Laura Purcell, M.D.

Biography

Laura Purcell, M.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She specializes in pediatric general and thoracic surgery and pediatric surgical oncology.

Dr. Purcell earned her medical degree at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine. She completed a residency in general surgery at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Hospitals, where she served as Administrative Chief Resident. While at UNC, she also earned a Master of Public Health at the Gillings School of Global Public Health and was awarded an NIH Global Health Fogarty Fellowship to study postoperative pediatric health-related quality of life in Malawi. She then received advanced training through a pediatric surgery fellowship at UT Southwestern.

Certified by the American Board of Surgery, she joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2024.

Dr. Purcell has delivered numerous presentations; contributed to several books, including Diagnosis and Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury, Management of Differentiated Thyroid Cancer, and Success in Academic Surgery: A How To Guide for Medical Students; and published more than 80 peer-reviewed academic articles related to her areas of expertise.

She is a member of the American Pediatric Surgical Association, the Association for Academic Surgery, and the American College of Surgeons.

Personal Note

When she’s not at work, Dr. Purcell enjoys traveling, hiking, sewing, yoga, and biking.