James Atkinson, M.D., FACS
Born and raised in Las Vegas, Dr. Atkinson earned his bachelor's degree from Portland State University in Portland, Ore. Upon returning to Nevada, he received his medical degree from the University of Nevada-Reno. He has a special interest in research and has co-authored multiple published articles. As a medical student, he was selected as a Research Fellow by the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Atkinson began his surgical residency training in 1995 at University Medical Center in Las Vegas and served as Chief Resident in Surgery in 2000.

Upon completing his surgical residency, Dr. Atkinson joined a busy general surgery group, where he focused on advanced laparoscopy. He is certified in Advance Trauma Life Support and served as a trauma surgeon at UMC, gaining extensive operative experience. Dr. Atkinson has devoted much of his time to teaching medical students and residents becoming future doctors. He continues his support for the University's Surgery Residency Program as an Assistant Clinical Professor.

Dr. Atkinson is a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery and has been an active member of medical societies nationally and locally, including the American Medical Association, Nevada State Medical Association and the Clark County Medical Society. He has received numerous academic awards during his career. Most recently, he was highly honored by being elected to the distinguished medical honor society, Alpha Omega Alpha. He was also selected as one of "America's Top Surgeons" in 2002.

Barry L. Fisher, M.D., FACS
A native of New York, Dr. Fisher received his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1966. He completed his internship at Bronx Municipal Hospital in 1967, followed by a four-year general surgery residency at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Calif.

As a United States Air Force Major, Dr. Fisher proudly served as Chief of Surgery at Nellis AFB Hospital in Las Vegas from 1971 until 1973. After leaving the Air Force, he remained in Las Vegas in private practice, until the Medical School came to Southern Nevada. In 1989, he introduced his weight loss surgery program in Southern Nevada. Since that time he has performed more than 700 weight loss surgery procedures.

Dr. Fisher has published several articles in surgery journals. He is an active member in Clark County and Nevada State Medical Societies, and is an instructor in laparoscopic gastric bypass and laparoscopic hernia surgery for Ethicon Endosurgery, and participates in courses training LAP-BAND surgeons for Inamed Health. He belongs to numerous specialty medical organizations. He is chairman of the Medical Advisory Board at Inamed Health and has chaired the Committee for Advances in Bariatric Surgery, a committee comprised of 12 of the foremost national and international Bariatric surgeons interested in LAP-BAND surgery.

Daniel Cottam, M.D.
Dr. Cottam grew up in Cypress, Texas, and received his medical degree from the University of Texas in 1997. He completed an internship in surgery at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa, and completed his surgical residency in New York at Nassau University Medical Center on Long Island.

In order to learn more about the effects of obesity on general health, he accepted a one-year research position at the University of Pittsburgh. During this year, he concentrated on the effects of hormones produced by the stomach and brain on hunger and satiety. He also wrote landmark articles concerning diabetes and obesity, and polycystic ovary syndrome and obesity.

Following this research year, Dr. Cottam did a year of advanced laparoscopic surgery training at the University of Pittsburgh, where he performed more than 350 weight loss surgery procedures. He focused on patients who had had multiple operations prior to having bariatric surgery performed. He was also part of the team that pioneered a new surgical approach to patients who are at the highest risk during bariatric surgery.

Dr. Cottam is board-certified in general surgery and a member of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery. He has received numerous awards during his life including Researcher of the Year three times during residency, winner of the most outstanding poster presentation at the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, winner of the most outstanding oral presentation at the annual meetings of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, and the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons.