Associate Professor
Areas of Interest
Hyperparathyroidism, parathyroidectomy, thyroid radiofrequency ablation
Biography
Dr. Sophie Dream is an endocrine surgeon, who joined the Department of Surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in August of 2025.
She completed her fellowship in endocrine surgery at the University of Alabama in 2019 served as section chief of the section of endocrine surgery in the department of surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin and program director for the Medical College of Wisconsin Comprehensive Endocrine Surgery Fellowship prior to coming to UAB.
Her clinical practice focuses on the surgical treatment of benign and malignant disorders of thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal glands. She pioneered thyroid radiofrequency ablation and grew the non-surgical thyroid intervention program at MCW.
Her focus of investigation is in identifying and quantifying the more elusive impacts primary hyperparathyroidism has on quality of life in order to inform the operative indications for parathyroidectomy.
She is an Associate Editor for Clinical Thyroidology and serves on the Editorial Boards of Surgery, American Journal of Surgery, Journal of Surgical Research, and Surgical Oncology Insight.
Board Certifications
American Board of Surgery
Selected Publications
Gorris MA, Randle RW, Obermiller CS, Thomas J, Toro-Tobon D, Dream S, Fackelmayer OJ, Pandian TK, Mayson SE. “Assessing ChatGPT's Capability in Addressing Thyroid Cancer Patient Queries: A Comprehensive Mixed-Methods Evaluation.” J Endocr Soc 2025;9(2):bvaf003, doi:10.1210/jendso/bvaf00
Ebert M, Lawson GE, Dittrich S, Ramonell KM, Dream S. “Family Planning Impact on Medical Students’ Surgery Interest and Current Policies in the United States: A Scoping Review.” American Journal of Surgery. 2024;241. doi:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2024.116086
Lee S, Antunez AG, Sinco BR, Saucke MC, Saucke MC, Bushaw KJ, Dream S, Fingeret AL, Livhits MJ, Mathur A, McDow A, Roman SA, Voils CI, Pitt SC. “Cancer-related Fear and Worry in Patients with Low-Risk Thyroid Cancer: A Longitudinal Cohort Study.” Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2024 Oct 14:dgae688. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgae688. Online ahead of print.PMID: 39400115
Dream S, Kim, G, Yen TWF, Wang TS. “Persistent elevation of parathyroid hormone after curative parathyroidectomy: A Possible Sign of Recurrence or Secondary Hyperparathyroidism.” World Journal of Surgery (In press)
Hopp MJ, Ortiz-Huertas X, Fazendin JM, Dream S. “Scrubbing In: A Medical Student’s Guide to Initiating a Surgical Research Journey.” American Journal of Surgery. 2024 Jul 20:115862. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2024.115862. Online ahead of print.PMID: 39060187
Dream S, Kuo J, Lindeman B, Chen H, Kuo L. “Variable Practice Patterns in the Surgical Management of Renal Hyperparathyroidism.” Surgery, 2024 Oct 19:S0039-6060(24)00808-0. doi: 10.1016/j.surg.2024.06.079.
Gutkin PM, Botros M, Kasper L, Solovieva I, Gomes I, Dream S. “In the Era of Pass/Fail: Medical Student Perceptions on Optimizing Their Surgical Residency Applications.” American Journal of Surgery. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2024.115951
Melin SJH, Park SY, Shaker J, Yen TWF, Evans DB, Wang TS, Dream S. “Evaluation for Primary Hyperparathyroidism Following Radioactive Iodine Treatment in Patients with Graves’ Disease.” Surgery. 176 (6) 1623-1626. doi: 10.1016/j.surg.2024.07.046
Johnson S, Zhang CD, Hangge PT, Yen TWF, Shaik T, Doffek K, Findling JW, Carroll T, Evans DB, Dream S, Wang TS, “Cosyntropin Stimulation Testing is More Selective Than Postoperative Day 1 Basal Cortisol for Diagnosing Secondary Adrenal Insufficiency Following Unilateral Adrenalectomy.” Annals of Surgical Oncology. 2024 Jul 28. doi: 10.1245/s10434-024-15773-0. Online ahead of print. PMID: 39069580
Livschitz J, Elmir E, Liu X, Scotting O, Shaker J, Yen TW, Doffek K, Evans DB, Wang TS, Edelstein A, Dream S. “Does Hypercalcemia Affect Postoperative Joint Pain Following Joint Replacement for Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis? A Retrospective Case Cohort Study.” The Journal of Surgical Research. 2024;30: 432-438, doi:10.1016/j.jss.2024.06.026
Honors and Awards
Medical College of Wisconsin Outstanding Graduate Student Teacher (2022-2023)
Medical College of Wisconsin Outstanding Medical Student Teacher (2021-2022)
AWS “Break the Glass Ceiling” Award (2021)
Gland Surgery Reviewer of the Month (June 2021)
Education
Medical School
University of Cincinnati
Residency
Henry Ford Hospital
General Surgery
Fellowship
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Endocrine Surgery
Graduate Degrees
Medical College of Wisconsin
Master of Public Health
Contact
Campus Address
BDB
Phone
Patient Appointments and Questions:
Academic Office:
Email
sdream@uabmc.edu