2008 News Archive

December -

Happy Holidays!

November -

We are pleased to announce that the Thirty-second Annual E.M. Papper Endowed Lecture will be held on Thursday, November 20th, 2008 at 5:00 p.m. in the Donald F. Tapley Faculty Club, Columbia University, 630 West 168th Street, 4th Floor  


Choosing Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine
Sten GE Lindahl, MD, PhD, FRCA
Professor, Karolinska Institutet
Chief of Research and Education, Karolinska University Hospital
Vice Chair of the Nobel Assembly
Chair of the Nobel Assembly (2009)

All welcome to attend the reception immediately following the lecture.

October -

Columbia Department of Anesthesiology at the ASA!

Cassie Kuo was named a resident member of the ASA Committee on Occupational Health. Her term will commence at this year’s ASA meeting.





John Gaudet was selected as a Society of Neurosurgical Anesthesia and Critical Care (SNACC) Resident Travel Award Winner for his poster entitled: Metalloproteinase 9 Plasma Activity Levels at Baseline Are Predictive of Cognitive Performance. He will receive $1,000.


Best Abstracts of the Meeting: Anesthesiology Editor’s Picks

Monday, October 20th, 2008, 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM, Orange County Convention Center, Room W230A, Orlando, Florida.

New this year is a session sponsored by Anesthesiology of abstracts selected by Drs. James C. Esisenach and Mark A. Warner as being of broad interest and scientific importance. These were selected from the top-rated abstracts as scored by each scientific subcommittee charged with choosing abstracts for presentation at the Annual Meeting. This session highlights 10 outstanding abstracts, which will be presented in traditional oral format followed by a brief discussion.

Columbia has been awarded two out of 10 of these abstracts.

“Epidemiology of Anesthesia-related Deaths in the United States, 1999-2004” by Guohua Li, Margaret Warner, Barbara Lang, Lin Huang, Lena Sun, Columbia University, New York, New York. The rarity of anesthesia-related deaths renders study of risk factors difficult, particularly because most data are captured by case reports, closed claims, or data from individual hospitals. These authors screened the International Classification of Diseases codes to identify those specifically attributed to anesthesia and applied them to a census of death certificates maintained by the National Center for Health Statistics over the 1999-2004 time period. There were more than 300 deaths per year related to anesthesia, with 11% of theses listing anesthesia as the underlying cause of death and the remainder listing anesthesia as a contributing cause. Nearly half of the anesthesia-related deaths were attributed to an overdose of anesthetics, and the anesthesia-related mortality rate, twice as great for men as for women, increased markedly after age 65 yr. This study provides a standard methodology for prospectively examining anesthesia-related deaths and helps to define key components of the causes of such deaths. [A845]

“A Novel Pharmacologic Strategy to Potentiate Relaxation of Human Airway Smooth Muscle” by George Gallos, Yi Zhang, Sang-Woo Pak, Jay Yang, Charles W. Emala, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, New York. Reactive airway disease remains a problem in the perioperative period and previous research by this group demonstrated the presence of ionotropic g–aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) channels on airway smooth muscle cells, which might be harnessed to produce airway relaxation. In this study, they used guinea pig tracheal rings and human airway smooth muscle to show muscimol, a GABAA agonist, potentiated the relaxant effects of the b–adrenoceptor agonist isoproterenol. These data support the development of a novel treatment for severe bronchospasms using GABAA agonists. [A850]

Anesthesiology/FAER Session: Anesthesia and the Developing Brain: Implications for Obstetrics and Pediatrics

Tuesday, October 21, 2008, 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, Orange County Convention Center, Room W230A, Orlando, Florida

Recent findings suggest that commonly used general anesthetics and hypnotics may cause detrimental effects to the immature mammalian brain manifested as developmental neuroapopsis and long-lasting cognitive deficits. The focus of our discussion will be on clinical and laboratory studies of the effects of anesthetics administered during neonatal life and young childhood on brain development and cognitive function. The Session will be moderated by:

  • Vesna Jevtovic-Todorovic, M.D., Ph.D., Harold Carron Professor of Anesthesiology and Neuroscience, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia: “General Anesthetics-neurotoxins for the Developing Brian”
  • Lena S. Sun, M.D., Professor of Anesthesiology and Pediatrics, Vice Chairman, Columbia University, New York, New York: “Clinical Studies of Anesthetic Neurotoxicity: Past, Present, and Future”
  • Piyush M. Patel, M.D., Professor of Anesthesiology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California: “tPA Reduces Isoflurane Induced Neuronal Apoptosis and Dendritic Spines Loss in Rat Neonatal Neurons”

6th Annual Celebration of Research

Monday, October 20th, 2008, 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM, Orange County Convention Center, Room W415BC, Orlando, Florida, Lunch will be provided!

This year’s Celebration of Research will take place on Monday during the Annual Meeting. James C. Eisenach, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of Anesthesiology, will serve as moderator. The recipients of the 2008 Residents’ Research Awards will also be introduced during the Celebration event.

Saundra Curry will receive an educational award. The award is titled Duke Award for Excellence and Innovation in Anesthesia Education. The presentation is on Friday, October 17 at 1pm, Rosen Hotel, SEA meeting



George Gallos has won first place in this year’s ASA Resident Research Contest






8th Annual Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research Honorary Lecture: “Critical Thinking”, Steven L. Shafer, M.D., Professor of Anesthesiology, Columbia University, New York,, New York. Monday, October 20, 2008, 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM, Orange County Convention Center, Room W415BC, Orlando, Florida


Our Alumni Reception at the ASA is from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 19th at the Rosen Plaza Hotel, Grand Ballroom D

In addition to these highlighted events, we have many faculty , residents and fellows participating in abstract presentations, lectures, panels and teaching sessions. Congratulations to all, and to our prize winners!

Department ASA Schedule

September -

Dr. Wood is pleased to announce that the 2008 Annual Allen Hyman History of Anesthesia Lecture will be held on Thursday, September 11th, 2008 at 7:00 a.m. in the Alumni Auditorium, Columbia University:

“John Snow, Father of Two:
The Origins of Scientific Epidemiology and Anesthesiology"

Speakers:

Richard Smiley, MD, PhD
Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology (in OB-GYN)
and Director of Obstetrical Anesthesia

Guohua Li, MD, DrPH
M. Finster Professor and Director of the Center for Health Policy and Outcomes in Anesthesiology and Critical Care

Past Lecture Speakers are listed below:

2007:  Lee Goldman, M.D., Vice President for Health and Biomedical Sciences, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Columbia University. “Three Decades of Cardiac Risk in Noncardiac Surgery”

2006: Frank Lowy, MD, Professor of Medicine & Pathology, Department of Medicine Columbia University, “Staphylococcus aureus: plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose”

2005: Sir Ian Kennedy, Chairman of the Health Care Commission, UK “When Babies Died:  Learning Lessons for Healthcare”

2004: Dr. J. B. Glen and Dr. David Goodale, Astra-Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, Wilmington, DE. “Anesthetic Drug Discovery - from Xylocaine and Halothane to Diprivan"

2003: John W. Severinghaus, MD, Dr. Med. HC, FRCA, Emeritus Professor of Anesthesiology, UCSF. "Discovery of Oxygen: Plagiarism Emerges Two Centuries Late"

2002: Allen I. Hyman, MD, Professor of Anesthesiology, Columbia University - "The History of Infant  Resuscitation"

2001: Peter Dans, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine & Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins University -"Hollywood’s View of the Doctor from the 1930s to the 1990’s"

2000: Donald Caton, MD, Professor of Anesthesiology and Obstetric and Gynecology, University of Florida "Social Values and the Pain of Childbirth"

1999: James T. Goodrich, M.D., Albert Einstein College of  Medicine -  “A Study of Andreas Vesalius (1514 – 1564): His Contribution to Modern Anatomical Studies, Personal Trials & Tribulations From Medical Student to Professor: 1974 - 1999"

1998: Douglas Bacon, M.D., State University of New York at Buffalo—" The Creation of Infrastructure in  Anesthesiology 1900 -1960"

1997: David Rothman, Phd  “The Anesthesiologist as Whistleblower: Henry Beecher & the Ethics of  Human Experimentation”

1996: Norman Shumway, MD “Heart Transplantation”

1995: Thomas Hornbein, MD “Retroflections on Discovery”

1994: Peter McDermott, MD  “Medicine’s Next Millennium: What Good is History?”

1993: Sherwin Nuland, MD “To See Ourselves as Others See Us: The Artist Looks at the Doctor”

1992: Richard J. Kitz, MD “The Pageant of Anticholinesterase Agents”

1991: E.M. Papper, MD  “Gang of Seven”

1990: No Lecture

1989: John K. Lattimer, MD  “The Details of President Kennedy's Fatal Wounds & the Efforts of the Anesthesiologists”

1988: James D. Duke, Jr., MD “In the Quest of Caring for the Injured”

1987: M.T. Jenkins, MD  “History of Fluid Therapy”

1986: Roderick Calverley,MD “Confessions of a Museum Addict”

1985: Allen I. Hyman, MD “Infant Resuscitation: The Early Days”  &  Selma H. Calmes, MD “Dr. Virginia Apgar: Columbia's First Director of Anesthesia”
1984: Werner Kalow & John F. Ryan “Malignant Hyperthermia: Then & Now”

1983: Leroy D. Vandam, MD “Edward Gilbert Abbott: Patient at the Ether Demonstration”

1982: Allen I. Hyman, MD “History of Anesthesia”

August -

The Department of Anesthesiology is pleased to announce that Dr. Neil Harrison will join the Department November 1st, 2008, and also hold a joint appointment in the Department of Pharmacology. Neil L. Harrison, PhD is currently Professor and Director of the CV Starr Laboratory for Molecular Neuropharmacology, in the Department of Anesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medical College in NYC. Dr. Harrison is a world recognized neuroscientist in the area of anesthetic mechanisms, with particular reference to the GABA receptor.  He gained his BA (Pharmacology) from Cambridge University (UK) with first class honors and then his PhD in Pharmacology from the renowned School of Pharmacy in London.  In 1989 he joined the Anesthesiology Department of the University of Chicago, and in 2000, he moved to New York to join Cornell University.  His curriculum vitae is prolific; he has published more than 100 articles, many reviews and book chapters and has received sustained funding from NIH and other sources for many years.  

We are therefore very proud to welcome Neil to the Department, and join our Research Division.

July -

Apgar Award

May 20th was Columbia Medical Students Class Day, and Dr. Wood was proud to present the Apgar Award to Thomas Lo for excellence in Anesthesiology and Critical Care.

Dr. Lo will start an internship with us on July 1st, 2008, continuing with his Columbia residency in Anesthesiology on July 1st, 2009.


CA3 Resident’s Graduation

On June 13th the residents and fellows graduation party was held at the Carlyle Hotel. Everyone had a wonderful time. 85% of our graduate residents are doing fellowships, many at Columbia.  All our residents and fellows leave with very best wishes from the Department and good luck for the future!

Here follows a collage of photographs from the dinner taken by Dr. Steve Mercer, Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs who was the keynote speaker at the dinner, and very gently “roasted” residents and faculty alike.


Also in the news....

Jessica Kenaston has received a Society for Education in Anesthesia-Health Volunteer Overseas Traveling Fellowship for the upcoming academic year 2008/09. She was one of 38 applicants from 22 institutions who applied for this fellowship. She will spend four weeks in EsSalad, Peru teaching anesthesia residents and nurses at two hospitals in Peru. This fellowship provides a wonderful opportunity for U.S. Anesthesia Residents to see first-hand how anesthesia services are provided and to teach anesthesia to students in overseas countries.

Residents in our program who have previously received this fellowship award have been: John Tsai, Jesse Raiten, Matthew Doane.

June -

Columbia Obstetric Anesthesia Research on the National Scene:

Dr. Margaret Wood is pleased to announce that at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Obstetrics, Anesthesiologists and Perinatologists (SOAP) in Chicago in May 2008, the Best Paper Award for 2008 went to:

Polymorphisms in the ß2-adrenergic Receptor are Associated with a More Rapid, Less Painful Labor
Jessamyn Connel- Price, Jennifer Evans, Sophia Drosinos, Nancy Jasper, Paula Randolph and Pamela Flood Department of Anesthesiology and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University, NY, NY. 

Click here for a copy of the winning abstract. The full set of abstracts is available at http://www.soap.org/

Richard Smiley, Director of the Obstetric Anesthesia Division noted that work involving investigators from his Division has won Best Paper at SOAP in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2008, and Best Paper at ISAP (Int Soc Anesth Pharm) in 2005. 


After 42 years at Columbia in the Department of Anesthesiology, Jaime Diaz is retiring! On May 13th, the Department and Dr. Margaret Wood hosted a retirement lunch for him. Jaime has been a staunch and absolute friend of the department for so many years, and in so many different ways, ranging from his research, his organization skills, and the tone that he set for what our department is all about to so many visiting professors over the years. We will miss him greatly, and wish him only the best for his retirement!

May -

Dr. Wood is pleased to announce that Dr. Robert Sladen has been appointed Chair of the Board of Trustees of the International Anesthesiology Research Society (IARS). Dr Sladen has served as a Trustee on the IARS Board since 1999. The IARS, founded in 1922 as an apolitical organization to “foster progress and research in all phases of anesthesia”, is the oldest anesthesiology society in the United States.  It has more than 15,000 national and international members, owns and publishes the journal Anesthesia and Analgesia, runs an annual clinical and scientific Congress, and provides numerous research awards.  These include the biennial Frontiers Award, four annual clinical and scientific Clinical Scholar Research Awards, and two annual Anesthesiology Teaching Recognition Awards.  Since 1983 the IARS has awarded over $8 million to fund 125 research projects.  Dr Sladen will serve as Chair of the Board of Trustees through 2010.

Dr. Robert Sladen is Executive Vice Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology, Division Director for Critical Care Medicine, and Program Director of the Anesthesiology Critical Care Fellowship Program.

April -

Dr. Margaret Wood is very pleased to announce that Drs. Dean Jones and Brian Egan have been awarded one of the three 2008 Glenda Garvey Teaching Academy grants. The title of their application was "Development of a Novel Patient Safety Curriculum", and they will receive $20,000 over 2 years. A multischool committee of Garvey Academy Fellows and a representative of the Center for Education Research and Evaluation reviewed grant applications and ranked them on the basis of originality, feasibility, and applicability across the medical center. The principal investigators and projects that will receive 2008 Garvey Academy grants: Herbert Chase, M.D., P&S, "Clinical Reasoning Curriculum for Medical Students"Rita Marie John, DNP, Nursing, "Improving the Understanding and Use of Laboratory Values by Graduate Students in the Health Care Sciences"Dean R. Jones, M.D., and Brian Egan, M.D., P&S, "Development of a Novel Patient Safety Curriculum"Please join me in congratulating the grant recipients, who will be recognized at April 1's Thomas Q. Morris Educational Symposium. Congratulations to both of them!

March -

Dr. Sansan Lo has earned double congratulations this month! Her abstract Entitled "EEG Coherence Patterns during Isoflurane and Sevoflurane Anesthesia in Infants and Young Children" has been accepted for oral presentation at the SPA/AAP Pediatric Anesthesiology 2008 meeting to be held April 3 - 6, 2008 at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina, San Diego and she has also been selected as the second place winner of the American Aademy of Pediatrics John J. Downes Resident Research Award. Congratulations!

February -

Dr. Wood is pleased to announce that Dr. Ben Unger has been appointed Director of Anesthesia at the Allen, effective February 1st, 2008. He will take over this position from Dr. Charlie Cain who now becomes Vice Chair for Compliance and Regulatory Affairs.

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Dr. Unger went on to attend Harvard University where he majored in engineering sciences. After college, Dr. Unger was a United States Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras where he worked as a civil engineer on water and sanitation projects. He earned his M.D at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and went on to complete his residency in anesthesiology at the University of Pennsylvania. He joined the faculty of Columbia University in August of 2006. Dr. Unger is also a captain in the United States Air Force Reserves. He was married in May of last year to his wife, Kelly Murphy Mason.

Dr. Ben Unger has also been appointed Director of Anesthesia Clinical Support Staff, effective February 1st, 2008, and will work with the anesthesia technicians to improve the OR infrastructure and support for the clinical anesthesia staff.

"I think what has impressed me most in working with Ben Unger is that he has tackled each assignment with genuine enthusiasm and a clear focus on problem solving. He is an outstanding clinician and has demonstrated real insight into the challenges faced by the Department of Anesthesiology at the Allen Pavilion. I am gratified, after more than a decade of leadership there, to see the Directorship placed in such capable hands. The organization, energy, and poise he will bring to Allen Pavilion will significantly benefit our patients and staff." says Charlie Cain.

“The Allen Pavilion plays a special role for our department and the New York-Presbyterian Hospital System. Bringing world class anesthesia patient care to a community environment presents its own unique challenges. They are challenges imbued with opportunity, however, and ones I am thrilled to work with”, explains Dr. Unger.

January -

In December, New York City hosted the New York State Society Post Graduate Assembly (PGA) meeting of anesthesiologists. Dr. Steve L. Shafer gave the Rovenstein Lecture at the PGA on Monday, December 10, 2007 entitled “Critical Thinking in Anesthesia”. Dr. Shafer is a member of the Department of Anesthesiology at Columbia and Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Anesthesia & Analgesia.

More news from the PGA: Dr. Minjae Kim won first place at the PGA resident research competition. Minjae has spent a year in Dr. HT Lee's laboratory as a research fellow. His research project focused on the anti-inflammatory and anti-necrotic mechanisms of inhalational anesthetics. The title of his research presentation at the PGA was "Isoflurane mediates protection from renal ischemia-reperfusion injury via sphingosine kinase and sphingosine-1-phosphate-dependent pathways". He is also the first author in the manuscript published in American Journal of Physiology (2007 Dec;293(6):F1827-35) with the same title.

2008 News Archive
2007 News Archive

| Home |