Rate My Professor Sarah Lesche

Dr Sarah Lesche is a Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Department of Surgery and Critical Care at the University of Otago, Dunedin School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine. Specializing in vascular and endovascular surgery, she holds a ChM in Vascular and Endovascular Surgery from the University of Edinburgh and is a Fellow of the European Board of Vascular Surgery (FEBVS). She serves as Clinical Director of the Department of Vascular Surgery at Dunedin Public Hospital, Southern DHB, and is actively involved in clinical teaching and research at the university. Lesche is a key member of the Vascular Research Group, contributing to advancements in vascular diagnostics and treatments.

Her research outputs include several peer-reviewed publications and conference contributions. In 2026, she co-authored "A novel infra-red fluorescence method to identify regions of superficial microvenous reflux in patients with chronic venous disease" published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery: Venous and Lymphatic Disorders. In 2025, "A DNA methylation marker, cg05575921 (AHRR), outperforms self-reported smoking exposure for its association with cardiovascular disease prevalence" appeared in Nicotine & Tobacco Research. Other works encompass "Aneurysm sac size post-EVAR as a useful marker for future endoleak: A retrospective review" (2024, European Journal of Vascular & Endovascular Surgery), validation of shear wave elastography for endoleak monitoring (2023, Otago Medical School Research Society proceedings), and reduced surveillance schedules post-EVAR (2023). Earlier contributions include near-infrared fluorescence imaging for superficial venous reflux (2022, European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery), ultrasound measurements for abdominal aortic aneurysms (2023), and in situ fenestration techniques for aortic endografts (2020, EJVES Vascular Forum). Lesche also supervises student research, such as honours theses on vascular anatomy.