June 2013

Welcome to Class Day at Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons
Tuesday, May 21st, 2013

Dr. Wood was honored to present the Virginia Apgar Award for Excellence in Anesthesiology to Sucie Chang.  Sucie has carried out outstanding research in the laboratory of Dr. C. Emala, her mentor, and we are pleased that she has chosen to match for an Anesthesiology Residency.  Dr. Wood was especially delighted to have the opportunity to present the award to not only her, but also her beautiful baby! 

We wish both her and her family good fortune in the coming years.

May 2013

Coming Soon!  The Department of Anesthesiology Pain Medicine Clinic is moving to 1790 Broadway, Columbus Circle in the late fall of 2013.

The Department is working with Architects and Interior Designers to create a wonderful new state-of-the-art facility which will function as an ambulatory clinic with a procedure room and recovery area, incorporating the latest technology.

Congratulations to Hannah Wunsch who has been elected to Membership in the Association of University Anesthesiologists (AUA). 

The AUA’s Mission is the advancement of the Art and Science of anesthesiology by: (1) the encouragement of its members to pursue original investigations in the clinic and in the laboratory; (2) the development of methods of teaching (anesthesia); and (3)  the free and informal interchange of ideas.   Membership is honorific, by election.

April 2013

 "Staff Profile Corner"

Elsa Wuhrman, DNP, FNP, BC, DCC is our nurse practitioner for Acute Pain Services. She has been an asset to the department, since joining us in early 2005.  Her love and talent for the field of pain management is obvious as underscored by her many patient accolades.  Dr. Wuhrman derives great satisfaction, especially from successfully treating some of our more challenging patients with complex pain issues.  She is particularly enthusiastic about applying new theories and therapies described in the literature in attainment of that goal. She finds the physiology of pain and its evolving treatments fascinating, and has taken a great interest in the field of pharmacogenetics, especially as it relates to opioid and other analgesic medications and has lectured on this topic at various forums. 

Her collaborative approach to patient care helps to ensure that patients receive optimal pain management during their stay, as well as in the outpatient setting after discharge.  As an extension of that collaboration Dr. Wuhrman also serves as a resource to residents, fellows, nurses, physician assistants and other health care colleagues.  Whether during patient rounds or formal inservices she is always ready to share her expertise with others.  She is an assistant professor in the School of Nursing and regularly precepts NP and DNP students.

Dr. Wuhrman graduated from Hunter College with a BS in nursing, obtained her Master’s Degree from SUNY Stony Brook, and completed her doctoral studies at Columbia University in May 2012.  She became a nurse practitioner in 1987 and has been active in the promotion of the role in New York State and in educating future nurse practitioners.

In addition to providing direct patient care Dr. Wuhrman works closely with Dr. Anthony R. Brown, Director of Acute Pain Services, developing and maintaining departmental policies related to pain management.  She also collaborates with nursing and other disciplines to provide the same development and maintenance of nursing and hospital policies.  It is her fervent hope that this collaboration will bring about real change in the way other disciplines approach the patient with pain, thereby improving pain management even for those patients not directly managed by the Pain Service.

In furtherance of this goal and in representing the Department of Anesthesiology, she has been instrumental in putting forth a number of NYP/CUMC’s major initiatives including the development and implementation of the Pain Resource Nurse (PRN) education program; expansion of the ability to prescribe intravenous Patient Controlled Analgesia to non pain management/anesthesiology providers; and, in close collaboration with our Pediatric Pain Management division, the transfer of PCA, PCEA, and PCRA paper orders to an electronic ordering system and the development of the Ketamine for Analgesia policy.  She represents the department in several key committees including the Sedation and Analgesia Committee; HCAHPS pain management steering committee and the Sickle Cell Pathway Task Force.  Currently, Dr. Wuhrman is spearheading the effort to pilot and evaluate the potential of subcutaneous infusions and/or PCA for pain control in our patients with poor IV access, a project of the Sedation and Analgesia Committee, co-chaired by Dr. Brown.

She is active in the American Society for Pain Management Nursing and has served on key committees, chairing the Education Committee for several years.  Dr. Wuhrman has co-authored important articles related to managing pain and she has extensive experience speaking on related topics.  She is also a member of  the Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society.

When not working, she loves to spend time with her family, especially her 12 year old daughter, Rachel and husband John, as well as the cat, dog, bird, and fish.  They enjoy going to the beach in the summer and sledding in the snow in the winter.  Right now, the family is eagerly preparing for Rachel’s Bat Mitzvah this coming June.

March 2013

Columbia Receives Awards from the Association of University Anesthesiologists (AUA)  

Dr. Jennifer Danielsson has received the Resident Travel Award for her abstract entitled “Novel chloride channel blockers relax airway smooth muscle: potential new tools to treat bronchospasm” for presentation at the annual meeting of the Association of University Anesthesiologists in April in Miami, FL. These studies detail potential novel therapeutics that hyperpolarize the plasma membrane of human airway smooth muscle cells and facilitate airway relaxation.

Dr. George Gallos has received the Junior Faculty Award for his abstract entitled “A novel strategy to treat human pre-term labor - targeting the TMEM16/anoctamin chloride channel in human pregnant uterus” for presentation at the same meeting. These studies detail the pivotal role that these recently characterized calcium-activated chloride channels play in the control of spontaneous and oxytocin induced contractions in pregnant human uterus and suggest targeting these channels may have therapeutic potential in pre-term labor.

Charles DiMaggio was featured in NY1 report “Study Reveals Results Of Safety Measures Aimed At School-Aged Children”.

http://brooklyn.ny1.com/content/ny1_living/health/175824/study-reveals-results-of-safety-measures-aimed-at-school-aged-children

60th AUA Annual Meeting
April 4-6, 2013 at the JW Marriott Marquis
Miami, Fl

February 2013

Congratulations to Geb!

Dr. Gebhard Wagener’s textbook, Liver Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine is now released, and he has donated a copy to the Anesthesiology Library.  Authors include physicians from Columbia (Teresa Mulaikal, Jean Emond, Rob Sladen, Geraldine Diaz, Philipp Houck, Oliver Panzer, Jonathan Hastie, Vivek Moitra, Paul Weyker, Christopher Webb, Leena Mathew, Tricia Brentjens, James Guarrera, Lloyd Meeks, Joe Meltzer and Jennifer Sandadi), the United States and from overseas, so it is truly an international textbook.

Find out more about Dr. Wagener at:

Faculty Profile
Research Profile

Columbia Anesthesiology Professors Receive Awards for Outstanding Leadership

• Dr.  Robert Sladen received the 2013 Shubin-Weil Critical Care Master Clinician Award at the SCCM Annual Meeting in Puerto Rico.

• Dr. Robert Kazim will receive the 2012 Patient Centered Care Physician Champion Award  at the Patient Centered Care Awards ceremony on Tuesday, March 12th in the Riverview Terrace at 3:00 p.m.

Congratulations to both!!

January 2013

Dr. Danielle Ludwin elected to the Apgar Academy of Educators
The Virginia Apgar Academy of Medical Educators is an active community of educators at P&S dedicated to promoting, rewarding, and supporting outstanding education for medical students, residents, fellows, and faculty. Membership in the Academy represents not only recognition of excellence as an educator, but also a commitment to contributing to the educational life of the medical community.  

 
* Courtesy of the ASA, ASA Annual Meeting, 2011

Danielle joins departmental faculty (http://ps.columbia.edu/about-ps/apgar/members) Marc Dickstein, Vivek Moitra and Rob Sladen who have previously been elected to the Academy.

Congratulations!

You might find this of interest….The Most Important Article in NEJM History!

(FROM THE NOVEMBER 2012 ISSUE OF NEJM)…

Throughout the 200th anniversary year we have asked for your votes, and you have responded with a resounding favorite. Since the 1846 report from Boston surgeon Henry Jacob Bigelow, "Insensibility during Surgical Operations Produced by Inhalation," so many of the significant advances we've seen rely on the use of anesthesia. It is difficult to imagine medicine today without it. If you haven't read the original report yet, it's worth taking a few minutes to travel back to the mid-nineteenth century, when Bigelow wrote, "It has long been an important problem in medical science to devise some method of mitigating the pain of surgical operations." The beginning of ether anesthesia won the final round of voting against many other significant developments published in NEJM over the last two centuries: the first description of platelets, the beginning of bone marrow transplantation, studies on an attenuated measles vaccine, the first oral ACE inhibitor, the knowledge that aspirin prevents heart attacks, the first treatment of stroke, or understanding how to prevent type II diabetes. Explore the historical timeline for more milestones.

Article PDF

December 2012

The Department of Anesthesiology wishes everyone Happy Holidays, and a Healthy and
Prosperous 2013!

November 2012

Columbia Anesthesiology: 60 Years of Progress

Our Thirty-sixth Annual E.M. Papper Endowed Lecture will held on Thursday, November 15th, 2012.  This year’s speaker will be Dan M. Roden, M.D.C.M., Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology, Director, Oates Institute for Experimental Therapeutics, Assistant Vice-Chancellor for Personalized Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN.  His lecture is entitled:  “Harnessing a Healthcare System to Advance Personalized Medicine”

October 2012

 Columbia at the ASA Meeting – October 13th to 17th, 2012

 The Department of Anesthesiology was well represented at the ASA meeting.

* Courtesy of the ASA, ASA Annual Meeting, 2011

American Society of Anesthesiologists
65th Annual Meeting
October 13th – 17th 2012

Walter E. Washington Convention Center
Washington, D.C.

Columbia University Department of Anesthesiology
ASA Events

We Congratulate:
C. David Mintz, MD, PhD for his abstract being chosen for the 2012 Resident Research Award and being nominated for the ASA Best of Basic Sciences Abstracts.

Pre-ASA Events

FRIDAY, October 12th, 2012
7:30 AM – 4:00 PM Renaissance Washington DC Downtown Hotel Room TBD Special Events and Meetings Multicenter Perioperative Outcomes Group Annual Retreat Mitchell Berman, MD, MPH.

7:30 AM – 5:00 PM Renaissance Washington DC Downtown Hotel - Mount Vernon Square Room Special Events and Meetings ILTS at the ASA: Perioperative Care in Liver Transplantation 2012 Gebhard Wagener, MD, Phillip Houck, MD:

11:00 – 12:15 PM Renaissance Washington DC Downtown Hotel Workshops Pediatric Liver Transplantation Phillip Houck, MD.

12:45 – 2:00 PM Renaissance Washington DC Downtown Hotel Panels Lunch Panel Discussion: Ask The Expert ICU Gebhard Wagener, MD.

2:25 – 2:40 PM Renaissance Washington DC Downtown Hotel Panels ICU Topics in Critical Care Sepsis and Liver Failure Gebhard Wagener, MD.

ASA Events

SATURDAY, October 13th, 2012
7:30 – 9:00 AM Level 2 - Room 204 A-C Panels I Can’t Believe We’re Doing this Case! Ethical Dilemmas in Critical Care Anesthesia Hannah Wunsch, MD, MSc.

7:30 – 8:45 AM Level 3 - South Prefunction Area PBLD Teaching in the OR – Are We Doing the Right Thing? Saundra Curry, MD.

10:00 – 11:30 AM Level 1 - Room 101 Oral Presentations The Effects of General Anesthesia on Renal Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair Minjae Kim, MD, Guohua Li, MD, PhD.

11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Lower Level - Hall C Medically Challenging Cases Methemoglobinemia After an Awake Fiberoptic Intubation Jennifer Danielsson, MD, Eric Heyer, MD.

1:00 – 2:30 PM Level 1 – Room 103A Sci. Papers – Poster Discussions Response to Ischemia is Chamber-Dependent in Cardiomyocytes from Neonatal Rats with Intrauterine Nutritional Restriction Lena Sun, MD, Michale Keenaghan, MD, Vadim Ten, MD, Aili Wang, MD

1:00 – 4:00 PM Lower Level - Hall C-Area K Sci. Papers – Posters Prolonged Dexmedetomidine Administration Increases Tau Phosphorylation In Vivo and In Vitro Robert Whittington, MD, Laszlo Virag, MS, Alexis Bretteville PhD, Emmanuel Planel PhD.

SUNDAY, October 14th, 2012
8:00 – 9:30 AM Level 1 – Room 103A Sci. Papers – Poster Discussions Pilot Study of Pediatric Anesthesia and NeuroDevelopment Assessment (PANDA) Project Lena Sun, MD, Guohua Li, MD, PhD, Mary Byrne, PhD, Caleb Ing, MD, Charles DiMaggio, PhD, Tonya Miller, MD, David Bellinger, MD, Sena Han, BA, Arthur Roh, BA, Francis McGowan, MD.

8:00 – 9:30 AM Level 1 – Room 101 Sci. Papers – Poster Discussions Targeting Uterine Smooth Muscle TMEM16 Calcium Activated Chlorine Channels to Suppress Oxytocin Induced Contractions and Calcium Handling George Gallos, MD, Hiromi Funayama, DDS, Wen Fu, PhD, Matthew Siviski, BS, Richard Smiley, MD, PhD, Charles Emala, MD.

8:00 – 11:00 AM Lower Level - Hall C - Area E Sci. Papers – Posters Characteristics of State Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs and Drug Overdose Mortality Guohua Li, MD, PhD, Joanne Brady, MS, Barbara Lang, BS, James Giglio, MD, Charles DiMaggio, PhD.

8:00 – 9:30 AM Lower Level - Hall C Medically Challenging Cases The Hyperthyriod Patient for ECT Zirka Anastasian, MD, Eric Heyer, MD, Joshua Berman, MD, PhD.

8:00 – 9:30 AM Lower Level - Hall C Medically Challenging Cases Subcostal TAP Block Supplemented by Intercostal Block for Post-Operative Pain Control in an Opioid Tolerant Patient Undergoing Major Upper Abdominal Surgery Anis Dizdarevic, MD.

9:00 – 10:30 AM Level 2 - 202 A Panels ACLS in the Perioperative Setting – Crew Resource Training Vivek Moitra, MD.

11:00 – 12:30 PM Lower Level - Hall C Medically Challenging Cases Anesthetic Considerations and Perioperative Management for Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemoperfusion: A Case Report Christopher Webb, MD, Paul Weyker, MD, Vivek Moitra, MD, Richard Raker, MD.

1:00 – 1:50 PM Level 1 – Room 146 C Refresher Courses Protecting the Kidney from Perioperative Injury Robert Sladen, MB, ChB, FCCM – Moderator.

1:00 – 4:00 PM Level 1 – Room 102 A-B Workshops Advanced Transesphageal Echocardiography Workshop: Intraoperative Monitoring of Left Ventricular Dysfunction Jack Shanewise, MD.

1:00 – 5:00 PM Level 1 – Room 154 A-B Workshops Regional Anesthesia: Lower Extremity Blocks Danielle Ludwin, MD.

3:30 – 4:45 PM Level 3 - South Prefunction Area PBLD Teaching in the OR – Are We Doing the Right Thing? Saundra Curry, MD.

MONDAY, October 15th, 2012
8:00 – 10:00 AM Level 1 – Room 144C Special Events and Meetings Best of Abstracts in Basic Sciences:Anesthetics Interfere with Axon Guidance and Growth Cone Function in Developing Neocortical Neurons via a GABAA Receptor Mechanism C. David Mintz, MD, PhD, Kendall Barrett, Sarah Smith, MD, Deanna Benson, PhD, Neil Harrison, PhD.

8:00 – 11:00 AM Renaissance Hotel-Grand Ballroom North Special Events and Meetings FAER Academy of Research Mentors in Anesthesiology Workshop: Early Grants: What Do You Need to Do – Panel of Recipients of New Investigator Awards Hannah Wunsch, MD, MSc.

11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Level 2 – Room 206 Panels Anesthetic Related Neurotoxicity in Young Children: An Update – Prospective Studies: The Holy Grail Lena Sun, MD

12:30 – 2:00 PM Level 3 – Grand Ballroom AB Special Events and Meetings Celebration of Research - 1st Place Prize Resident Research Award of the ASA Anesthetics Interfere with Axon Guidance and Growth Cone Function in Developing Neocortical Neurons via a GABAA Receptor Mechanism David Mintz, MD, PhD.

1:00 – 2:30 PM Level 1 – Room 140 A-B Clinical Forum Perioperative Considerations When a Patient With a Left Ventricular Assist Presents for Non-Cardiac Surgery Robert Sladen, MB, ChB, FCCM.

1:00 – 4:00 PM Lower Level - Hall C-Area I Sci. Papers – Posters Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology: Miscellaneous Labor Analgesia and Cesarean Delivery Anesthesia Richard Smiley, MD, PhD – Lead Speaker.

1:00 – 4:00 PM Lower Level - Hall C-Area K Sci. Papers – Posters Cell to Cell Communication via Gap Junctions is Critical in Force Generation and Maintenance in Airway Smooth Muscle Peter Yim, MD, George Gallos, MD, Yi Zhang MD, Charles Emala, MD.

1:00 – 4:00 PM Lower Level - Hall C-Area K Sci. Papers – Posters The Dopamine D1 Receptor is Expressed and Stimulates Cyclic AMP Production in Airway Epithelium Ayumi Goto, DDS, Kentaro Mizuta, PhD, Jennifer Danielsson, MD, Fumiko Mizuta DDS, Eiji Masaki, MD, PhD, Charles Emala, MD.

1:00 – 4:00 PM Level 1 – Room 143A-C Workshops Peripheral Nerve Blocks: Ultrasound, Simulation and Stimulation Danielle Ludwin, MD.

1:30 – 3:00 PM Level 2 – Room 201 Panel Basic TEE Certification: Does it Make Sense or Cents? – The ABA Should Require Basic TEE Certification as a Component of Anesthesiology Training Jack Shanewise, MD.

2:00 – 3:00 PM Renaissance Hotel-Grand Ballroom North Special Events & Meetings FAER Honorary Lecture: What’s So Bad About Being Sweet? Margaret Wood, MD, FRCA – Moderator.

2:30 – 4:00 PM Hall C Medically Challenging Cases Medically Challenging Cases Anesthetic Management of Two Children Undergoing Cardiac Surgery with Suspected Mitochondrial Disease Shivani Mukkamala, MD, Teeda Pinyavat, MD, Caleb Ing, MD.

3:00 – 5:00 PM Level 2 – Room 207 B Panels Emerging Ethical Conflicts: The Limits of Care Robert Sladen, MD, MB, ChB, FCCM.

3:30 – 4:45 PM Level 3 - South Prefunction Area PBLD A Jehovah’s Witness with a Complete Placenta Previa and HELLP Syndrome for Cesarean Section Stephanie Goodman, MD.

TUESDAY, October 16th, 2012
7:30 – 9:30 AM Level 2 – Room 202 B Panels Minimizing Maternal Hypotension During Neuraxial Anesthesia for Cesarean Delivery: Applying the Best Evidence to Your Patients – Vasopressors Richard Smiley, MD, PhD.

8:00 – 11:00 AM Level 1 – Room 143A-C Workshops Peripheral Nerve Blocks: Ultrasound, Simulation and Stimulation Danielle Ludwin, MD.

11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Lower Level - Hall C Medically Challenging Cases Lung Ischemia Reperfusion Injury David Kiamanesh, MD, Christopher Webb, MD, Paul Weyker, MD, Brigid Flynn, MD.

11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Lower Level - Hall C Medically Challenging Cases Anesthetic Evaluation and Perioperative Management in a Patient with New Onset Mediastinal Mass Syndrome Presenting for Emergency Surgery David Shi, MD.

11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Lower Level - Hall C Medically Challenging Cases Paradoxical Hemodynamic Collapse After Subxiphoid Pericardial Window Benita Liao, MD, Sansan Lo, MD.

12:30 – 1:45 PM Level 3 - South Prefunction Area PBLD A Jehovah’s Witness with a Complete Placenta Previa and HELLP Syndrome for Cesarean Section Stephanie Goodman, MD.

1:00 – 3:00 PM Level 2 – Room 204A-C Panel Advocacy: A Paving Stone Along the Road to Professionalism Saundra Curry, MD.

1:00 – 2:30 PM Level 1 – Room 103B Sci. Papers – Poster Discussions Statin Therapy is Associated with Improved Cognitive Performance in Patients Having Carotid Endarterectomy Eric Heyer, MD, PhD, Joanne Mergeche, BA, Zirka Anastasian, MD, Robert Solomon, MD, George Todd, MD, James McKinsey, MD, Sander Connolly, Jr, MD.

1:00 – 4:00 PM Lower Level - Hall C-Area I Sci. Papers – Posters Accuracy of Malignant Hyperthermia Diagnosis in Hospital Discharge Records Barbara Lang, BS, Henry Rosenberg, MD, Teeda Pinyavat, MD, Lena Sun, MD, Cynthia Wong, MD, Joanne Brady, MS, Guohua Li, MD, PhD.

1:00 – 4:00 PM Level 1 – Room 143A-C Workshops Peripheral Nerve Blocks: Ultrasound, Simulation and Stimulation Danielle Ludwin, MD.

2:30 – 5:30 PM Level 1 - West Salon H FAER Medical Student Anesthesia Research Fellowship Symposium Isoflurane Induces Interleukin-11 in Human Endothelial Cells Andrew Smith (mentor: H. T. Lee, MD, PhD) Poster presentation.

2:30 – 5:30 PM Level 1 - West Salon H FAER Medical Student Anesthesia Research Fellowship Symposium Midazolam Induces Tau Hyperphosphorylation Under Normothermic Conditions In Vivo and In Vitro Rosie Li (mentor: Robert Whittington, MD) Oral Presentation and Poster Presentation.

3:30 – 5:00 PM Level 2 – Room 206 Panels Anesthesia Faculty Leadership Development: Balancing Clinical Care, Education, and Scholarship Margaret Wood, MD, FRCA – Speaker.

WEDNESDAY, October 17th, 2012
10:00 – 11:30 AM Level 1 – Room 101 Sci. Papers – Poster Discussions Urinary NGAL as Marker of Hepato-Renal Syndrome Gebhard Wagener, MD, Moury Minhaz, BS, Andrew Young, MD.

September 2012

ASA 2012

Many of our faculty and residents will be presenting at this year's ASA Annual Meeting in Washington. Last year, Dr. Danielle Ludwin taught at the Ultrasound Regional Anesthesia Simulation Workshop, and was featured in this year's annual meeting book (see photograph). This year she will be again teaching at the ultrasound simulation and stimulation peripheral nerve block workshops, as well as giving a lecture and teaching at the resident regional anesthesia workshop. We are fortunate to have such simulation teaching skills in the Department.

* Courtesy of the ASA, ASA Annual Meeting, 2011

Columbia Department of Anesthesiology faculty will teach at a Pain Management Symposium in the Heart Center in September.

“We are proud to announce the upcoming Pain Management for Non-Pain Management Clinicians - Current Practices/Recent Advances Symposium on September 27th 2012, 5:00pm to 9:00 pm in the NYP/CU – Heart Center, Myrna Daniels Auditorium.“

REGISTER NOW - Click the link below
http://www.cvent.com/d/4cq25d/1Q

Dr. Guohua Li wins top grant award from the CDC

Dr. Guohua Li, M. Finster Professor and Director of the Center for Health Policy and Outcomes in Anesthesiology and Critical Care, has been awarded a grant in the amount of $836,520 per year for five years  to establish the Center for Injury Epidemiology and Prevention at Columbia University. The award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will amount to nearly $4.2 million over the five-year period. Dr. Li will serve as the Center Director and Dr. Charles DiMaggio, Associate Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology (in Anesthesiology and Epidemiology), will serve as the center’s Research Director.

The Center brings together an outstanding team of faculty to address injury prevention and control in multiple functional areas. A training core led by Dr. Leslie Davidson, from the Departments of Epidemiology and Pediatrics, will develop interdisciplinary training and education programs in injury epidemiology and prevention. An outreach core led by Dr. Barbara Barlow, from the Departments of Epidemiology and Surgery, will promote evidence-based interventions and best practices, and engage academic institutions, hospitals, and other community organizations. The center’s research program will evaluate multiple areas of injury prevention and epidemiology, including fall prevention in the elderly, pedestrian safety, and drugged driving. Dr. DiMaggio will also oversee an award program for pilot and short-term research projects addressing injury morbidity and mortality.

We send our congratulations to Drs. Guohua Li and Charlie DiMaggio, and their team.

New from the Obstetric Anesthesia Division

For several years, the obstetric anesthesia community has been working towards formal recognition of the subspecialty in the form of ACGME accreditation of Fellowships.  This April, the first 12 programs were accredited, and Columbia is among the inaugural programs.   Accreditation of Obstetric Anesthesia Fellowships will increase the image and visibility of the subspecialty, and standardize and improve the level of training and education of Fellows, and through that, residents and practitioners.  As one of the accredited programs, we expect, and are already seeing, an increase in the number and perhaps quality of our applicants.  We have been approved for two Fellows, and our new current Fellows are Antonio Gonzalez, who finished his residency in June at New Jersey Med-Newark, and Kamilla Greenidge, who completed her residency at Tufts. Dr. Smiley is currently the Program Director for the Fellowship, with Dr. Stephanie Goodman appointed Associate Program Director.  

In other Divisional news, a new faculty member will be arriving October 1st.  Allison Lee, MD, is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Miami, where she has been on faculty there since completing an obstetric anesthesia fellowship in 203-2004.  She was born and eductaed in the Jamaica, before moving to Miami for her residency and fellowship.  She recently published a paper on the use of ultrasound in obstetric anesthesia (Anesthesia and Analgesia 2011; 133:559-64) so will brings some expertise in that area to our Division.  She is the Founder and President of “Medics on A Mission,” which has been organizing medical missions to Jamaica (http://www.medicsonamission.org/).  In addition, she is a singer-songwriter; check out her album “Been There Before,” available on iTunes.

August 2012

WiFi Docs

Everyone knows that Dr. Wood loves her iPad! She even has two! And uses it to keep in touch with her faculty and staff all the time. This year, all the PGY1 residents received iPads to enable them to communicate efficiently, improve patient care and also use them as a learning tool. This year the residents will not receive many of their textbooks in hard copy form, but electronically, e.g. Harrison’s Textbook of Medicine, and the 2 volume Miller Anesthesia textbook. Mobile technology is changing physicians’ jobs and also changing how we learn.

Having information readily available allows us all to be more efficient, and if this project is successful, we plan to expand the use of mobile technology (such as iPads) in the Department. It will be a terrific teaching tool and we are all excited about this new venture.

“I am sure that there are many Apps that the residents will use, and choose to download, e.g. anatomy, that can be quickly accessed before doing a regional block” said Dr. Wood. “They will probably be more ahead than some of the faculty! Certainly me!”

Apple will give seminars for the residents and the faculty in how to best use the iPads; initially there will be a separate session for residents and faculty, because some will be “learning” oriented, others “teaching oriented” and are therefore different. We hope that the use of the iPads will improve educational communication between faculty and residents and also between residents themselves.

If you have any ideas for future use, please let us know!

Dr. Morishima, Emeritus Professor honored in Japan On April 29, 2012

Dr. Hisayo O. Morishima, Professor Emeritus of Anesthesiology and Obstetrics & Gynecology, Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons, was awarded the Order of Scared Treasure, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon (third class) by the Government of Japan at the Spring Imperial Decorations ceremony presented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. After the ceremony she was received at Syunjyu Reception Hall in the Imperial Palace which is generally off-limits to the public (except on New Year's Day and the Emperor's birthday, where the royal family addresses the public in the outdoor square) and personally congratulated by the Emperor of Japan. Dr. Morishima was given this award for her contribution to the academic exchanges between Japan and the United States.

When Dr. Morishima first came to Columbia, Virginia Apgar encouraged her to work as a bridge between the US and Japan to improve obstetric anesthesia because the field was not yet highly advanced in Japan. Over the years, she mentored many young physicians and PhD candidates from Japan, the United States and many other countries in research that led to new methods that contributed to safer anesthesia for pregnant women, fetuses, and newborn infants. She has lectured at many medical societies and universities in the Japan and elsewhere on obstetric anesthesia and perinatology and more recently on the topic of gender equality and the empowerment of women in the medical field in Japan. This award acknowledges a successful fulfillment of her goal and recognition of her efforts in this area.

The Order of the Sacred Treasure is a Japanese Order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan as the Order of Meiji. It is awarded in six classes (originally eight) to those who have made distinguished achievements in research fields, business industries, healthcare, social work, state/local government fields or the improvement of life for handicapped/impaired persons. Originally a male-only decoration, the order has been made available to women since 1919. The insignia of the order incorporates symbols for the three imperial treasures: the Yata Mirror, so sacred that not even the Emperor is allowed to look at it; the Yasakani Jewel, which is made of the finest jade; and the Emperor's personal Sword. The badge for the third class is a Maltese cross, in gilt. The central disc is blue, bearing an eight-pointed silver star (representing the mirror), surrounded by a wreath with red-enameled dots (representing the jewel). The badge is suspended on a ribbon in light blue with a yellow stripe near the border.

We hope everyone is enjoying summer!

July 2012

A July Message from the Chair

Dear Colleagues, 

Welcome to the July 2012 Issue of Columbia Anesthesiology in the News!  

On July 1st, the Department welcomes a new class of residents:

–        Rocco Addante - Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

–        Hina  Aslam  -  UMDNJ - New Jersey Medical School     

–        Craig Belon - New York Medical College

–        Timothy Cheng  - Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons 

–        Susan Cosgrove -  New York Medical College

–        Jacob Ever -  New York University School of Medicine

–        Katherine Gelber - University of Hawaii John A Burns School of Medicine

–        Adam Gerber - State University of New York Upstate Medical University

–        Anthony Habib – UMDNJ - New Jersey Medical School

–        Michael  Hershey - Weill Cornell Medical College

–        William Jackson - Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

–        Victor Lan  - Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University

–        Lisa Lareau  - Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

–        Giang  Le - University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

–        Susie Lee - State University of New York Downstate Med Center College of Med

–        Julia Menshenin  - University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine

–        Clyde Niles  -  Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

–        Obinna Orji – Univ of Chicago Division of the Biological Sci The Pritzker Sch of Med

–        Nisheeth  Pandey - Mount Sinai School of Medicine

–        Sascha Qian - Yale University School of Medicine

–        Nicole Robinson - Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons 

–        Nicole Spence  - UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School-Piscataway 

–        Rachel Stahl - State University of New York Upstate Medical University 

–        Bryan Tischenkel - Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University 

–        Lumei  Tuomala - University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

–        Risa Wolk - Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center

There will be many classes, activities and events, for the new PGY and also CA1 residents in July.  We are delighted to welcome everyone to Columbia. 

As new residents arrive, CA3 residents graduate, and congratulations to:

–        Brenda Banks

–        Raul Calderon

–        Michelle Carley

–        Edward Chen      

–        Jennifer Danielsson 

–        Bobby Das

–        Lee Haselkorn

–        Daewha (Ben) Hong

–        Trey Johnson

–        Anurag Johri

–        Nina Kalawadia

–        Justin Kim

–        Insun Lee

–        Michelle Liao

–        Sophia Liu

–        Thomas Lo

–        Marc Meyer

–        Zachary Miller

–        Kristoffer Padjen

–        Edward Requenez

–        Maricela Sanchez

–        David Shi

–        Maninder Singh      

–        Sheronda Smith

–        Sherin Varghese

–        Lana Volz

–        Meredith Wagner

–        Hannah Yu

We held a graduation party at The Carlyle on Friday, June 15th:

Congratulations to Dr. Marc Dickstein! 

Dr. Dickstein was awarded the Distinguished Teaching Award by the Class of 2012.  The graduating class chooses one faculty member from their 4 years at P&S.  The award was given at graduation on May 16 (it comes with the honor of giving the opening remarks at class day, but the award is presented during the graduation ceremony).  It is of note that Dr. Dickstein was awarded the same award 2 years ago by the Class of 2010.

Our trainees continue to excel, and an Academic Evening was held on May 30th in the Heart Center. 

The award winners were:

 Laboratory Research:

 Dr. Mintz won first place for his abstract: Anesthetic agents disrupt the growth cone response to guidance cues via a GABAA receptor mechanism. 

Mentor: Neil Harrison, PhD.

Dr. Ham won second place for her abstract: Isoflurane post-conditioning induces 5’-ectonucleotidase (CD73) to protect against renal ischemia and reperfusion.

Mentor: H.T. Lee, MD, PhD.

Clinical Research:

Dr. Malone won first place for his abstract: Polymorphisms of inflammatory mediators increase the risk of post-operative neurocognitive dysfunction following carotid endarterectomy.

Mentor: Eric Heyer, MD, PhD.

Second Place: Terry-Ann Chambers, MD

Dr. Chambers won second place for her abstract: Aminocaproic acid versus Aprotinin: Current blood transfusion trends in pediatric cardiac surgery.

Mentor: Lena Sun, MD.

Case Presentation:

Merit Award: Timothy Dickson, MD

Dr. Dickson won first place for his entry:  Known Hemidiaphragmatic Paresis and Contralateral Interscalene Block – Absolute Contraindication?  

Mentor: Danielle Ludwin, MD.

Academic Evening 2012

Submitted Grants – January 2012 to June 20th, 2012

Grants in bold are funded and of course many are still pending. Our grant submissions continue to grow.

Dr. Guohua Li was recently profiled in the Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University “How teen driving became safer”.  In our house, I would not let my two teenage sons drive our car with friends in the car, much to their annoyance.  Dr. Guohua Li proved that “mother indeed knows best”!  Dr. Guohua Li, a renowned injury researcher is pioneering research in injury epidemiology and risk related to Anesthesiology and Critical Care. He continues to mentor many of our trainees.  

“How teen driving became safer”

Warm regards, and I hope everyone has a terrific summer.