WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS

Sharadh Sampath, BSc, MD, FRCS(C), General and Bariatric Surgery
Director, Richmond Hospital Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program
Head, Division of General Surgery
Past President of the BC Obesity Society
Vice President Canadian Association of Bariatric Physicians and Surgeons
Clinical Assistant Professor, UBC Department of Surgery

Dr. Sharadh Sampath is the Head of General Surgery at Richmond Hospital.  He also serves as the Director of the Richmond Hospital Bariatric Surgery Program which he co-founded in 2011. In 2012, he founded the BC Obesity Society and served as its president for seven years.   

Dr. Sampath has a bariatric and general surgery practice.  He is involved in teaching, research and leadership activities.  He is passionate about advocating for access to care for people living with obesity and has been working with government to increase funding for bariatric surgery over the past decade.  He is the current Vice President of the Canadian Association of Bariatric Physicians and Surgeons and this year’s Conference’s Chair. 

Most recently, he founded ElevATE – A Culinary Social Enterprise. This organization’s mandate is to provide living wage employment opportunities for people from marginalized and underserved backgrounds through healthy culinary initiatives.  All profits from these projects are reinvested into local charities.