American Society of Anesthesiologists Announces End of Editor-in-Chief’s Term

CHICAGO – The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) announced that the term of Evan D. Kharasch, M.D., Ph.D., as editor-in-chief (EIC) of Anesthesiology, ASA’s peer-reviewed medical journal, is ending, effective today. Since 2016, Dr. Kharasch has led the journal in its mission to promote scientific discovery and knowledge in perioperative, critical care, and pain medicine to advance patient care.

Dr. Kharasch will focus his time on research and other scholarly pursuits at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina, where he is the Merel H. Harmel Professor of Anesthesiology. He also serves as vice chair for innovation for Duke Anesthesiology.

“During his tenure at the journal, Dr. Kharasch has expanded the richness and reach of Anesthesiology in terms of article quality and impact, content delivery, communication and comprehension,” said ASA President Michael W. Champeau, M.D., FAAP, FASA. “In addition to increasing the number of readers and expanding the ways they can engage with Anesthesiology, Dr. Kharasch has substantially improved the readability of the journal. We are grateful for his service to Anesthesiology, ASA, its members, and the specialty as a whole.”

Under Dr. Kharasch’s leadership, Anesthesiology:

• Reached the highest Impact Factor in its history - 9.198 in 2022;
• Created the tagline of “Trusted Evidence: Discovery to Practice;”
• Expanded its multimedia content with visual abstracts, three- to five-minute video abstracts, infographics, author podcasts, and an editor-in-chief podcast with availability in seven languages;
• Completed a redesign in 2018 with a new cover strategy, refreshed pages and expanded vision;
• Increased the immediacy of information to readers by publishing in only three days after manuscript final acceptance and editorial processing;
• Incorporated the creation of a new original investigation article called the Research Letter, and a new process for submission of clinical manuscripts called “Fast Track;”
• Enhanced the quality, reporting and accessibility of research to deliver on the promise of trusted evidence.

“It has been an honor to serve as Anesthesiology’s editor-in-chief for the last seven years,” said Dr. Kharasch. “I am grateful for the contributions of the editors, authors and staff who have made the journal the best in our specialty. I am looking forward to dedicating more time to my research and advancing patient care.”

Dr. Kharasch will continue to serve Anesthesiology as its EIC emeritus.

ASA will retain a search firm and appoint a search committee to help identify candidates and select from among them the most promising to be the next EIC of Anesthesiology. More details will be released about the search for a permanent EIC as they become available.

Until the permanent EIC is hired, Deborah J. Culley, M.D., chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, and James P. Rathmell, M.D., professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School and chair of the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Health Care in Boston, will serve as interim co-EICs. Dr. Culley has most recently served as an executive editor of Anesthesiology; Dr. Rathmell, who also served as an executive editor, has most recently been the journal’s creative and multimedia editor. They will be assisted by a leadership team that includes:

• Assistant Editor-in-Chief Michael J. Avram, Ph.D., associate professor of anesthesiology, emeritus, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago
• Executive Editor Andrew Davidson, M.D., M.B.B.S., senior staff anaesthetist at the Royal Children's Hospital, head of anaesthesia research at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and a professor in the Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Australia
• Executive Editor Jerrold H. Levy, M.D., professor of anesthesiology, critical care and surgery (cardiothoracic) at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
• Executive Editor Laszlo Vutskits, M.D., Ph.D., head of pediatric anesthesia at the Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Intensive Care at the University Hospital of Geneva, Switzerland
• Statistical Editor Timothy T. Houle, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.

ABOUT THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS

Founded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational, research and scientific society with more than 56,000 members organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology. ASA is committed to ensuring physician anesthesiologists evaluate and supervise the medical care of patients before, during and after surgery to provide the highest quality and safest care every patient deserves.

For more information on the field of anesthesiology, visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists online at asahq.org. To learn more about the role physician anesthesiologists play in ensuring patient safety, visit asahq.org/madeforthismoment. Like ASA on Facebook and follow ASALifeline on Twitter.

Follow Anesthesiology on Twitter at @_Anesthesiology, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ASAanesthesiology and Instagram at @anesthesiology_journal.

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