The FAER Academy of Research Mentors in Anesthesiology – At Your Service and Ready to Help!

Authors: Peter Nagele, MD, President-Elect of ARMA; Pamela Flood, MD, President of ARMA

January 10, 2025

Twenty years ago in 2004, FAER created the Academy of Research Mentors in Anesthesiology (ARMA) as a home for distinguished research mentors in our specialty. Starting with its inaugural class of 22 mentors, ARMA has now grown to over 100 members, representing fields spanning from laboratory-based basic science to clinical and translational research to big data research and engineering.

Collectively, ARMA represents more than 3,000 years of research mentoring experience, more than 2,000 years of NIH- and other extramural funding, and more than 2,000 years of collective service as grant reviewers and study section members. Many of its members hold important leadership positions within their departments, academic institutions, journals, and national and international academic societies.

While the Academy of Research Mentors in Anesthesiology has an honorific component – its members are elected, and they select the annual recipient of the FAER Mentoring Excellence in Research Award – the scope of its mission is much broader. ARMA’s mission is not only to help mentor the next generation of researchers within our specialty but to help and support the next generation of research mentors – mentoring the mentors, training the trainers.

But we do not stop at the individual level. In the last decade, we have witnessed the continued withering of formerly strong research programs and the concentration into fewer and fewer academic departments. Among the more than 170 academic anesthesiology departments with residency programs, less than 55 have any NIH funding. Even more concerning, more than 80% of all NIH funding awarded to anesthesiology departments ($253M, Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research) is concentrated within 20 departments.

Therefore, a central goal of ARMA’s mission is to counter these negative developments that threaten the academic mission of our specialty. We want to help established academic anesthesiology departments sustain and grow their research mission. But even more so, we want to offer our academic support to the 100+ departments that lack any NIH funding and may be looking for mentoring expertise to establish a sustainable research program and to create a culture of academic excellence. We are here to help! Please check us out on the FAER website and feel free to forward us any suggestion how we can be of service at [email protected].

THE FOUNDATION FOR ANESTHESIA EDUCATION AND RESEARCH (FAER)
FAER is a related organization of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). For over 35 years, FAER has been dedicated to developing the next generation of physician-investigators in anesthesiology. Charitable contributions and support to FAER help fuel the future of anesthesiology through scientific discovery. Funding priorities include: Research, Education, and Training. At the time of this article's publication, FAER has awarded more than $58 million in research grants and programs since 1986. To donate to FAER, visit FAER.org/donate.