Ali Mahtabifard
Biography
Ali Mahtabifard, M.D., FACS, is Professor of Surgery, Division Chief of Thoracic Surgery, and Director of Thoracic Oncology at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. He received his Doctor of Medicine from New York Medical College in 1997 and completed a research fellowship in thoracic surgery immunology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Cornell University, followed by general surgery residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University. He completed a clinical fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine and an advanced minimally invasive thoracic surgery fellowship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Mahtabifard served as an attending surgeon in the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from 2007 to 2018, where he also held positions as Associate Program Director of the Thoracic Surgery Fellowship and Clinical Chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery. His clinical expertise focuses on minimally invasive thoracic surgery, including video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies. He has contributed to the field through co-editing the Atlas of Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery and authoring multiple book chapters on VATS techniques and surgical management of non-small cell lung cancer.
Mahtabifard joined the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine in 2018 and was appointed Division Chief of Thoracic Surgery and Medical Director of the Thoracic Oncology Program in 2022. He chairs the Thoracic Surgery/Pulmonary Tumor Board and serves as an attending surgeon at the Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center. His research interests include immunotherapy for lung cancer and early detection methods using breath analysis. He is board certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery.
Return to topEducation
- B.A. in Molecular & Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 1993
- M.D., New York Medical College, 1997
Areas of Expertise
- Thoracic Oncology
- Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Lobectomy
- Immunotherapy for Lung Cancer
- Adenovirus Gene Transfer Vectors
- Pigment Epithelium-Derived Factor Therapy
- Personalized Immunotherapy Development
- Infrared Spectroscopy Breath Analysis
Recent Publications
- Lee C., Sakowitz S., Zucker A., Fairbairn K., Mahtabifard A., Benharash P., Keshava H.B., “Relationship Between Case Volume and Outcomes for Pulmonary Resection for Lung Cancer at Safety-Net Hospitals” (opens in new tab), Annals of Thoracic Surgery Short Reports, 2026.
- Hegazi M., Yuan C., Kabutey N.-K., Fujitani R.M., Keshava H., Mahtabifard A., Chau A.H., “Intravascular lipoma with extravascular extension, a rare phenomena and review of the literature” (opens in new tab), Annals of Vascular Surgery Brief Reports and Innovations, vol. 5, 2025.
- Chase LM, Sedighim S, Lee C, Hegazi M, Keshava HB, Mahtabifard A, “Elastofibroma Dorsi: Case Series of a Rare Chest Wall Pseudotumor” (opens in new tab), World Journal of Surgery, vol. 47, no. 10, pp. 2587-2593, 2023.
- Harris JP, Fujimoto DK, Nagasaka M, Ku E, Harada G, Keshava H, Mahtabifard A, Longoria J, Patel N, Seyedin S, Simon A, Chen A, “Controversies in Lung Cancer: Heterogeneity in Treatment Recommendations for Stage III NSCLC According to Disease Burden and Oncogenic Driver Alterations” (opens in new tab), Clinical Lung Cancer, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 333-344, 2022.
- Labadzhyan A, Kim SM, Rhyu J, Araki T, Mahtabifard A, Melmed S, “Thymic Carcinoid With Adrenocorticotropic Hormone-Producing Ectopic Cushing Syndrome and Empty Sella” (opens in new tab), AACE Clinical Case Reports, vol. 4, pp. e375-e378, 2018.
- D.Q. Taizoon, J.L. Gerber, T.B. Thuy, A. Mahtabifard, K.S. Sibert, “An Unusual Cause of Airway Obstruction in a Patient in the Endoscopy Suite”, A&A Case Reports, vol. 3, pp. 15-19, 2014.
- McKenna R.J., Mahtabifard A., “Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Lobectomy” (opens in new tab), Atlas of Advanced Operative Surgery, pp. 50-55, 2012.
- McKenna R.J., Mahtabifard A., “Thoracoscopic Lung Biopsy” (opens in new tab), Atlas of Advanced Operative Surgery, pp. 56-59, 2012.
- R.J. McKenna, A. Mahtabifard, S. Swanson, “Atlas of Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery”, Elsevier Saunders, 2011.
- Mahtabifard, “Right-sided Mediastinal Lymph Node Dissection”, Atlas of Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery, Elsevier Saunders, pp. 213-221, 2011.
- Mahtabifard, “Left Lower Lobectomy”, Atlas of Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery, Elsevier Saunders, pp. 118-127, 2011.
- Mahtabifard A., McKenna R.J., “Video-assisted thoracic surgery for wedge resection, lobectomy, and pneumonectomy”, General Thoracic Surgery Seventh Edition, vol. 1-2, pp. 1450-1474, 2011.
- V. Nuttaki, A. Mahtabifard, R.J. McKenna, “Mediastinoscopy and Mediastinotomy - Indications, Techniques, Limitations, Complications”, Medical Management of the Thoracic Surgery Patient, Elsevier Saunders, pp. 72-77, 2010.
Most Cited Publications
- Mahtabifard A, Fuller CB, McKenna RJ Jr, “Video-assisted thoracic surgery sleeve lobectomy: a case series” (opens in new tab), Annals of Thoracic Surgery, vol. 85, no. 2, pp. S729-32, 2008.
- McKenna RJ Jr, Mahtabifard A, Pickens A, Kusuanco D, Fuller CB, “Fast-tracking after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lobectomy, segmentectomy, and pneumonectomy” (opens in new tab), Annals of Thoracic Surgery, vol. 84, no. 5, pp. 1663-7, 2007.
- R.E. Merritt, A. Mahtabifard, R.E. Yamada, R.G. Crystal, R.J. Korst, “Cisplatin Augments Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte-Mediated Antitumor Immunity in Poorly Immunogenic Murine Lung Cancer” (opens in new tab), Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, vol. 126, pp. 1609-17, 2003.
- Mahtabifard, R.E. Merritt, R.E. Yamada, R.G. Crystal, R.J. Korst, “In Vivo Gene Transfer of Pigment Epithelium-Derived Factor (PEDF) Inhibits Tumor Growth in Syngeneic Murine Models of Thoracic Malignancies” (opens in new tab), Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, vol. 126, pp. 28-38, 2003.
- R.J. Korst, A. Mahtabifard, R.E. Yamada, R.G. Crystal, “Effect of Adenovirus Gene Transfer Vectors on the Immunologic Functions of Mouse Dendritic Cells” (opens in new tab), Molecular Therapy, vol. 5, pp. 307-315, 2002.
- Mahtabifard, J. Yapp, R. McKenna III, C.B. Fuller, R.J. McKenna, “Wedge Resection and Brachytherapy for Lung Cancer in Patients with Poor Pulmonary Function” (opens in new tab), Annals of Thoracic Surgery, vol. 85, pp. 733-736, 2008.
- Mahtabifard A., DeArmond D.T., Fuller C.B., McKenna Jr. R.J., “Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery Lobectomy for Stage I Lung Cancer” (opens in new tab), Thoracic Surgery Clinics, vol. 17, pp. 223-231, 2007.
- Mong C, Garon EB, Fuller C, Mahtabifard A, Mirocha J, Mosenifar Z, McKenna R, “High prevalence of lung cancer in a surgical cohort of lung cancer patients a decade after smoking cessation” (opens in new tab), Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery, vol. 6, 2011.
- S.P. Kumar, A. Mahtabifard, J.N. Young, “Fractured Inferior Vena Cava Filter Strut Presenting as a Penetrating Foreign Body in the Right Ventricle” (opens in new tab), Journal of Cardiac Surgery, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 378-81, 2008.
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Last updated on 4/24/2026.