- Home
- Patient Information
- Faculty
- Subspecialty Divisions
- Research
- Residency / Fellowship
- Chairman's Message
- Educational Objectives
- Didactic Program
- Research Opportunities
- Terms and Conditions
- Ambulatory Anesthesia
- Cardiaothoracic Anesthesia Service
- Critical Care Anesthesia
- Neurosurgical Anesthesia
- Obstetric Anesthesia
- Pain Management
- Past Resident's Verification
- Pediatric Anesthesia
- Fellowship Application
- Medical Students
- Contact Us
Research Opportunities
The Department of Anesthesiology at NYU School of Medicine is putting a renewed emphasis on research and academic activities. The development of an academic department and academic anesthesiologists requires a strong commitment to both basic and clinical research and the availability of enthusiastic mentors. Opportunities for research for residents and fellows are available and residents are encouraged to become involved early in their residency to begin to define an area of interest upon which they can build their academic career.
Clinical Research
Active protocols exist for both investigator initiated and sponsor initiated research. An NIH supported investigation under the direction of Charles Beattie, PhD, MD, of the effect of ? blockade on outcome in the elderly undergoing major abdominal is ongoing. The cardiovascular group lead by Marc Kanchuger, MD is actively involved with the multicentered McSPI group examining neurological outcome following cardiac surgery. Alex Bekker PhD, MD, Director of neuro-anesthesia, is evaluating dexmedetomidine (recently introduced sedative) in functional neurosurgery, the use of remifentanil (ultra-short acting opioid) to improve recovery after surgery in the elderly, and an assessment of new analgesic in neurosurgical patients. Members of the neuro-anesthesiology group have also participated in the development of the BIS monitor – a device to measure depth of sedation.
In the realm of translational research Gilbert Grant MD is developing a simple, effective, and reliable means of providing analgesia for patients who have pain after surgery, trauma, and medical procedures using liposomes, which are biocompatible drug delivery vehicles. Various analgesics including opioids, local anesthetics and cholinesterase inhibitors, have been encapsulated within liposomes. The liposomes act as a slow-release vehicle for the entrapped analgesics, thus providing prolonged and effective analgesia with a single administration.
New investigations are continually submitted for IRB approval and residents are encouraged to participate along with a faculty mentor in protocol development and submission.
Basic Research
At present two main areas of basic investigation are ongoing in the Department of Anesthesiology at NYU. One deals with the underlying pathophysiology of Barth's syndrome. Barth's syndrome consists of the triad of cardiomyopathy, skeletal myopathy, and neutropenia in children and teenagers. The primary defect consists of an abnormality in the processing of the mitochondrial phospholipid, cardiolipin. Cardiolipin is essential for the structural integrity of mitochondria. Dr. Michael Schlame, in this department, has described this abnormality and is now determining the genetic and enzymatic aberration leading to the defect in cardiolipin.
The other prominent area of basic investigation involves an understanding of mechanisms of anesthetic action, with a particular focus on the alteration by volatile anesthetics of calcium homeostasis in the central nervous system and the heart. Our laboratory has determined along with investigators at other institutions that the depression of cardiac contractility by volatile anesthetics is due to interference with delivery of calcium through voltage-dependent calcium channels to the contractile proteins. In the neuron the volatile anesthetics similarly interfere with the delivery and recognition of calcium leading to changes cell signaling, neurotransmitter release and excitability. The alterations in calcium homeostasis are intrinsic to the process of anesthesia. The alteration by anesthetics of Ca2+ homeostasis has also lead to investigations in our laboratory of the role of anesthetics as neuroprotective agents specifically directed against global cerebral ischemia, and the mechanisms of local anesthetic toxicity. Investigations of these problems require basic biochemical, electrophysiological, and molecular techniques. Electrophysiological techniques are used to characterize the contribution of channels/proteins and/or lipids at the plasma membrane (whole cell, patch clamp) and at intracellular compartments (incorporation of isolated proteins and/or lipids into planar lipid bilayers). Flourometric techniques are used to measure Ca2+ changes in various cellular compartments (cytoplasmic and organelles). Finally, immunohistochemistry is used to identify the type and determine the intracellular location of various proteins involved in Ca2+ regulation. The laboratory is supported by 2 PhD's, Esperanza Recio-Pinto, a pharmacologist and electrophysiologist, Fang Xu, a neurochemist, 2 MD PhD's, Michael Schlame and Thomas Blanck, and several MD's and pre- and postdoctoral students who are devoted to understanding basic mechanisms of anesthesia. We encourage the participation of residents and fellows to help us understand and solve these interesting problems.
