Dr. Tara Karamlou joins Akron Children’s as a pediatric heart surgeon
01-09-2025 (Akron, Ohio)
Tara Karamlou, MD, MSc, has joined Akron Children’s as a pediatric congenital heart surgeon.
Dr. Karamlou comes to Akron Children’s from Cleveland Clinic Children’s, where she was a pediatric cardiac surgeon and served as the program director of the Congenital Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellowship Program, among other roles.
She will work with Dr. Robert Stewart, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Akron Children’s, to support continued growth in Akron Children’s heart center as part of the Akron Children’s and Cincinnati Children’s collaboration to enhance complex care in pediatric cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery.
Dr. Karamlou is a world-renowned expert in clinical outcomes research, with more than 280 peer-reviewed publications and holds national leadership positions in all cardiac surgery professional societies. She is a Cincinnati Children’s faculty member in cardiovascular surgery and a clinical professor at the University Hospital College of Medicine. In addition, she is a professor of surgery at Case Western Reserve University, and served as the director of the clinical outcomes, research and registries at the Cleveland Clinic. Before that, Dr. Karamlou was a pediatric heart surgeon at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego. Dr. Karamlou has served as the director of the Cardiothoracic Research Institute at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. And she was director of the California Congenital Consortium of Hospitals, where she led initiatives to improve care for babies in California.
After earning a medical degree with high honor from Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Karamlou completed a general surgery residency at Oregon Health and Science University as well as a surgery residency at the University of Michigan and Oregon Health and Science University. She completed a pediatric congenital cardiac surgery fellowship at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Karamlou was the second Kirklin-Ashburn Fellow at the Congenital Heart Surgeons’ Society and earned a master of science in biostatistics from the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto.
Akron Children’s Pediatric and Adult Congenital Heart Center gives children and young adults born with heart disease state-of-the-art diagnostics and treatment close to home. Akron Children’s cardiology and cardiac surgery programs were ranked No. 39 in the Newsweek and Statista America's Best Children's Hospitals 2024 - Newsweek Rankings.
The Akron Children’s and Cincinnati Children’s heart collaboration seeks to strengthen an already existing and successful heart program at Akron Children’s through shared conferences, resources, and quality assurance (QA) initiatives. By pooling expertise and resources, the collaboration aims to elevate the standard of care to a broader range of patients, potentially reaching those who may not have had access to certain specialized congenital heart services. The collaboration reflects a strategic effort to enhance care delivery, optimize infrastructure, and most importantly, benefit local patients.
