Internationally renowned minimally invasive surgeon Dr. Mehran Anvari will serve as the commencement speaker for The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences graduation ceremony 2 p.m. Friday, May 26 at the Stranahan Theater.

There are more than 200 candidates for degrees, including 162 for a doctor of medicine degree, ten for a doctor of philosophy degree; 29 for master’s degrees; and four graduate certificates.

Anvari, one of the first surgeons in Canada to use robotics in surgery who also won a NASA award for his part in developing an automated robot used for detecting the early stages of breast cancer, will receive an honorary degree of doctor of science.

“We are fortunate to have Dr. Anvari serve as the speaker for our upcoming commencement,” said Dr. Christopher Cooper, executive vice president for clinical affairs and dean of the College of Medicine and Life Sciences. “His impressive body of work, particularly in minimal access techniques, should serve as an example to our graduates that pushing boundaries and finding new and innovative methods to replace established practices can lead to better, more positive outcomes.”

A tenured professor and chair in minimally invasive surgery and surgical innovation at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Anvari is the founding director of the McMaster Institute for Surgical Invention, Innovation and Education, the Centre for Minimal Access Surgery and the Centre for Surgical Invention and Innovation.

“It is an honor to be invited to speak at the commencement of The University of Toledo’s College of Medicine and Life Sciences,” says Anvari. “My talk will focus on how innovation is an essential ingredient for social and economic progress and can solve the problems facing our global community. It should be a goal for all students and drive our future academic and professional endeavors.”

Anvari is a pioneer in his field. He is the founding director of the Centre for Minimal Access Surgery and scientific director and CEO of the Centre for Surgical Invention and Innovation, affiliated with McMaster University and St. Joseph Healthcare Hamilton.

In 2003, he established the world’s first telerobotic surgical service linking St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and a community hospital.

In addition, Anvari has authored over 120 publications and has been an invited lecturer numerous times on the outcomes and evidence for the increasing use of laparoscopic esophagogastric and bowel surgery as well as on the use of robotics in surgery.