Please join us in congratulating our faculty who were promoted for their devoted work to educating the next generation of physicians, discovering new knowledge, and continuing our outstanding care for patients at UF Health. Drs. Yong Peng, Steve Robicsek and Felipe Urdaneta were promoted to Professor and Drs. Chris Giordano and Patrick Tighe were promoted to Associate…

Dr. McGough joined us on June 6, 2016, as an Associate Professor in the Divisions of Cardiovascular Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, and comes to us from Memorial Medical Center and Plaza Surgery Center in Jacksonville, where he was a Staff Anesthesiologist. He is a Diplomate for the American Board of Anesthesiology in anesthesiology and…

In April of 2016, our department provided funding for three of our doctors to go to Colombia with the organization Healing the Children. Drs. Renard Sessions, Everett Jones, and Greg Goldenhurst were among the doctors on the team of Healing the Children 2016 Neiva Mission. The team was able to perform 141 surgeries. Many of…

Ferenc Rabai, MD, received a Scientific Achievement Award for his work as the lead author on his poster “Electrophysiologic Monitoring and Provocation Testing in the Treatment of Spinal AV Fistula”. The award was given by the American Society of Neurophysiological Monitoring at their annual meeting in Chicago, IL, in May of 2016.

Our department was well represented at the 16th Annual Celebration of Excellence in Medical Education Reception on Wednesday March 16th, 2016 hosted by The Society of Teaching Scholars. Please join us in congratulating the following members of our Department for their awards: Special Recognition of Student Contributions to the Committee for Program Evaluation and Student Assessment…

We look forward to meeting and working with our new Anesthesiology residents for the 2016/2017 Academic year. The National Resident Matching Program® announced the results of what has turned out to be the largest Main Residency Match® in NRMP history. More than 18,000 U.S. allopathic seniors and 17,000 other applicatants vied for over 30,0000 positions at more then…

The Department of Anesthesiology would like to congratulate Dr. Natalia Klosak-Pawlowicz for being chosen to join the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS). The mission of GHHS is to recognize individuals who are exemplars of humanistic patient care and who can serve as role models, mentors, and leaders in medicine. The Society currently has over 24,000 members…

  As you may know, Rebecca Lovely retires on March 17th, after serving over 40 years in the department. Along with this great accomplishment, she was given an award named after her, “The Department of Anesthesiology Rebecca Y. Lovely Outstanding Service Award.” She was honored with the first plaque ever given for her outstanding and…

Dr. Sandra Gonzalez-Rodriguez was appointed Medical Director for the Children Surgical Center (CSC) in March of 2016. Dr. Gonzalez-Rodriguez is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology with interests in pediatric anesthesiology, congenital heart disease, and acute pain in pediatrics. She studied and earned her medical degree from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Bogota, Colombia. She…

Welcome to Kathy Parrish, the new Administrative Support Assistant II, to the Department of Anesthesiology. Mrs. Parrish is from Lake Butler, Florida, and is married to Mike Parrish; they have two children, Lane, 19 and Tara, 18. Kathy recently graduated from Saint Leo University with a Bachelor’s in Psychology; she also has an Associate’s degree…

On the acceptance of their abstract, “Gorillas in Our Midst, Black Dots Gone Viral, and the Blatantly Obvious:  What Else Might We Miss?  What a Pediatric Anesthesiologist Needs to Know about Abuse and Signals for Help.”  They will present their abstract in poster form at this year’s SPA-AAP Pediatric Anesthesiology Conference April 1-3 at the Broadmoor…

On the publication of “Imaging Artifacts in Echocardiography,” in the March issue of Anesthesia and Analgesia.   Abstract: Artifacts are frequently encountered during echocardiographic examinations. An understanding of the physics and underlying assumptions of ultrasound processing involved with image generation is important for accurate interpretation of 2D grayscale, spectral Doppler, color flow Doppler, and 3D…

On the Acceptance of your Poster “Nipping NPO Violations in the Bud: A quality improvement project to improve adherence to preoperative fasting guidelines,” which will be presented at the SPA-AAP Pediatric Anesthesiology Conference April 1-3 at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. If you’re at the conference please stop by and show your support on Friday…

Congratulations to Drs. Fernando Zayas-Bazan, Gijo Alex, Sonia Mehta, Cameron Smith, and Michael Draney on the acceptance of their poster “Complete Trachael Transection in a 3-Year-Old Following Blunt Neck Trauma,” which will be presented at the SPA-AAP Pediatric Anesthesiology Conference April 1-3 at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. If you’re at the conference please stop…

On their publication in the March issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia entitled, “Limitations of Significance Testing in Clinical Research: A Review of Multiple Comparison Corrections and Effect Size Calculations with Correlated Measures.” Abstract Modern clinical research commonly uses complex designs with multiple related outcomes, including repeated-measures designs. While multiple comparison corrections and effect size calculations…

On March 17, 2016, we say goodbye to one of the Department of Anesthesiology’s longest-serving employees, Rebecca Lovely. We wish Rebecca much happiness, heath, and fulfillment in her retirement, and she will be deeply missed. Having been with the University of Florida for over 40 years, she often serves as our historian, protector, organizer, and…

Stephanie Hollis, MD, was named Chief Operating Officer of Solar Stik™, Inc, one of UF’s Top 100 fastest growing companies in the Gator 100. The Gator100 is sponsored by UF Warrington College of Business Administration and the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation (CEI), which recognize and celebrate the achievements of leading UF alumni entrepreneurs around…

At the 2016 International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare, Lou Oberndorf was honored for his work in simulation. Lou Oberndorf along with members of a UF team invented the Human Patient Simulator. In Lou’s  acceptance speech, he gave due credit to the technology originating from the University of Florida, where he worked before striking out…

Sanjeev Kumar, MD, joined us on Monday, January 4, 2016 as an Assistant Professor. He came to us from our very own Jacksonville campus where he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology. Dr. Kumar earned his Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from Delhi University in India. He worked at Delhi University/…

JAMA Surgery Kidney Injury Common Following Vascular Surgery, Associated With Increased Risk For Cardiovascular-Related Death Both acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease were common in patients undergoing major vascular surgical procedures and were associated with an increase in long-term cardiovascular-specific death compared with patients with no kidney disease, according to a study published online…

Ranked #1 forResearch Output of all Anesthesiology Program’s in the South by your colleagues on Doximity.com in 2015 Ranked#3 forReputation and  Size of Program of all Anesthesiology Program’s in the South by your colleagues on Doximity.com in 2015

Peggy White, MD, has been elected by the Association of University Anesthesiologists (AUA) Council as a member. The mission of the AUA is the advancement of the art and science of anesthesiology by the encouragement of it’s members to pursue original investigations in the clinic and lab the development of methods for teaching anesthesia and…

Interested in keeping up to date with what’s happening at UF’s Department of Anesthesiology?  Then click here to read the  Gator Works, Anesthesiology Alumni Newsletter for Fall 215.  Gator Works keep you informed about departmental news and events in areas such as education, research, people and awards, as well as our clinical campaigns.

Did you know that “70% of operating rooms in sub-Saharan Africa don’t have a pulse oximeter, and essential piece of equipment for practicing safe anesthesia and surgical care?  41% of hospitals in Latin America, and 45% in South Asia face the same crisis.” The University of Florida Department of Anesthesiology is extremely proud of adopting…

Our eligible grads from the Critical Care Medicine fellowship for 2015 had a 100% pass rate on  the Critical Care Medicine Sub-specialty America Board of Anesthesiology Certification Examination!  

Fred Cole Dooley, M.D., to the Department of Anesthesiology. Dr. Dooley returns to the “Gator Nation” family as an Assistant Professor. He comes to us from the University of Arkansas Medical School where he completed a fellowship in Pediatric Anesthesia. Dr. Dooley completed his Residency in Anesthesiology at the University of Florida. He received his medical…

Michael Tony Cometa, MD, joined us on August 31, 2015 as an Assistant Professor from Bellingham Anesthesia Associates, P.S., in Bellingham, Washington, where he was a Staff Anesthesiologist. Dr. Cometa originally attended University of Florida, where he completed his Bachelor of Science degree with honors in Food Science and Human Nutrition. He then studied at…

Congratulations on a new R01 grant from the National Institute of Health to Dr. Anatoly Martynyuk (PI) and the research team (Dr. Nikolaus Gravenstein, Dr. Christoph Seubert and Dr. Barry Setlow from the UF Department of Psychiatry).  The purpose of this grant is to investigate the role of the limbic-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptor-mediated…

Please join us in welcoming Renard Sessions, MD, MBA, to the Department of Anesthesiology. Dr. Sessions returns to the “Gator Nation” family on August 3, 2015 as an Associate Professor and Assistant Chair of Finance. He comes to us from in San Antonio, Texas, where he was the Finance Committee Chair. Dr. Sessions earned his…

Dr. Gijo Alex, Cherrie Print, Elizabeth Feally, Maryam Aminzadeh, and Dr. Albert Robinson participated in the 2015 Medical Career Day at the F.O.C.U.S. Summer Program for 50 2nd – 12th grade students on Wednesday, July 29, 2015. The Fostering Opportunities & Cultivating Upstanding Students (F.O.C.U.S.) Summer Program and STEM Camp is an 5-week program for K-12…

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Basma Mohamed to the Department of Anesthesiology. Dr. Mohamed joined us on July 1, 2015 as an Assistant Professor, and comes to us from our very own Anesthesiology residency program. Dr. Mohamed is originally from Alexandria, Egypt where she received her MBChB degree. She received training in managing clinical…

It is with great pleasure and pride that we announce our CA-2 class had a 100% pass rate on their ABA BASIC Examination. Congratulations to all of our residents who completed this first step in the staged examination system for Board Certification in Anesthesiology!   Outstanding job!

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Fernando Zayas-Bazan to the Department of Anesthesiology. Dr. Bazan joins us on July 13, 2015 as an Assistant Professor, and comes to us from a Pediatric Anesthesiology Fellowship at Wolfson Children’s Hospital/Nemours Children’s Clinic and the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. Dr. Bazan earned his Bachelor’s in biology from…

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Sean Kiley, MD, back to the Department of Anesthesiology. Dr. Kiley returned to the “Gator Nation” on July 1, 2015 as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Kiley was an Intensivist at North Florida Regional Medical Center and prior to that he was an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine…

We congratulate four of our very own cardiothoracic anesthesia fellows: Rob Covington, Jonathan Hadaway, Jason Drennan, and Daniel Hernandez for presenting their research projects at the SCA/ICCVA 2015 Conference. The 37th Annual Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologist (SCA) workshop hosted the 15th International Congress of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia (ICCVA) Conference in Washington, DC, at the…

Full Steam Ahead Career Day was brought to you by the Office for Diversity & Health Equity at UF’s College of Medicine and was a great success! This event took place on Friday, May 29, 2015, and we are proud that our anesthesiologists Drs. Robinson, Sappenfield, Reed and Giordano, as well as department members Cherrie Print, and…

Julie has successfully completed “The National Board for Certification for Training Administrators of Graduate Medical Education Programs (TAGME)”  certification with added qualifications in Anesthesiology.  Julie is now Ms. Julianne Veal, C-TAGME!  

Dr. Martynyuk was invited to present at the 2015 Congress of the Chinese Association of Anesthesiologists, in Fuzhou, Fujian Province as well as give a lecture at the Department of Anesthesiology, People’s Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, P.R. China. Dr. Martynyuk was given a warm welcome (and a big neon sign) upon his…

Lee Audd, MD, Christina Sarrica, DO, and Nick Cummings, MD, were selected as the new Chief Residents for Anesthesiology for the 2015-2016 academic year. To be selected residents must demonstrate leadership ability, good academic standing, willingness to put personal interests aside for the good of the program, be models of best standards of professionalism, be organized,…

The April 13, 2015, edition of Forbes magazine included its annual listing of “America’s Best Employers” — and the University of Florida and UF Health made the national honor roll! In fact, only 25 health systems were recognized out of the 500 organizations deemed top employers nationally across 25 diverse industries. The rankings were based on…

We look forward to meeting and working with our new Anesthesiology residents for the 2015/2016 Academic year. The National Resident Matching Program® announced the results of what has turned out to be the largest Main Residency Match® in NRMP history. Nearly 17,000 U.S. allopathic seniors and more than 9,000 other applicants matched to one of the more…

The American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) awarded Dr. Patrick Tighe with a Presidential Commendation for leading the Academy’s work in Acute Pain medicine through the establishment of the Acute Pain Medicine Shared Interest Group and the State of Acute Pain Medicine Initiative which is looking at ways to advance research and education in Acute Pain. The…

We are pleased to announce that Joyce Myers, our Research Office Coordinator, is the recipient of a 2015 Superior Accomplishment Award. The University of Florida 2014-2015 Superior Accomplishment Awards program recognizes faculty and staff who have shown efficiency or economy in their work, have contributed outstanding and meritorious service, or who have improved the quality…

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Yury Zasimovich to the Department of Anesthesiology as an Assistant Professor beginning July 1, 2015! Dr. Zasimovich completed his anesthesiology residency at the University of Florida and was named Chief Resident in 2013. Some of his current research interests include: “Transferrable training in thoracic epidural and paravertebral blocks using…

Drs. Dore and Ahmad authored Chapter 10 of Brain Neurotrauma: Molecular, Neuropsychological, and Rehabilitation Aspects titled “Cytoprotective Role of Prostaglandin D2 DP1 Receptor against Neuronal Injury Following Acute Excitotoxicity and Cerebral Ischemia”. The text was published in February 2015.

Please join us in congratulating our colleagues whose dedication to our mother and infant patients has resulted in the prestigious “Baby-Friendly” designation for UF Health Shands Hospital. UF Health is the state’s first academic health center to receive this recognition from Baby-Friendly USA, which is a program of the World Health Organization and UNICEF. It…

Dr. Adam Wendling was awarded a Faculty Enhancement Opportunity (FEO) Grant. Dr. Wendling’s grant funded his participation in the Harvard Advanced Instructor Course in Medical Simulation. Dr. Wendling’s goals for this course were to more effectively engage and mentor junior faculty in refining their simulation skills, develop strategic ways to engage hospital and college leadership and faculty…

Dr. Patrick Tighe was awarded a grant by NIGMS to support the project,  “Finding Good TEMporal PostOperative pain Signatures (TEMPOS)”. The project examined how postoperative pain scores change with respect to time, and the impact of these temporal patterns on the risk for persistent postsurgical pain.  

Please join us in welcoming Dr. David Corda to the Department of Anesthesiology. Dr. Corda joined us on April 1, 2015, as an Assistant Professor, and comes to us from the Florida Hospital Waterman in Tavares, Florida, where he was the director of cardiothoracic anesthesia. Dr. Corda, who is originally from Hollywood, Florida, earned his…

For their publication “Clinically derived early postoperative pain trajectories differ by age, sex, and type of surgery” published in Pain, The Journal for the International Association for the Study of Pain. Pain trajectories is a novel way of characterizing postoperative surgical pain, where the linear relationship between pain score and time is quantified. This study…

On the publication of their article “What is a reference standard?” published in Anesthesia & Anaglesia in January 2015.

Dr. Doré was named as a Fellow of the American Heart Association (FAHA) on February 11th, 2015 at the International Stroke Conference in Nashville, TN. The election and designation as a Fellow of the American Heart Association recognizes scientific and professional accomplishments as well as volunteer leadership and service. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Doré…

Congratulations to Drs. Kiki Nin and Lateef Opabola on their Customer Service Key Awards presented to them at a special luncheon on February 20th, 2015.

We are pleased to announce the Department of Anesthesiology poster presentation winners from the 2015 Celebration of Research These posters were presented on February 9, 2015 at the College of Medicine’s Celebration of Research held in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.  Our Department had two winners: In the category of Basic Science Andrew Lampert for his poster…

5th Annual Hands-On Symposium The Pearls and Pitfalls of Perioperative Cardiac Imaging and Devices Took place on February 7th at the McKnight Brain Institute Go to our facebook page to view photos of the event!

Dr. Joshua Sappenfield has been selected as a 2015 UFHealth Shands Physician Customer Service Award winner, based on a nomination from one of his patients. Well over 100 nominations were received and Dr. Sappenfield was selected by the Physician Recognition Team to be honored at the Recognition Luncheon, hosted by Dr Michael Good and Ed Jimenez, Shands CEO…

Our Residency program was ranked second by Doximity/US News and World Report Rankings of Top Anesthesiology Residencies of the South in 2015.

The 2015 winners of the Faculty Teaching Awards from the Department of Anesthesiology are: Joy Allee, MD Kent Berg, MD, MBA Sylvain Doré, PhD Brian Gelfand, MD Chris Giordano, MD Nik Gravenstein, MD Gregory Janelle, MD, FASE Michael Mahla, MD Andrew Pitkin, MD The Faculty Teaching Awards recognize faculty for outstanding performance in the teaching…

By Christopher Curry Staff writer – Gainesville Sun Photo by Erica Brough In a classroom deep within UF Health Shands Hospital, Samsun Lampotang waves a handheld device that looks like a small computer mouse over a model of a human upper back and spine. On a laptop computer next to the model, which includes a spine…

University of Florida Health researchers have found a possible predictor for little understood — but often disabling or even fatal — stroke complications. The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may extend to other neurological disorders, said Sylvain Doré, lead author and a professor of anesthesiology, neurology, psychiatry, pharmaceutics…

At the Florida Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting for 2014, Dr. Sudweeks was awarded the First Place FSA Poster Discussion Award for delivering an excellent presentation.

Matt Bzdega, MD, is a CA-1 resident in the Anesthesiology Residency Program who teamed up with his faculty advisor, Patrick Tighe, MD, MS, to submit an abstract titled “Markov Chain Modeling of Postoperative Pain State Transitions.” Their abstract was selected for the distinction of “Best of Category” for the Pain Medicine category from over 512…

Katye Avery was awarded a 2014 Superior Accomplishment Award for her continuous hard work and innovative ability to provide efficient administrative support for the Department of Anesthesiology. To be recognized for this award by one’s peers is the highest point of achievement. Katye was recognized for providing excellent overall job performance, outstanding service to visitors…

The Post Anesthesia Care Unit at Shands at UF Health has been awarded a Bronze level Beacon Award. This accomplishment represents one of many significant milestones on the journey to optimal outcomes and exceptional patient care.

Throughout the course of this year, the department has been in the process of moving forward in a new direction while continuing its legacy of quality patient care, research, and education. Our immediate past Chair, Dr. F. Kayser Enneking, announced that, after 5 years of dedicated service, she would resign as the Department Chair (her…

The Society of Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and Critical Care celebrated it’s 40th anniversary in October of 2012 right before the American Society of Anesthesiologists meeting. Every year the Society recognizes one of its members for their outstanding teaching efforts and focus on education. Our very own, Dr. Michael Mahla, was the 2012 recipient of this…

The American Society of Anesthesiologist hosts an annual meeting where anesthesiologists from around the world come together to educate, be educated, discuss current healthcare issues, and give insight to new and innovative medical technologies.The meeting is comprised of a selection of poster presentations, refresher learning courses, guests speakers, discussion panels, and forums. In 2012, the…

Lifebox was a resident-driven project in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Florida that enabled pulse-oximetry in order to improve patient safety in operating rooms around the world that don’t currently have access to this important patient safety technology. Dr. Sephalie Patel, a graduate of our residency program, enlisted the aid of her…

Under the direction of Dr. Gang Zheng, clinical assistant professor of Anesthesiology, Gigi Geiger, DO, a current CA-3 resident along with staff from other American Anesthesiology Training  programs traveled to three separate cities in China in order to teach about the use of epidurals for the labor analgesia management. They worked for two weeks in…