Announcing the 2025 FAER-Helrich Research Lecturer

March 27, 2025

FAER is pleased to announce Ken Solt, MD, Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Associate Professor of Anaesthesia at Harvard Medical School and Director of Translational Research and Innovation for the Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, as this year’s FAER-Helrich Research Lecturer. Dr. Solt will present his lecture, titled “Activating the Brain’s Arousal Systems to Reverse Drug-induced Unconsciousness,” on Saturday, October 11, at ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2025 in San Antonio. The lecture will be followed by a panel expanding upon the concepts discussed.

“It is a tremendous honor to be selected as the 2025 FAER-Helrich Lecturer. The Mentored Research Training Grant from FAER was pivotal in launching my research career, as it has been for so many physician-scientists in anesthesiology. We need to support research in anesthesiology and recognize the vital contributions that anesthesiologists have made to advance patient care and safety in hospitals throughout the world. I encourage all anesthesiologists to join me in supporting FAER and the next generation of physician-scientists in our field.”
 - Ken Solt, MD; 2025 FAER-Helrich Research Lecturer; Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Associate Professor of Anaesthesia, Harvard Medical School; Director of Translational Research and Innovation, Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital

In 2001, FAER held the first FAER Honorary Research Lecture as a means of recognizing outstanding scholarship by a scientist in an effort to encourage young anesthesiologists to consider careers in research and teaching. This is crucial if anesthesiology is to maintain its reputation as a medical specialty continuously striving for excellence in patient care. In 2014, the Board of Directors voted to name the Honorary Research Lecture after Martin Helrich, MD, FAER’s first Executive Director who passed away in 2013. It is now called the FAER-Helrich Research Lecture.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Solt on his selection as the FAER-Helrich Research Lecturer and thanking him for his many contributions to anesthesiology, research, and medicine. To follow are words of support from Dr. Zheng (Jimmy) Xie, who nominated Dr. Solt as lecturer.

“Over his career, Dr. Solt demonstrated his outstanding scholarship, his significant contributions to research, education, and clinical care. He has made great effort to encourage young physicians to become our next generation researchers and educators in the field of anesthesia.

“He is exemplified as an academic anesthesiologist by his peers and students.”
 - Zheng (Jimmy) Xie, MD, PhD, FASA; Professor, Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, University of Chicago

We encourage those attending ANESTHESIOLOGY 2025 to join Dr. Solt and FAER for this year’s Helrich Lecture. Stay tuned for more information, including an article highlighting Dr. Solt in the September 2025 issue of the ASA Monitor.

For a list of previous FAER-Helrich Research Lecturers, click here.

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.