CCRI welcomes Dr. Sumedha Chhatre
Dr. Sumedha Chhatre is joining the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the Cancer Center and Research Institute as an associate professor.
Chhatre’s expertise in health services and outcomes research, advanced quantitative methodologies and data analytics will strengthen CCRI’s research enterprise and support its continued progress toward National Cancer Institute designation.
Her research focuses on improving cancer care quality and outcomes, reducing health disparities, and addressing co-occurring conditions—including substance use, mental health disorders, and infectious diseases— among both veteran and non-veteran populations. She has served as principal investigator or co-investigator on numerous federally funded studies supported by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Among her recent research projects, Dr. Chhatre led the study The Intersection of Physical and Mental Health and Short- and Long-Term Outcomes Among Prostate Cancer Patients and served as a co-investigator on Identifying Risk Factors for New Persistent Opioid Use Among Veterans Following Treatment for Early-Stage Cancer.
Chhatre earned a PhD in public policy from the University of Louisville, a master’s degree in international development from the University of Pennsylvania, and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Bangalore University.
Before joining UMMC, Dr. Chhatre was a research associate professor of community health in the Department of Psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to conducting health services research, she provided training in statistical analysis and data management, mentored fellows and students, and advised early-career investigators and international scholars on grant development. She also served as a core investigator and co-director of the Biostatistics and Informatics Core at the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion at the Cpl. Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia.
Chhatre has an extensive publication record, with articles appearing in leading peer-reviewed journals, including JAMA Internal Medicine, JAMA Network Open, Cancer, Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Urology Practice, and BMC Health Services Research. She serves as grant reviewer for National Institutes of Health, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.