Conference Faculty

Kenneth M. Kamler, MD

Kenneth Kamler, M.D. is a micro-surgeon trained at Columbia Presbyterian Medical center who practices surgery of the hand in New York but practices extreme medicine in some of the most remote regions on earth. He has treated bear bite in the Arctic and frostbite in the Antarctic. He has set fractures in the Andes and cared for out-of-breath scuba divers in the Galapagos. He has performed surgery deep in the Amazon rain forest and in an undersea mock space capsule. He has been on six expeditions to Mount Everest as expedition doctor and climber. Four were with the National Geographic Society deploying laser telescopes and global positioning satellite receivers to measure the exact height of Everest as well as the tectonic motion of the Asian continental plate. On his two most recent expeditions to Everest, he served as Chief High Altitude Physician for NASA-sponsored research on human physiological responses to extreme altitude, and monitored remote body sensors worn by climbers to provide real-time medical data as they ascended the mountain. Dr. Kamler himself has climbed to within 900 feet of the summit of Everest and was the only doctor, high on the mountain, during the infamous 1996 storm that claimed twelve lives. His treatment of the survivors was portrayed in the best-selling book, Into Thin Air, and in the IMAX film, Everest.

Dr. Kamler is Vice President of The Explorers Club, a member of the Sigma XI National Scientific Research Society, a consultant for National Geographic Magazine and for NASA, and a commentator for Outdoor Life Network. New York Magazine recognized him in 2002 as one of the best doctors in New York and he is listed in the Castle-Connolly guide to Top Doctors, as well as in Who’s Who in Science and Engineering and Who’s Who in America. He is the subject of a chapter in the book Biography Today: Medical leaders, and has been profiled in The New York Times, USA Today, US News & World Report and Readers Digest. His radio and television appearances include NPR’s Fresh Air, CBS 48 Hours, Fox News, NBC News, National Geographic, Discovery and History Channel. CNN featured him as an Extreme Medicine Pioneer. He appeared on ABC Nightline in the first ever live interview from Everest base camp, and has been a guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Dr. Kamler was recently honored at the National Boy Scout Jamboree as one of twenty of the Greatest Living Explorers.

He currently writes a monthly column for National Geographic Adventure Magazine and is a contributing editor for Popular Mechanics. He is the author of two books on the physiological and psychological effects of extreme environments, both based largely on his personal experiences: Doctor On Everest, published by Lyons Press, 2000 and Surviving The Extremes, published by St. Martin’s Press and Penguin Books, 2004.