Maria Iliakova, MD FACS

Dr. Iliakova is launching a reflux practice in New York in 2025 offering robotic surgery, endoscopy, and medical management. Dr. Maria Iliakova is a fellowship-trained robotic foregut and bariatric surgeon specializing in surgical technology integration and program development. She is passionate about leveraging technology to improve patient access to surgical care. She founds and leads DocAnchor, an AI-driven platform that streamlines physician credentialing, enabling faster hiring, efficient work tracking, and seamless billing. Dr. Iliakova is Co-Chair of the ASMBS Insurance Committee and actively contributes to the SAGES SDS Taskforce and Robotics Committee. She developed BariBuddy, the first AI assistant for bariatric patients, and launched the robotic surgery program at Mercy Iowa City, now UIHC - Downtown. A Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, ASMBS, and SAGES, Dr. Iliakova engages in research, presentations, and publications on foregut and bariatric surgery, AI applications in medicine, robotic surgery, insurance access, and the business of healthcare. She also holds patent 63/603,410 for an innovative system that stores and sorts surgical tools. Credentials: Fellowship: Bariatric and Minimally Invasive Surgery, Hackensack University Medical Center Residency: General Surgery, University of Missouri - Kansas City Internship: General Surgery, Carle Foundation Hospital MD: University of Kansas School of Medicine MSc Biochemistry & Bioinformatics, Georgetown University Fulbright Fellowship in genetics & proteomics, Center for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona, Spain BS Biology, BA Chemistry, BA Spanish: University of Missouri - Kansas City She is currently completing an MBA at NYU as part of the Andre Koo Tech MBA program, to finish 2025.