Ara Ko was born in Korea and raised in Southern California. She attended UCLA, receiving her BA in religious studies. With an interest in global health and underserved communities, she went on to earn her combined MD/MPH degrees at the Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. She received her general surgery training at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and then completed her surgical critical care fellowship at the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. She has done research on topics including improving outcomes in traumatic brain injury, venous thromboembolism prevention, quality improvement, and trauma workflow, and pain assessment and treatment in the trauma patient population. Her research has been recognized both regionally and nationally. Dr. Ko enjoys mentoring and coaching the next generation of physicians, being selected for outstanding student teaching awards both at Cedars-Sinai and Stanford University.