Meet Our Team
Our Amazing Team
Vivek and his parents have gone through hardships in life, not knowing what hurdles to expect and how to navigate them. There is no awareness about Spina Bifida, and the healthcare givers provided no instructions on what disabilities it will further create and how to counter them medically, mentally and socially. Since 2004, Vivek and his family have been bridging this gap by helping and guiding people with Spina Bifida and their families, on various aspects of this disorder.
At Sasha, our amazing team is dedicated to supporting individuals and parents affected by Spina Bifida. With passion and expertise, we strive to provide strength, wellness, and raise awareness for this condition.
Vivek Bharadwaj
Founder and Director
Vivek Bharadwaj, our Founder and Director, is a true inspiration. Afflicted by Spina Bifida – Myelomeningocele, Vivek is a remarkable example of someone who battled Spina Bifida and emerged victorious. Born with this condition, Vivek has faced and overcome numerous physical and mental challenges and has dedicated his life to helping others facing similar struggles. With unwavering determination and a deep understanding of the condition and what comes with Spina Bifida, Vivek leads our team with compassion and a commitment to making a difference in the lives of individuals and parents affected by Spina Bifida.
Usha Sharma
Founder and Director
Usha Sharma, our Founder and Director, is a remarkable mother who has faced the challenges of raising a child with Spina Bifida with unwavering strength and determination. Usha dedicated herself to ensuring her son received the best care and support possible after his diagnosis with Spina Bifida. Despite the numerous obstacles, Usha never gave up. She filled her journey with countless hospital visits, therapies, and advocacy for her son’s needs. Inspired by her experiences, Usha now commits to helping other families navigate similar challenges. She works as a family support specialist, offering guidance, resources, and a compassionate ear to those in need.
Satendra Mohan Sharma
Founder and Advisory Member
Satendra Mohan Sharma, our Founder and Advisory Member, is a dedicated father who has faced the challenges of raising a child with Spina Bifida with remarkable courage and resilience. Satendra committed himself to providing the best possible care and support for his Spina Bifida child. He navigated numerous medical appointments, therapies, and surgeries, always advocating for his child’s needs. Despite the hardships, Satendra’s unwavering love and determination never faltered. Inspired by his journey, he now aims to support other families facing similar challenges. Satendra works tirelessly to raise awareness about Spina Bifida and offers guidance and resources to help others navigate their own journeys.
Shikha Bharadwaj
Sibling Support Officer
Shikha Bharadwaj passionately advocates for sibling support and dedicates herself to making a difference in the lives of those affected by Spina Bifida. Shikha, our sibling support officer, brings our amazing team a wealth of experience and expertise. As Vivek’s sister she has seen the challenges Spina Bifida brings in an individual’s daily life. She first-hand knows and believes how important a sibling’s role is. Shikha raises awareness, advocates for resources, and fosters a community where siblings can find the help and understanding they need. She educates families and advocates for comprehensive care and support from the immediate inner circle.
Dr Mazda Turel
Neurosurgeon and Advisory Member
Dr Mazda K Turel is a distinguished neurosurgeon, heading the neurosurgery department at Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai. He completed his MBBS from Grant Medical College, Mumbai, followed by an MCh in Neurosurgery from the prestigious Christian Medical College, Vellore. He was awarded the Jacob Chandy Gold Medal, a rare honour that, at the time, had been conferred on only four other recipients in the 35 years since its institution. He also earned a Diploma in Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery from Beijing, China, reflecting his commitment to bringing the benefits of modern neurosurgical techniques to his patients.
Dr Turel believes that neurosurgery is not simply about operating on the brain or spine—it is about helping people reclaim their lives. He lectures internationally on advances in modern brain and spine surgery, focusing on their safety, efficacy and potential to transform outcomes for patients and families. His curiosity, incisiveness and determination to find meaningful solutions to difficult problems have touched the lives of thousands. Compassionateexcellence is his guiding philosophy. A TEDx speaker and professional columnist for the Jam-e Jamshed Newspaper and Sunday Mid-Day, he also works to make complex neurosurgical knowledge accessible to the wider community, empowering people to understand their choices and possibilities better. Dr Turel is also a best selling author of a book called Bheja Fry: Stories from a Neurosurgeon’s Clinic.
At Sasha, Dr Turel has joined our mission to enhance the lives of people with Spina Bifida by bringing clarity, knowledge and hope to the neurosurgical journey. Through his expertise, he helps individuals and families understand the neurological challenges associated with Spina Bifida, explore the role of neurosurgery, and develop realistic expectations about possible interventions and outcomes. For families facing difficult decisions, understanding what lies ahead can bring immense reassurance. Dr Turel’s contribution is therefore about more than neurosurgery—it is about turning uncertainty into understanding, fear into informed confidence, and medical possibilities into hope for a fuller life. Together with Sasha, he is helping build a future where every person with Spina Bifida and every family supporting them has the knowledge and confidence to make informed choices and aspire to their greatest possible quality of life.
Dr Sushma Bhatnagar
Onco-Anaesthesia, Pain Management and Advisory Member
Dr Sushma Bhatnagar is a distinguished specialist in Onco-Anaesthesia, Critical Care, Pain Management and Palliative Care, and currently serves as Principal Director in these fields at Max Healthcare. She completed her MBBS and MD in Anaesthesiology from SMS Medical College, Jaipur, and went on to earn an MSc in Palliative Medicine from Cardiff University, UK. She served as Professor and Head of the Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, where she dedicated many years to advancing pain management and palliative care. She has published over 500 national and international research papers
Dr Bhatnagar has spent her career helping people live with greater comfort, dignity and hope in the face of complex and chronic conditions. Her expertise encompasses neuropathic and chronic pain, interventional pain management and holistic palliative care. She has also been deeply involved in education, research and developing better approaches to pain care, including organising international programmes on neuropathic pain and advancing comprehensive pain and palliative-care services. Throughout her career, she has recognised that chronic pain is rarely only physical. It can influence mobility, independence, sleep, emotional wellbeing, family life and confidence about the future. Her approach looks beyond a single symptom or procedure, seeking to understand the individual as a whole, and create care that is practical, compassionate and sustainable.
At Sasha, Dr Bhatnagar joins us in our mission to help people with Spina Bifida live fuller, more confident and more comfortable lives. She will bring her wealth of experience to help individuals and families better understand chronic neuropathic pain, discover practical ways to manage it at home, and develop the knowledge and confidence to cope with its challenges. Most importantly, she brings a deeply compassionate belief that good care is about more than managing symptoms—it is about helping people reclaim their everyday lives, find hope, and live with dignity. We are honoured to have her alongside the Spina Bifida community as we work towards a future where pain does not define a person’s possibilities. Her vision reminds us that with the right support, understanding and care, living with Spina Bifida can be a journey filled not only with resilience, but also with possibility, independence and positivity.
Empowering individuals and families affected by Spina Bifida to live their best lives.
