Anai N. Kothari, MD MS is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He holds additional faculty appointments in the Clinical & Translational Science Institute of Southeast WI (CTSI) and the MCW Data Science Institute. He received his BS and MD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Kothari completed his General Surgery training at Loyola University Medical Center where he also earned a Master’s degree in Epidemiology with a focus on Predictive Analytics and Machine Learning. This was followed by a fellowship in Complex General Surgical Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Kothari’s clinical expertise is the surgical treatment of upper gastrointestinal tract and advanced cancers of the GI tract, including stomach, liver/bile duct, and peritoneum.
He is an active researcher with a focus on improving clinical care through personalizing treatment, digitalizing care delivery, and the responsible deployment of artificial intelligence. He is the Inaugural Director of the Bud and Sue Selig Hub for Surgical Data Science, Director of the MCW Cancer Center’s Integrated Cancer Data Resource, and the AI Lead for Inception Health. Dr. Kothari has published over 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles and is a member of several national societies including the Society of Surgical Oncology, American College of Surgeons, Society of Asian Academic Surgeons, Association for Academic Surgery, and the American Medical Informatics Association.
Selected publications from PubMed
Adaptive nuclear GTP synthesis promotes glioblastoma treatment resistance and is a targetable vulnerability in patients.
Scott AJ, Liang N, Al-Holou WN, Xu J, O'Brien A, Lin A, Pareek V, Sha Z, Zhao Z, Yang JZ, Yang A, Kothari AU, Wilder-Romans K, Wu Z, Feng J, Korimerla N, Elaimy A, Palavalasa S, Chen J, Wang L, Zhang L, Andren AC, Sajjakulnukit P, Marini B, Heth JA, Morgan MA, Lawrence TS, Benkovic SJ, Nagrath D, Chandrasekaran S, Qi NR, Sun D, Wen B, Pai MP, Clarke N, Suresh K, Umemura Y, Lyssiotis CA, Zhou W, Wahl DR
medRxiv. 2025 Nov 13 pii: 2025.11.11.25340023. doi: 10.1101/2025.11.11.25340023.
Rewiring of cortical glucose metabolism fuels human brain cancer growth.
Scott AJ, Mittal A, Meghdadi B, O'Brien A, Bailleul J, Sravya P, Achreja A, Zhou W, Xu J, Lin A, Wilder-Romans K, Liang N, Kothari AU, Korimerla N, Edwards DM, Wu Z, Feng J, Su S, Zhang L, Sajjakulnukit P, Andren AC, Park JO, Ten Hoeve J, Tarnal V, Redic KA, Qi NR, Fischer JL, Yang E, Regan MS, Stopka SA, Baquer G, Suresh K, Sarkaria JN, Lawrence TS, Venneti S, Agar NYR, Vlashi E, Lyssiotis CA, Al-Holou WN, Nagrath D, Wahl DR
Nature. 2025 Oct;646(8084):413-422 doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09460-7.
Mother's milk microbiota is associated with the developing gut microbial consortia in very-low-birth-weight infants.
Shama S, Asbury MR, Kiss A, Bando N, Butcher J, Comelli EM, Copeland JK, Greco A, Kothari A, Sherman PM, Stintzi A, Taibi A, Tomlinson C, Unger S, Wang PW, OptiMoM Feeding Group, O'Connor DL
Cell Rep Med. 2024 Sep 17;5(9):101729 doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2024.101729.
GTP Signaling Links Metabolism, DNA Repair, and Responses to Genotoxic Stress.
Zhou W, Zhao Z, Lin A, Yang JZ, Xu J, Wilder-Romans K, Yang A, Li J, Solanki S, Speth JM, Walker N, Scott AJ, Wang L, Wen B, Andren A, Zhang L, Kothari AU, Yao Y, Peterson ER, Korimerla N, Werner CK, Ullrich A, Liang J, Jacobson J, Palavalasa S, O'Brien AM, Elaimy AL, Ferris SP, Zhao SG, Sarkaria JN, Győrffy B, Zhang S, Al-Holou WN, Umemura Y, Morgan MA, Lawrence TS, Lyssiotis CA, Peters-Golden M, Shah YM, Wahl DR
Cancer Discov. 2024 Jan 12;14(1):158-175 doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-23-0437.
Tacrolimus-induced thrombotic microangiopathy post-liver transplantation for cryptogenic acute liver failure in an infant.
Wujek C, Fishel Ben-Kenan R, Kothari A, Wadera S, Sacco KA
Ann Hematol. 2023 Mar;102(3):687-688 doi: 10.1007/s00277-022-05076-3.
In this episode of "A Coffee with Dr. Anai Kothari," the discussion focuses on how to leverage Artificial Intelligence for cancer care and research. Dr. Kothari explores the practical applications of AI in oncology, examining its role in enhancing clinical decision-making and accelerating research outcomes. In alliance with the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons, the session provides a technical perspective on integrating these emerging technologies into oncological practice to improve patient care and scientific discovery. Anai N. Kothari, MD MS is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He holds additional faculty appointments in the Clinical & Translational Science Institute of Southeast WI (CTSI) and the MCW Data Science Institute. He received his BS and MD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Kothari completed his General Surgery training at Loyola University Medical Center where he also earned a Master’s degree in Epidemiology with a focus on Predictive Analytics and Machine Learning. This was followed by a fellowship in Complex General Surgical Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Kothari’s clinical expertise is the surgical treatment of upper gastrointestinal tract and advanced cancers of the GI tract, including stomach, liver/bile duct, and peritoneum. He is an active researcher with a focus on improving clinical care through personalizing treatment, digitalizing care delivery, and the responsible deployment of artificial intelligence. He is the Inaugural Director of the Bud and Sue Selig Hub for Surgical Data Science, Director of the MCW Cancer Center’s Integrated Cancer Data Resource, and the AI Lead for Inception Health. Dr. Kothari has published over 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles and is a member of several national societies including the Society of Surgical Oncology, American College of Surgeons, Society of Asian Academic Surgeons, Association for Academic Surgery, and the American Medical Informatics Association.
With Society of Asian Academic Surgeons
Published
Mar 2026
Welcome and Introduction – Dr. Steven D. Wexner (USA) and Dr. Tracy Wang (USA)Implicit Bias and the Model-Minority Myth – Dr. Tracy Wang (USA)Mentorship and Sponsorship from residency to retirement – Dr. Anai Kothari (USA) and Dr. Jennifer Tseng (USA)Allyship and Advocacy by Affinity Societies – Dr. Kasper Wang (USA) and Dr. Susan Tsai (USA)Addressing health care disparities among Asian Americans – Dr. Lillian Kao (USA)Addressing racial disparities by Research design – Dr. Ankush Gosain (USA)Developing diversity in national and international surgical leadership – Dr. Quan-Yang Duh (USA)Discussion –All faculty moderated by Dr. Eugene Kim (USA) and Dr. Allan Tsung (USA)
Published
Sep 2021
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