When Dr. Kokkosis was growing up, her mother overcame a battle with cancer at a young age. That inspired Dr. Kokkosis to pursue a career in medicine so she could make an impact on the lives of patients with serious illnesses.
While in high school, she was welcomed into the pharmacology laboratory of Stella Tsirka, PhD, for a summer research position. This placed her on the path to acceptance into Stony Brook’s Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program, coupled with acceptance into the Scholars for Medicine (combined BS-MD) program.
Today Dr. Kokkosis is a vascular surgeon, treating patients for all aspects of arterial and venous diseases. Her clinical interests include open and endovascular approaches to the various vascular disorders. Also, being the Director of Carotid Interventions, she was one of the first vascular surgeons in New York to perform the TCAR procedure (transcarotid artery revascularization), which is available for patients with challenging cases.
Dr. Kokkosis’ clinical research carries a particular focus on peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in women, which is often overlooked and misdiagnosed because its symptom presentation may be different than in men. She also is involved with medical student and resident education at the local level, as the Associate Program Director of the General Surgery and Phlebology Programs; and at the national level with the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS).
Of her longtime trajectory at Stony Brook, Dr. Kokkosis says, “I am happy to have returned to my alma mater to care for the community that raised me.”