Biography
Dr. Michelle Mulder is an endocrine surgeon specializing in the surgical management of thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal disorders. She has advanced expertise in minimally invasive approaches, including posterior retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy—a technique she mastered during her UCSF fellowship and subsequently became the first and only surgeon to perform in Nebraska. Her clinical practice encompasses the full spectrum of benign and malignant thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal diseases, including hereditary endocrine syndromes, complex reoperative cases, and advanced minimally invasive approaches such as radiofrequency ablation of thyroid nodules.
Originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Dr. Mulder earned her bachelor's degree in biology at Albion College and her medical degree from Wayne State University. She completed her general surgery residency at the University of Miami–Jackson Memorial Hospital, the second-largest public hospital in the United States. During residency, she completed a two-year clinical research fellowship at the Ryder Trauma Center–one of the nation’s busiest trauma and burn centers–where she was awarded a training grant investigating physiologic stress responses in U.S. Army Forward Surgical Teams. Following residency, she completed fellowship training in endocrine surgery at UCSF.
After fellowship, Dr. Mulder joined the faculty at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where she helped establish the state’s highest-volume adrenal surgery program and was actively involved in medical education and clinical research. She has since returned to UCSF, bringing a diverse geographic perspective and currently serves as Associate Program Director for the Endocrine Surgery Fellowship. Dr. Mulder has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications, multiple book chapters, and over 100 scientific abstracts. She is active in the American Thyroid Association and the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons. Her academic interests include outcomes in endocrine surgery, improving access to high-volume surgical care, and applying artificial intelligence to enhance surgical decision-making, education, and patient outcomes.
Outside of medicine, Dr. Mulder enjoys running, skiing, tennis, and time with her family in Michigan.