Dr. Clifford Ko is the Director of the Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care at the American College of Surgeons. He oversees all the quality improvement programs, including the Bariatric Surgery Accreditation Program, the Cancer Accreditation program, the Trauma Verification program, the new Surgeon Specific Registry, and the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP). He also serves as the Director of ACS NSQIP.

His research is on the surgical quality of care, including quality measurement, process improvement, and quality maintenance. As a clinician, Dr. Clifford Ko is double board-certified surgeon with a practice focusing on patients with colorectal cancer. At UCLA, he is the Robert and Kelly Day Professor of Surgery, has won the Faculty Teaching Award three times, and is recognized as one of the Best Doctors in America. He is also professor of health services at the UCLA School of Public Health.