Sundaram, Varun, MD, PhD

Dr. Varun Sundaram is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, Section Chief of Advanced Heart Failure at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, and a heart failure cardiologist at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center.

His academic work is grounded in the intersection of heart failure epidemiology and clinical trials, with a focus on using nationally representative electronic health record (EHR) data to define and validate algorithms for heart failure case ascertainment and phenotype classification.

Dr. Sundaram leads a multidisciplinary team of postdoctoral scholars, research fellows, and collaborators focused on heart failure epidemiology, clinical trial design, and advanced heart failure therapeutics. He has built a global network of nationally representative EHR databases spanning the USA, England, Scotland, Taiwan, and Japan to conduct comparative outcomes research in heart failure (TRANSMED-HF).

In addition to his epidemiologic and trial expertise, Dr. Sundaram has clinical and investigative experience in advanced heart failure hemodynamics, device-based therapies, and neuromodulation — particularly baroreflex activation therapy with Barostim. He is especially interested in the mechanistic and clinical interface between atrial fibrillation and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), including the potential role of autonomic imbalance as an upstream therapeutic target.

RESEARCH PROGRAMS

• Heart failure epidemiology using VA Electronic Health Records (VA-VINCI and related databases)
• Global comparative outcomes research in heart failure using large nationwide EHR (TRANSMED-HF: USA, UK, Taiwan, Japan)
• Algorithm development for heart failure phenotype classification (HFrEF and HFpEF) using nationwide EHR
• Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) outcomes in underrepresented populations (very wide QRS)
• Neuromodulation in heart failure, including baroreflex activation therapy (Barostim)
• Atrial fibrillation and HFpEF intersection: autonomic imbalance and non-pharmacologic therapeutic strategies

MAJOR PROJECTS & FUNDING

• NIH Research Funding — Collaborative effort on Comparative global outcomes research in heart failure using nationally representative EHR
• NIH Research Funding — Collaborative effort on Metabolic Therapy for Atrial Fibrillation
• American Heart Association — Funded research supporting heart failure epidemiology and clinical investigation
• VA-VINCI / VA EHR Research Program — Multiple ongoing cardiovascular epidemiology projects using Veterans Affairs electronic health records

HONORS & RECOGNITION

• Master Clinician Educator of the Year, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center & Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, 2024
• Teacher of the Year, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA / UH Cleveland VA Medical Center Cardiology Fellowship, 2021
• Original Research Manuscript selected for Editor-in-Chief’s Top Picks for 2017, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2017
• Eric N. Prystowsky Early Career Research Award, Heart Rhythm Society, USA, 2016
• Fellow, Royal College of Physicians, Glasgow, 2016
• Charles C.J. Carpenter Award for Outstanding Resident of the Year, Louis Stokes VA / UH Cleveland Medical Center Internal Medicine Residency, 2012
• William A. Bernbaum Award for Outstanding Intern of the Year, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, 2010