Sandhya Balaram Named Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital

Dr. Sandhya K. Balaram, a leading adult cardiac surgeon in New York City, has been named chief of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. She was also recruited to Weill Cornell Medicine as an associate professor of clinical cardiothoracic surgery, according to a Dec. 5 press release from Weill Cornell Medicine.

Balaram has dedicated much of her career to increasing access for underserved patient populations. She has traveled internationally for voluntary medical missions to countries without access to care and is presently developing a cardiac surgical team for the humanitarian organization Operation International.

In her new role at the hospital, which began on Nov. 15, Balaram will expand the hospital’s cardiovascular care, “with an emphasis on surgical coronary revascularization, valve repair and replacement, and aortic surgery,” the press release said.

She spent 19 years as a cardiac surgeon and associate professor at Mount Sinai Morningside, where she held the positions of chief of the division and more recently, as the director of clinical quality and performance.

“I’m thrilled to be joining NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital and Weill Cornell Medicine and look forward to the opportunity to further grow the cardiothoracic surgery program in Brooklyn,” Balaram said in the press release. “I am excited to be working with this talented team to provide excellent clinical outcomes and personalized care to patients in need in Brooklyn and beyond.”

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An accomplished academic researcher and member of both the American Association for Thoracic Surgery and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, she has authored dozens of peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. She received her Ph.D. for her study of the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis. Her specific research interests include hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, clinical outcomes of women after heart surgery, and minimally invasive cardiac surgery.

She received her bachelor’s and medical degree from the integrated six-year program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where she was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Society. She completed her general surgery residency and earned her doctorate at Creighton University. She completed her cardiothoracic residency at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, followed by a minimally invasive cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at Mount Sinai Morningside.