I've been really fortunate in my career to work as a physician leader, always trying to bring together clinical excellence with new ideas in healthcare. I got my MD from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston back in 1997, and then I did my residency in Internal Medicine & Pediatrics. I'm board certified in Internal Medicine, and I used to be in Pediatrics, plus Medical Quality. It's been an honor to be recognized with fellowships from the American College of Physicians (FACP) and the Society of Hospital Medicine (SFHM), and just recently, I was named a Distinguished Fellow in Perioperative Medicine (DFPM) by the Society of Perioperative Assessment and Quality Improvement in 2025.
From 2004 to 2020, I had the incredible opportunity to work at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. I was actually part of the original group of 'oncohospitalists' there, and I got to help set up what became the very first formal perioperative medicine program at a comprehensive cancer center in the U.S. I spent a good chunk of that time, from 2004 to 2018, as the Medical Director of the Internal Medicine Perioperative Assessment Center (IMPAC), which eventually merged to become the Perioperative Evaluation & Management (POEM) Center. On the administrative side, I also served as Medical Director of the Clinical Decision Unit and Section Chief of Consultative Medicine.
Then, in February 2020, I came back to UTMB Galveston as a Professor and Division Chief of General Medicine. That was a busy time! I was able to contribute to the institution's COVID-19 response, and we actually saw the division almost double in size. We also worked hard to launch new service lines in areas like surgical co-management, community health, substance use disorders, and obesity medicine. It was a real privilege to be elected to the UTMB Academy of Master Clinicians in 2022. More recently, in November 2025, I moved into the role of Director of Perioperative Medicine for the Department of Medicine, where I'm focusing on building an institution-wide perioperative medicine program. In May of 2026, I will be returning to MD Anderson as senior faculty member working in preop clinic.
I've also made an effort to continue my own leadership development, earning a graduate certificate in Health Care Management from Rice University and executive leadership certificates from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in 2019 and 2024. I'm pretty involved with several medical societies, including serving on the Board of Advisors for SPAQI and the national board of the South Asian Medical Student Association (SAMSA).
It's been rewarding to gain some recognition internationally for my work in the perioperative care of cancer patients, and I'm a strong believer in partnering with patients in their healthcare journey. Plus, I get to mentor a lot of physicians across the United States in clinical operations and healthcare management, which I really enjoy."
Dr. Sahai currently serves as Professor and Division Chief, General
Medicine, at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Prior to moving to UTMB in February 2020, he
was on the faculty of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. His undergraduate education was at Tulane
University, followed by medical school at the University of Texas Medical
Branch at Galveston. He completed
residency in Internal Medicine & Pediatrics at the University of Texas
Medical School at Houston. He is board
certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics.
He has also completed a board certification in Medical Quality. He has
also completed a graduate certificate in Health Care Management from Rice
University School of Business, and in the fall of 2019 attended the Leadership
Development for Physicians in Academic Health Centers course at the Harvard
T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He is a Fellow of the American College of
Physicians and a Senior Fellow of the Society of Hospital Medicine. In 2022, he was elected to the UTMB Academy
of Master Clinicians and most recently completed the ACP Certificate in
Physician Leadership.
Since joining UTMB, he has been instrumental in leading the
COVID-19 pandemic response and developing an academic medicine division. Prior
to joining UTMB, he served as the Chief of the Section of Consultative Medicine
in the Department of General Internal Medicine at MD Anderson. He also was part of the leadership team of
the Perioperative Evaluation & Management (POEM) Center at MD Anderson. Prior to creation of POEM, he was the Medical
Director of the Internal Medicine Perioperative Assessment Center (IMPAC) from
2004 to 2018. Dr. Sahai developed the
first formal perioperative medicine program at the comprehensive cancer center
in the United States. In the fall of
2018, the IMPAC Center merged with the Anesthesia Assessment Center to form the
POEM Center. Additionally, he previously
served as the Medical Director of the Clinical Decision Unit for patients
placed in Observation status in the hospital and the Medical Director of the
Internal Medicine Center – Main at MD Anderson.
He is on the Board of Governors for the Society of Perioperative
Assessment and Quality Improvement (SPAQI).
He is active in the Society of Hospital Medicine, Society of General
Internal Medicine, and the American College of Physicians. He is on the
national board of the South Asian Medical Student Association (SAMSA). Dr.
Sahai is an advocate for patients being a partner in their healthcare and is
recognized internationally as an expert in the perioperative care of the cancer
patient. He can be found on twitter:
@drsunilksahai
A little about myself and my background. I was born in Cleveland, Ohio and lived all over the place. For all practical purposes, Houston has been my hometown since 1981. I went to two high schools, starting at Alief Elsik in Southwest Houston and graduated from Virgil I. Grissom High School in Huntsville, Alabama.
I went to undergrad at Tulane University in New Orleans, followed by medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. I completed a Med/Peds residency from UT Health Science Center in Houston. After residency, I worked as an EC doc at Harris Health LBJ Hospital and Memorial Hermann, covering both the Pediatric and Adult ECs.
I eventually joined the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2004 to develop and run the world's very first dedicated perioperative medicine program at a comprehensive cancer center.
A write up about me in the MD Anderson magazine, Conquest. If the link, does not work, see page 10 of the archived PDF here.
As of February 2020, I have come home to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston to assume the role of Division Chief of General Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine.
My ORCID Page is here: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2145-4995
My Infuuent Page is here: https://mdanderson.influuent.utsystem.edu/en/persons/sunil-k-sahai/publications/
I signed the Pro-Truth Pledge:
please hold me accountable.
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