Dr. Chethan Sathya

Chethan Sathya, MD, MSc is a pediatric surgeon, public health leader, journalist, and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Northwell Health. He has received numerous awards and recognitions, including top 40 under 40 by Modern Healthcare, the Community Health Leadership award from the United Hospital Fund, and Top Rising Healthcare Leaders Under 40 by Becker’s Hospital Review. As Director of Northwell’s Center for Gun Violence Prevention, he spearheads an innovative, health system-wide approach to firearm injury prevention, integrating research, clinical screening, advocacy, and public health interventions. Dr. Sathya has received grants totaling more than $5 million and has published numerous peer reviewed papers that have helped significantly advance the fields of injury prevention, pediatrics, implementation science, and public health.

A National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded researcher and reviewer, Dr. Sathya led the development of a pioneering universal screening protocol for firearm injury risk, through which over 100,000 families have been screened. He also founded the National Gun Violence Prevention Learning Collaborative, engaging over 600 healthcare institutions in evidence-based firearm injury prevention strategies. His leadership extends to national partnerships, including the Milken Institute (Senior Advisor), the Clinton Foundation, Sandy Hook Promise (Board of Directors), and White House-led health system convenings on gun violence prevention.

Beyond firearm injury prevention, Dr. Sathya has been at the forefront of public health and healthcare innovation. He has led system wide initiatives in health disparities, childhood disease prevention, social innovation, and value-based care, and has also worked closely with state and federal agencies and lawmakers to improve public health infrastructure, re-think private-public partnerships, and leverage unique aspects of social innovation to improve health outcomes. He also advises startups and major health tech firms on AI in medicine, digital health, and data-driven solutions. With expertise in implementation science, he focuses on scaling and sustaining innovative healthcare strategies.

A sought-after thought leader and surgeon-journalist, Dr. Sathya has contributed to CNN, Scientific American, The Washington Post,and TIME and has delivered keynotes at major forums including the World Economic Forum, Clinton Global Initiative, Milken Global, the White House, American Hospital Association and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. He also serves as Trauma Director at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, Associate Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at the Zucker School of Medicine, and Affiliate Scientist at the University of Toronto. Dr. Sathya completed his undergraduate degree at McGill University, medical school and general surgery training at the University of Toronto, followed by a Pediatric Surgery Fellowship at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. He holds a Master’s in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Toronto and completed a Fellowship in Global Journalism at the Munk School of Global Affairs. Additionally, he pursued a Public Health program at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and completed the Health Policy and Executive Leadership program at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University.