At the beginning of a new year it is nice to go back and review the previous year. Research is crucial to the Stanford Anesthesia mission and 2011 was a great year for funding. Stanford has moved into third place in the annual rankings of anesthesiology departments in terms of NIH funding. Last year the department received $30 million in new grants!
Leading the way with as far as I know the largest grant the department has obtained
is Sean Mackey’s P01(Stanford Complementary and Alternative Medicine Center for Chronic Back Pain).
Other 2011 awards include Gary Peltz‘s R01 (Human Pharmacogenetics and Human Liver Regeneration), Larry Chu‘s R01 (5HT3 Antagonists to Treat Opioid Withdrawal and to Prevent the Progression of Physical Dependence), David Clark’s R01 (Inflammasome Activation in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome), and Bruce MacIver’s R01(Anesthetic Actions on GABA-A Fast, Slow, Tonic and GABA-B Receptors).
Also impressive are the very good awards to Jerry Ingrande K23 (Adiponectin Polymorphisms, Insulin Resistance and Pharmacokinetics in Obesity), Kevin Johnson K23 (Research Training Using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to Study Pain Processing in Long-Term Opioid Use), and Eric Gross K99-R00 (Role of the TRPV1 Channel in Myocardial Salvage from Ischemia- Reperfusion Injury). These awards serve as excellent examples of the types of awards junior faculty can receive, and are an outstanding role model for residents focused on research careers. Certainly, innovation in the lab and at the bedside serves all the housestaff well to know the their faculty is leading in intellectual discovery.
And at the resident level our growing Fellowship in Anesthesia Research and Medicine (FARM) program serves as a springboard for residents interested in academic anesthesia careers. For more information please see our website: http://med.stanford.edu/anesthesia/education/residentresearch.html
Having a healthy research program requires a village. Three individuals who deserve credit include Michael Helms, PhD, MBA, Director of Strategic Research Development, Rona Giffard, PhD MD, Professor and Vice-Chair for Research, and Ronald Pearl, MD, PhD, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Anesthesia.
Lastly, overall Stanford Medical School is #1 in the nation in NIH dollars per faculty member.