Ali Tavakkoli, MD

Dr. Tavakkoli is a minimally invasive and bariatric surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital where he serves as the chief of the Division of General and GI Surgery, co-director of the Center for Weight Management and Wellness, and director of the minimally invasive surgery fellowship. He is an associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School.
He received his medical degree from The London Hospital Medical College in England and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (FRCS) before moving to Boston and finishing his surgical residency at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and subsequently completing the Harvard Advanced Minimally Invasive fellowship.
Dr. Tavakkoli leads an active research group that studies the mechanisms of diabetes resolution after gastric bypass surgery, focusing on the role of intestinal metabolism and portal signaling. His group’s goals are to develop less invasive alternatives to surgery that can replicate the metabolic benefits of surgery without the risks.
He is an active member of many professional societies, and a member of the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons, and president-elect of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American College of Surgeons. He is an associate editor for the journal of Digestive Disease and Sciences and on the editorial board of the Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery. He has been recognized for his dedication to surgical education with several teaching and mentorship awards throughout his career.