Meet Dr. Barvarz

Dr. Sherwin Barvarz is a Yale-trained, double board-certified interventional pain physician and anesthesiologist with a focus on restoring function using minimally invasive procedures.

Dr. Barvarz graduated from UCLA summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor’s of Science in Physiological Science, after which he left for New York City for a decade. He received his doctorate of medicine, and underwent his internship and residency in anesthesiology at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center. His last two years in NYC coincided with the start and height of the COVID-19 pandemic for that city, necessitating his service as a physician in multiple dedicated COVID intensive care units in the Spring of 2020.

Having spent the formative and foundational years of his life and medical training in NYC gives Dr. Barvarz a unique perspective. Having treated patients from broad strata in society at institutions ranging from Memorial Sloan Kettering to Kings County Hospital has given Dr. Barvarz the requisite experience to treat a wide range of patients and pathologies.

It was in NYC that he built the foundation to incorporate non-opioid modalities to keep patients as functional as possible, which is crucial in an incredibly fast-paced and demanding environment such as NYC. He then underwent his fellowship training in Pain Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine, where he spent a year focusing on comprehensive interventional pain management, which included treating common pathologies, as well some rare and unusual pathologies.

Dr. Barvarz has served on numerous state-level and national committees, and is committed to providing high-quality, evidence-based treatment to improve his patients’ quality of life.

EDUCATION AND MEDICAL TRAINING 

Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 

Fellowship in Pain Medicine 

07/2021-06/2022 

SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York 

Internship and Residency in Anesthesiology 

07/2016-06/2020 

M.D. SUNY Downstate College of Medicine, Brooklyn, New York 

08/2012 – 05/2016 

B.S., Physiological Science, UCLA, Los Angeles, California. Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta  Kappa 

09/2009-06/2011 

Biological Sciences, UC Irvine, Irvine, California 

09/2007-06/2009 

WORK HISTORY 

Clinical 

• The Pain Institute of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA. Founder and CEO, 05/2024- Present 
• Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA. Per-Diem Physician, Interventional Pain Management. 11/2023-Present 
• Pain Management & Injury Relief Medical Center, Thousand Oaks, CA. Staff  Physician. 06/2023-05/2024 
• Pain Management Associates, Long Beach, CA. Staff Physician. 07/2022-06/2023 • Northwell Health-Staten Island University Hospital. Attending Physician, Department  of Anesthesiology. 07/2020-06/2021 

Education 

• UCLA, Undergraduate Teaching Assistant for gross anatomy cadaver lab. 09/2010- 12/2010

Research  

• Yale School of Medicine. Management of chronic pain in the setting of inflammatory  bowel disease. Performed national survey of IBD specialists, presented at the Yale  School of Medicine, Pain Division research conference. 
• SUNY Downstate Department of Anesthesiology, Resident Research. Acute and  chronic pain management, neuromodulation in the context of chronic pain.  • SUNY Downstate Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Medical Student Research,  avascular necrosis in patients undergoing the Modified Dunn procedure. • UCLA Department of Plastic Surgery. Conducted literature review regarding the  multidisciplinary approach to early breast cancer. 2013. 
• UC Irvine School of Medicine, Undergraduate Research Assistant, influence of  peripheral opioid receptors and electroacupuncture on cardiac sympatho-excitatory  reflex pathways. Published in 2019 in Nature “Scientific Reports” 06/2008-08/2012 

HONORS 

• Elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated Summa Cum Laude from UCLA, 2011  • Golden Key Honors Society, UCLA, and UC Irvine.  

PRESENTATIONS 

Sherwin Barvarz, M.D. (June, 2022). Evaluating the Current Practice of Chronic Pain Management in  the Setting of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, A National Survey of Gastroenterologists. Presented at  the Yale School of Medicine, Pain Division research conference; New Haven, CT, USA 

Sherwin Barvarz, M.D. (December, 2019). Neuromodulation and Chronic Pain Management: Where  We’ve Been, Where We Are, and Where We’re (Probably) Headed Poster presented at: New York  State Conference for Anesthesiology Residents and Fellows (NYSCARF): Resident Research  Showcase; New York, NY, USA. 

Sherwin Barvarz M.D., David Fishman M.D., Koray Arica M.D.. (December, 2018). Continuous  Brachial Plexus Anesthesia for Analgesia and Flap Site Sympatholysis Poster presented at: New York  State Society of Anesthesiologists Postgraduate Assembly in Anesthesiology (PGA); New York, NY,  USA.  

Sherwin Barvarz M.D., David Fishman M.D., Koray Arica M.D.. (October, 2018). Use of Continuous  Supraclavicular Brachial Plexus and Lumbar Epidural Anesthesia For Post-operative Analgesia and  Sympatholysis For Flap Patency after Osteocutaneous Fibula Free Flap to Forearm Poster presented  at: American Society of Anesthesiologists: Anesthesiology 2018; San Francisco, CA, USA.  

Julio J. Jauregui, M.D.; Sherwin A. Barvarz, B.S.; Shawn C. Standard, M.D.; Allison B. Spitzer, M.D.;  and Khalid Hesham, M.D.. (April, 2016). Avascular Necrosis With Modified Dunn in SCFE Patients: A  meta-analysis Poster presented at: SUNY Downstate Annual Research Day; Brooklyn, NY, USA.  

Liang-Wu Fu, Sherwin Barvarz, Jesse Ho and John Longhurst. (April, 2012). Opioid receptors modulate  excitatory cardiovascular reflex responses to myocardial ATP stimulation through a P2 receptor  mechanism Poster presented at: Experimental Biology Convention, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA. 

PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES/ABSTRACTS/OTHER 

Jauregui JJ, Shaw NM, Weir TB, Barvarz SA, McClure PK. Risk of Avascular Necrosis with The Modified  Dunn Procedure in SCFE Patients: A Meta-Analysis. Children (Basel). 2022 Oct 31;9(11):1680. 

Barvarz S. Chronic pain in the setting of inflammatory bowel disease: an undertreated and inherently  complex problem. ASRA News 2021;46. (Article was also podcasted on the ASRA News podcast  channel, available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify) 

Keith Newton, MD; Jane Tolson, MD; Sherwin Barvarz, MD; David Beausang, MD. Spinal Epidural  Hematoma: A Problem-Based Learning Discussion. ASRA (2021) 

Liang-Wu Fu, Stephanie Tjen-a-Looi, Sherwin Barvarz, Zhi-Ling Guo, and Shaista Malik. Role of Opioid  Receptors in modulation of P2X receptor-mediated cardiac sympathoexcitatory reflex response. Sci  Rep 9, 17224 (2019) 

Sherwin Barvarz, M.D.. (2019, November 04). Dorsal Root Ganglion Stimulation: The Latest and…the  Greatest? ASRA News 

Liang-Wu Fu, Sherwin Barvarz, Jesse Ho and John Longhurst. Opioid receptors modulate excitatory  cardiovascular reflex responses to myocardial ATP stimulation through a P2 receptor mechanism.  The FASEB Journal. 2012, Apr; 26(1091.4): Online Supplement. Pub Status: Published.  

VOLUNTEER WORK 

Yale School of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology  

Peer Review Committee, 07/2021-06/2022 

New York State Society of Anesthesiologists 

Pain Management Committee, 12/2020-Present 

North American Neuromodulation Society 

Education Committee, 05/2020-Present 

ASRA: American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine 

Resident Section Committee, 04/2020-04/2022 

Eastern Pain Association 

Institutional Liaison, 10/2019-1/2021 

SUNY Downstate Medical Executive Committee 

Resident Physician Participant, 12/2018-07/2019 

Homeless Health Care-Center for Harm Reduction, Skid Row, Los Angeles 

Clinical Volunteer, 01/2012-03/2012 

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS 

• American Society of Anesthesiologists 
• New York State Society of Anesthesiologists
• American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine 
• North American Neuromodulation Society 

LICENSURE 

• California Physician and Surgeon License, Exp. 12/31/2025 
• New York Physician License, Exp. 2/28/2026 
• Drug Enforcement Administration Controlled Substance Registration, Exp. 7/31/2026 • California Department of Public Health Fluoroscopy Supervisor and Operator Permit, Exp.  5/31/2026 

SPECIALTY CERTIFICATION 

• American Board of Anesthesiology: Board-Certified in Anesthesiology, 2022 • American Board of Anesthesiology: Subspecialty Certification in Pain Medicine, 2023