Congratulations to FAER’s Fall 2023 Grant Recipients!

October 24, 2023

The Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER) is proud to announce the physician-investigators awarded research grants in fall 2023. Totaling $1.4 million in funding, awards include five Mentored Research Training Grants, one Research in Education Grant, and one Research Fellowship Grant.

“It feels somewhat surreal knowing that, as my time as President draws to a close, this is the last group of grantees with whom I’ll have the privilege of sharing the news of their grant being funded. It’s been such a joy hearing the excitement in our grantees’ voices when they get the news and I’m very happy I had the opportunity to do this with one more group of exceptional researchers. Drs. Barjas, Caldwell, Chung, Cole, Dixit, Perez, and Thompson’s research will contribute significantly to knowledge in the specialty. I look forward to learning more about their findings and seeing how anesthesiology will grow thanks to their work.”
 - James C. Eisenach, MD, FAER President

“I am honored by FAER’s role in supporting our specialty’s early career investigators. Like Jim, I will miss having the opportunity to share this news with new grantees, but I am excited to continue observing FAER-supported investigators as they grow in their career. Without their research and work like it, anesthesiology could neither grow nor maintain its reputation for scientific excellence. I am truly grateful to Drs. Barjas, Caldwell, Chung, Cole, Dixit, Perez, and Thompson for their role in shaping the future of our specialty. I hope you will join me in congratulating them on this milestone and thanking them for their contributions to the practice of anesthesiology.”
 - Roger Johns, MD, MHS, PhD, FAER Immediate Past Board Chair

Details on FAER's Fall 2023 Grant Recipients, including names, institutions, mentors, and project titles can be found below. 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.

Matthew Barajas, MD; Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, Tennessee)
Primary Mentor: Matthias Riess, MD, PhD, FASA
Secondary Mentor: Jerri M. Rook, PhD
Tertiary Mentor: Masakazu Shiota, DVM, PhD
Other Collaborators: Robert Gould, PhD; Susan Eagle, MD
Project Title: Functional Neurologic Outcomes of Post Arrest Conditioning in Diabetic Rats

Philip Chung, MD; Stanford University (Stanford, California)
Primary Mentor: Nima Aghaeepour, PhD
Secondary Mentor: Sean Mackey, MD, PhD
Tertiary Mentor: Nigam H. Shah, MBBS, PhD
Other Collaborators: Meliha Yetisgen, PhD; Vikas O'Reilly-Shah, MD, PhD
Project Title: Writing a Preoperative Evaluation Note using Large Language Models

Naida Cole, MD; The University of Chicago (Chicago, Illinois)
Primary Mentor: Brian T. Bateman, MD, MSc
Secondary Mentor: Evan Kharasch, MD, PhD
Tertiary Mentor: Peter Nagele, MD
Other Collaborators: Abbe Kordik, MD; Brendan Carvalho, MD, FRCA; Steven Shafer, MD
Project Title: Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Oxytocin in Cesarean Delivery

Anjali Dixit, MD, MPH; Stanford University (Stanford, California)
Primary Mentor: Sean Mackey, MD, PhD
Secondary Mentor: Keith Humphreys, PhD
Other Collaborators: Eric Sun, MD, PhD; Laurence Baker, PhD; Michelle Odden, PhD
Project Title: Risk and Predictors of Postoperative Opioid Agonist Treatment Discontinuation in Surgical Patients with Opioid Use Disorder

Jeremy Thompson, MD, PhD; Washington University in St. Louis (St. Louis, Missouri)
Primary Mentor: Meaghan Creed, PhD
Secondary Mentor: Alex Evers, MD
Project Title: Molecular Adaptations in Mesolimbic Dopamine Neurons Underlying the Transition from Acute to Chronic Pain

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.

Matthew Caldwell, MD; University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
Primary Mentor: Sachin Kheterpal, MD, MBA
Other Collaborators: Lara Zisblatt, EdD, MA, PMME; Norah N. Naughton, MD
Project Title: INSPECT (Improvement in the Scope and Precision of Educational Cases for Trainees): Phenotyping the Clinical Experience of Trainees Using Electronic Health Records

Research Fellowship Grants (RFG) provide anesthesiology residents and fellows with the opportunity to obtain significant training in research techniques and scientific methods. These grants are eligible to anesthesiology trainees after CA-1 year and comprise $75,000 in funding over one year.

Alexendar Perez, MD, PhD; University of California, San Francisco (San Francisco, California)
Primary Mentor: Judith Hellman, MD
Secondary Mentor: Joana Vidigal, PhD
Tertiary Mentor: Matthieu Legrand, MD, PhD
Project Title: Role of Transposable Elements in Septic Immune Aging

FAER is also pleased to share information on the funding opportunities available as part of its upcoming Spring 2024 Grant Cycle. Available grants for the Spring 2024 Cycle include the Mentored Research Training Grant, Research in Education Grant, and Research Fellowship Grant. Also available is the co-sponsored APSF-FAER Mentored Research Training Grant. See below for more information and links, or visit FAER.org/Grants.

Spring 2024 FAER Grant Cycle – Applications for the MRTG, REG, and RFG will be accepted from December 1, 2023, through February 15, 2024.

Co-Sponsored Grant Opportunity:

APSF-FAER Mentored Research Training Grant – Letter of Intent submissions open December 1, 2023, through January 1, 2024.

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 $56 million in research grants and programs since 1986. To donate to FAER, visit FAER.org/donate.