Dr. Hugh Hemmings (left), vice chairman of research for the Department of Anesthesiology, and Dr. Kane Pryor (right), assistant professor of anesthesiology, discuss current research in progress at the Third Annual Anesthesiology Research Expo.
Research on topics in anesthesiology from basic science through postoperative patient care was on display during the Third Annual Anesthesiology Research Expo, held in Weill Cornell Medical College's Department of Anesthesiology from March 12 to 16. The weeklong expo highlighted 19 research projects by anesthesiology faculty, residents, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, as well as collaborators from other clinical and research departments.
"This reflects the work of everybody within the department doing research and most of the studies involve a postdoctoral fellow, resident or student as the lead author," said Dr. Hugh Hemmings, professor of anesthesiology and pharmacology and vice chairman of research for the department.
Dr. Jeffrey Silverstein, associate professor in anesthesiology and associate dean for research at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, discusses the cognitive function of elderly patients following surgery.
The projects on display featured those completed in the last year as well as ongoing research, and included findings presented at meetings of the American Society of Anesthesiologist, Association of University Anesthesiologists, International Anesthesia Research Society and Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, as well as published in journals such as Anesthesiology, Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and Journal of Physiology, among others.
Beyond educating staff and residents, the expo also provided a chance for clinicians and scientists across a department of more than 50 faculty members and 11 research teams to meet face-to-face and discuss complementary projects. Potential and current anesthesiology students and residents also found opportunities to become more involved in the department's research studies.
Brian Pan, anesthesiology research technician, discusses his study "Nitrosative Stress with Single Lung Ventilation and Pulmonary Resection Impairs Myocardial Calcium Cycling" with medical student Milan Lombardi, '08.
"Medical and graduate students find that anesthesiology is a vigorous academic specialty with active basic and clinical research opportunities," said Dr. Hemmings. "The expo gives current fellows and graduate students a forum to present their work, and there are always a few residents who find topics they are interested in and decide to pursue as independent research projects."
The expo included a keynote lecture titled "Postoperative Cognitive Function in the Elderly" by Dr. Jeffrey Silverstein, associate professor in anesthesiology and associate dean for research at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in which he discussed the cognitive function of elderly patients following surgery.
Posters will be on display in the M-3 corridor for several weeks following the expo for members of the Weill Cornell community interested in an overview of research in the Department of Anesthesiology.
Photography by Weill Cornell Art & Photography.