Anesthesiology Chair Named President of Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research
Denham Ward, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Rochester Medical Center, was named the next president of the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER), an organization founded by the American Society of Anesthesiologists that supports individuals entering the field through research grants, mentoring and career development programs. Ward is currently the foundation’s board chair and will begin his term as president in 2011.
According to Ward’s predecessor, long-time President Alan D. Sessler, M.D., “Dr. Ward is an accomplished physician scientist with a long history of leadership in anesthesiology. I am confident that my successor will act wisely to create new pathways to propel the specialty’s next generation to a new and higher level of patient care, innovation and discovery.”
The Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research focuses primarily on professional development, providing resources for medical students, residents and junior faculty pursuing careers in anesthesiology. As president, Ward will work to create new educational and support programs to best prepare those physicians and researchers joining the specialty.
“We want to invest in good science, but we also want to invest in the development of good people with the ability to continue to move our field forward by improving research and patient care,” said Ward, who is also a professor of Anesthesiology and Biomedical Engineering and associate dean for faculty development - medical education at the Medical Center. “I am very happy to take on this new position and all the exciting new challenges that come with it.”
Since the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research was founded in1986, it has awarded more than $20 million in research grants. As president, Ward hopes to increase the support the foundation currently provides, doubling its endowment and the money it awards in research grants each year.
Ward’s upcoming presidency was announced at the American Society of Anesthesiologists annual fall meeting in October; he was one of three finalists to succeed the foundation’s current president. Ward has been a member of the foundation’s board of directors since 2002.