News & Events
May 31st, 2023
Lisa Wahlers, DNP, CRNA of the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine was given the prestigious Robert Joynt Kindness Award for Clinical Care Providers at the 2023 URMC Board Excellence Award Ceremony held at Monroe Golf Club.
Congratulations, Lisa!
Heather Lander, MD and Marjorie Gloff, MD of the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine, and members of the Age-Friendly Health System Workgroup, were given the Service Team Excellence Award at the URMC Board of Excellence Ceremony at Monroe Golf Club.
Congratulations, Drs. Gloff & Lander!
May 22nd, 2023
Dr. Heather Lander of the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine was selected as this year’s recipient of the inaugural Division of Geriatrics & Aging Subspecialty Excellence Award!
This is a tribute to Dr. Landers dedication and leadership in support of the Age-Friendly Health System and her work to create a Geriatrics Peri-Operative Surgical Home.
Congratulations, Dr. Lander!
April 28th, 2023
Dr. Peter Papadakos, of the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine, was published in Currents for Neurocritical Care Outreach: Developing Programs to Help Underserved Communities.
Congratulations, PJ!
April 20th, 2023
Dr. PJ Papadakos attended as a Visiting Professor at the Mayo Clinic on April 19, 2023. He gave a system-wide grand rounds for the Internal Medicine Department on Electronic Distraction, its Role in Professionalism and Patient Safety.
April 17th, 2023
Andrew Wojtovich, PhD and Shahaf Peleg (Collaborator in Germany) won 3rd place for the Hypothesis Prize as part of The Longevity Prize initiative.
Dr. Wojtovich presented a new technique known as external energy replacement to reduce the effects of aging in the eye and skin. This approach involves using a specially designed, light-sensitive proton pump called mtON to produce ATP in place of the traditional oxidative phosphorylation process.
Dr. Peter Papadakos, Director of Critical Care Medicine & Professor of Anesthesiology and Surgery. Lead a discussion for Anesthesiology News on “The Connection Between Sleep Apnea and Stroke.”
April 10th, 2023
Dr. Audra Webber of the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine has been invited to serve as Chair of the ASA Committee on Ambulatory Surgical Care for the 2024 governance year.
The ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) is an organization dedicated to raising and maintaining the standard of the medical practice of anesthesiology and improving patient care.
Congratulations, Dr. Webber!
March 28th, 2023
Dr. Heather Lander of the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine was chosen to be a panelist at the 108th annual American Medical Women’s Association(AMWA) meeting in Philadelphia.
The session, conducted on March 25th 2023, was titled “Wellness and Equity are Key Pillars for Successful Leadership.”
Congratulations, Dr. Lander!
February 22nd, 2023
Dr. Peter Papadakos, Director of Critical Care Medicine & Professor, Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center was a featured guest during the February 20th episode of the Becker's Hospital Review Podcast.
Dr. Peter Papadakos, & Dr. Robert Glatter, Editor at Large for Medscape Emergency Medicine, and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. Here, they discuss “the coming collapse of the US health system” and what needs to be done to fix it.
You can listen to the entire podcast here: February 20th, Becker's Hospital Review
February 20th, 2023
In this issue, Wojtovich and colleagues use an optogenetics approach to oppose the age-associated decline in the membrane potential of mitochondria with a light-activated proton pump, and show that it increases both the healthspan and lifespan of worms. The issue cover evokes the experimental paradigm used in the study with light being shone onto a mitochondrion, placing the organelle in the spotlight.
View the complete article: Optogenetic rejuvenation of mitochondrial membrane potential extends C. elegans lifespan
February 13th, 2023
Dr. Jennifer Gewandter of the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine will present with her colleagues Drs. Lynn Gauthier (Laval University) and Dale Langford (Hospital for Special Surgery) in a session entitled “Innovations in complex cancer pain research: learning from real-world clinical experiences to improve research methodology and clinical practice.” Dr. Gewandter’s talk is entitled “Considerations for improving assay sensitivity and clinical relevance of CIPN prevention trials - ACTTION recommendations”
Their session proposal was ranked 3rd out of all submissions.
February 9th, 2023
“Dr. Heather Lander of the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine has been awarded a URMFG Innovation Grant for her project entitled ‘The PROMIS of an Equitable, Innovative, Geriatric Perioperative Surgical Home.’
Dr. Lander and her team's project was selected out of an impressive array of innovative initiatives that will drive healthcare delivery at our institution. This interdisciplinary project will focus on implementing a geriatric perioperative surgical home that will incorporate provider and patient completed geriatric assessments in the Center for Perioperative Medicine to deliver targeted education, optimization, and risk discussions in older surgical patients. This initiative aligns with both the John A. Hartford Foundation and Institute for Healthcare Improvement's 4Ms of Age-Friendly Health, as well as the Geriatric Surgical Verification Program. Funding for this project will begin March 1st and we are looking forward to seeing this incredible team's progress.
February 7th, 2023
On Jan. 1, 2023, Desiree M. Branson, DNP, RN, FNP-C, EBP-C, began her term as president of the Nurse Practitioner Association New York State (The NPA). Branson has been practicing as a family nurse practitioner for 16 years and currently maintains practice at URMC, Department of Anesthesia, at the Center for Perioperative Medicine. Her career also includes 14 years of practice in Vascular Surgery at URMC, and she recently was on the COVID Task Force. She cares for patients within the complex care network, primary care, employee/student health services and in partnership with the United Way servicing areas of need within the Rochester community.
Branson received her Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate degrees from SON.
Branson is active in supporting and advancing the nurse practitioner profession. She has been a member of the NPA for over 15 years and has served in various board positions including president and regional director of the organization’s Region 2; servicing the areas of Greater Rochester, Finger Lakes, Susquehanna, and Tompkins Cortland.
Branson says, “Nurse practitioners provide high quality, evidence-based, and culturally competent care to patients. In addition, we improve clinical outcomes, provide cost-effective care and are trusted members of the healthcare team. Nurse practitioners in NYS are strong patient advocates - contributing to health care reform, reducing healthcare disparities and removing barriers to care.”
Branson says, “I am excited and proud to be serving in this role – continuing to support and advocate for all nurse practitioners in NYS.”
The Nurse Practitioner Association New York State
Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are registered nurses who have completed advanced education, at a Master’s or Doctorate level, plus additional preparation. These professionals are authorized to independently diagnose illness and physical conditions, perform therapeutic and corrective measures, order tests, prescribe medications, devices and immunizing agents, and refer patients to other health care providers. The Nurse Practitioner Association New York State (The NPA), the only statewide professional association of nurse practitioners, promotes high standards of healthcare delivery through the empowerment of nurse practitioners and the profession throughout New York State. For more information, visit: www.TheNPA.org.
January 30th, 2023
From the President & Vice President of Society for Perioperative Assessment and Quality Improvement (SPAQI), Dr. Jeanna Blitz & Dr. Avital O’Glasser:
"On behalf of the SPAQI’s Executive Committee and Awards Committee, it is our great pleasure and joy to announce that you have been selected as our inaugural and 2023 recipient of SPAQI’s Perioperative Physician of the Year award.
Congratulations on this very well-earned distinction—and thank you to you for all your contributions to the field of perioperative medicine, our colleagues and patients across the interdisciplinary space, and SPAQI itself. Your award will officially be bestowed and celebrated at the March 2023 Perioperative Medicine Summit in Orlando, FL."
Congratulations Dr. Gloff!
Suzanne Karan, M.D., FASA and Richard Wissler, M.D., Ph.D. of the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine have been appointed Associate Scholars to the UR Medicine Quality Institute.
Congratulations Dr. Karan and Dr. Wissler!
January 27th, 2023
Over 2500 athletes and coaches from 50 countries competed in 12 winter sports in 86 metal events at the 31st FISU World University Games. Doctors and medical professionals from throughout the county and world provided care and safety to participants throughout the games and during training. Dr Papadakos from the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine and Dr Peter Obourn from Sports Medicine URMC along with another physician from the Hospital of Special Surgery in NYC Samantha Steuk and two outstanding therapists one from Canada and one from Lake placid provided care at the ski jumping and combined Nordic events.
This is the third time the games have been in the USA and the second time for Lake Placid which last hosted this winter event in 1972.
Dr. Jennifer S. Gewandter of the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine has accepted the position of Associate Editor for the Clinical Journal of Pain.
Congratulations, Dr. Gewandter.
December 26th, 2022
Heather Lander, M.D. and Marjorie Gloff, M.D. of the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine have been published in the ASA Monitor.
Their article titled "Achieving Age-Friendly Health Care in an Outpatient Perioperative Clinic" is featured in the upcoming volume to be published in January of 2023.
Congratulations Dr. Lander and Dr. Gloff!
The Society for Redox Biology and Medicine's 29th Annual Conference (SfRBM 2022) was hosted at Orlando, Florida. The Wojtovich Lab represented URMC Anesthesiology with four oral presentations and five posters. In particular, graduate student, Nada Selim Ahmed’s abstract titled “Spatiotemporal mapping of ROS dynamics across mitochondrial nanodomains in situ” was selected for an oral presentation during the conference’s mitochondrial session.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. Chidozie Okoye’s work titled “Mechanisms of Mitochondrial Complex I-ROS Mediated Behavioral Response” was also selected for an oral presentation. Dr. Okoye was presented with a travel award for his work.
Congrats to both Nada and Chidozie!
December 19th, 2022
Drs. Laurent Glance, Michael Eaton, Isaac Wu & Julie Wyrobek of the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine along with colleagues from other universities have been published in JAMA Network Open & featured on the University Newsroom page. Check out the links below:
Jama Network article:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2799801
University of Rochester Newsroom link:
Black Patients Less Likely to Get Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery, More Likely to Die | URMC Newsroom (rochester.edu)
Congratulations!
Peter J. Papadakos, M.D. of the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine was invited as Grand Rounds speaker for the Anesthesiology Residents Program at the Northwell Hospitals of the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra, Long Island.
Congratulations, Dr. Papadakos!
December 12th, 2022
Two of our great CRNAs from the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine, Lisa Wahlers and Alison Henry, published chapters in the new pediatric anesthesia textbook "Pediatric Anesthesia: A Comprehensive Approach to Safe and Effective Care" by Springer Publishing. The chapters narrated anesthesia considerations for Septorhinoplasty and Burns in pediatric patients. Alison Henry also wrote a chapter on Hepatic Anatomy and Physiology.
Congratulations, Lisa & Alison!
December 5th, 2022
Her talk is entitled “Small Fiber Neuropathy: A Good Model for Neuropathic Pain?” Dr. Gewandter is the only representative from the United States to speak at the conference.
November 28th, 2022
Congratulations, Vone!
November 18th, 2022
Dr. Laurent Glance has been featured as an editorial in the December 2022 Science, Medicine, and the Anesthesiologist in ANESTHESIOLOGY:“Prediction Algorithms: Is Peer Review Enough?“
Congratulations, Dr. Glance!
Peter Papadakos of the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine has published the article "Will Isotonitazene Be Our New Overdose Crisis Drug?" in the November 2022 issue of Currents by the Neurocritical Care Society.
Congratulations, Dr. Papadakos!
November 2nd, 2022
Congratulations to Dr. Peter Papadakos, who was a featured speaker at the 40th Annual Meeting of the New York State Society for Respiratory Care, in Verona, NY on October 6th, 2022. His lecture was titled, “Sleep Apnea and Stroke Role of NIV.”
The NYSSRC, an affiliate of the American Association for Respiratory Care, is the professional association of respiratory therapists, representing respiratory care in New York State. The NYSSRC promotes excellence in patient care, encourages professionalism, and advocates for patients, their families, the public, the profession and the respiratory therapist.
Dr. Christopher Galton
of the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine was named Physician of the Year by the New York State Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Systems.
Congratulations, Dr. Galton!
October 17th, 2022
Dr. Laurent Glance has published the following article in the November 2022 Science, Medicine, and the Anesthesiologist in ANESTHESIOLOGY:
"Association of Time Elapsed Since Ischemic Stroke with Risk of Recurrent Stroke in Older Patients Undergoing Elective Nonneurologic, Noncardiac Surgery"
September 30th, 2022
Dr. Laurent G. Glance of The Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine published “Red Blood Cell Transfusion and Postoperative Infection in Patients Having Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgery: An Analysis of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database” in the September 2022 volume of Anesthesia & Analgesia.
Congratulations, Dr. Glance!
September 23rd, 2022
The Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addiction Clinical Trial Translations, Innovations, Opportunities, and Networks (ACTTION) public-private partnership with the FDA has just been awarded a cooperative agreement research grant for $4M for 2022-2027. Since ACTTION was established in 2010, this is the fourth research grant that ACTTION has received from the FDA (along with two contracts). With this award, ACTTION’s scope has been expanded to examine neurotoxicities and other risks associated with pediatric anesthesia and with anesthesia in older patients, as well as continuing its current efforts in pain medicine and addiction medicine. Robert Dworkin, PhD, will continue to serve as Director and PD/PI, and additional Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine faculty with major roles in the partnership are Jennifer Gewandter, PhD, MPH, who will serve as Chair of the new ACTTION Center for Optimizing Benefit-Risk Assessments, and Denham Ward, MD, PhD, who will serve as Director of Stakeholder Engagement. In addition, Cornelia Kamp, MBA, Research Associate Professor of Neurology, will serve as Director of Operations, Michael McDermott, PhD, Professor Biostatistics and Computational Biology, will serve as Director of Biostatistics, and John Markman, MD, Professor of Neurosurgery, will represent the American Academy of Neurology on the Steering Committee.
ACTTION’s mission is “to identify, prioritize, coordinate, and sponsor innovative activities that will expedite the identification and development of efficacious and safe analgesic, anesthetic, and addiction therapeutic interventions for the benefit of the public health.” Evidence of ACTTION’s accomplishments over its 12-year history is provided by a total of 154 peer-reviewed articles to date that have addressed pain, addiction, peripheral neuropathy, and procedural and ICU sedation (https://www.acttion.org/publications).
Role of Sedation and Analgesia during Noninvasive Ventilation: Systematic Review of Recent Evidence and Recommendations. Indian J Crit Care 2022 26(8): 938-948. PMID 36042773
It is an International recommendations paper for proper management of patients on Non Invasive ventilation.
MDCM Conde, PSB Delis, PJ Papadakos, AM. Esquinas. Ocular disorders in non-invasive ventilation and CPAP therapy—A case report. Can J Respir Ther 2022;58:143–145. doi: 10.29390/cjrt-2022-020
July 18th, 2022
Dr. Zana Borovcanin and Dr. Melissa Kreso organized and co-chaired the “International Symposium in Anesthesiology, Perioperative Medicine and Intensive Care Medicine”, which was a part of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Sciences (BHAAAS) Annual Meeting in Sarajevo, Bosnia:
The highlight of the Symposium was the “Difficult Airway Management Course”, which was supported by sponsors from Germany and Bosnia (Karl Storz), Netherland and Croatia (Ambu), and USA, Ireland and Slovenia (Cook Medical). The 13th Days of BHAAAS is one of the largest scientific meetings in Eastern European region which includes eighteen symposia in medical sciences, eight in technical/ natural sciences, four in sustainability, and two in social sciences/ humanities and arts. Overall there were a total of 345 presentations with speakers from 26 countries and 16 special events, workshops, and round table discussions. Check out the link below:
https://bhaaas.org/sarajevo-2022/international-symposium-in-anesthesiology-perioperative-medicine-and-intensive-care-medicine/
June 24th, 2022
Congratulations to the Eaton Lab for their publication and editorial.
Publication in Anesthesia & Analgesia:
Sergiy M. Nadtochiy, PhD, Tatsiana Stefanos, MD, Ronald E. Angona, MS, CCP, Natalie Lebedko, MS, Aksana Baldzizhar, MD, Changyong Feng, PhD, and Michael P. Eaton, MD, FASA
Editorial in Anesthesia & Analgesia:
Roman M. Sniecinski, MD, MSc, Vance G. Nielsen, MD,and Kenichi Tanaka, MD, MSc
June 6th, 2022
Bob Dworkin recently presented a lecture on “Designing and conducting randomized clinical trials of psychedelics” at the 2nd Annual Psychedelic Therapeutics and Drug Development Conference, held in Washington, DC, May 23-24, 2022. In addition, he recently published the following article discussing what studies should be conducted to evaluate the possibility that psychedelics are a novel treatment for chronic pain:
Dworkin RH, Anderson BT, Andrews N, Edwards RR, Grob CS, Ross S, Satterthwaite TD, Strain EC. "If the doors of perception were cleansed, would chronic pain be relieved? Evaluating the benefits and risks of psychedelics." The journal of pain.. 2022 May 25; Epub 2022 May 25.
June 2nd, 2022
Sonia Pyne MD, MS, FASA and colleagues Melissa Kreso MD, MsBA, FASA and Danielle Lindenmuth MD, MBA won Best Abstract at the largest subspecialty meeting for ambulatory anesthesia in the world, the 37th Annual Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia (SAMBA) meeting.
The abstract: “Delivering on the Patient Experience: Limiting Patient Wait Time in an Ambulatory Surgical Center” was selected for a podium presentation at the meeting after winning Best Abstract, and won Best Oral Presentation as well. The abstract highlighted the multidisciplinary and collaborative work done with the Operations Excellence team at the URMC ASC at Sawgrass that resulted in a sustained improvement in the Press Ganey “Moving through the Visit Score” from 82% to 92% after their project intervention.
Special thanks to all of those involved including:
Kellsie Prem RN, MSN, CAPA; Sherry Lambert RN, BSN; Brennan Canty MBA; Kristi Filmore MS, RN, ACNP; and Rachel Parker, Business Staff Supervisor
May 25th, 2022
Strong and Highland Hospitals Achieve Highest Level of Age-Friendly Health System Certification and the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine's Dr. Heather Lander played an integral part in receiving that certification
Dr. Lander is a leader in Geriatric Perioperative Excellence. With her innovation and dedication, she has worked on creating a new best practice for the integration of perioperative planning and care for geriatric patients into the larger health care system. Dr. Lander has systematized the evaluation, risk discussions and patient-centered education for postoperative care of geriatric patients - beginning right in our own Center for Perioperative Medicine and persisting through the perioperative encounter. Her work as a geriatric scholar and as a leader in perioperative medicine has focused on elevating the care we offer in the CPM in a way that benefits all.
Congratulations Dr. Lander and the rest of the Age Friendly Health System Work Group.
May 20th, 2022
Two members of our CRNA group, Lisa Wahlers and Mark Kucharski, travelled to Quito, Ecuador for a mission trip with the HUGS Foundation. Mark, Lisa, and 29 other team members changed the lives of 50 patients.
The patients had Microtia ear deformities. The surgeons created an ear from rib cartilage taken from the patient. They packed 20 hockey bags of anesthesia equipment, including the anesthesia monitors! On these trips there are very limited resources, old anesthesia machines and only the anesthesia supplies we bring.
The team members on these trips truly pull together to get the work done and keep the patients safe.
At the end of the week, they return for post-op evaluations and the patients and families are so incredibly grateful.
The department is so proud of the efforts of Mark and Lisa to extend their skills to help patients in need in Ecuador.
May 6th, 2022
Jennifer Timm, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC earned her Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Chatham University on April 24th, 2022. Dr. Timm focused her scholarly work on perioperative anemia. In this work, she emphasized both the importance of educating perioperative nurses on the implications of proceeding with surgery in the setting of anemia as well as educating them on the importance of early identification and treatment of comorbid anemia in the preoperative setting. To achieve her goals, she created a novel educational program for clinic-based registered nurses in the Center for Perioperative Medicine, which ultimately led to a nursing-led surgeon outreach and notification program for eligible preoperative patients. As a direct result of her scholarly work, Dr. Timm was able to improve the time available to optimize anemia preoperatively while at the same time drastically increasing the visibility of our perioperative anemia optimization pathway. The number of consultations for anemia optimization have increased significantly because of her work. Dr. Timm has been a member of our Department since 2014. She has been and continues to be an invaluable asset to the Center for Perioperative Medicine as well as to the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine. Congratulations on your incredible accomplishment Dr. Timm!!!
April 20th, 2022