Harvard Catalyst Profiles

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Sarrah Shahawy, M.D.

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Biography
Harvard Medical School, BostonMD05/2016Magnum Cum Laude, Honors in a Special Field
Northwestern University McGaw Medical Center, Chicago, IL06/2020Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, BostonMPH11/2021MPH in Clinical Effectiveness
Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston06/2022Global OBGYN Fellowship
2023 - 2023
Reducing Health Disparities Award, Massachusetts Medical Society
2022 - 2023
Outstanding Research Mentor Award, Harvard Medical School Faculty Award

Overview
Dr. Sarrah Shahawy is an obstetrician-gynecologist clinician, researcher, and educator at BIDMC and Harvard Medical School. Her research expertise is at the intersection of religion, culture, and socio-political context with a focus on Muslim reproductive health (both in Muslim-majority and diaspora contexts), global health in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and immigrant/refugee health. She is the Principal Investigator of the MeRGE Research Lab (Muslim Reproductive and Global Health Engagement).

In the US, her research is focused on developing generalizable lessons for health systems and providers on how to shape inquiries about patients’ religious/spiritual practices and identities and how to respectfully and effectively incorporate this important aspect of many patients’ lives into health communications, shared decision-making, and treatment recommendations to enhance individualized patient care. Internationally, her research has focused on the Middle East North African (MENA) region and has included the driving factors of the high national cesarean section rate in Egypt, the challenges accessing healthcare and family planning services for Palestinian women, and the effect of female genital cutting on women in the diaspora. She has led trainings of providers worldwide, including on point of care ultrasound for front-line providers caring for Venezuelan refugees, operative vaginal delivery in Egypt as part of a multi-pronged effort to reduce cesarean section rates, and gynecologic surgery in Gaza. Committed to the interconnectedness of local and global women’s health, Dr. Shahawy works with both community and international groups in an effort to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality, and enrich women’s reproductive health across borders.

Research
The research activities and funding listed below are automatically derived from NIH ExPORTER and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing items. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.
  1. Oct 1, 2024 - Sep 30, 2025
    Eleanor and Miles Shore Faculty Development Awards Program, HMS and BIDMC
    Examining the role of religion in reproductive healthcare for Muslim patients
    Role: Principal Investigator
  2. Jul 1, 2024 - Jun 30, 2026
    Massachusetts Institute for Excellence and Quality in Learning Health Systems (MassEQLHS) Scholars Program
    Understanding the role of patients’ religion in reproductive healthcare: a learning health systems approach
    Role Description: Program funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), P30HS029762
    Role: Principal Investigator
  3. Jul 1, 2024 - Jun 30, 2025
    Harvard University William F. Milton Fund
    The Multidisciplinary Digital Platform for Muslim Reproductive Health
    Role Description: This project will pilot a web-based multimedia interdisciplinary collaborative digital platform to serve as a resource for Muslim patients navigating reproductive health dilemmas. This will leave an impactful digital legacy as a dual academic and public-facing resource on Muslim patients’ reproductive health concerns and ethical decision making.
    Role: Principal Investigator

Bibliographic
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Funded by the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences through its Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program, grant number UL1TR002541.