OUR TEAM
Dr. Carlin is a Professor of Surgery at Wayne State University and an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Michigan State University COM. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Wayne State University and also completed his General Surgery residency and attended medical school at Wayne State University where he was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha and graduated with High Distinction. During residency Dr. Carlin completed a NIH research fellowship in Surgery and Biochemistry. He spent five years at the Detroit Medical Center before joining Henry Ford Health in 2003 and was appointed Division Head of General Surgery in 2011. Dr. Carlin established the bariatric surgery program at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital in 2016 and is their Medical Director of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. He is also the Associate General Surgery Program Director at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital. Dr. Carlin has been Executive Committee Chair of the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative (MBSC) since 2014 and now serves as the Director of MBSC.
Arthur M. Carlin, MD, FACS, FASMBS
Director, Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative
Professor of Surgery, Wayne State University
Division Head of General Surgery, Henry Ford Health
Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Director, Henry Ford Macomb Hospital
Dr. Ghaferi is the President of Physician Enterprise and Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs for Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin. He served as the Director of the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative (MBSC) since 2015, and now serves as a Physician Consultant for MBSC. He received his bachelor’s degree from UCLA, his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed his surgical training at the University of Michigan. Dr. Ghaferi also completed advanced training in health services research and obtained a master’s degree in Health and Healthcare Research from the University of Michigan. He also completed his Executive MBA from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. Dr. Ghaferi's research focuses on understanding the relationship of organizational systems and design to quality and efficiency, with the goal of designing interventions to improve care locally, regionally, and nationally.
Amir A. Ghaferi, MD, MSc, MBA, FACS, FASMBS
Physician Consultant, Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative
Professor of Surgery
President, Physician Enterprise
Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, Medical College of Wisconsin
Amanda is the Lead Senior Project Manager for the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing and a Master of Science degree in Community and Public Health Nursing from the University of Michigan. Since completing her education, she has worked on a post-surgical floor, which included urology, gastrointestinal and transplant patients, at University of Michigan hospital. As the Lead Senior Project Manager for MBSC, Amanda is currently involved in measuring and improving the quality of care for the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative, which is a statewide registry. Her responsibilities include reviewing the accuracy of submitted data, performing site audits, and providing collaboration between the coordinating center and participating sites.
Amanda Stricklen, RN, MS
Lead Senior Project Manager, Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative
Aaron is a Senior Statistician with the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri, and his Master of Science degree in Experimental Psychology from Ohio University. Prior to his current position, Aaron worked as a data analyst at the University of Waterloo in the Propel Centre for Population Health Impact. Currently, Aaron performs data analysis for the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative (MBSC) and other Center for Healthcare Outcomes and Policy (CHOP) projects at Michigan Medicine.
Aaron Bonham, MSc
Senior Statistician, Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative
C. Ann Vitous is a Qualitative Researcher for Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative and the Department of Surgery at Michigan Medicine. She received her M.A. in Biocultural Medical Anthropology and MPH in Global Health at the University of South Florida. In her current role, Ann focuses on a broad range of applied surgical and clinical qualitative research topics including an exploration of surgical culture, the role of bias in surgical decision-making, and broadening access to patient care. In addition to her work at the University of Michigan, Ann has also worked as a consultant for the Pacific Institute of Research and Evaluation, where she evaluated programs aimed at Reducing LGBTQ+ Adolescent Suicide and a comparative effectiveness trial to reduce child maltreatment, improve client outcomes and examine client burden in the state of New Mexico.
C. Ann Vitous, MA, MPH
Qualitative Researcher, Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative
Dr. Finks is a Clinical Professor of Surgery at the University of Michigan. Dr. Finks attended college at Harvard University and medical school at the University of California, Irvine. He completed a General Surgery residency at the University of Cincinnati and went on to complete a 2-year research and clinical fellowship in Minimally Invasive Surgery at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Finks’ clinical interests are in minimally invasive general and bariatric surgery and he served as the director of the Adult Bariatric Surgery Program at the University of Michigan from 2011 until 2014. His research focus is on improving surgical outcomes in bariatric surgery through collaborative quality improvement. Dr. Finks has served on the Executive and Publication Committees of the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative (MBSC) since 2007 and now serves as the co-director of the MBSC.
Jonathan F. Finks, MD
Associate Director, Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative
Clinical Professor of Surgery, Michigan Medicine
Dr. Varban is a Minimally Invasive and Bariatric surgeon at Henry Ford and serves as Associate Director of the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative (MBSC). After graduating with a degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Varban completed his medical school and general surgery residency training at Wake Forest University. Afterwards, he completed a fellowship in Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Varban has been an active member of the MBSC since 2011 and his clinical interests include outcomes of bariatric surgery, access to care and quality improvement.
Oliver A. Varban, MD, FACS, FASMBS
Physician Lead, Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative
Dr. Ehlers graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2007, received her medical degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine in 2011, completed her general surgery residency at the University of Washington in 2018, and finished a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery at the University of Washington in 2019. During this time, Dr. Ehlers also completed a health services research fellowship with the Surgical Outcomes Research Center in Seattle, WA and obtained a Master of Public Health Degree. She joined the University of Michigan faculty in 2019 as an Assistant Professor of Surgery in the School of Medicine. Her clinical practice is located at the Ann Arbor Veterans Administration Healthcare System which serves Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. Dr. Ehlers’ clinical practice is devoted to advanced laparoscopy, including gastroesophageal reflux surgery, bariatric surgery, and abdominal wall and groin hernias. Dr. Ehlers’ research focuses on understanding clinical and patient-reported outcomes in bariatric and hernia surgery and determining how best to engage patients for research.
Anne P. Ehlers, MD
Rachel is a Senior Project Manager for the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing and her Master of Science degree in Nursing Business and Health Systems from the University of Michigan. Since completing her education, Rachel has worked on a post-surgical floor, which includes gastrointestinal and transplant patients, at the University of Michigan hospital. As the Senior Project Manager for MBSC, she is currently involved in measuring and improving the quality of care for the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative. Her responsibilities include ensuring the accuracy of submitted data, performing site audits, providing collaboration between sites, and assisting the Lead Senior Project Manager.
Rachel Ross, RN, MS
Senior Project Manager, Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative
Physician Lead, Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative
Assistant Professor of Surgery, Michigan Medicine
Erin is a Clinical Information Analyst for the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Health Information Management from Ferris State University and is also a Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA). Since completing her education, Erin has worked as a Quality Improvement Specialist with McLaren Port Huron where she was the lead for both the MBSC and MARCQI registries. As the Clinical Information Analyst for MBSC, Erin is currently involved in leading the QI activities of the collaborative including onboarding new sites, designing and ordering materials, and synthesizing outcomes data. Additionally, her responsibilities include helping to manage the MBSC database and other technologies including the Weigh the Odds and My Weight Loss Journey apps, and assisting the Project Managers.
Erin Charbeneau, RHIA, BS
Clinical Information Analyst, Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative
Gale is an Administrative Assistant with the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative. She joined the MBSC team in 2009 and supports the day-to-day activities of the collaborative. Her main focus is patient follow-up and supporting the Project Managers. With her ability to multitask, prioritize and learn new tasks, Gale has been a great asset to the MBSC family.
Gale O’Reilly
Follow-Up Coordinator, Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative
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