Dr. Brittany K. Bankhead is a double board-certified trauma surgeon and critical care physician, Associate Professor of Surgery in Charleston, SC, and a mother navigating the realities of high-stakes medicine and modern motherhood. With over a decade of experience in acute care surgery, she is no stranger to pressure, precision, and prioritizing what matters most.

Her academic innovation work earned her recognition in the National Science Foundation iCorps program, the region’s 2022 “Emerging Inventor of the Year,” and a “40 under 40” award from the Association of Women Surgeons. In addition to her work with Modern Mom Lab, she is the CEO of Better Bleeding Control, a trauma simulation device company with three provisionally filed U.S. patents, and CEO of BBKT Properties, a real estate portfolio company she runs with her husband.

She completed her general surgery residency at the University of Texas at Austin and her fellowship in surgical critical care at Harvard Medical School. She currently serves as a leader in a national trauma organization and has been a leading voice in both surgical innovation and physician wellness. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Bankhead was part of the international “CovidSurg” collaborative, sharing her frontline experience in The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, and The New Yorker. Her candid storytelling helped destigmatize conversations around trauma and burnout in medicine. She later served as a featured panelist for national surgical initiatives to champion mental health support for healthcare professionals.

Modern Mom Lab was born from Dr. Bankhead’s lived experience as a mother balancing the intensity of surgical life with the deep desire to show up fully at home. After battling PTSD in the wake of COVID, she transformed her healing into a mission: to equip other high-performing women with the structure, systems, and support to thrive—both professionally and personally. Notably, some of her closest female friends, with robust careers of their own, have chosen a career pause to stay at home with their children, giving Dr. Bankhead a unique lens with which to understand this smart & capable demographic of women looking for opportunity to help their families while at home. Through programs like Time Alchemy and the Family Virtual Assistant Institute, she is redefining what it means to “have it all” for all women—with intention, optimization, and self-compassion.

She is married to her best friend Dr. Brian Kendall, an emergency medicine physician, and is mom to Knox and Tinsley—who inspire her daily to be a more present, playful, and thoughtful human through the lessons she learns from them.