Speaker
Chethan Sathya, MD
Chethan Sathya is a pediatric trauma surgeon and National Institutes of Health-funded firearm injury prevention researcher. He serves as director of Northwell Health’s Center for Gun Violence Prevention and oversees the health system’s expansive approach to firearm injury prevention. Northwell Health has taken a public health approach to gun violence prevention, focusing on key areas such as research, medical education, clinical screening, advocacy and community engagement. Dr. Sathya spearheaded the formation of the National Gun Violence Prevention Learning Collaborative for Hospitals and Health Systems, in which hospitals can learn about gun violence prevention from experts, develop best practices and implement strategies to prevent firearm injuries. More than 300 participants and hospitals across 34 states have joined. Dr. Sathya’s role as a pediatric trauma surgeon in Chicago and New York has exposed him to the dramatic results of gun violence, fueling his passion to find solutions to the national issue. He is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Action Collaborative for preventing firearm-related violence and is a consultant to the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma for the National Firearm Injury Data Collection Initiative. Dr. Sathya received $1.4 million from the NIH to study gun violence prevention and implement a first-of-its-kind protocol to universally screen among those at risk of firearm injury. The grant is part of the health system’s “We Ask Everyone. Firearm Safety Is a Health Issue” research study, which aims to shift the paradigm to view gun violence as a public health issue. Dr. Sathya is associate trauma director at Cohen Children’s Medical Center and assistant professor of surgery and pediatrics at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. He completed medical school and general surgery training at the University of Toronto, followed by his pediatric surgery fellowship at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. He also holds a master’s degree in clinical epidemiology from the University of Toronto in addition to fellowships in global journalism and public health.