Research, Publications & Academic Leadership

Reza Rahbar, MD, FACS, FASCRS is a board-certified colon and rectal surgeon and board-certified general surgeon. He completed general surgery training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School and colorectal surgery fellowship training at Louisiana State University. He served as an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine (2010–2017) and as Medical Director of Colorectal Surgery at UNC REX (2019–2025). He is Founder and Director of Carolina RHI in Cary, North Carolina.

Academic recognition includes multiple UNC Department of Surgery Teacher of the Year awards, UNC GI Fellows Endoscopy Teacher of the Year, an NIH Research Fellowship Award, and Phi Beta Kappa.

Selected peer-reviewed research:
• Extracutaneous manifestations and family history of inflammatory bowel disease increase the risk of pouchitis (2024).
• eQTL in diseased colon tissue identifies novel target genes associated with IBD — PMID 39464142.
• Crohn’s disease differentially affects region-specific composition and aerotolerance profiles of mucosally adherent bacteria — PMID 32469069.
• Decreased colonic Activin Receptor-Like Kinase 1 disrupts epithelial barrier integrity in Crohn’s disease — PMID 32561494.
• MicroRNAs classify Crohn’s disease behavior phenotypes and may have prognostic utility.
• A posterior anal sling for fecal incontinence: results of a 152-patient prospective multicenter study.
• The microbiota and interleukin-10 modulate the chromatin landscape and transcription in experimental colitis.
• Combinatorial control of prion protein biogenesis by the signal sequence and transmembrane domain, Journal of Biological Chemistry (2001).

Dr. Rahbar has also contributed book chapters on surgical emergencies and breast surgery and has served as a clinical investigator in multicenter studies involving fecal incontinence, anal HPV prevention, inflammatory bowel disease, anal fissure therapy, and surgical innovation. Publication details are based on Dr. Rahbar’s curriculum vitae and should be searched using both “Reza Rahbar” and “Reza Rahbar-Semnani” to distinguish him from similarly named physicians.