Skip to main content
Saman Shanaya Karimi, MD. MS.

Saman Shanaya Karimi, MD. MS.

Health Sciences Clinical Assistant Professor II, Division of GI/Liver Pathology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Irvine School of Medicine

Biography

Saman S. Karimi, MD, MS, is a Health Sciences Clinical Assistant Professor II in the Division of GI/Liver Pathology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. Dr. Karimi is a sub-speciality trained pathologist who completed a fellowship in Gastrointestinal, and Hepatobiliary Pathology at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she served as Chief Resident and received the Resident of the Year Award in 2022. She earned her MD from St. George's University School of Medicine and her MS in Molecular and Experimental Pathology from the University of Southern California (USC).

Dr. Karimi's research focuses on gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary pathology, with particular emphasis on inflammatory bowel disease, liver disease, and complications of novel cancer therapies. Her work on CAR T-cell therapy-related gastrointestinal toxicity was featured on the cover of Human Pathology in April 2025. She has authored over 20 peer-reviewed publications and contributed educational content to PathologyOutlines.com on topics including lysosomal acid lipase deficiency and chronic pyelonephritis. Her research on EFEMP1-associated systemic venous amyloidosis was recognized as a Blue Ribbon Finalist at the American Society of Clinical Pathology Meeting in 2022.

Dr. Karimi is board certified in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology by the American Board of Pathology. She serves on multiple committees at UCI, including the Cancer Committee as the Anatomic Pathology representative and the Clinical Competency Committees for the AP/CP residency, GI/Liver fellowship, and Surgical Pathology fellowship programs. She is a member of the Rodger C. Haggitt Gastrointestinal Pathology Society, the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, and serves on the Johns Hopkins GI Pathology CME Course Peer Review Committee.

Return to top

Distinctions

  • Blue Ribbon Finalist, American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Meeting, 2022
  • Best Research Poster Presentation, 16th Annual Keck School of Medicine at USC Pathology Conference, 2013
  • The John Budd Golden Scope Award, UCI Medical Center, 2025
  • Medical Knowledge Award, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2023
  • Resident Scholarly Activity Award, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2021, 2023
  • Resident of the Year Award, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2022
  • Graduate Student of the Year Award, Keck School of Medicine at USC Department of Pathology, 2013
  • Cum Laude, St. George's University School of Medicine, 2019
  • Gold Humanitarian Honor Society, 2016
Return to top

Areas of Expertise

  • Gastrointestinal Pathology
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease
  • Hepatobiliary Pathology
  • Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
  • CAR T-Cell Therapy Toxicity
  • Endometrial Stromal Sarcoma

Recent Publications

  • Karimi SS, Larman TC, Jain T, Voltaggio L, Birkness-Gartman JE, “Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy-related gastrointestinal toxicity: Histologic features and morphologic mimics”, Hum Pathol, vol. 158, pp. 105791, 2025.
  • Karimi SS, Oshima K, “Liver & intrahepatic bile ducts / Metabolic diseases / Lysosomal acid lipase deficiency” (opens in new tab), PathologyOutlines.com, 2025.
  • Zhang T, Karimi SS, Requena DO, Kharajian A, Liang TZ, Mayer C, Birkness-Gartman J, Larman T, Montogomery EA, Voltaggio L, “Intestinal and liver involvement by endometrial stromal sarcoma: Expanding the differential diagnosis of mesenchymal tumors involving the GI tract”, Hum Pathol, vol. 158, pp. 105784, 2025.
  • Mayer C, Liang TZ, Karimi SS, Zhang Y, Larman T, Voltaggio L, “Conservative lymph node samples is clinically appropriate in intestinal resections related to nonneoplastic inflammatory bowel disease: A single institution experience”, Arch Pathol Lab Med, vol. 149, pp. 486-488, 2025.
  • Sivanandham S, Ziaei A, Afsari A, Karimi SS, Shah S, Chandan V, “Higher accuracy with binary classification of tumornodules in colorectal carcinomas: An interobserver agreement study”, Lab Invest, vol. 105, pp. 102919, 2025.
  • Nickles MA, Karimi SS, Kurn H, Braniecki M, Polick A, Trivedi I, Sweiss N, Altman IA, “Cutaneous Chron disease presenting as "knife-edged" ulcers: a case report”, Wounds, vol. 36, pp. 84-89, 2024.
  • Karimi SS, Setty S, “Chronic pyelonephritis: Kidney Nontumor / Medical Renal Infection” (opens in new tab), PathologyOutlines.com, 2023.
  • Willis AJ, Corey SJ, Murga-Zamalloa C, Karimi SS, Khaddour K, Quigley J, Eklund EA, Chen Y, “Dynamin-2 deficiency causes age- and sex-dependent neutropenia and myelodysplasia in mice”, Blood Adv, vol. 7, pp. 1418-1431, 2023.
  • Karimi SS, Jin M, Murga-Zamalloa C, “Analytical and Clinical Significance of Rare Hemoglobin Variants during HbA1c monitoring in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus: Two Cases of Hemoglobin G-Ferrara and Hemoglobin G-Copenhagen in Diabetic Patients with Sickle Cell Trait”, J Appl Lab Med, vol. 8, pp. 407-412, 2022.
  • Komornik FN, Zafar M, Karimi SS, Mehta V, Perez-Tamayo A, Chaudhry V, “Anal Adenocarcinoma Arising from a Fistula-in-Ano: A Case Report”, Cureus, vol. 14, pp. e31339, 2022.
  • Cristal RT, McGinn L, Kumar S, Karimi SS, Gonzalez MF, Syed U, Rubenfeld AB, “Thyroid hemangioma and concurrent papillary thyroid carcinoma”, Case Rep Otolaryngol., vol. 21, pp. 100371, 2022.
  • Arif W, Mathur B, Saikali MF, Chembazhi UV, Toohill K, Song YJ, Hao Q, Karimi SS, Blue SM, Yee BA, Van Nostrand EL, Bangru S, Guzman G, Yeo GW, Prasanth KV, Anakk S, Cummins CL, Kalsotra A, “Splicing Factor SRSF1 Deficiency in the Liver Triggers NASH-like Pathology and Cell Death”, Nat Commun., vol. 14, pp. 551, 2022.
  • Lee SM, Muratalla J, Karimi SS, Diaz-Ruiz A, Dolores Frutos M, Guzman G, Ramos-Molina B, “Hepatocyte PPARγ contributes to the progression of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in male and female obese mice”, Cell Mol Life Sci, vol. 80, pp. 39, 2022.
  • Agrawal R, Guzman G, Karimi SS, Giulianotti PC, Mena Lora AJ, Jain Shikha, Khan M, Boulay BR, Chen Y, “Immunoglobulin G4 associated autoimmune cholangitis and pancreatitis following the administration of nivolumab: A case report”, World J Clin Cases, vol. 10, pp. 7124-7129, 2022.
  • Zafar MH, Gil LC, Karimi SS, Arain S, Niravel B, Martinolich J, Galvin J, Murga-Zamalloa C, Gantt Jr. G, “Plasmablastic Lymphoma Presenting With Rectosigmoid Perforation in a Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Positive Patient”, Cureus, vol. 14, pp. e24964, 2022.
  • Peng S, McGuire LS, Karimi SS, Valyi-Nagy T, Mehta AI, “Extradural Lumbar Nerve Root and Ganglion Capillary Hemangioma: Case Report”, Spinal Cord Ser Vases., vol. 7, pp. 74, 2021.
  • Karimi SS, Gonzalez MF, “Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment of Rectal Carcinoma: The Road to National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer Institutional Accreditation”, J Investig Med., vol. 69, pp. 64, 2021.
  • Karimi SS, Garzon S, “Intraplacental Hepatic Heterotopia”, Fetal Pediatr Pathol., vol. 5, pp. 1-5, 2021.
  • Majeed N, Younes IMA, Karimi SS, Garzon S, “Adenosquamous Carcinoma of the Gallbladder with Sarcomatoid Features”, ACG Case Rep J., vol. 7, pp. e00461, 2020.
  • Lechner MG, Karimi SS, Barry-Holson K, Angell TE, Church CH, Murphy KA, Ohlfest JR, Hu P, Epstein AL, “Immunogenicity of murine solid tumor models as a defining feature of in vivo behavior and response to immunotherapy”, J Immunother., vol. 9, pp. 477-489, 2013.
Return to top

Contact Information

Email: skarimi4@uci.edu

Phone: (714) 456-6141

Address: 101 The City Dr. S. Bl. 1, Rm. 3003

Return to top

This profile was created with the help of AI.

Last updated on 5/19/2026.