His clinical practice is in head and neck cancer surgery and reconstruction and he conducts research and implements initiatives aimed at improving the quality of head and neck cancer care. Kakarala received his undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Princeton University. He was then awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to the United Kingdom and obtained a MA in Health Care Ethics and Law from the University of Manchester. He went on to complete medical school and residency training in at Harvard Medical School and a fellowship in Head and Neck Cancer Surgery at the Ohio State University James Cancer Center.