Congratulations to FAER’s Spring 2022 Grant Recipients!

May 25, 2022

The Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER) is proud to announce the physician-investigators awarded research grant funding through its Spring 2022 Grant Cycle. Awards include six Mentored Research Training Grants and one Research in Education Grant, totaling $1.6 million in funding.

“I am tremendously pleased to welcome the outstanding investigators awarded funding this cycle to the FAER family,” said Roger Johns, MD, PhD, FAER Board Chair. “The research topics that Drs. Ansari, Arcario, Ciampa, Ehie, Goodnough, Lukovic, and Townsend will pursue represent valuable avenues of inquiry to anesthesiology and patient care and great opportunities for investigative development under these mentored awards.

“With FAER’s next strategic mega issue focusing on nurturing a community of early career investigators and those who support them, I am especially proud that FAER will support these grantees not only through research funding, but also by helping establish for them a network of peers and future collaborators. I also want to call out one aspect of this cycle that stands out in particular. This spring marks the first time in at least five years that the majority of the spring cycle grantees are women. I know I am not alone in celebrating this milestone.

“Please join me in congratulating all the talented researchers awarded funding this cycle. Their work will help shape the future of anesthesiology. I hope you will take as much pleasure as I will in watching them develop into future innovators and leaders of our specialty.”

The seven grants this cycle are the first awarded since the nearly $1 million increase to FAER’s yearly grant funding budget, approved in fall 2021, went into effect. Details on FAER's Spring 2022 Grant Recipients, including names, institutions, mentors, and project titles, can be found below. Note that abstracts for the projects detailed below will become available on the FAER website at a later date. Please join us in congratulating and celebrating these future leaders of anesthesiology and research.

Mentored Research Training Grants (MRTG) help physician-investigators develop the skills, preliminary data for subsequent grant applications, and research publications needed to become independent investigators. These grants are eligible to faculty members who have completed their core anesthesiology residency training within the past 10 years and comprise $250,000 in funding over two years.

Jessica Ansari, MD; Stanford University School of Medicine (Stanford, California)
Primary Mentor: Brian Bateman, MD, MSc
Secondary Mentor: Steven Shafer, MD
Tertiary Mentor: Sean Mackey, MD, PhD
Project Title: Calcium Chloride for the Prevention of Blood Loss During Intrapartum Cesarean Delivery: A Single Center Randomized Controlled Trial

Mark Arcario, MD, PhD; Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis, Missouri)
Primary Mentor: Wayland W.L. Cheng, MD, PhD
Secondary Mentor: Grace Brannigan, PhD
Project Title: Understanding Allosteric Modulation of Pentameric Ligand-Gated Ion Channels by Fatty Acids

Erin Ciampa, MD, PhD; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston, Massachusetts)
Primary Mentor: Samir M. Parikh, MD
Secondary Mentor: Philip Hess, MD
Project Title: Mitochondrial and Metabolic Effectors from the Aging Placenta May Trigger the Onset of Labor

Candida Goodnough, MD, PhD; Stanford University School of Medicine (Stanford, California)
Primary Mentor: Eric R. Gross, MD, PhD
Secondary Mentor: Hemal H. Patel, PhD
Tertiary Mentor: Boris D. Heifets, MD, PhD
Project Title: Understanding Anesthetic Mechanisms in the East Asian Population

Elvedin Lukovic, MD, PhD; Columbia University Irving Medical Center (New York City, New York)
Primary Mentor: Charles W. Emala, MD, MS
Secondary Mentor: Shengmin Sang, PhD
Project Title: Targeting Airway Hyperresponsiveness and Antioxidant Responses in Airway Smooth Muscle by Ginger-inspired Compounds: A Potential Novel Therapeutic Class for Asthma

Elizabeth Townsend, MD, PhD; University of Wisconsin, Madison (Madison, Wisconsin)
Primary Mentor: Loren C. Denlinger, MD, PhD
Secondary Mentor: Thomas McDowell, MD, PhD
Project Title: The Role of Alveolar Macrophage-derived Eicosanoids in the Regulation of Airway Inflammation

Research in Education Grants (REG) advance the careers and knowledge of anesthesiologists interested in improving the concepts, methods, and techniques of education in anesthesiology. These grants are eligible to anesthesiology faculty of any rank and comprise $100,000 in funding over two years.

Odinakachukwu Ehie, MD; University of California, San Francisco (San Francisco, California)
Primary Mentor: Christy Boscardin, PhD
Secondary Mentor: Renee Navarro, PharmD, MD
Project Title: Development and Evaluation of a Longitudinal Diversity Curriculum for Trainees: Applied Behaviors to Confront Unconscious Bias

Interested in learning more about FAER Research Grant opportunities or know an early career physician-investigator who would be? Please visit or share the link below for more information:

Fall 2022 FAER Grant Cycle – FAER will accept applications for the MRTG, REG, and Research Fellowship Grant (RFG) from June 1, 2022, through August 15, 2022.

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 $51 million in research grants and programs since 1986. To donate to FAER, visit FAER.org/donate.