CALIFORNIA/NEVADA CHAPTER ASMBS
Our Board
Pear Ma, MD, FASMBS, FACS, DABS-FPMBS
President
Dr. Pearl Ma is a born and raised Iowa native who moved to California and completed her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine from the University of California, Davis. Through her undergraduate studies at UC Davis, she found her passion in helping underserved and marginalized patients. She did her general surgery residency and fellowship training in Advanced GI (Minimally Invasive) and Bariatric Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco-Fresno Program. Dr. Ma performs general surgery and specializes in Bariatric surgery and Revisional bariatric surgery for complications or weight recurrence.
She has a passion for teaching and a research interest, with publications in revisional bariatric surgery and multiple book chapters. She is a fellow of ASMBS (FASMBS) and FACS, has a Focus practice designation in Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, and is Obesity Medicine certified. Her goal is to serve the Central Valley of California and continue educating the local physicians and surgeons in cutting-edge surgical techniques and compassionate patient care. Dr. Ma teaches UCSF residents as Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery and fellows at ALSA MIS bariatric fellowship. She is serving as co-chair for the Diversity and Inclusion Committee for ASMBS, sub-committee chair of the ASMBS Surgical Mentoring Program, and on the ASMBS Program Committee, Bariatric Surgical Training Committee, State and Local Chapters Committee, the SAGES Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Committee and consultant for the American Board of Surgery testing standards for Focus Practice Designation certification in Bariatric surgery.
Dr. Pearl Ma is the current President of the California/Nevada Chapter of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and was elected to the Executive Leadership Council for ASMBS.
Dr. Ma has been honored with multiple UCSF Fresno Resident Excellence in Teaching Award, Leon S Peters Foundation Resident of the Year Award, ASMBS Distinguished Service Award, and Treatment of Obesity and Research (TREO) Foundation 2023 Rising Star Award for demonstrating an outstanding job in patient care, research project success and community advocacy. She is passionate about treating obesity as a chronic disease and abolishing stigmas associated with obesity.
Recently, she started her running journey and loves spending her free time at Disneyland with her husband and two mischievous young children.
Kamran Samakar, MD, FASMBS, FACS
Board Member
Kamran Samakar, MD, MA, FACS, FASMBS, is a board certified general surgeon in the Division of Upper GI and General Surgery in the Department of Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Dr. Samakar completed medical school at the University of Minnesota and then went on to complete residency at Loma Linda University Medical Center where he was awarded the Chief Resident of the Year Award. He completed his fellowship training at Harvard Medical School in Advanced Laparoscopic and Bariatric Surgery. Dr Samakar also holds an advanced degree in Bioethics and Health Law.
Dr. Samakar's practice includes full spectrum general surgery with an emphasis on bariatric surgery. His clinical interests include obesity, gastric cancer, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and hernias. He is actively involved in academic medicine, research, and teaching.
Victoria Lyo, MD, FACS
Board Member
Besides clinical care as an academic bariatric and foregut surgeon, I am focused on performing translational research to understand the mechanisms by which bariatric surgery improves metabolic syndrome and obesity. Currently I am an NIH-funded Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) K12 scholar, studying Sex Differences in Bariatric Surgery. I also have interests in non-invasive means to measure MASLD response to bariatric surgery.
Alexander L. Ayzengart, MD, FASMBS, FACS
Board Member
Alexander L. Ayzengart, MD, MPH, FACS, FASMBS is a robotic bariatric and gastroesophageal surgeon in the Renown’s Department of Surgery, who specializes in minimally invasive management of obesity, reflux, esophageal and stomach disorders, and select abdominal general surgical conditions. He is affiliated with the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) School of Medicine as a clinical assistant professor of surgery and is significantly involved with educational and research efforts through UNR. Formerly, Dr. Ayzengart was an assistant professor in the Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. He earned his medical degree from the University of Michigan medical school in Ann Arbor, MI. Dr. Ayzengart completed his general surgery residency at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center. He completed subspecialty training in advanced laparoscopic, robotic, and bariatric surgery at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA. He also served as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps. As an active-duty general surgeon, Dr. Ayzengart was a staff surgeon at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Camp Pendleton and a department head at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, Japan.
Dr. Ayzengart’s clinical interests include bariatric, anti-reflux, gastroesophageal, and abdominal surgery. He is board-certified through the American Board of Surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. He is currently a vice president of the California / Nevada state chapter of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), and previously served as a president-elect of the Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean state chapter. Dr. Ayzengart is a long-term member of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT) and ASMBS.
