Course Directors

Charu Paranjape, MBBS
Faculty at Harvard Medical School
Program Director, Robotic Education,
Massachusetts General Hospital
Associate Chair and Chief of General Surgery
Mass General Brigham,
Newton-Wellesley Hospital

Kumar Krishnan, MD
Assistant professor of Medicine,
Harvard Medical School;
Director of Endoscopic Innovation, Technology and Education,
Massachusetts General Hospital

Hany Takla, MD, FACS, FASMBS, DABS-FPMBS
General & Bariatric Surgeon
Medical Director of Surgical services
Chair Department of Surgery
General Surgery Dover I Center for Weight Management and Bariatric Surgery
Wentworth Douglass Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital
 

Faculty

Abdelrahman Nimeri, MD, FACS
Gastrointestinal and General Surgery,
Director of Bariatric Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Adham Saad, MD, FACS
Assistant Professor, Surgery
Fellow, Minimally Invasive Surgery
University of South Florida Health

Alexandra Maltby, PA-C
General Surgery Physician Assistant,
Department of Surgery,
Newton-Wellesley Hospital

Ali Tavakkoli, MD
Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School;
Chief, Division of General and GI Surgery,
Co-Director, Center for Weight Management and Wellness,
Program Director, Advanced Minimally Invasive Fellowship,
Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Aman Ali, MD
Bariatric Surgery, General Surgery,
Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist

Ankit Patel, MD
General and Bariatric surgeon,
Associate professor of Surgery
Emory University

Annaliessa Visco, RD

Ashraf Maghrabi, MD, FRCSC
President, Saudi General Surgery Society 
Associate Professor of Surgery 
Thoracic, Foregut and Bariatric Surgeon 
King Abdulaziz University Hospital

Ashvind Bawa, MS, FACS
Professor Surgery
Dayanand Medical College and Hospital
Ludhiana, Punjab, India

Ashwin Ananthakrishnan, MBBS, MPH
Gastroenterologist,
Massachusetts General Hospital

Brittany Mallette, RN

B. Ramana, MBSS, MS, FRCS, FACS, FIBC, FISA
General and hernia surgery 
Goulburn Valley Health, Shepparton, Victoria, Australia
Founder and President of AWR Surgeons Community

Dana Telem, MD
Section Head of General Surgery,
Associate Chair for Quality and Patient Safety,
Lazar J. Greenfield Professor of Surgery,
University of Michigan Health

David Lourié, MD
Director of MIS program at Huntington Hospital 

Deepak Subramanian, MD
Clinical Lead, Dept of Laparoscopic and Bariatric Surgery
MGM HEALTHCARE, Chennai

Denise Gee, MD
Bariatric Surgeon
Vice Chair of Clinical Operations, Department of Surgery,
Surgical Director, Mass General Weight Center,
Section Head, Swallowing,
Heartburn and Esophageal Disease Program, Massachusetts General Hospital

Elan Witkowski, MD, MS
Gastrointestinal Surgeon,
Head, Hernia Center,
Massachusetts General Hospital

Emily Letendre, PA-C
Department of Surgery,
Newton-Wellesley Hospital

Eran Brauner, MD
General Surgery, Newton-Wellesley Hospital

Eric Pauli, MD, FACS, FASGE
David L. Nahrwold Professor of Surgery
Chief, Division of Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery
Vice Chair, Clinical Affairs
Director of Abdominal Wall Surgery
Program Director, Abdominal Wall Surgery Fellowship
Department of Surgery
Penn State Health

Firas El-Hanafi, MD, FACS, FRCSEd(Gen. Surg), FRCSEd(OG)
Senior Upper GI and Bariatric Surgeon,
Darlington Memorial Hospital;
County Durham and Darlington NHS
Foundation Trust,
United Kingdom

George Velmahos, MD, PhD
John F. Burke Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School;
Division Chief of Trauma, Emergency Surgery and Surgical Critical Care,
Massachusetts General Hospital

Hassan Mashbari, MD
Assistant professor in Surgery,
General Surgery Residency Program Director,
Director, Clinical Simulation & Life Support Center,
Jazan University

Jignesh Gandhi, MD
Senior Consultant,
Robotic, GI & Laparoscopic Surgeon,
Gleneagles Hospital | Mumbai

Jennifer Lopes, RN
Endoscopy Registered Nurse,
Newton-Wellesley Hospital

John DeWitt, MD
Professor of Medicine,
Director of Endoscopic Ultrasound,
Indiana University Health

John Pandolfino, MD
Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in the Department of Medicine,
Hans Popper Professor,
Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology and Hepatology),
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Kathryn Schlosser, MD
General Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Laura Shannon, RN

Lee Kaplan, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine,
Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine

Mario Gonçalves
Abdominal wall surgeon
Fellow of the European Board of Surgery - Abdominal Wall
Fellow of the American College of Surgeons
Hospital de Braga
Braga, Portugal

Matthew Hutter, MD, MPH, MBA
Professor in Surgery, Harvard Medical School;
Gastrointestinal Surgeon | Bariatric Surgeon | Laparoscopic/Minimally Invasive Surgeon
Director of the Codman Center for Clinical Effectiveness in Surgery,
Massachusetts General Hospital

Michael DeWane, MD
General Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital

Mohit Bhandari, MS, DMAS, FICS, FIAGES, FALS
Director Mohak Bariatrics and Robotics, Indore, India

Nari Sabeti, MD
General and Gastrointestinal Surgery, Weight Loss (Bariatric) Surgery
Medical Director, Surgical Weight Loss Program
Salem Hospital 

Nora Fullington, MD
Partner, Boston Hernia
Newton-Wellesley Hospital

Omar Ghanem, MD
Chair, Division of Metabolic and abdominal wall reconstructive surgery 
Associate professor of Surgery
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

Pawanindra Lal, MD
Department of Surgery,
Maulana Azad Medical College

Peter Fagenholz, MD
Associate Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School;
Pancreatic and General Surgeon,
Surgical Director, MGH Pancreatitis Treatment Center,
Massachusetts General Hospital

Pramod Shinde, MD
Bariatric Surgeon, General Surgeon, Laparoscopic Surgeon,
Kaushalya Hospital & Research Centre | Nashik

Prakash Gatta, MD
Texas Christian University, Brunette School of Medicine,
Fort Worth, TX

Premkumar Balachandran, MD
Clinical Lead, Apollo Institutes of Hernia Surgery and Abdominal Wall Reconstruction
 Apollo Hospitals

Priyanca Waghmarae, PA-C
Outpatient Gastroenterology, Massachusetts General Hospital

Rahul Mahadar, MD
Senior Gastrointestinal Surgeon,
Jeevanshree Hospital

Rajesh Shrivastava, MD
Bariatric & Laparoscopic Surgeon

Ralph Weissleder, MD, PhD
Thrall Family Professor of Radiology,
Professor of Systems Biology,
Harvard Medical School;
Center for Systems Biology,
Radiologist, Interventional Radiology,
Massachusetts General Hospital

Rana Pullat, MD, FACS, FASMBS
Professor of Surgery,
Director of Bariatrics and Robotic Surgery
Division Chief of Foregut and Metabolic Surgery,
Medical University of South Carolina

Reem Sharaiha, MD, MSc
Gastroenterology, Weill Cornell Medicine

Rocco Ricciardi, MD
Colorectal Surgeon | Gastrointestinal Surgeon
Chief, Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery,
Massachusetts General Hospital

Roy Patankar, MD
Director and Administrative Head,
Zen Multispeciality Hospital

Sanjay Sonar, MD
General Surgeon, Godrej Memorial Hospital | Mumbai

Sharad Sharma, MD
Bariatric Surgeon, Fortis Hospital Mulund | Mumbai

Sheila Partridge, MD
General Surgery, Bariatric Surgery,
Newton-Wellesley Hospital

Suha K. Kaaki, MD, FRCSC FACS
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Program Director, Thoracic Surgery Fellowship Thoracic and Foregut Surgeon
King Saud University Medical City 

Susana Wishnia, MD
General Surgery, Bariatric Surgery,
Newton-Wellesley Hospital

Uzma Siddiqui, MD
Professor of Medicine
Director, Endoscopic Ultrasound and Advanced Endoscopy Training
Director, Center for Endoscopic Research & Therapeutics
University of Chicago Medicine

Vivek Bindal, MD
Director & Head,
Max Institute of Minimal Access, Bariatric & Robotic Surgery

Yalini Vigneswaran, MD
Advanced GI and Bariatric Surgery
Surgical Director of Education Institute
Program Director of Esophageal Diseases
University of Chicago Medicine

Yusef Kudsi, MD, MBA, FACS,
Gastrointestinal and General Surgery,
Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Shannon Gagnon, RN
Operating room RN
MGB-Wentworth Douglass Hospital 

Christina Warne, DPT, PT
Rehabilitation and physical therapy 
MGB-Wentworth Douglass Hospital 

Kendal Towle, APRN
General and Bariatric surgery
MGB-Wentworth Douglass Hospital 

Ramesh Punjani, MS, FACS, FICS, FMAS, FIAGES
General, Laparoscopic & Robotic Surgeon,
Special Interest: Hernia & Abdominal Wall Reconstruction,
Director: Pooja Nursing Home Pvt. Ltd.
Senior Surgeon: Fortis Hospital, Mulund
Visiting Surgeon: Jupiter Hospital; Breach Candy Hospital; P D Hinduja National Hospital, Mahim
Director: Master Hernia Course, IMMAST, Worli, Mumbai