Biography

Sharmila Dissanaike, M.D., FACS, FCCM has served as a director of Heron since September 2021. Dr. Dissanaike has been University Distinguished Professor and Peter C. Canizaro Chair of the Department of Surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) since 2016. In addition, from 2015 to 2018, Dr. Dissanaike served as Interim Director of the Timothy J. Harnar Burn Center at University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas (UMC). From 2014 to 2017, Dr. Dissanaike served as Trauma Medical Director of the John A. Griswold Level 1 Trauma Center at UMC. In January 2021, she was appointed to the Texas Medical Board by Governor Greg Abbott.

Dr. Dissanaike is a clinically active trauma, burn and acute care surgeon who has won over 50 awards for clinical, academic and research excellence and service during her career. Dr. Dissanaike has published over 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles, in addition to numerous book chapters, peer-reviewed presentations and national and international invited lectureships. Dr. Dissanaike holds multiple national leadership and quality assurance roles including Chair of the American Burn Association Verification Committee, member of the American College of Surgeons Trauma Verification Committee and Committee on Trauma, and on the Boards of the American Burn Association and Southwestern Surgical Congress. She serves the American College of Surgeons as Governor and on the Committee for Ethics, the Advisory Council of Rural Surgery and Program Committee, highlighting her wide array of interests and longstanding dedication to advancing all aspects of surgical care.

Dr. Dissanaike received her medical degree from the University of Sydney, Australia and her undergraduate degree from Methodist College in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Dr. Dissanaike completed her postgraduate medical training at the University of Washington at Harborview Medical Center, the Department of Surgery at TTUHSC, the Department of Surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center and the Department of Medicine at Inverclyde Hospital, National Health Service. The Board has concluded that Dr. Dissanaike should serve as a director based on her experience and achievements in surgical medicine.