| Volume 40 Number 1-2 | Stony Brook, NY | < January/February 2024 > |
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Academic Research Evening - Save the Date!
We invite you to submit one or more abstracts of your research for this event. An email will be sent out detailing the abstract submission process and due date. |
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Kudos
Andrew Feit, MD, FASA I want to congratulate Dr. Ana Costa for being nominated and voted on by the RSOM Faculty Senate to serve as a member of the Committee on Appointment, Promotion and Tenure!! Congratulations Ana! Well deserved! James P. Dilger, PhD Congratulations to Dr. Natalia Peunova who is a collaborator on an Office of the Vice President of Research SEED grant "Mechanisms of Ciliary Membrane Shaping in Airways"! This is a collaboration involving the departments of Pharmacological Sciences (PI: Dr. Ken-Ichi Takemaru), Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Anthropology as well as Anesthesiology. Natalia will apply the live imaging methods developed in her lab. 
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Clinical STARS
Two STAR cards were received on labor and delivery after a difficult OB weekend call. They highlight the hard work and compassion of attending Dr. Morgane Giordano Factor and the stellar resident Dr. Alexandra Tsivitis . Congratulations! 
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Nightlight Spotlight: Chief of Resident Affairs Dr. Nguyen
In the first Nightlight Spotlight of 2024, I’m excited to catch up with one of our busy chief residents, Dr. Victoria Nguyen. As Chief of Resident Affairs, her main two responsibilities are resident recruitment and resident wellness. She recently wrapped up the 2023-2024 resident recruitment season, helping to welcome and virtually host over 160 applicants for the Class of 2028. But as one of her busy seasons ends, another begins. There are just a few short months before the CA-3 class graduates, the CA-2 class steps into their shoes, the CA-1 class sits for the BASIC exam, and the CBY class begins “Boot Camp.” Read on to discover some of the work she does to celebrate resident wellness, catch a tip for anesthesiology residency applicants, and find out her post-residency plans. Can you tell us a little about your background? I was born and raised in Central New Jersey and graduated with a BS in chemistry from The College of New Jersey and MD from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. I took 2 years off before starting medical school where I worked as an emergency department medical scribe and also spent time traveling internationally to Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea, and Japan. What attracted you to anesthesiology? Anesthesiology is a specialty that combines critical thinking and procedural skills. As an anesthesiologist, I function as a physician, pharmacist, and physiologist, where I administer medications and see the direct effects on the patient. There are also a lot of different ways to provide anesthesia in a safe way so each patient has a personalized anesthetic plan which makes the work fun and exciting. 
I chose Stony Brook because of the amazing people that I met on my interview day - our program director Dr. Schabel, our assistant program director Dr. DeLemos, and Dr. Poovathor (aka Poovy). I could tell immediately that Stony Brook was a very supportive program with a wonderful culture. During the pre-interview dinner, many residents showed up and it was very clear that they were genuinely happy being at Stony Brook. With warmer temperatures around the corner, what’s your favorite part of Long Island summers? I love driving out East to visit wineries and vineyards such as Wolffer Estate and Kontokosta, as well as exploring towns such as Sag Harbor and Greenport and trying out new restaurants. Favorite restaurant in Long Island? New York City? I highly recommend dining at Beacon in Sag Harbor during the summertime at sunset for the most beautiful waterfront views. My favorite restaurant in NYC right now is PLANTA Queen, a plant-based Asian fusion restaurant in NoMad. It will make any meat lover enjoy eating plants! Tell us more about your responsibilities as Wellness and Recruitment Chief. As chief of resident wellness and recruitment, I am responsible for organizing resident social events such as class dinners, wineries and breweries, Top Golf, etc. I am also in charge of arranging pre-interview virtual meet and greets for medical students to have an opportunity to speak to our residents! What has been your favorite wellness activity as a Stony Brook resident? My favorite department-sponsored wellness activity was Top Golf as a CA-1! Other wellness activities that my class does includes wine and cheese nights, game nights, wineries, farms, happy hours, and dinners! 
Trust your gut feeling! No matter where you end up you'll get great training, but it's the other things that will make your time in residency more enjoyable - the people, location, and culture of the program. What’s next for you after graduating from residency? I'll be heading to the University of Pittsburgh for Adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology fellowship! What drew you to cardiac anesthesiology? When I did my first open heart case, I was completely amazed by the environment, culture, and teamwork of the cardiac operating room staff. Everyone works incredibly well together to make sure the patient receives the best care for a major operation. I enjoy the procedures we get to do as cardiac anesthesiologists, as well as learning TEE which has proven to be an important skill in noncardiac surgeries as well. I also appreciate that cardiac anesthesiologists are very involved and work closely with the cardiac surgeons in their patient's care plans. We have amazing mentors in cardiac anesthesia at Stony Brook who I aspire to be like in my future practice. I know additional training in cardiac anesthesiology will help me have a strong understanding of cardiac physiology and pharmacology to make me the best anesthesiologist I can be! |
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Women in Anesthesia Journal Club
Ashley Wang, MD The inaugural Women in Anesthesia (WIA) Journal Club was held in January at the home of faculty advisor Dr. Tazeen Beg, with a surprise special guest appearance from Dr. Maya Hastie of Columbia University. The event was a huge success! The topic of discussion centered around women leadership representation in anesthesiology societies, with data showing a rising number of women anesthesiologists pursuing leadership roles. The WIA Journal Club is a new initiative that aims to bring women in the department together to foster an environment of support and mentorship among attendings and residents. It is organized by resident coordinators CA-3 Victoria Nguyen, CA-1 Neveada Raventhiranathan and me. Planning for the next meeting is already in the works, so stay tuned for more updates in the spring. 
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Scenes from the Holiday Party
CRNA group photo! 
Dr. Costa and her many friends! |
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SB Anesthesiology at PGA 2023
Ana Costa, MD and Vincent Bargnes, MD 
Clearly, there was one place you just had to be photographed at! |
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Alumni Corner
James P. Dilger, PhD I received a short note from Dr. Christopher Gallagher who was a member of the department from 2006 until retiring in 2017. He was a member of the Cardiac Anesthesia Division and served as the Director of the Residency Training Program. Best to all and sundry at Stony Brook. We moved to Washington! Rachel [his daughter] moved to Vancouver Island so we wanted to be less than a continental hypotenuse away from her, so here we are. You may be shocked, shocked to hear that it rains here a bit! Yes, we were surprised too. Umbrellically yours, Chris and Carolyn 
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Recent Publications
From: Sideris et al 2024, Fig 4
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Where on Campus is That?
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Monthly Muscle Chillaxant
Department members celebrated "Go Red for Women" during American Heart Month! |
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SleepTalker, the Stony Brook Anesthesiology Newsletter is published by the Department of Anesthesiology
Stony Brook Medicine, Stony Brook, NY Syed Shah, MD, Interim Chairman Editorial Board: James P. Dilger, PhD; Ana Costa, MD; Murad Elias, MD; Vincent Bargnes, MD |
