Anesthesiology

T32 Research Fellowship in Anesthesiology

Overview

Since 2023, the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at UCLA has received the T32 Research Training Grant from the NIH (GM148369). This training program, led by Dr. Mansoureh Eghbali and Dr. Maxime Cannesson, is specifically designed to train the next generation of academic anesthesiologists early in their careers in basic, preclinical and clinical research to become independent physician-scientists within the field of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine. 


Themes

Perioperative Organ Protection

Strategies related to organ protection during perioperative period in the heart, liver, kidney, lung,  traumatic brain injury,  cardiac electrophysiology, iron physiology and pathology in pregnancy.

Cardiovascular Pathophysiology

Cardiac signaling, chromatin biology, ion channels and transporters biophysics, cardiac arrhythmias, vascular disease, pulmonary hypertension, right heart dysfunction, cardiac Fibrosis and tissue repair, cardiogenesis.

Neurosciences, Pain and Brain Health

Acute pain and enhanced recovery after anesthesia , chronic pain, opioid receptors and drugs of abuse, mechanisms of anesthesia, Ion channels, glia and synapses, neurophysiology, autonomic, cognition, experimental therapeutics for brain tumors, clinical studies on cannabinoids and opioids, in particular how cannabis use affects anesthesia and pain control during and after surgery, as well as effects of smoked cannabis on opioid withdrawal for patients taking opioids for chronic pain.

Biocomputing/Bioengineering and Health Informatics

Machine learning with large data sets to predict complications in surgical patients, development of statistical/computational methods for the analysis of genetic, genomic, epigenetic and health care data, bioengineering, multiomics systems biology, complex disease networks.

 

Trainee Eligibility

Trainees who demonstrate great interests to pursue careers in research and have some previous research experience will enter the program in one of three ways: 

  1. Anesthesiology Residents: The potential residents from the Scholars Program will be placed on the T32 program in the beginning of PGY-5 year. The residents from Research Pathway Track will be placed on the T32 after completion of their residency. The time effort is 80% research and 20% clinical. 
  2. Junior Faculty or Clinical Instructors: The junior faculty or clinical instructors  will be placed on the T32 after completion of their residency or fellowship in Anesthesiology. We will also consider residents or fellows who transfer from other institutions. The time effort is 80% research and 20% clinical. 
  3. Postdoctoral Scholars: Talented PhD postdocs whose research is directly related to anesthesiology and will promote research in anesthesia and perioperative medicine will also be considered. The time effort is 100% research. 
     

T32 Fellow Requirements

  • Must be U.S citizens or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of appointment 
  • Must have a minimum of two years commitment to the training program 
  • Before beginning the training program, a detailed mentoring plan should be proposed by the trainee and the primary mentor to include the research project, milestones for coursework, seminar presentations, abstract submission, and plans for manuscript submission and extramural grant applications.  
  • T32 trainees must meet regularly with their primary mentor, and mentoring teams including T32 program directors. 
  • All T32 trainees are required to take a number of graduate level courses and workshops offered at UCLA to fill critical gaps in their knowledge of research to facilitate becoming successful, independent physician-scientists. 
  • All trainees should take mandatory courses on responsible conduct of research, and training in research involving human subjects or animals, biostatistics and grant writing. 
  • T32 trainees must attend a number of research seminar series in the department or at UCLA. 
  • T32 trainees are expected to present their work at the Annual Scientific Evening event in the department and/or society meetings.  
  • T32 trainees are expected to publish at least one first author research paper as well as have a written grant proposal for a major extramural award such as foundation award (FAER) or K award from the NIH before completion of their T32 training.
     

The Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine is strongly committed to promoting diversity and inclusion. This includes proactive efforts to cultivate interest in the physician-scientist career track among underrepresented minorities, women, and individuals with disabilities.