Kamso Okonkwo

Los Angeles, CA

 310-925-3775, bokonkwo@usc.edu

Education

Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA 2025

Doctor of Medicine

• USMLE Step 1: Pass
• USMLE Step 2: 255

Columbia University New York, NY 2019

Bachelor of Arts, Biology Major 

Research

Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Southern California

Research Assistant to PI: Serge Kobsa, M.D. 2023 – 2025 

• Conducted a retrospective review of over 2000 patients to determine if socioeconomic status impacts cardiac surgical treatment and outcomes within a safety net public hospital system, assisted with the writing of a manuscript for publication.
• Conducted a retrospective review of over 200 patients to compare outcomes of total aortic arch replacement with frozen elephant trunk endoprosthesis using traditional methods versus the novel Thoraflex device. 
• Resulted in writing of a manuscript for publication

Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Southern California

Research Assistant to PI: Ajay Vaidya, M.D. 2022 – 2023

• Performed data collection, analysis, and manuscript preparation related to heart-kidney transplantation allocation and outcomes, findings submitted for publication

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Southern California

Research Assistant to PI: Reza Omid, M.D. 2021

• Assisted with data collection, analysis, and manuscript preparation related to return to sport criteria following shoulder arthroplasty in athletes, findings submitted for publication 

Publications

Haratian, A., Deadwiler, B., Dobitsch, A., Bolia, I. K., Thompson, A. A., Hasan, L. K., Okonkwo, K., Liu, J. N., Weber, A. E., Petrigliano, F. A., & Gamradt, S. C. (2023). Return to sport criteria following upper extremity surgery in athletes-part 4: shoulder arthroplasty procedures: a scoping review. Journal of ISAKOS : joint disorders & orthopaedic sports medicine, 8(5), 364–371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jisako.2023.06.004

Francke, M., Wolfson, A. M., Fong, M. W., Nattiv, J., Pandya, K., Kawaguchi, E. S., Villalon, S., Mroz, M., Sertic, A., Cochran, A., Ackerman, M. A., Melendrez, M., Cartus, R., Johnston, K. A., Okonkwo, K., Ferrall, J., DePasquale, E. C., Lee, R., & Vaidya, A. S. (2023). New UNOS allocation system associated with no added benefit in waitlist outcomes and worse post-transplant survival in heart-kidney patients. The Journal of heart and lung transplantation : the official publication of the International Society for Heart Transplantation, 42(11), 1529–1542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healun.2023.06.018

Bojko, M. M., Oslund, W., Kirsch, M. J., Carroll, A. M., Longo, E., Clothier, J. S., Okonkwo, K., Rajeev, N., Dhanekula, A., McCarthy, F., Cafarelli, A., Glotzbach, J., Burke, C. R., Reece, T. B., Kobsa, S., & Fleischman, F. (2024). Commercial hybrid graft versus traditional arch replacement with frozen elephant trunk: A multi-institutional comparison of early outcomes. JTCVS Open, 17(1–10). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xjon.2024.03.005

Rajeev, N., Bojko, M., Clothier, J., Okonkwo, K., Kazerouni, K., & Kobsa, S. (2024). Preoperative stroke predicts new postoperative clinically significant stroke in patients undergoing surgery for left-sided infective endocarditis. JTCVS Open, 24(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xjon.2024.09.027

Presentations

Kim, D., Bolia, I., Okonkwo, K., Levian, B., Chu, T., Hasan, L., Haratian, A., Petrigliano, F., Weber, A. Patient Perspectives on THC- and CBD-based Products for the Management of Musculoskeletal Pain. Keck SOM of USC Medical Student Research Forum. January 13, 2022.

Rajeev, N., Bojko, M., Clothier, J., Okonkwo, K., Kazerouni, K., Kobsa, S. Preoperative stroke predicts new postoperative clinical stroke in patients undergoing surgery for left-sided infective endocarditis. Accepted as podium presentation at Western Thoracic Surgical Association Annual Meeting, Vail, CO (2024)

Leadership/Volunteer Experience

Prescribe It Forward

Feb 2022 – May 2025

Mentor

• Provide mentorship for pre-medical students who struggle to find guidance as they embark on their journey to becoming medical students (with a focus on underrepresented minorities (URM), first-generation, LGBTQIA+, non-traditional, or otherwise disadvantaged applicants)

Bravo Mentorship Program

Sep 2021 – May 2025

Mentor

• Mentor high school students interested in health sciences and nurture their interest in careers in healthcare 
• Facilitate various activities throughout the year include pig heart dissections, physician presentations, college info workshops, and overall fun hangout times

Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center

Volunteer

Aug 2018 – May 2019

• Assisted nurses with organizing fun and interactive events for elderly and other hospitalized residents (including arts and crafts, bingo, etc.)
• Had weekly visits with an assigned resident, as a long term-companion and gained familiarity with the importance of palliative care

Columbia University African Student Association April 2017 – April 2018

Political Chair 

• Facilitated discussions around improving equitable access to healthcare in Africa, the future of tech in African healthcare, and the intersection of governance and African healthcare policy 
• Spearheaded the planning of events to educate the Columbia campus and surrounding environs on various political issues concerning current events taking place in Africa
• Hosted various panelists and specialists on issues pertaining to the welfare of African nations and members of the African Diaspora

Employment History

Xenon Health New York, NY May 2019 – present 

Content Writer         

• Write articles related to the healthcare sector, with a focus on the perioperative management of patients with specific anesthetic considerations, healthcare policy, and the role of tech in healthcare 

Honors and Awards

Keck School of Medicine Dean’s Research Scholar Program 2024

Keck School of Medicine Summer Research Program 2021

Languages

Native in English and Igbo

Proficient in basic conversational French

Personal Interests

Weightlifting, boxing, history, philosophy, writing, video games, watching sports, movies, and television