Wei Chao, MD, PhD, FAHA was recently awarded The Anesthesiology Endowed Professorship In Translational Research. Dr. Chao’s laboratory, a part of the Anesthesiology Translational Research Program, studies the innate immune signaling system and its role in sepsis, trauma, and myocardial ischemic injury. The laboratory has established state-of-the-art experimental systems that are essential for investigators to delineate the molecular, cellular, and organ physiological changes during sepsis, traumatic injuries, and tissue ischemia. In receiving this honor, Dr. Chao joins five other endowed professors in the department (Drs. Birukov, Faden, Fiskum, Njoku, and Rock).

Brianna Holmes and Himsheela Karki, students from Baltimore City Community College (BCCC) and research interns in the lab of Dr. Gary Fiskum, the M. Jane Matjasko Professor for Research in the Department of Anesthesiology, earned the top awards at a competitive poster presentation at the 7th Annual BCCC STEM Symposium on November 8th, 2018. This symposium was a part of the Maryland STEM Festival and included an audience of over 500 students from BCCC and several Baltimore city schools. External judges chose the best posters from among 50+ entries. Karki, a native of Kathmandu, Nepal, was awarded the President’s Award for the Best Overall Science Project, which focused on strategic use of oxygen following resuscitation from cardiac arrest. Holmes, a life-long Baltimorean, won the Vice-President’s Award for Best External Research Project, which concentrated on effects of hypobaria on traumatic brain injury. Karki graduated with her AAS in December 2018 and is currently completing pre-requisite coursework for pharmacy school. Holmes continues working in the Fiskum lab and plans to pursue a BS degree on a pre-medicine track.

Congratulations to recently promoted faculty members: Patrick Odonkor, MB, ChB: Promotion to Associate Professor; Bogdan Stoica, PhD: Promotion to Tenure Track; Flaubert Tchantchou, PhD: Promotion to Assistant Professor; and Junfang Wu, BM, PhD: Promotion to Tenure Track. Click here to see photos from the promotion reception.

Konstantin G. Birukov, MD, PhD was recently awarded the The Anesthesiology Endowed Professorship In Entrepreneurial Research. Dr. Birukov was recruited to the University of Maryland School of Medicine from the University of Chicago in 2017 with more than $10 million of completed NIH-funded research and more than $1.1 million in NIH grants. Under the leadership of Dr. Birukov, the University of Maryland School of Medicine Lung Biology Research Program is fast becoming a key element in accelerating the pace of discovery and innovation at the University of Maryland School Medicine.

Congratulations to CA-3 resident Olamide Ifaturoti, MD, who was recently announced as a winner of the 2018-2019 Resident International Anesthesia Scholarship program. The program is sponsored by the ASA Committee on Global Humanitarian Outreach (GHO), and is designed to send U.S. CA-3 anesthesiology residents to low-resource settings. Dr. Ifaturoti will complete a one-month rotation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. An announcement of the winners was also featured in the October 2018 issue of ASA Monitor.

The Department recently hosted the annual Professors Martin Helrich and M. Jane Matjasko Lecture in Anesthsiology, featuring Sachin Kheterpal, MD, MBA, an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and the Associate Dean for Research Information Technology at the University of Michigan Medical School. The lecture was titled “Fulfilling the Promise of Big Data Analytics: How Do We Get There From Here?". Click here for photos of the event.

Congratulations to Baltimore Magazine's 2018 "Top Docs" recipients: Mark Dimino, MD and Stephanie Kahntroff, MD. 

Peter Hu, PhD, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, has been invited to join the editorial board of Critical Care Medicine. He will serve a three-year term. Dr. Hu’s current research focuses on developing machine learning based predictive algorithms for near and long-term patient outcomes based on the continuous analysis of vital signs from the field to in-hospital resuscitation to the intensive care unit bedside.

Several members of the Division of Trauma Anesthesiology were recently featured in the September 2018 issue of the ASA Monitor. Jonathan Chow, MD (center) and Maged Andrews, MD (right) are featured on the cover image. In addition, Justin Richards, MD; Bianca Conti, MD; Maureen McCunn, MD, MIPP, FCCM, FASA; and Yvette Fouche-Weber, MD contributed the article “Unique Resuscitative Therapies: ETC, REBOA and EPR.” 

Congratulations to Colin Mackenzie, MB,ChB, MD(Res), Professor Emeritus of Anesthesiology, who recently earned his Doctorate in Clinical Medicine Research, or MD(Res), from Imperial College London. The focus of his research in this program was “Assessment of Surgical Performance”. Dr. Mackenzie was also recently featured in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons in the article, “Cadaver-Based Trauma Procedural Skills Training: Skills Retention 30 Months after Training among Practicing Surgeons in Comparison to Experts or More Recently Trained Residents."

Congratulations to Wei Chao, MD, PhD, who has been named the recipient of the prestigious 2018 Frontiers in Anesthesia Research Award, given by the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS). This $750,000 award is only given by the IARS once every three years. Wei will use this funding to support his research into the molecular pathogenesis of sepsis. 

On Tuesday March 6th, Dr. Maureen McCunn, Professor, Division of Trauma Anesthesia, joined a team of physicians and nurses from the Shock Trauma Center, and the Maryland Committee on Trauma, to teach “Stop the Bleed” techniques to senators, delegates, lobbyists and staff at the historic Statehouse of Maryland, where Governor Hogan was in attendance. Dr. McCunn was the only anesthesiologist to join this effort. This training is offered twice/month at Shock Trauma, and will be included free of charge for anyone at the 2018 ASA annual meeting who is registered for the Trauma Skills workshops or at the Stop the Bleed training for mass casualty.

The Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research has released their 2017 rankings of NIH funding to Medical Schools throughout the country. The Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore increased its overall funding by about 21% and maintained its position at #11 nationwide. Congratulations to the investigators whose hard work, dedication, innovation, and commitment to discovery continue to propel the Department forward as a research powerhouse.