Department Of Anesthesiology

According to the latest rankings of NIH funding, the University of Maryland School of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology is now the sixth-ranked department amongst all US Departments of Anesthesiology. We are also the second amongst all Anesthesiology Departments in US Public Universities. Only 52 out of the approximately 130 anesthesiology departments have any NIH funding, placing us in the top 5% of all US Departments of Anesthesiology. According to Dr. Peter Rock, the Chair of the Department, we have been making a steady climb in the rankings for more than 10 years. Entering the top 10 for our specialty is a very special accomplishment and is the culmination of a long-term effort to raise the Department’s research profile to the highest echelons of anesthesiology departments. The Department’s research funding is spread out over many investigators resulting in a deep “bench” and a broad research portfolio.

This ranking could only be accomplished by the hard work of our entire faculty and staff. We congratulate and thank our investigators for their hard work, dedication, innovation, and commitment to discovery.

For a full listing of all US Departments of Anesthesiology, please click here.

Congratulations to Dr. Marta Lipinski, an Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology for being awarded the AI + Medicine for High Impact (AIM-HI) Challenge Award by the University of Maryland, Baltimore and University of Maryland, College Park for her research project titled "Development of a predictive multi-omics platform for the study of aging and age-associated diseases". Dr. Lipinski along with Drs. Michael Cummings and Jace Jones were awarded $200,000 for one year funding, with subsequent years contingent.

The AI + Medicine for High Impact (AIM-HI) Challenge Award seeks to fund big research initiatives in the field of artificial intelligence and medicine that will contribute to major scientific discoveries, secure sizable extramural funding, and lead to meaningful improvements in patient care and treatment.

Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today that the UMSOMs Shock Trauma and Anesthesiology Research (STAR) Center will begin the next phase of its history with new leadership. The Center, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, has been led by Alan Faden, MD, the David S. Brown Professor in Trauma at UMSOM, since its founding. Associate Directors Rosemary Kozar, MD, PhD and Wei Chao, MD, PhD, will now serve as the new Co-Directors of the STAR Center. You can view the complete story here.

The Department of Anesthesiology has been selected as a potential host site for students participating in the 2020 FAER Medical Student Anesthesia Research Fellowship (MSARF) Summer Program. The following faculty members have been approved as mentors for the program: Tibor Kristian, Ph.D., Gary Fiskum, Ph.D., Rebecca Henry, Ph.D., Wei Chao, MD, Ph.D., FAHA, Junfang Wu, BM, MS, Ph.D., Peter Hu, Ph.D., Konstantin Birukov, M.D., Ph.D., Megan Anders, M.D., Marta Lipinski, Ph.D. and Bogdan Stoica, M.D.

Congratulations to Dr. Brittney Williams for being awarded the Mentored Research Training Grant (MRTG) by the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER) for her research project titled "Role of TLR7 in Platelet Activation and Dysfunction in Sepsis". The award, $250,000 over two years, helps physician-scientists develop the skills, preliminary data for subsequent grant applications, and research publications needed to become independent investigators. This year, FAER received 58 high quality applications for research training grants. Dr. Williams was selected as one of the 5 recipients of this prestigious award. For more information on this award visit https://www.asahq.org/faer/about/newsandevents/faer2019fallgrantcycle

Junfang Wu, BM, PhD, Associate Professor, the Department of Anesthesiology and Steven Michael Jay, PhD, Associate Professor from University of Maryland, College Park, received a five-year, $2,799,596 grant (NIH RF1) from the National Institute on Aging (NIH/NIA) and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH/NINDS) for “Dementia Following Spinal Cord Injury: Mechanism and Therapeutic Targeting”.

Congratulations to Baltimore Magazine's 2019 "Top Doctors" recipients: Monique Bellefleur, MD; Mark Dimino, MD; Stephanie Kahntroff, MD and Anne Savarese, MD.  You can view the full list here.

Brittney Williams, MD, Assistant Professor and Cardiac Anesthesiologist, recently published a research article in the September 30, 2019 issue of Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis titled “Toll‐like receptors 2 and 7 mediate coagulation activation and coagulopathy in murine sepsis”. Click here for full article.

2018 Faculty Promotion Reception

A reception was held on October 3, 2018 to honor recently promoted faculty members in the Department of Anesthesiology.

2019 Bring Your Child to Work Day

On Thursday, April 25, 2019, The Department of Anesthesiology hosted Bring Your Child To Work Day.

2018 Department Holiday Reception

On Tuesday, December 11th 2018, the Department hosted its annual Holiday Reception at the SMC Campus Center.

2018 Professors Martin Helrich and M. Jane Matjasko Annual Lecture

This year’s Helrich-Matjasko lecture was held on September 26, 2018 and featured Dr. Sachin Kheterpal.

2018 Department Picnic and Crab Feast

This year's annual Department of Anesthesiology Picnic and Crab Feast was held at Howard County Centennial Park.