Dr. Thambi-Pillai is Professor and Vice Chair of Surgery at the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine (USD SSOM) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in USA. He is the Surgical Director of Sanford Transplant Center in Sioux Falls, SD and the General Surgery Residency Program Director at the USD SSOM.
Dr. Thambi graduated from National University of Ireland in Galway, Ireland in 1996 and started his surgical training at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland surgical training program. Subsequently, he moved USA to pursue post-graduate surgical training at the University of Pennsylvania and then at Drexel School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. He completed subspecialty training in Transplant and Hepato-Biliary & Pancreatic (HBP) Surgery at University of Cincinnati, Ohio in 2006.
Then, he moved to Dayton, OH and was a faculty at the Wright State University and practiced at the Miami Valley Hospital for five years. Currently, Dr. Thambi has an active practice in Renal Transplant and HBP Surgery as well as takes General Surgery/Trauma call at the Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, SD.
Dr. Thambi-Pillai currently serves as the President of the International College of Surgeons â US Section. In addition, he is an active member of many of the Surgical societies in USA and has delivered guest lectures both nationally and overseas.
His passion outside Surgery is in global health and cofounded a 501c3 charitable organization called International Medical Health Organization (www.TheIMHO.org) in 2004 and since then the Charity has raised over $6 million and implemented projects in 15 countries. Majority of projects are implemented in war-torn and 2004 tsunami affected areas of Sri Lanka. Dr. Thambi is married and has three sons aged between 11 and 14 years of age.