Sherene Sharath

Sherene Sharath, PhD, MPH is an Assistant Professor of Surgery at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University. She also holds a secondary appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the School of Public Health. Dr. Sharath serves as the Director of Clinical and Health Services Research for the Department of Surgery and is actively involved in the Department's iNSPIRe Initiative, which focuses on research education for trainees and development of the department's research program.

Dr. Sharath earned her PhD in Epidemiology with a minor in Biostatistics from the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston, TX. She also completed an MPH in Epidemiology and a BS in Microbiology from Texas A&M University in College Station, TX. Her educational background has prepared her for a career focused on rigorous epidemiological and statistical analysis in surgical contexts.

Dr. Sharath's research primarily focuses on adverse event risks after surgical interventions, with particular attention to systemic sources of risks ranging from underlying pathologies and patient behaviors to social risks and healthcare system factors. She employs quantitative methods to study designs in both observational (prospective or retrospective using multicenter administrative and clinical data) and experimental domains. Her specific areas of interest include nonoperative management of intermittent claudication, health care disparities among vulnerable groups, and cohort-specific systematic assessment of postoperative risks. She has extensive expertise in managing and analyzing big datasets, often consisting of millions of observations, using advanced statistical coding techniques.

Analysis of Dr. Sharath's publications reveals a consistent focus on vascular surgery outcomes, particularly related to peripheral artery disease, wound infections, and postoperative complications. Her work often examines disparities in care and outcomes, with several studies focusing on geographic and demographic variations in surgical results. She frequently employs large dataset analyses and has contributed to meta-analyses in her field. Her recent work has expanded to include the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on surgical outcomes, demonstrating her ability to address emerging clinical challenges.

• Featured on the cover of a major peer-reviewed surgical journal
• Highlighted in journal editorials for research on patient perspectives in claudication
• National clinical trial coordinator for the federally-funded Department of Veterans Affairs TOP Trial

Dr. Sharath serves as the principal investigator for multiple studies of varying design types and is actively involved in mentoring residents, medical students, and public health students. She has authored and co-authored numerous papers and serves as a peer-reviewer and assistant editor for various journals. As the national clinical trial coordinator for the Department of Veterans Affairs TOP Trial, a multi-center, randomized controlled trial examining the effects of permissive anemia on postoperative adverse events in high cardiac risk patients, she plays a significant role in advancing evidence-based surgical care.

Through her leadership as Director of Clinical and Health Services Research for the Department of Surgery and her involvement with the iNSPIRe Initiative, Dr. Sharath has established herself as a key figure in developing and implementing research programs that bridge clinical practice and academic investigation in the surgical field.