Shifra Shvarts was born in June 1949 in Tel Aviv, Israel, to Yeheskel Leider and Batia Ben Ephraim.

In 2014, she assumed the role of vice president of the society and coordinator of the editorial board of its scientific journal, Vesalius.

Her research emphasizes the significance of understanding the social, cultural, historical, and organizational foundations of the health system to comprehend its current functioning.

Notably, she examined the development of the salaried physician model in Israel and analyzed the legislative process behind the compulsory health insurance law in 1994.

[8] In 2002, Shvarts was appointed director of the Israel National Institute for Health Policy Research, acknowledging her scholarly contributions.

She also examined the broader health and social implications of this treatment as reflected in the legislation of the Law for Compensation of Ringworm Victims in Israel.

Her book "Kupat Holim, Histadruth, Memshala" (Health Fund, Labor Federation, Government),[14] (published by the Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute in 2000) received the Einhorn Prize for Achievements in Hebrew Medical Literature in 2003.