Dr. Abdelrahman Nimeri has influenced the practice of Bariatric & Metabolic Surgery in the Middle East and North Africa region since his move from Fresno, CA, in the USA to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Through collaboration with surgeons and physicians from the Gulf region, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Dr. Nimeri has been instrumental in developing the Pan Arab Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery, the Gulf Obesity Surgery Society, and the newest chapter of IFSO, the Middle East North Africa Chapter.

Dr. Nimeri’s commitment to education, research, quality, and multidisciplinary care has helped bring together clinicians tackling obesity in the MENA region and the efforts of these clinicians culminated in the birth of the fifth chapter of IFSO, the IFSO Middle East North Africa Chapter. Dr. Nimeri served as the President of the Pan Arab Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery from 2017 to 2018 and is the President of the IFSO Middle East North Africa Chapter from 2017 to 2019. He is currently practicing at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte in the USA after spending 9 years in the MENA region. This move in his career is not a big surprise considering his background and upbringing. He is a true citizen of the world. As the son of an ambassador, he has traveled with his family throughout his school years and was schooled in Sudan, Iran, and Oman.

Dr. Nimeri finished his medical school education at Al-Azhar University School of Medicine in Cairo, Egypt, and his surgical training in General Surgery at Huron Hospital of the Cleveland Clinic Health System. Abdelrahman completed his bariatric fellowship training at Washington University in St. Louis under the mentorship of Drs. Chris Eagon, Brent Matthews, Mike Brunt, and Valerie Halpin. He credits Kelvin Higa, his senior partner for several years in Fresno, with shaping his initial exposure to bariatric surgery when he was a young faculty member in the UCSF-Fresno medical education program. Dr. Nimeri’s move to the United Arab Emirates helped establish his presence as a leader in bariatric surgery in the MENA region. He credits Dr. Philip Schauer with helping him set up the Bariatric & Metabolic Institute (BMI), Abu Dhabi, the largest comprehensive tertiary referral bariatric surgery program in Abu Dhabi.

During his 9-year tenure at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi, Dr. Nimeri made several accomplishments. He led the Division of General, Thoracic, & Vascular Surgery and helped transform the division into the model of subspecialty care and introduced morbidity and mortality. Dr. Nimeri was also the surgeon champion for both the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) and ASMBS bariatric surgery registry (MBSAQIP). Dr. Nimeri helped in the initial ACGME-I accreditation and re-accreditation of the first ACGME-I-accredited surgery residency program in the Middle East region and the second outside of North America. Furthermore, he served as the associate program director of the ACGME-I accredited surgery residency program for 5 years (2013–2018). Dr. Nimeri founded and was the Director of the Bariatric & Metabolic Institute (BMI) Abu Dhabi. It is based on the model of multidisciplinary care. BMI was the first center outside of North America to join the registry run by ASMBS (MBSAQIP). Furthermore, he founded and was the director of the 2-year bariatric surgery fellowship program (following the model of the MIS fellowship council) and he trained three practicing bariatric surgeons in the UAE (Mohamed Hadad 2012–2014, Ahmed Maasher 2014–2016, and Talat Al Shaban 2016–2018).

Dr. Nimeri received several awards during his tenure in Abu Dhabi. He was recognized by the surgery residents of the ACGME-I-accredited residency program, winning the Best Teacher Award in 2015. He was awarded the Cleveland Clinic’s Zielony Nursing Institute’s Nightingale by the nursing staff (Physician Collaboration award in 2017). In 2011, he won the Health Care System’s (SEHA) Medal for the Best Physician, and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi Surgical Distinction award—a tremendous public service distinction awarded to the best surgeon in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi including both private and public hospitals.

Dr. Nimeri credits his introduction to the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity (IFSO) to Professor Karl Miller, the former chair of the IFSO Communication Committee. Dr. Nimeri was appointed as the Chair of the IFSO Communication Committee in 2013–2016 and was reappointed as chair (2016–2019). Dr. Nimeri, with the other members of the IFSO Communication Committee, helped lead a transformation of IFSO’s presence online. He credits Manuela Mazzarella and the members of the Communication Committee with many of the accomplishments. These accomplishments include establishing the IFSO Facebook group (> 1700 members), Twitter account (> 1100 followers), the IFSO Virtual Academy (in collaboration with AIS channel), IFSO monthly Facebook Journal club, quarterly GoToMeeting Webinars, the IFSO/Obesity Surgery visual abstracts, as well as the IFSO new website. Dr. Nimeri’s achievements on the Communication Committee earned him the IFSO Presidential Medal in 2017, awarded to him by his mentor, Dr. Kelvin Higa.

Dr. Abdelrahman Nimeri has three siblings (Rasha, Randa, and Mohamed). He is married to his better half (Shaima), and they have five children (Ali, Farah, Mariam, Mohamed, and Aasya). He enjoys spending time with the family, playing soccer, swimming, and reading about psychology, self-help, and biographies.