After wartime military service, Manny returned to Bellevue to become Rovenstine's first assistant and remained there until September 1949, at which time he accepted the position of Director of Anesthesiology Service within the Department of Surgery at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University.

On January 1, 1952 he was appointed Chairman of the independent Columbia University Department of Anesthesiology. At that time there were only 3 other departments of anesthesiology in the world (University of Wisconsin, New York University and Oxford, England). Under Manny's leadership the clinical competence was strengthened by creation of subspecialty groups devoted specifically to pediatrics, obstetrics and neurosurgery. The educational program for residents was expanded and a required clinical clerkship in anesthesiology for all Columbia medical students was introduced, which remains in place to this day. Collaboration with basic science and clinical departments contributed to the development of strong faculty and future leaders in academic anesthesiology. Research began to flourish and some of the pioneering studies on the pharmacokinetics of anesthetic drugs, control of respiration, obstetric anesthesia and physiology of the newborn were conducted with the generous support of NIH, obtained mainly through Manny's efforts.

Manny left the department in 1969 to become Dean of the University of Miami School of Medicine.

He attended the department's 50th anniversary celebration on October 25th, 2002, and received an outpouring of love and affection. Dr. Papper died on December 3rd, 2002. He is greatly missed.

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