Sara Scarlet, MD, MPH
Trauma surgeon. Patient advocate. Bioethics at the margins.
Dr. Sara Scarlet is a trauma surgeon and Clinical Assistant Professor in the University of Florida Division of Acute Care Surgery, specializing in trauma and surgical critical care. Her clinical interests center on traumatic injury and abdominal wall surgery — and on something she names explicitly as a goal of her practice: prioritizing communication with patients and the people who love them.
Her research lives at the intersection of trauma, ethics, and public health, with a particular focus on the ethics of health care for justice-involved individuals — a population whose needs often go unspoken in the operating room and underexplored in the policy literature. The work draws on her training in surgery, public health, and bioethics, and reflects a sustained commitment to extending the moral attention of medicine to those most often left out of it.
She completed her undergraduate degree and MD through the University of Florida's Junior Honors Medical Program, then trained at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — where she completed her general surgery internship and residency, earned a Master of Public Health through UNC's Public Health Leadership Program, and went on to complete a fellowship in surgical critical care.
Outside the hospital, she is most often found with her husband, children, and dogs — swimming in Florida's springs, hiking the prairie, or exploring the coast.
"The process of navigating illness or injury can be challenging for patients and their families, which is why I aim to support and advocate for my patients, be a transparent communicator, and ensure that preferences and values align with treatment goals." — Dr. Scarlet