News
Egg Retrieval Q&A: Why Should It Matter to Anesthesiologists and other Healthcare Professionals?
Assistive reproductive technologies have advanced tremendously in the past 20 years, providing support and possibilities for parenthood for many populations who have previously struggled. One current technology in more frequent use is egg retrieval.
Grégoire Ruffenach, Ph.D. receives an outstanding NIH R01 Grant Award
Dr. Ruffenach's project is entitled, ZFP36, an RNA Binding Protein that Regulates DNA Repair and Cell Proliferation in PAH. The total award over the entire 5 year period (7/1/2024 – 5/31/2029) is $1,968,750.
Sandra Sacks, MD, Receives UCLA Physician of Excellence Award
On May 30, DAPM’s Sandra Sacks, MD, was honored as one of three physicians to receive UCLA Health’s 2024 Exceptional Physician Award.
Class of 2024 Residency Graduation
Residency physicians of the Class of 2024 gathered at Covel Commons in UCLA’s Sunset Village on Saturday, June 22, to celebrate this tremendous milestone with their friends, families, and colleagues, as well as DAPM faculty physicians and administrative staff.
John Park, MD, PhD, receives the prestigious Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER) Mentored Research Training Grant
This $250k award is a rare and huge accomplishment for someone in residency training. We would also like to acknowledge Soban Umar MD, PhD, for being Dr. Park's mentor for his research. Dr. Park joins the DAPM faculty as a physician scientist this year after completing residency training.
Kelly Feldman, MD, MS, MBA receives a 2024 Fellows Research Support Award
Congratulations to Kelly Feldman, MD, MS, MBA for receiving a 2024 Fellows Research Support Award for her proposal, "Preventing Extubation Failure with Machine Learning in Pediatric Intensive Care Units"
DAPM Administrative Staff present at DGSOM Cultural North Star (CNS) In Action Program
On behalf of the DAPM Administrative Staff Well-Being Committee (WBC), Quenesha Caballero presented the WBC story at the Cultural North Star (CNS) Narrative program.
Rana Movahedi, MD, FASA, featured in ASRA Pain Medicine Member Spotlight
This July, we feature Rana Movahedi, MD, FASA, in our Membership Spotlight series, nominated by Mary Hargett. Dr. Movahedi is currently on staff in the department of anesthesiology at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine in Los Angeles, CA.
Elliott Higgins, III, MD, shares his story in the American Board of Anesthesiology "Celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride Month" series
“The more our field can continue to lead by example and embolden our safe spaces, project inclusivity and demonstrate appreciation for anyone who identifies as LGBTQIA+, the better—not just for us but for our communities and patients.”
Laila Aryan, PhD from the Eghbali Lab has successfully defended her dissertation.
Congratulations, Dr. Aryan!
DAPM at UCLA 2024 Undergraduate Research Symposium
Jonathan Jahr, MD, Professor Emeritus at the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine at UCLA, the UC Davis Department of Surgery, and the Penn Department of Veterinary Anesthesiology created a large animal model of hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation 20 years ago and published over 30 studies as part of a collaborative effort.
DAPM Residency Class of 2024 Graduation Video
Enjoy this video made by Michael Wolfe, MD, in honor of the Class of 2024!
2nd Annual UCLA ECMO Symposium and 34th Annual SEECMO Conference
The 2nd Annual UCLA ECMO Symposium was held on May 31, 2024.
DAPM at IARS 2024
UCLA had an outstanding presence at the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS) 2024 Annual Meeting this year in Seattle, WA.
2024 Bioinformatics & Perioerpative Analytics Annual Retreat
The UCLA Division of Bioinformatics and Perioperative Analytics Annual Retreat began with a welcome session over breakfast at the Luskin Conference Center, followed by a discussion of goals for 2024-25 and a review of goals from the past year.
Second Annual CRNA Skills Day
Nurse anesthetists and faculty anesthesiologists of the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine at UCLA participated in our second annual CRNA Skills Day on Saturday, May 18, 2024, at the UCLA Simulation Center.
Varina Clark, MD awarded Best Basic Science abstract during the 2024 International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS) Kosaka Top Finalist Session
Varina Clark, MD was awarded Best Basic Science abstract during the 2024 International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS) Kosaka Top Finalist Session. What a honor! Dr. Clark offers special thanks to Soban Umar, MD, PHD for his continued mentorship and sponsorship. Congratulations, Dr. Clark!
John Park, MD, PHD receives the prestigious Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER) Mentored Research Training Grant
Congratulations to John Park, MD, PHD for receiving the prestigious Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER) Mentored Research Training Grant Award! This $250k award is a rare and huge accomplishment for someone in residency training.
Rajesh Kumar, PHD receives a National Institutes of Health (NIH) R21 Grant
Congratulations to Dr. Rajesh Kumar on receiving a National Institutes of Health (NIH) R21 Grant! They will examine whether a low-cost thiamine intervention can improve blood brain barrier function and reduce mood and cognition deficits in Type 2 diabetes mellitus adults.
2024 International Liver Transplant Congress
By Christine Nguyen-Buckley, MD
The UCLA Liver Anesthesia Team participated in the 2024 International Liver Transplant Congress held in Houston, Texas in May 2024. This conference focuses on advancing knowledge and improving outcomes in liver transplantation. Highlights included research presentations from liver anesthesia fellows Steffi Chan, MBBS, Yi Wei Tan, MBBS, and Christina Ma, MD, and educational lectures on the perioperative care of liver transplant recipients from Victor Xia, MD, and Christine Nguyen-Buckley, MD.
61st Annual Western Anesthesia Resident’s Conference (WARC) 2024
By Soban Umar, MD, PHD
UCLA DAPM had a very successful 61st Annual Western Anesthesia Resident’s Conference (WARC) 2024 meeting on May 3-4, 2024 in Irvine, CA. Our resident physicians performed exceptionally, and our PGY-1 resident physician, Eileen Nguyen, MD, PhD, won the 2nd place Oral Presentation Award. James Elkins, a medical student from UC Riverside who works in Dr. Cecilia Canales' lab, won the 1st place Oral Presentation Award. Other highlights included oral presentations by Fadi Dhoud, a 3rd year DGSOM medical student who is a Discovery Year mentee of Dr. Soban Umar, and Leslie Wann, a medical student at the Zucker School of Medicine (Hofstra, NY), who performs research in the Canales lab.
Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists 2024 Annual Meeting
By Jonathan Ho, MD, and Ashley Oliver, MD
The UCLA Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine (DAPM) was once again well represented at this year's Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists (SCA) Annual Meeting in Toronto at the end of April 2024.
California Society of Anesthesiologists (CSA) 2024 Annual Meeting
The California Society of Anesthesiologists (CSA) 2024 Annual Meeting moved locations from San Diego to the “happiest place on earth.” During the first weekend of April, colleagues from across the Golden State gathered to connect, share the latest research and best practices, and learn at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California.
49th Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting
UCLA DAPM had a strong presence at the 49th Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting on March 21-23, 2024 in San Diego, California. We had 2 resident physicians, Drs. Mishan Rambukwella and Kathryn Wagstaff, as well as 4 fellow physicians, Drs. Steve Kwon, Jessica Liu, Clarence Chow, Nate Rietberg, present during the meeting.
UCLA Pediatric Anesthesiology and Informatics at SPA-AAP 2024
By Theodora Wingert, MD
UCLA DAPM had an excellent turnout at this year’s Society for Pediatric Anesthesia (SPA) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California, in March 2024. With four posters, a seminar, and many current faculty and residents in addition to graduated resident and fellow physicians in attendance, the conference was definitely a success!
2024 Annual Womxn’s Symposium: Emerging Womxn Researchers
By Olivia Vallejo
In honor of Women’s History Month, the UCLA Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine (DAPM) held its 2024 Annual Womxn’s Symposium on March 13, 2024. “Womxn” is an intersectional feminist term meant to include all people identifying as women. This year’s panel honored the strides of emerging womxn research leaders
UCLA DAPM 16th Annual Scientific Evening
By Soban Umar, MD, PHD
The UCLA Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine (DAPM) hosted its 16th Annual Scientific Evening on March 12, 2024, at Tamkin Auditorium in the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
Spotlight on the UCLA Physiology Outreach Program
March 15, 2024
For nearly 15 years, the UCLA Physiology Outreach Program, co-founded by Dr. Tom Vondriska, has helped high school students experience scientific discovery.
A Tribute to Leonard F. Walts, MD (1929 - 2024)
March 15, 2024
Leonard Walts, MD, who passed away in January 2024, is remembered not just for his tremendous contributions to the UCLA Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine (DAPM) and the field of anesthesiology, but also for his warmth, integrity, and kindness. Many current and former department members have shared their memories of Dr. Walts and his professional legacy.
SEA-HVO Traveling Fellowship in Vietnam
March 15, 2024
The experience left Dr. Francke with a deep sense of humility and gratitude, along with new friends across the Pacific.
Complex surgery heralds a happy new year for patient and child
DAPM Research Retreat 2024
March 15, 2024
Sixty members of UCLA Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine (DAPM) gathered at the Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica.
Informatics Update: A Visit to the Consumer Electronics Show
March 15, 2024
Dr. Cheng represented UCLA Health at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, in January 2024.
Physician Anesthesiologists Week 2024
January 28 - February 3, 2024
For this Physician Anesthesiologists Week, we are proud to celebrate the dedicated and skilled anesthesiologists that make up DAPM! Physician anesthesiologists are the guardians of patient safety before, during, and after surgery. To all our physicians: thank you for all that you do and have a wonderful Physician Anesthesiologists Week!
Our team of over 50 CRNAs play a vital role in providing safe and effective anesthesia care to our patients, as well as participate in policy development, quality improvement, education, and more. We at UCLA wish our amazing nurse anesthestists a happy National CRNA Week!
Soban Umar, MD, PhD, Named Thomas M. Grove Endowed Chair in Anesthesiology
DAPM members gathered on January 5 to celebrate Dr. Umar's new appointment.