Sherene Shalhub, MD, MPH

Society for Vascular Surgery

• 2018–2020: Research and Education Committee
• 2018–2020: Government Relations Committee
• 2018–2020: Political Advisory Committee
• 2020–2023: Research Council
• 2020–2023: Postgraduate Education Committee
• 2021: Distinguished fellow of SVS (DFSVS)
• 2024–2025: Nomination Committee
• 2024–Present: Program Committee

International Societies

• 2018–Present: The Ehlers-Danlos Society Medical and scientific board
• 2019: VEDS scientific meeting co-chair
• 2019–2022: The Vascular Low-Frequency Disease Consortium Research Council
• 2020: VEDS ECHO educational series moderator
• 2021: VEDS EDS ECHO Summit Series Scientific chair
• 2021–Present: Montalcino Aortic Consortium (MAC) Executive Committee
• 2022: EDS ECHO VEDS & Allied Vasculopathies Moderator
• 2022–2024: VEDS working group Co-chair
• 2023–Present: International Society for Women's Vascular Surgeons
• 2023–Present: The Pan Arab Vascular Surgical Society
• 2024: Program Committee, The Pan Arab Vascular Surgical Society
• 2024: Executive Board, The Pan Arab Vascular Surgical Society
• 2024–2025: Program Committee Chair, International Society for Women's Vascular Surgeons
• 2024–Present: Steering Group for the Road to 2026 project, Ehlers-Danlos Society

National Societies

• 2018–2020: Clinical Science Working Group, Vice Chair
• 2018–2020: PCORI Advisory Panel on Rare Disease
• 2018–Present: GenTAC Alliance
• 2018–Present: Biospecimens and Data Working Group
• 2019–Present: The Marfan Foundation Professional Advisory Board
• 2020–2023: Clinical Science Working Group, Chair
• 2021–Present: John Ritter Foundation Advisory Board
• 2021–Present: American Board of Surgery Vascular Surgery
• 2021–Present: Qualifying Examination Question writer
• 2022: GenTAC Aortic Summit Program Committee
• 2022: 7th GenTAC Summit Program Chair
• 2022: VEDS Scientific meeting program committee
• 2022: International Marfan, LDS, & related conditions symposium planning committee
• 2022: Virtual regional symposium on Marfan, LDS & VEDS meeting program committee
• 2023–Present: Vascular Cures Advisory Board
• 2024–Present: Certifying Examination Examiner

Regional Societies

• 2014–Present: The Western Vascular Society
• 2018–2019: Membership Committee
• 2020–2021: Membership Committee Chair
• 2023–Present: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee

Please briefly describe your strategic vision for the future for vascular surgery and the key role SVS must play to realize that vision.

Building on SVS’s legacy in care, education, advocacy and quality, my vision centers on a sustainable, patient-centered vascular health ecosystem that prioritizes prevention, early diagnosis, equitable access, shared decision-making and financial viability. Vascular surgery stands at the crossroads of workforce shortages, patient mistrust, disparities in vascular deserts and unsustainable reimbursement models. In the face of mounting financial and policy pressures, SVS is uniquely positioned to shape national health priorities and ensure representation for vascular surgeons across all practice settings and career stages. To realize this vision, SVS must lead across five key areas.

1. Strengthen national impact and public brand awareness through strategic partnerships: Elevate VS visibility by investing in community-based engagement and patient education, building on the Highway to Health campaign and supported by sustainable funding models such as tiered subscription access. Integrate vascular health and vascular surgery messaging across wide reaching chronic disease platforms nationally via strategic partnerships with ADA, NKF and AHA.

2. Align with federal health priorities and reshape reimbursement: Reimbursement must reflect the full scope of vascular care, including telemedicine and nonprocedural services, to improve care access and support financial sustainability. Lead the national response to the PAD and amputation crisis by advancing longitudinal models of care. Reduce barriers to VQI participation by linking it to reimbursement and use real-world data to influence CMS and payers. Provide members with practical tools to navigate denials, documentation and billing.

3. Expand research access and strengthen funding advocacy: Promote accessible, practice-relevant research beyond academic centers. Encourage members to share high-impact science, regardless of publication venue. Strengthen advocacy for NIH, PCORI and DoD funding to ensure vascular surgery remains central to the nation’s basic, translational and clinical research agenda.

4. Lead clinical innovation through collaboration and technology: Advance SVS leadership in care delivery through technology development, AI-informed care, simulation-based training and translational research. Invest in EMR-based tools to improve risk stratification, intervention timing and access to shared decision-making frameworks across all practice settings.

5. Expand access and modernize education: Advance team-based care models through vascular medicine, podiatry and advanced practice providers. Support hub-and-spoke systems, telemedicine and national licensure to expand care delivery capacity. Expand interdisciplinary collaboration through structured care models, while reinforcing the leadership role of vascular surgeons in complex decision-making and procedural care. Ensure training pathways reflect workforce needs and are advanced through targeted advocacy in education policy and workforce development, including training pipelines in underserved regions.

Please highlight key activities or initiatives that exemplify your commitment to the success of SVS.

Since joining SVS as a candidate member in 2011, I have consistently contributed to its growth and success through leadership roles across advocacy, research, education, wellness and editorial initiatives. My work has focused on ensuring that SVS remains a forward-thinking, inclusive and impactful organization while supporting the next generation of vascular leaders. My service is in the following categories:

Leadership and Advocacy: I served on the SVS Government Relations and Political Action Committees (2018–2020), advocating for policies that protect reimbursement and support vascular surgery’s evolving role in healthcare delivery. I co-authored Advocating for Our Members (Vascular Specialist, 2020) and organized the 2018 VAM session The Vascular Surgeon and Political Advocacy to engage members in policy discourse and to step beyond traditional professional silos and engage directly in the legislative and regulatory processes that impact the future of vascular surgery. I served on the SVS Nomination Committee (2024–2025), contributing to shaping SVS leadership.

Organized and moderated Gender Differences in Leadership at VAM 2019 and brought together diverse experts to examine factors influencing leadership progression and generate practical solutions that support the professional growth of all vascular surgeons.

Research Contributions: As a member of the SVS Research and Education Committee and Research Council, I helped define SVS research priorities and contributed to the publication Updated Research Priorities of the Society for Vascular Surgery (J Vasc Surg, 2022), with emphasis on aortic disease and translational research.

Surgeon Wellness and COVID-19 Response: I led the SVS COVID-19 Needs Assessment Survey and moderated multiple SVS Town Halls during the pandemic. These efforts culminated in several publications on pandemic-related stressors and adaptations in vascular surgery practice and training, shaping how SVS responded to surgeon wellness and systemic resilience.

Education: My contributions to SVS education include developing forward-looking content as a member of the Postgraduate Education Committee (2020–2023), with a focus on genetic aortopathies, vascular trauma and integrating patient perspectives into research. I now serve on the Program Committee, working to ensure the Annual Meeting reflects both scientific advancement and the evolving needs of our specialty.

Editorial Contributions: I served as Associate Editor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at JVS CIT contributing to scholarly dialogue and publication standards across the specialty.

These efforts reflect my long-standing dedication to SVS’s success and to advancing the specialty in a dynamic and inclusive way.

Please highlight key leadership positions you hold or have held, and/or significant leadership achievements you have accomplished in vascular surgery or organized medicine and summarize how these have prepared you for the position of SVS Secretary.

I have a track record of bringing together diverse stakeholders around a shared vision and translating that vision into measurable outcomes. As Division Chief, I led substantial growth in surgical volume and clinical revenue through strategic program expansion and operational improvements. During my tenure, divisional clinical revenue increased by 25% and research funding by 83%. I established NW GAAP, a first-of-its-kind interdisciplinary program integrating vascular and cardiac surgery, adult and pediatric cardiology, and genetics. As Vice Chair for Regional Strategy and Surgical Operations, I have helped shape system-wide initiatives to expand regional surgical access, improve consultation and transfer workflows and advance digital innovation to provide care to rural communities. This role has strengthened my ability to lead with a systems lens, aligning clinical growth with workforce sustainability and institutional impact, while complementing my divisional leadership and reinforcing the next-generation leadership approach I bring to SVS across all practice settings.

Nationally, I have led transformative collaborations reflecting a forward-looking, patient-centered approach to vascular research. As lead for the PCORI-funded VEDS and Aortic Dissection Collaboratives, I convened multispecialty clinicians, researchers and patient advocacy organizations to align research priorities and address care barriers, an approach that helped redefine how genetic aortopathy and aortic dissection are studied. These efforts produced the largest global study of VEDS and established patient engagement as a core element of the NHLBI-funded IMPROVE-AD Trial, where I serve on the executive committee. I also contributed to national research priorities through service on the PCORI Advisory Panel on Rare Disease and was the first vascular surgeon appointed to the Marfan Foundation Professional Advisory Board.

Internationally, I have helped shape patient and clinician education through leadership roles with the Ehlers-Danlos Society and the GenTAC Alliance. I have worked to advance SVS’s mission and contribute meaningfully to the growth and resilience of our professional community as detailed in the previous question. I believe that shaping the future of vascular surgery requires a commitment to building an intellectual and professional community. That commitment is reflected in my leadership roles in regional and international vascular societies, editorial work and in the professional spaces I help cultivate. I founded the “Part of the Solution” WhatsApp group, a peer-driven network of women vascular surgeons focused on sponsorship, collaboration and shared problem-solving.

Leadership is measured not by titles, but by the systems we build, the people we support, and the impact that endures. This principle has guided my work: building infrastructure for high-performing clinical programs, leading interdisciplinary research collaborations, and cultivating professional networks that reflect the diversity and strength of our field. I bring to SVS a collaborative leadership style rooted in operational excellence and systems thinking, shaped by respect for the Society’s legacy, and committed to guiding its next chapter with purpose, inclusivity, and lasting impact.

Please highlight activities or initiatives that best exemplify your commitment to clinical and academic excellence in vascular surgery.

Clinical and Academic Excellence Anchored in Patient-Centered Research

The future of vascular surgery will be shaped by those who translate science into surgical decision-making and ensure that research leads to real-world impact. As vascular surgeons, we do not just operate—we innovate. But innovation must improve outcomes in practice. My career has focused on bridging molecular science and clinical application to ensure care is evidence-based, biologically informed and patient-centered. I have built a nationally recognized surgical practice in genetic aortopathy and arteriopathy, grounded in interdisciplinary care and outcomes-focused research.

I led PCORI-funded patient engagement efforts (VEDS Collaborative and Aortic Dissection Collaborative) and direct the VEDS Collaborative Natural History Study, the largest global longitudinal study of VEDS. I co-chair the Patient Engagement & Inclusion and Recruitment & Retention Committees for the NHLBI-funded IMPROVE-AD Trial, ensuring real-world patient needs inform the trial conduct. I also participate in high-impact research networks, including IRAD, GenTAC Alliance, VLFDC and MAC, where I serve on the Executive Committee. These initiatives have expanded our clinical understanding of genetic aortopathy.

Commitment to Education and Knowledge Dissemination

I lead an integrated residency and fellowship and serve as a qualifying exam writer and certifying examiner for the ABS VSB. I am an Associate Editor for the 11th edition of Rutherford’s Vascular Surgery and editor of Hemodialysis Access: Fundamentals and Advanced Management. I have expanded global education through the EDS ECHO Series and Marfan Foundation patient initiatives, reflecting my commitment to high-quality surgical education and knowledge access in rare vascular conditions.

Scholarly Impact and Professional Recognition

I have delivered over 200 presentations, authored 106 peer-reviewed publications (86 in the past decade), 22 book chapters, and maintain a Scopus h-index of 29. My contributions have been recognized with several honors, including designation as a DFSVS and the Pioneer in EDS and HSD Research Award from the Ehlers-Danlos Society. I was nominated by Vascular Cures as Vascular Hero for my commitment to advancing patient-centered vascular care. I have also received the UW Medicine PRAISE Award for Patient Excellence and the OHSU Continuing Professional Development Clinical Star Award, reflecting my dedication to clinical excellence.