Laurie Punch, MD, is a member of the Section of Acute and Critical Care Surgery as an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Washington University School of Medicine. She previously served at the Houston Methodist Hospital and previously University of Maryland School of Medicine/R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, Baltimore, Maryland where she completed training in general and trauma surgery. Dr. Punch’s areas of interest include surgical education, gun violence prevention and the management of soft tissue infection and injury. This threefold mission has served to unite her clinical practice with her academic pursuits. As a provider of trauma surgical care in both Baltimore and St. Louis, she has been on the front of the gun violence epidemic with an expanding community involvement and curriculum development around violence prevention. As an educator she seeks to advance the knowledge and bravery of learners of all levels in the management of acute surgical disease both in and out of the operating room.