Collaborating for safe, efficient and cost-effective AI implementation in surgery
The Surgical Practice AI Research Community (SPARC) is a multi-institutional community connecting surgeons, computer scientists, informaticists, ethicists, health services researchers, implementation scientists, and any other stakeholders involved in the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare. Our aim is to foster a welcoming community dedicated to ensuring AI is implemented in healthcare safely, efficiently and sustainably to benefit providers and patients.
SPARC is committed to increasing knowledge and awareness of AI applications, addressing implementation challenges, and exploring future directions of AI in surgery. We believe that a true understanding of the field will empower surgical professionals to make informed decisions about when to embrace AI innovations and when critical evaluation is necessary.
SPARC holds monthly hybrid seminars at the Center for Healthcare Outcomes and Policy (CHOP). These seminars typically take place on the second and/or fourth Friday of the month at either 11 AM EST or 12 PM EST. We host experts who break down complex topics or share their work on new innovations in the field.
Katherine Khosrovaneh, senior data architect at CHOP, leads a python workshop every other Tuesday at 10 AM EST. These applied technical sessions are designed to help participants build essential skills for advancing AI implementation in surgery, such as coding and machine learning model development.
WiSOR at University of Wisconsin-Madison
CHOP at the University of Michigan and the Wisconsin Surgical Outcomes Research Program (WiSOR) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with Drs. Nabeel Zafar and Ben Zarzaur have established a strategic partnership to facilitate shared learning sessions between our institutions.
We welcome other institutions to join our network to establish robust channels of communication and accelerate progress in surgical AI research across the broader academic community. Please contact Natalie Guzman ([email protected]) if your institution is interested in collaborating with SPARC!
Other Collaborations
Please check back regularly, we have other exciting collaborations and networking opportunities that will be added soon. To receive updates on these opportunities and events, please sign up for our mailing list.
SPARC Visiting Professor Series
Dr. Anai Kothari, Medical College of Wisconsin: Friday, November 21, 2025
Dr. Kothari is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery and a member of the Collaborative for Healthcare Delivery Science at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He leads the AN.AI Lab (Accelerating iNsight. Augmented Intelligence) with a primary focus on improving cancer care delivery through precision and personalized medicine.
Dr. Nabeel Zafar, University of Wisconsin-Madison: Friday, December 5, 2025
Dr. Zafar is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Zafar conducts health services research and research on global oncology/global surgery. He analyzes large datasets to study outcomes after cancer surgery, as well as disparities in outcomes after surgical care. Recently, Dr. Zafar has published work on machine-learning models to predict severe postoperative complications and early death.
Dr. Daniel Hashimoto, University of Pennsylvania: Friday, January 23, 2026
Dr. Hashimoto is an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Hashimoto is the director of the Penn Computer Assisted Surgery and Outcomes (PCASO) Laboratory and has helped develop multiple computer vision algorithms for the analysis of surgical video, led international consensus on defining ground truth for the annotation of surgical video, and worked to define metrics to assess performance of AI algorithms on surgical tasks.
If you are interested in getting involved and would like to receive updates and invitations for SPARC sessions and events, please fill out this form.
You are welcome to get involved regardless of institution or career stage! If you have additional questions or ideas for collaboration, please reach out to Natalie Guzman ([email protected]).
Professor of Surgery
Chair, Department of Surgery, Medical School
Professor of Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health
Professor of Surgery
Associate Chair, Department of Surgery
Professor of Surgery
Section Head, Surgery
Service Chief, Medical School
Associate Professor of Surgery
Medical School
Associate Professor of Surgery
Associate Chair, Department of Surgery, Medical School
Associate Professor of Architecture and Urban Planning
A Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
