Zoltan Szabo, Ph.D, F.I.C.S. – Founder and Director

Zoltan Szabo, Ph.D., F.I.C.S., originally from Szeged, Hungary, has been a pioneering educator and researcher in magnified surgery for nearly forty years.  He has worked with some of the greatest contributors to surgical science, including Dr. Harry J. Buncke of the Buncke Clinic, Dr. George Berci of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and Dr. Michael R. Harrison of the University of California, San Francisco, Division of Pediatric Surgery.

His positions at academic institutions have included Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of the Pacific, School of Dentistry;  Consultant in the Fetal Treatment Center at the University of California, San Francisco; and Visiting Professorships at the Central University of Venezuela and the University of Szeged. As a natural extension of research and training, Dr. Szabo has also been involved in designing instruments, sutures, training equipment, and simulation models.

Dr. Szabo was the first, or among the first, non-physicians to be elected to fellowship in International College of Surgeons as well as to membership in the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery. He is an honorary member of the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), the Hungarian Gynecologic Society, and is a full member of the International Microsurgery Society, the American Fertility Society, and the Society for Minimally Invasive Therapy.

In addition to numerous articles on microscopic and laparoscopic surgery, Dr. Szabo co-wrote Manual of Microvascular Surgery with Dr. Harry Buncke and Dr. Norman Chater; Atlas of Microsurgical Techniques; and Tissue Approximation in Endoscopic Surgery:  Suturing and Knotting Techniques with Sir Alfred Cuschieri. He has served as editor-in-chief of Surgical Technology International and is an ad-hoc reviewer for Surgical Endoscopy & Ultrasonic Intervention, Surgical Laparoscopy, Endoscopy & Percutaneous Techniques, and the Journal of the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists.

He has received awards for his collaborative work with colleagues from a number of organizations, including the American Association of Plastic Surgeons, the American Medical Association, the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), the American Urologic Association, and the Journal of Foot Surgery.  He is the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the International College of Surgeon, the Award of Distinction from the School of Dentistry at the University of the Pacific, and the Award of Recognition–50th Anniversary of the Instituto Cirugia Experimenta (Venezuela).

In addition to his duties as director of the MOET Institute, Dr. Szabo is a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Surgical Research at the University of Szeged Medical School in Hungary, where he has also worked to establish a nationally standardized program for magnified surgical technique training for residents and medical students. He is also a consultant in magnified surgery at the Department of Surgical Research and Technique at Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary.

Wanda Toy – Co-Director and Principal Instructor

Though her original field of interest was in pathology and laboratory medicine, Ms. Toy discovered her passion for microsurgery while working at Franklin Hospital and studying clinical sciences at San Francisco State University. She began working with Dr. Szabo in 1977 at the Microsurgery Laboratory at Franklin Hospital (currently the California Pacific Medical Center, Davies Campus) in San Francisco, from which time she has been his collaborator and co-instructor.

While her role at the MOET Institute has encompassed both operations and education, Wanda’s desire to provide superior surgical training led to a growing interest in developing educational curricula based on inanimate and animal tissue simulation models. She assumed the role of principal instructor at MOET in 1998 and has had the pleasure of teaching doctors at all experience levels.

In addition to her instructional duties at MOET, she does consultancy work in surgical model simulation and continuing medical education curriculum development.