Anne Pugel Ehlers, MD

Dr. Anne Ehlers is the Division Chief of Minimally Invasive Surgery and a faculty member in the Department of Surgery at the University of Michigan. Since joining the Department in 2019, she has developed a clinical practice specializing in bariatric surgery, abdominal wall hernia repair, and benign foregut disorders. She is Board Certified in General Surgery and fellowship trained in Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery.

Dr. Ehlers was born in Seattle, WA and earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame before returning to the University of Washington for medical school, general surgery residency, and fellowship in Minimally Invasive Surgery. During residency, she completed a two-year NIH T32-funded research fellowship and obtained a Master of Public Health degree.

Her research applies patient-centered outcomes and implementation science frameworks to improve quality of care in abdominal wall hernia repair. Her leadership at the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative Core Optimization Hernia Registry (MSQC-COHR) advances evidence-based, statewide quality improvement initiatives. At the national level, she is an active member of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), which honored her with the 2025 Early Career Faculty Researcher Award in recognition of her contributions. Supported by NIH funding, Dr. Ehlers has published extensively on abdominal wall hernia repair and remains committed to advancing and disseminating best practices in surgical care.

Bariatric surgery, Minimally invasive surgery

University of Michigan Health participates with most health insurance plans.

Dr. Ehlers is a health services researcher based at the Center for Healthcare Outcomes and Policy (CHOP). Her research interests include decision making in healthcare and access to bariatric surgery.