FAER Award Recipients Speak Out

From time to time, the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER) receives feedback from our 450-plus award recipients and others involved in anesthesiology. We would like to share some of these notes as they are a reflection of the importance of investing in our own specialty. Clearly it is through programs such as the ones offered at FAER, which benefit such a large and important constituency, that we will continue to expand, protect and enhance the domain of anesthesiology.


I am proud to say that without the financial support offered by this FAER award, I would not have been able to achieve the level of competitiveness that is required by National Institutes of Health (NIH). My professional goal is to continue the proud tradition of superb clinical care and first-class research according to high standards set by my accomplished colleagues in academic anesthesiology. I am honored to be a recipient of this prestigious award.

— Vesna Jevtovic-Todorovic, M.D., Ph.D.
University of Virginia

Without the sponsorship of FAER grants to young, enthusiastic anesthesiology investigators at a critical time in their career decision-making, few physicians would have the motivation, time or funds to excel in quality basic research.

— Mark J. Lema, M.D., Ph.D.
Roswell Park Cancer Institute

I find clinical research challenging yet rewarding. The grant support from your Foundation has provided me with a strong start toward NIH-funded clinical research. Not only will completion of the study answer a significant clinical question, but the process has provided the experience necessary to correctly pursue larger trials with greater impact toward improving our clinical practice. Thank you very much for your support to date.

— Steven E. Hill, M.D.
Duke University

FAER is an outstanding program. Its critical role in preserving the scientific foundation of anesthesiology among the various specialty disciplines in American medicine cannot be overstated.

— Donn M. Dennis, M.D.
University of Florida

The FAER New Investigator Award was a major influence in initiating my career as a clinician scientist. The monetary award was extremely helpful in getting my initial laboratory set up. More importantly the FAER award was a source of significant encouragement and gave me the confidence to pursue additional peer-reviewed funding and an independent research program.

— Roger A. Johns, M.D.
Johns Hopkins

The organization and its goals definitely deserve continued support if anesthesiology is to survive in the academic and private sectors as a physician-led specialty with a unique scientific foundation.

— Nancy A. Nussmeier, M.D.
Texas Heart Institute

The FAER grant was my first extradepartmental, peer-reviewed funding. The FAER grant was a critical step in my development into an independent investigator, which has led to both NIH and industrial funding.

— William L. Young, M.D.
San Francisco General Hospital
University of California-San Francisco

I am sure that this support will directly lead to a revolution in concepts about the relationships between brain structure and function as they relate to mechanisms of anesthesia. I hope the members of the Foundation can feel proud that their support helped to establish a new young investigator trained in the research techniques that will lead anesthesia research into the 21st century.

— Michael T. Alkire, M.D.
University of California-Irvine

I believe that FAER contributed significantly to the achievement of my academic goals by ensuring allocated time for research, something extremely essential for a junior clinician-scientist … Furthermore I find the process of submission, reviewing/ feedback and resubmission an excellent preparation and source of developing skills and expertise for applications for further funding. Overall I think that research funding from FAER may have played one of the most important roles in my scientific career development, something that I highly appreciate.

— Constantine D. Sarantopoulos, M.D., Ph.D.
Medical College of Wisconsin

While we are grateful for your ongoing support and the loyalty of our beneficiaries, we also are keenly aware of the need to continue to pursue and fulfill the mission of FAER. The challenges of today’s health care environment mandate that we not rest on our laurels but rather look ahead for new and better ways to push the frontiers of anesthesiology research and education.

On behalf of all the anesthesiology students, clinicians, researchers and other persons and programs who have been helped by your support of FAER — thank you. We look forward to your continued involvement.

2003 Award Recipients Announced, Part 2

This article represents the final installment of FAER’s award recipients. Previous winners, Jian-Zhong Sun, M.D., Ph.D., Jason A. Campagna, M.D., Ph.D., Joseph F. Cotton, M.D., Ph.D., Giovanni Cucchiaro, M.D., Juan C. Ibla, M.D., Chanhung Z. Lee, M.D., Ph.D., Sean C. Mackey, M.D., Ph.D., and Guido Musch, M.D., were featured in the January 2004 ASA NEWSLETTER.


Research Education Grants ($25,000 for two years)