Syed Nabeel Zafar, MD, MPH
Dr. Syed Nabeel Zafar is a cancer surgeon and Assistant Professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology at University of Wisconsin Health in Madison, Wisconsin. Dr. Zafar specializes in performing surgeries to treat gastrointestinal malignancies and has particular skills in the use of laparoscopic and robotic techniques and the use of cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) for the treatment of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma.[1]
Board certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Medical Quality, Dr. Zafar treats patients with malignancies of the pancreas, liver, gallbladder, peritoneal surface malignancies, and others. He enjoys working with a multidisciplinary team to provide his patients with the best possible outcomes and takes the time to provide them with detailed information so that they can make good decisions about their treatment. [2]
Education and Career
Dr. Zafar earned both his Bachelor of Medicine degree and his Bachelor of Surgery degree at Aga Khan University Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan. He earned a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health and completed a General Surgery internship and residency at Howard University Hospital. He also completed a fellowship in Advanced Gastrointestinal and Minimally Invasive Surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore and a Complex General Surgical Oncology fellowship at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.[1]
In addition to caring for patients at UW Health, Dr. Zafar is involved in a project aiming to improve surgical outcomes in low-resource settings in low-and middle-income countries. His goal is to share knowledge and expertise through an existing partnership between UW-Madison and two surgical centers in Africa, helping clinicians and staff in Ethiopia and Zambia to develop systems of collecting data on surgical complications. They are also training and mentoring the local team on the use of this data to enhance the quality and safety of surgical and anesthesia care in a way that is sustainable.[3]
Professional Memberships and Activities
Dr. Zafar is an active member of several medical and professional organizations and is active on several medical committees, including:[1]
- Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society
- Society of Surgical Oncology
- American College of Surgeons
- Association of Academic Surgeons
- Association of Global Academic Surgeons
- Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons
- Member, Fellows and young attendings committee – Society of Surgical Oncology
- Member, Global Affairs, Association of Academic Surgery
Research
Dr. Zafar’s research focuses on global oncology and global surgery, as well as health services research. His work involves the analysis of large datasets to study surgical outcomes, as well as disparities in those outcomes. He is also dedicated to studying how to improve the delivery of cancer care and surgery in low-and middle-income countries, and in support of that work he was awarded a three-year, $120,000 grant from the Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment to support work he is doing in Sub-Saharan Africa.[1]
- ASO Visual Abstract: Association of Neighborhood Disadvantage with Short- and Long-Term Outcomes After Pancreatectomy for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Marcinak CT, Praska CE, Vidri RJ, Taylor AK, Krebsbach JK, Ahmed KS, LoConte NK, Varley PR, Afshar M, Weber SM, Abbott DE, Mathew J, Murtaza M, Burkard ME, Churpek MM, Zafar SN. Ann Surg Oncol 2024 Jan; 31(1): 552-553. [PubMed ID: 37805945]
- Association of Neighborhood Disadvantage with Short- and Long-Term Outcomes After Pancreatectomy for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Marcinak CT, Praska CE, Vidri RJ, Taylor AK, Krebsbach JK, Ahmed KS, LoConte NK, Varley PR, Afshar M, Weber SM, Abbott DE, Mathew J, Murtaza M, Burkard ME, Churpek MM, Zafar SN. Ann Surg Oncol 2024 Jan; 31(1): 488-498. [PubMed ID: 37782415].
- Prediction of Early Recurrence Following CRS/HIPEC in Patients With Disseminated Appendiceal Cancer. SenthilKumar G, Merrill J, Maduekwe UN, Cloyd JM, Fournier K, Abbott DE, Zafar N, Patel S, Johnston F, Dineen S, Baumgartner J, Grotz TE, Maithel SK, Raoof M, Lambert L, Hendrix R, Kothari AN. J Surg Res 2023 Dec; 292: 275-288. [PubMed ID: 37666090]
