Dr. Zibari graduated from the University of Tennessee Center for Health Sciences with his medical degree. His General Surgery internship and residency were obtained at LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport. Dr. Zibari then pursued his interest in abdominal solid organ transplantation through a fellowship at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine where he also served as an instructor of surgery.

He was recruited by the Department of Surgery at LSU Health Sciences Center Shreveport in 1993 to teach and work under his mentor, Dr. John C. McDonald, who was the founder of organ transplantation in this region. Dr. Zibari was a tenured Professor, Vice Chairman for the Department of Surgery for Academic Affairs, the Chief of the Division of Transplantation, and the Malcom Chair in Transplantation. He is currently the Director of John C. McDonald Regional Transplant Center as well as the Advanced Surgery Center, both located at Willis-Knighton Medical Center.

He has authored and co-authored more than 125 articles in scholarly medical publications as well as reviewed the work of others. Also, he has co-authored and served as a co-editor of the textbook “Surgical Oncology: A Practical and Comprehensive Approach”. He has spoken or presented papers at a variety of medical conferences throughout the world and has forged links with medical professionals in his homeland of Kurdistan, Iraq especially at the University of Duhok. Dr. Zibari continues to participate in humanitarian medical outreach in Kurdistan, Vietnam, Egypt, Nicaragua, and Honduras.

Dr. Zibari is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is a member of numerous organizations including the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, the American Society of Transplant Physicians, the Society of University Surgeons, the Southern Surgical Association, the American Heptao-Panreato-Biliary Association, the American Medical Association, and the John C. McDonald Surgical Society.

Additionally, Dr. Zibari has served as president of Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency (LOPA), Louisiana Surgical Association, American College of Surgeons – Louisiana Chapter, American Foundation for Donation and Transplantation, and John C. McDonald Surgical Society. Presently he serves as president-elect of the Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association and as an American College of Surgeons Governor representing the state of Louisiana.

He was elected as one of the best interns and residents by his peers at LSU Health Sciences Center Shreveport four consecutive years. Dr. Zibari was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Society. Also, he was awarded and honored with the Ellis Island Medal in May of 2007. He was recently honored by the Louisiana State Medical Society with its 2014 Community Service Award.