Sujatha Sankaran

Sujatha Sankaran, MD, is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She holds leadership roles as Chief Medical Officer of UCSF-affiliated Sonoma Valley Hospital, where she focuses on improving subspecialty care access, geriatric programs, and equity initiatives. Previously, she directed UCSF's Neurosurgery Department Quality and Safety Program (2017–2021), spearheading quality improvement curricula for residents and enhancing patient safety through incident reporting and morbidity/mortality conferences.

Dr. Sankaran’s career bridges clinical practice, global health, and healthcare leadership. She pioneered a non-governmental organization for cardiovascular disease prevention in rural India (2008) and conducted Fulbright-funded research on cardiovascular management in under-resourced regions (2015). Her work in tobacco policy includes roles as Medical Director for Smoking Cessation at Moffitt-Long Hospital and leading inpatient substance use initiatives at UCSF Health until 2023.

Her research interests span health equity, healthcare leadership, and quality improvement. Notable contributions include developing an inpatient substance use management program and chairing UCSF’s Substance Use Committee. Awards include the California Health Care Foundation Leadership Fellowship (2021) and completion of the UCSF Health Learning Health System Coach Program (2023).

Education: MD from USC Keck School of Medicine (2005), Internal Medicine residency at Georgetown/Washington Hospital Center. Personal interests include global health, violin playing, and multicultural storytelling.