Sunil Sheth, MD
Associate Professor, Neurology
Director, Vascular Neurology
UTHealth Houston
Dr. Sheth is originally from Houston, TX and attended Harvard University, graduating magna cum laude with an A.B. in Chemistry and Physics. He received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was enrolled in the Health Sciences and Technology Program. He graduated magna cum laude and was also awarded a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Fellowship. He completed his residency in Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco where he served as the chief resident, and fellowships in Vascular Neurology and Interventional Neuroradiology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Sheth is currently an Assistant Professor of Neurology at UT Health McGovern Medical School.
Dr. Sheth has co-authored many studies, which have been published in Cell, Nature Biotechnology, PlosONE, and the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery. For his research work he has been awarded grants from the American Heart Association (AHA), Society for NeuroInterventional Surgery Foundation, and National Institutes of Health. He has also received numerous honors and awards including the AHA International Stroke Conference Junior Investigator Travel Award, American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Resident Scholarship Award, American Society of Neuroradiology Trainee Award, and the Henry Asbury Christian Award for Excellence in Independent Research from Harvard University.
Recent News
Quantification of infarct core signal using CT imaging in acute ischemic stroke
In stroke care, the extent of irreversible brain injury, termed infarct core, plays a key role in determining eligibility for acute treatments, such as intravenous thrombolysis and endovascular reperfusion therapies. Many of the pivotal randomized clinical trials testing those therapies used MRI Diffusion-Weighted Imaging (DWI) or CT Perfusion (CTP) to define infarct core. Unfortunately, these modalities are not available 24/7 outside of large stroke centers. As such, there is a need for accurate infarct core determination using faster and more widely available imaging modalities including Non-Contrast CT (NCCT) and CT Angiography (CTA).
Challenges Faced by Neurology Trainees in a Neuro-Intervention Career Track
The widespread adoption of endovascular therapy (EVT) for emergent large vessel occlusion has led to increased nationwide demand for neuro-interventionalists, heightened interest among Neurology residents to pursue neuro-intervention (NI) as a career, and increased importance of NI exposure for all Neurologists who care for patients with AIS. Currently, exposure to NI and its career path are not well-defined for Neurology trainees.
Novel integrated stroke system created to expand EVT availability
The optimal endovascular stroke therapy (EVT) care delivery structure is unknown. Here, we present our experience in creating an integrated stroke system (ISS) to expand EVT availability throughout our region while maintaining hospital and physician quality standards.
Vascular Neurology Fellowship Program video featuring Dr. Sunil Sheth
UTHealth Patient Story: Woman recovers from potentially deadly stroke with timely treatment and determination
SNIS 2020 “Clinical Trials” Presentation Recap
From acute interventions to endovascular therapy indication expansion, Sunil Sheth from McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, Houston, USA, kick-started the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery’s (SNIS) annual meeting (4–7 August) by outlining an array of recently completed, and ongoing stroke trials.
Over the Horizon: The Present and Future of Endovascular Neural Recording and Stimulation
The past decade has witnessed an explosion in applications for neural recording and stimulation in the treatment of clinical disorders. Neuromodulatory approaches are now a mainstay of care for essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease, and are expanding rapidly into a wide range of other neurological and psychiatric diseases. In parallel, advancements in endovascular approaches to cerebrovascular diseases have resulted in minimally invasive techniques that deliver devices to neural tissue in the central and peripheral nervous systems, with significantly improved safety and efficacy. In this review, we discuss the history of endovascular neural recording and stimulation, its current progress, and applications for neurological disease.
Education & Training
Undergraduate
Harvard College, Cambridge MA
Medical
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Internship
Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Residency
Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Fellowship
Vascular Neurology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Fellowship
Interventional Neuroradiology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Board Certifications
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Certification in Neurology
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Certification in Vascular Neurology
Areas of Interests
Clinical Interests
Ischemic Stroke
• Intracranial Hemorrhage
• Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
• Endovascular treatments for stroke
• Endovascular treatments for cerebral aneurysms
• Cerebral vascular malformations including arteriovenous malformations and arteriovenous fistulas
• Spinal vascular malformations
• Facial vascular malformations
• Tumor embolization
Clinical Interests
Ischemic Stroke
• Intracranial Hemorrhage
• Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
• Endovascular treatments for stroke
• Endovascular treatments for cerebral aneurysms
• Cerebral vascular malformations including arteriovenous malformations and arteriovenous fistulas
• Spinal vascular malformations
• Facial vascular malformations
• Tumor embolization
Research Interests
Endovascular stroke therapy
• Perfusion angiography
• Neuroimaging
• Biomarkers of cerebral injury
• Endovascular device development
• Traumatic brain injury
Research Information
His research focuses on the application of NeuroImaging in acute stroke, particularly related to endovascular stroke therapy (EST). He directs the UTHealth Stroke Institute Acute NeuroImaging Core and his laboratory serves as the Imaging Core Lab for a large multi-center EVT Registry (COMPLETE). His laboratory is highly experienced in the application of machine based learning approaches. Dr. Sheth in collaboration with Luca Giancardo, PhD at our School of Biomedical Informatics is developing much-needed application tools for multi-modal CT based selection of stroke patients in the community setting to determine which patients would benefit from long distance transfer to specialized centers for EST. He is funded by a 3-year career award from the American Academy of Neurology and the American Brain Foundation and is on the steering committee for the TESLA trial testing the efficacy of EST for patients with large infarcts.