Dr. Juan Santamaria is a surgical oncologist and an Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center (FPBCC) in Omaha, NE. A Panamanian American born in Detroit and raised in Panama, he completed medical school at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, followed by a general surgery residency at the University of Texas in Houston, McGovern Medical School. After a surgical oncology fellowship at the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Los Angeles in 2020, he joined UNMC and the FPBCC as a faculty surgeon.

His two primary goals are to become an academic surgeon-scientist with an NCI-funded breast cancer lab and to improve breast cancer care for minorities while increasing clinical trial participation among underserved populations through a lay peer navigator program. He has authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications and received over $800,000 in federal, state, foundation, and internal awards. His lab focuses on breast cancer brain metastasis. In 2021, he was awarded the UNMC Faculty Diversity Award. Notably, in 2023 he received the competitive NIH/NCI Early-Stage Surgeon Scientist Program grant, for his efforts to advance as an academic surgeon-scientist and address the barriers surgeons face in basic science research.

Dr. Santamaria created the Nebraska Breast Health Navigator Program (NBHNP), for which he has been awarded 5 grants totaling more than $250,000. The mission of NBHNP is to eliminate barriers for breast cancer patients and survivors, particularly those from minority and underserved communities, ensuring they receive the best cancer care practices, enroll more frequently in cancer clinical trials, and build trust with healthcare providers. This is achieved through peer-to-peer support from trained lay peer navigators who are cancer survivors from diverse cultural and racial/ethnic backgrounds.

In 2023, he served as chair of the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) Nebraska chapter. During his tenure, he significantly expanded the chapter's reach, garnering both local and national recognition. He played a pivotal role in revitalizing the local UNMC Latino Medical Student Association chapter and remained committed to mentoring young Hispanic students pursuing careers in healthcare. Additionally, he spearheaded several local initiatives aimed at promoting Hispanic health. In 2023, he received the Nebraska Medical Association Young Physician of the Year award and the national NHMA Chapter of the Year award.

In 2024, Dr. Santamaria began a new role at the FPBCC as Clinical Assistant Director of Community Outreach and Engagement. One of his primary goals in this role is to work with clinicians and the community to promote clinical trials among minority and diverse cancer patients and to train Clinical Trials Community Scientists and Navigators who can inform clinical researchers and assist patients in overcoming barriers to care that impede their participation in cancer clinical trials.