Sheryl Henderson, MD, PhD

Education

BA, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts
MD and PhD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
Residency and internship, Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
Fellowship, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia

Professional Activities

Dr. Henderson is associate professor (CHS) in the Division of Infectious Diseases. She is the medical director of the Pediatric/Adolescent/Young Adult (PAYA) Program of the UW Health HIV Care and Prevention Clinic. She is also the Wisconsin South and Western Regional medical director of the Wisconsin Primary HIV Care Support Network based in Children’s Hospital of Milwaukee. Locally, she is the medical director of the Pediatric Antimicrobial Stewardship Program of American Family Children’s Hospital.

Henderson is active in groups that strengthen the goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the School of Medicine. She supports medical students as a mentor in the Building Equitable Access to Mentoring — BEAM — program. She is a member the Department’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Anti-Racism Committee and in 2022, she was selected for an Outstanding Women of Color Award at the University of Wisconsin, which honored her involvement in activism and advocacy within the community that benefitted marginalized populations.

Clinical Interests

Henderson’s primary focus is on the daily management of HIV in pediatric patients —children through young adults — as they live their lives with a serious disease. Through her role as medical director of the PAYA Program at UW Health, she helps her young patients navigate the challenges of living with a chronic illness, especially one that has been stigmatized in this society. As Medical Director of Antimicrobial Stewardship at the AFCH she has developed programs to educate providers about and to implement the most appropriate antimicrobial use in patient care.

Research Interests

Henderson’s research record is long and varied. She currently receives federal grant support through 2 HIV-specific Ryan White programs to provide comprehensive primary health care and support services in an outpatient setting for infants, children and adolescents living with HIV as well as case management and preventive services for pregnant people living with HIV. In addition, Henderson has served as co-investigator for numerous vaccine trials sponsored by various pharmaceutical companies. Her experience in this realm has recently enhanced her authority in her efforts in community advocacy regarding COVID-19 vaccinations. She has been and continues to be a spokesperson in person and through the media to provide accurate information about the COVID-19 virus and the vaccine.