Congratulations to FAER’s Spring 2023 Grant Recipients!

June 1, 2023

The Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER) is proud to announce the physician-investigators awarded research grants in spring 2023. Totaling $1.8 million in funding, awards include four Mentored Research Training Grants, one Research in Education Grant, and one GEMSSTAR Grant, along with three co-sponsored grants: the APSF-FAER Mentored Research Training Grant, FAER-ABA Research in Education Grant, and first ever SOAP-FAER Mentored Research Training Grant.

“We often talk about the value FAER grants represent to anesthesia investigators. How they will help equip recipients with tools for success and a network of fellow researchers to draw upon. And while this is the case, the true value comes from FAER’s grantees themselves through the contributions they make to our shared specialty and medicine as a whole. This is very much the case with the nine investigators awarded funding in spring 2023. Even as I feel pride in FAER’s part in supporting Drs. Acker, Chen, Hadler, Huang, Ibarra, Liou, Malinzak, Michael, and Tan, I feel even greater excitement at seeing the impact their work will have on the future of anesthesiology and patient care.”
- Roger Johns, MD, MHS, PhD, FAER Board Chair

“I’m so pleased to celebrate FAER’s latest cohort of grantees. It’s remarkable to consider how the research carried out by these exceptional physician-investigators’ can influence anesthesiology at large. Just as they draw upon the findings of their predecessors, the work produced by FAER’s 2023 spring grantees may one day prove the basis for decisions made and best practices followed. So, in celebrating FAER’s nine outstanding new researchers, I hope you will also join me in thanking them for contributing to anesthesiology’s continued growth and development.”
- James C. Eisenach, MD, FAER President

Mirroring the gratitude expressed by Dr. Eisenach, FAER would like to thank the organizations co-sponsoring grants this cycle: the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP), Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF), and The American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA). FAER is honored to collaborate with these groups in developing the next generation of physician-investigators.

Details on FAER's Spring 2023 Grant Recipients, including names, institutions, and mentors can be found below. Please join us in congratulating and celebrating these future leaders of anesthesiology and research.

FAER is also pleased to announce that applications for its Fall 2023 Grant Cycle are now open. Available grants for the Fall 2023 Cycle include the Mentored Research Training Grant, Research in Education Grant, and Research Fellowship Grant. For more information and to apply, visit FAER.org/Grants.

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.

QiLiang Chen, MD, PhD; Stanford University (Stanford, California)
Primary Mentor: David Clark, MD, PhD
Secondary Mentor: Xiaoke Chen, PhD
Tertiary Mentor: Mary Heinricher, PhD
Project Title: The Role of Pain-Facilitating Circuits in Chronic Pain after Traumatic Brain Injury

Jyun-you Liou, MD, PhD; Weill Cornell Medicine (New York, New York)
Primary Mentor: Alipasha Vaziri, PhD
Secondary Mentor: Hugh C. Hemmings Jr., MD, PhD, FRCA
Additional Collaborator(s): Conor Liston, MD, PhD; Hui Fang, PhD
Project Title: Discovering Neuronal Firing Patterns Underlying Anesthetic-induced Slow Waves

Brandon Tan, MD; Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis, Missouri)
Primary Mentor: Wayland Cheng, MD, PhD
Project Title: Lipid Modulation of the Serotonin 3 Receptor

SOAP-FAER Mentored Research Training Grants (MRTG) help physician-investigators develop the skills and preliminary data they need to become independent investigators in the area of obstetric anesthesiology and perinatology. These grants are eligible to anesthesiologist faculty members who are within 10 years of their first faculty appointment and comprise $250,000 in funding over two years.

Andrea Ibarra, MD; University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Primary Mentor: Janet Catov, PhD
Secondary Mentor: Meryl Butters, PhD
Tertiary Mentor: Senthil Sadhasivam, MD, MPH, MBA, FASA
Additional Collaborator(s): Grace Lim, MD, MS; Hsing-Hua Sylvia Lin, PhD; Uppala Radhakrishna, PhD
Project Title: Longitudinal Cognitive Evaluation Before and After Delivery Among Women with Preeclampsia

APSF-FAER Mentored Research Training Grants (MRTG) fund patient safety research directly relevant to the perioperative care of patients, as well as chronic pain and critical care medicine. Patient safety is defined as the avoidance, prevention and improvement of adverse outcomes or injuries stemming from health care processes. These grants are eligible to faculty members who have completed their core anesthesiology residency training within the past 10 years and comprise $300,000 in funding over two years.

Meghan Michael, MD; University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas, Texas)
Primary Mentor: Christopher Landrigan, MD, MPH
Secondary Mentor: Elizabeth Lazzara, PhD, MA
Additional Collaborator(s): Amy Starmer, MD; DaiWai Olson, PhD; David McDonagh, MD; Jeffrey Cooper, PhD; Lee Ann Riesenberg, PhD; Meghan Lane-Fall, MD, MSHP; Nancy Spector, MD; Paul Nakonezny, PhD; Philip Greilich, MD; Shannon Paquette, MD
Project Title: A Structured Communication and Team Training Program to Improve Perioperative Patient Safety

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.

Jeffrey Huang, MD; Mayo Clinic in Rochester (Rochester, Minnesota)
Primary Mentor: David Warner, MD
Additional Collaborator(s): Arnoley Abcejo, MD; Charles Sims III, MD, FASA; David Cook, MD, MHPE; Ellen Usher, PhD; Lauren Licatino, MD; Timothy Long, MD
Project Title: Chronometric Pressure and In-Person Gamified Learning: A Mixed Methods Study in an Escape Room

FAER-ABA Research in Education Grants (REG) advance the careers and knowledge of physician-investigators interested in the key elements of education in anesthesiology — curriculum, instruction and assessment. Research areas for these co-sponsored grants include value/impact of ABA certification programs. These grants are eligible to anesthesiologist faculty members of any rank and comprise $100,000 in funding over two years.

Elizabeth Malinzak, MD; Duke University (Durham, North Carolina)
Primary Mentor: Madhav Swaminathan, MD, FAHA, FASE, MBBS, MMCi
Secondary Mentor: Ashley Grantham, PhD
Project Title: Examining Confidence Ratings in MOCA Minute

FAER GEMSSTAR Grants supplement the two-year NIA scientific awards with support for simultaneous career development activities. FAER GEMSSTAR Grants are eligible to new investigators with R03 GEMSSTAR awards from the National Institute of Aging (NIA) and comprise $50,000 in funding over two years.

Leah Acker, PhD, MD; Duke University (Durham, North Carolina)
Primary Mentor: Heather E. Whitson, MD, MHS
Secondary Mentor: Joseph P. Mathew, MD, MHSc, MBA
Tertiary Mentor: Miles Berger, MD, PhD
Additional Collaborator(s): Niccolò Terrando, PhD
Project Title: The Role of the Aging Brain-Heart-Immune Axis in Postoperative Delirium

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 $55 million in research grants and programs since 1986. To donate to FAER, visit FAER.org/donate.