Kamran Samakar

Kamran Samakar is a Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery (Clinician Educator) and Director of the Bariatric Surgery Program at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. He holds additional roles as Program Director of the Keck Hospital Bariatric Surgery and Director of the Bariatric Surgery Program at CHLA. His clinical focus includes general surgery, bariatric surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, and foregut disorders. He completed his medical degree at the University of Minnesota, residency at Loma Linda University Medical Center, and a fellowship in Advanced Laparoscopic and Bariatric Surgery at Harvard Medical School. He also holds a Master's in Bioethics and Health Law.

Dr. Samakar’s research spans bariatric surgery outcomes, racial disparities in surgical care, AI in healthcare education, and postoperative management. His work emphasizes ethical and inclusive approaches to patient care, particularly in underrepresented populations. Key areas of investigation include obesity pharmacotherapy, hernia repair techniques, and the integration of large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4 into patient education.

His recent publications highlight trends in intra-abdominal infection mortality, robotic surgery efficacy, and the impact of socioeconomic factors on bariatric surgery access. He actively contributes to clinical guidelines, such as the ASMBS guidelines on Wernicke’s encephalopathy prevention. His academic contributions bridge surgical innovation with ethical responsibility, advocating for equitable healthcare delivery through technology and education.