Surgical Practice AI Research Community (SPARC)

SPARC holds monthly hybrid seminars at the Center for Healthcare Outcomes and Policy (CHOP). These seminars take place at 10 AM EST on roughly one Friday a month. 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.

Annals of Surgery

SPARC collaborates with Annals of Surgery to host quarterly virtual seminars featuring leading faculty conducting AI research in surgery. These sessions are open to anyone. Following each talk, a corresponding perspective piece is published in the journal for a deeper exploration of each topic. We had our first inaugural speaker in February 2026, Dr. Tyler Loftus, an acute care surgeon and assistant professor at the University of Florida. Check back soon to get the link to read his perspective piece! 

ACS Clinical Congress Annual Surgical AI Reception ACS Clinical Congress Annual Surgical AI Reception 

Hosted in collaboration with SPARC, the AMIA Surgical and Procedural Informatics Working Group, the ACS Health Information Technology Committee, and the SAGES Artificial Intelligence Task Force, this reception brings together faculty, residents, and students to support meaningful connections and collaborations. If you are interested in attending, please fill out the interest form to provide your email! 

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 Seminars and Visiting Professor Series

Visiting Professors 

February 26th, 2027, 10am EST 

• Dr. Gabriel Brat: Gabriel A. Brat, MD, MPH, MSc, is a trauma surgeon and critical care physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. He directs the Surgical Informatics Laboratory, where his research applies clinical informatics, machine learning, and computer vision to improve surgical decision making and patient outcomes. His work includes surgical risk prediction, clinical decision support, opioid prescribing, and analysis of intraoperative events. 

April 16th & 23rd, 2027, 10am EST (Computer Vision Double Header!) 

• Dr. Andrew Hung: Andrew J. Hung, MD, is a urologic surgeon and Professor of Urology and Computational Biomedicine at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. He serves as Vice Chair for Academic Development in the Department of Urology and Co Director of the Center for Autonomous Robotic Surgery. His clinical practice focuses on robotic surgery for kidney and prostate diseases. His research applies artificial intelligence to surgical training, automated skills assessment, and the prediction of surgical outcomes.
• Dr. Amin Madani: Amin Madani, MD, PhD, FRCSC, FACS, is an endocrine and acute care surgeon at University Health Network and an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto. His clinical practice includes the surgical management of thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal disorders. He directs the Surgical Artificial Intelligence Research Academy (SARA), where his research focuses on surgical expertise, decision making, and the use of artificial intelligence, computer vision, and simulation to improve operating room performance. 

Seminar Series 

October 2nd, 2026, 10am EST 

• Dr. Justin Opfermann: Justin D. Opfermann, PhD, is a new faculty member joining the Department of Robotics at the University of Michigan. His research focuses on medical robotics, autonomous surgical systems, and the development of intelligent tools for minimally invasive procedures. He recently completed his PhD in mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins University under the mentorship of Axel Krieger, where he contributed to robotic systems for autonomous soft tissue surgery.

October 30th, 2026, 10am EST

• Dr. Paul Cederna: Paul S. Cederna, MD, FACS, is the Robert Oneal Legacy Professor of Plastic Surgery and a Professor of Surgery and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan. His research focuses on regenerative peripheral nerve interfaces, amputation pain, and advanced prosthetic control systems for people with limb loss. He is also a cofounder and President of Blue Arbor Technologies, which is translating this work through the RESTORE Neuromuscular Interface System, an FDA Breakthrough Device designed to provide intuitive control of robotic prostheses. 

Check back regularly as we will be adding additional speakers throughout the year! 

Previous speakers include:

• Dr. Anai Kothari, Medical College of Wisconsin
• Dr. Nabeel Zafar, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Dr. Jenna Wiens, University of Michigan
• Dr. Christopher Tignanelli, University of Minnesota
• Dr. Michael Mathis, University of Michigan
• Dr. Andrew Wong, University of Michigan
• Dr. Daniel Hashimoto, University of Pennsylvania
• Dr. Tyler Loftus, University of Florida
• Dr. Andrew Krumm, University of Michigan