin, MD, MBA is the Harry M. Haidak Distinguished Professor and Chair and Professor of the Department of Surgery. He completed his general surgery residency at the University of Saskatchewan. He also completed a surgical endoscopy fellowship at Toronto General Hospital as well as a fellowship in liver, pancreas and biliary tract surgery at the University of Toronto.

He arrived at UMass Chan Medical School in 1997, rising to the rank of Professor in 2002, the same year he was awarded his Master of Business Administration degree. In 2002, he was appointed Chief of the Division of General Surgery, a position he held until he was appointed Chair of Surgery in 2004.  

Anne C. Larkin, MD

After receiving her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Missouri, Dr. Larkin attended medical school at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and then went on to complete her General Surgery Residency at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.  In fulfillment of her commitment to military service, she served as a General Medical Officer at the Naval Air Station – Sigonella and as the Ship’s Surgeon on the USS George Washington aircraft carrier. She was honorably discharged from the US Navy, and immediately thereafter, Dr. Larkin continued her career as a surgeon here at UMass Chan and UMass Memorial Health in the Department of Surgery. 

She was quickly integrated into the educational fabric, initially taking on the role of clerkship director. Her leadership skills then led her to take on the role of Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education. Dr. Larkin was excited and honored to be appointed as the Senior Associate Dean and eventually Vice Provost for Educational Affairs for the UMass Chan Medical School. She has a notable national presence, having served on the American Board of Surgery as a member of the Council as well as a Governor, the Chair of the Complex General Surgical Oncology Board, and a member of the Diplomates and Surgeons in Practice Committee, as well as a member of the AAMC Medical Education Senior Leaders group. In addition to her demanding administrative positions, Dr. Larkin continues to maintain a very busy surgical practice in breast and endocrine surgery.  She is passionate about the care of her patients and the formation of the next generation of physicians and surgeons. She truly believes there is no greater calling.

Jennifer LaFemina, MD, MAMSE

Jennifer LaFemina, MD, MAMSE is a Professor of Surgery, Program Director of the General Surgery Residency Program, and Section Chief of Breast and Cutaneous Malignancies. She joined UMass Chan Medical School in 2012 after completing her general surgery residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and her surgical oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. She is a surgical oncologist with a focus on breast and cutaneous malignancies.

Since assuming the role of Program Director in 2016 she has focused on optimizing transitions of phases of learning among other areas of surgical education. Dr. LaFemina was the Association of Program Directors in Surgery representative to the AAMC in the development and implementation of program signals in General Surgery residency recruitment. She is a co-lead in the American College of Surgeons’ Promotion in Place pilot, which starts in 2026. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the NRMP and Association of Program Directors in Surgery. She is a Member of the ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators. 

Kaitlyn E. Wong, MD, MPH, PhD

Dr. Wong is a pediatric surgeon at UMass, a member of the Division of Pediatric Surgery, which she joined in October 2021 and is currently an Assistant Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at UMass. Furthermore, Dr. Wong is the Associate Director for the General Surgery Residency Program. She returned to Massachusetts after completing a pediatric surgery fellowship at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Ontario in 2021.

Dr. Wong completed her general surgery residency at Baystate Medical Center in 2019. She earned her MD and a Master of Public Health from Tufts University and holds a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her clinical interests include minimally invasive and neonatal surgery, trauma, and oncology, and her academic work focuses on resident education, simulation outcomes research, and quality improvement.

Candace Mooney

Candace Mooney is the Residency Program Administrator at UMass Chan Medical School. She graduated from Emmanuel College with a Bachelors of Science in Biology. Before joining the UMass General Surgery Residency and the Office of Surgical Education as our Program Administrator, Candace worked at Tufts Medical Center in the Division of Cardiology as the Fellowship Program Coordinator and at the Joslin Diabetes Center as a Medical Office Coordinator.

Jolie Wilber

Jolie is the Residency Program Coordinator at UMass Chan Medical School. She graduated from Husson University with a MS in Criminal Justice Administration along with a Paralegal Studies Certification. Before joining the Surgical Education Team, Jolie worked as an Estate Planning Paralegal in Central Massachusetts. Having a legal background, fairness is one of Jolie's primary values, she is very grateful to belong to a team that aligns with her passion by prioritizing equity in education.