Maki Yamamoto

Biography

Maki Yamamoto, M.D., FACS, is Vice Chair of Outpatient Clinical Affairs and Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center, where she also serves as Associate Director of the Melanoma Center and Associate Residency Program Director. She is a staff surgeon at the Long Beach Veterans Affairs Hospital. Yamamoto received her M.D. from New York Medical College and completed a fellowship in Surgical Oncology at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. She is board certified in both Surgery and Complex General Surgical Oncology.

Yamamoto's clinical and research focus centers on melanoma and soft tissue sarcoma. Her work has examined sentinel lymph node biopsy techniques, surgical margins in melanoma, and the use of gene expression profiling to guide treatment decisions. She has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications and contributed book chapters on melanoma epidemiology, biopsy techniques, and surgical management. Her research has been presented at national and international meetings including the Society of Surgical Oncology, American College of Surgeons, and World Congress of Lymphology.

Yamamoto serves on multiple institutional committees at UC Irvine Health, including as Co-chair of the Perioperative Quality and Patient Safety Committee, Co-chair of the Cutaneous Tumor Board and Sarcoma Tumor Board, and Chair of the Clinical Competency Committee. She is a member of the Graduate Medical Education Committee and Medical Executive Committee. She serves on the American College of Surgeons Committee on Applicants for District 5 and is a member of the Association of Program Directors in Surgery, where she has mentored multiple Associate Program Directors from other institutions.

Education

• B.A. with Honors in Molecular and Cell Biology/Immunology, University of California, Berkeley, 2000
• M.D., New York Medical College, 2004

Distinctions

• Fellow in the American College of Surgeons, 2016
• World Congress of Lymphology Young Investigator Award, 2015
• National Merit Scholar, 1996
• Department of Surgery, Chairman's Award (Outstanding Chief Resident), University of California, Irvine Medical Center, 2011
• William Cheney M.D. Award (Outstanding Resident), Long Beach Memorial Hospital, 2010
• Golden Key National Honor Society, 1996
• The Surgical Society of New York Medical College Award, 2004
• Surgical Intensive Care Unit Intern of the Year, Long Beach Veterans Affairs Hospital, 2005
• Orange County Medical Association Physician of Excellence, 2020-2023
• High School Valedictorian, Mission San Jose High School, 1996