SleepTalker July 2021

T. J. Gan, MD, MBA, MHS, FRCA

   I am pleased to welcome Dr. Eman Nada to the Department of Anesthesiology as Chief of Regional Anesthesiology, effective June 1, 2021. This is a newly named division, merged from the Division of Orthopedic and Plastic Surgery, as well as the Division of Acute Pain. Dr. Nada will replace Dr. Syed Azim, who has decided to step down as Chief, and will continue with the department focused more on clinical research. Dr. Christopher Page, previous division chief of Acute Pain, will continue to serve as the Medical Director of the Acute Pain Service.

   Eman earned a Doctorate of Anesthesia and Intensive Care from Alexandria University, Egypt. She completed a residency in anesthesiology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas. In addition, she competed a fellowship in regional anesthesia and acute pain, and a fellowship in neuroanesthesia, both at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Eman is board-certified in anesthesiology. Most recently, Dr. Nada was a member of the faculty at the University of Massachusetts, in the department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine.

   Over the years, Dr. Nada’s active teaching of residents has earned her several awards, including the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ Marc Wise Award for improving resident wellbeing, and the Original Research Award from the Midwest Resident Anesthesia Meeting. Eman has published numerous peer-reviewed manuscripts and co-edited a book on regional anesthesia and pain management. She has also co-authored book chapters in Problem Based Learning Discussions in Neuroanesthesia and Neurocritical Care and Anesthesiology: A Problem-Based Learning Approach. Eman is a reviewer for the Clinical Journal of Pain, Journal of Neurosurgical Anesthesiology, Open Anesthesiology Journal, and PLOS One.

   Please join me in welcoming her to the faculty at Stony Brook.

   I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Syed Azim and Dr. Christopher Page for their exemplary leadership of their respective divisions for the past 11 and 12 years, respectively.

   Here are the recipients of our annual awards! Congratulations!

LEND Grant

Ralph Epstein, DDS

   Dr. Michelle S. Ballan, Professor and Associate Dean for Research, School of Social Welfare and her colleagues were awarded a grant to establish a Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program here at Stony Brook. LEND programs are funded by the Health Resources & Services Administration through the Maternal & Child Health Bureau. Stony Brook was one of just three programs funded. I am one of the Core Faculty Members on the grant.

   The LEND grant provides ~$2.2 million of funding over 5 years to support trainees and faculty involved in the program. The LEND program will produce resources, research, and quality improvement to enhance education and quality of care for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders throughout the region. It will also provide a mechanism for coordinating and tracking core service delivery throughout Stony Brook to individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, providing essential metrics for identifying, benchmarking, and improving quality of care.

Ursula Landman, DO

   I was a virtual oral board examiner for the AOBA ( American Osteopathic Board of Anesthesiology) orals on June 12. I attended multiple training sessions to learn the protocol. I also had an audio check with a tech consultant to get my audio working properly. This was not trivial as it took hours to find out the volume mixer settings. I learned new ways to get the audio working by having this volume mixer unmuted. The oral board examiner experience in 2021 was definitely much different than all my prior years of being an examiner in person. Unlike in-person exams, the sessions were recorded. Going forward, this is a good option because the examiner can go back and review answers given by the examinees. Candidates and examiners both save time and money for travel and lodging.

  On June 14th, I spoke at the AOCA (American Osteopathic College of Anesthesiologists) student forum. There were students from 20 Osteopathic medical schools. They asked a lot of fabulous questions regarding anesthesiology and rotations and studying overall. Many are looking forward to starting their clinical rotations. I love seeing all the interest that the students have and it truly brings me joy to teach them.

• Thiele RH, Theodore DJ, Gan TJ. Outcome of Organ Dysfunction in the Perioperative Period. Anesth Analg. 2021 Jun 1
• Jin Z, Daksla N, Gan TJ. Neurokinin-1 Antagonists for Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting. Drugs. 2021 Jun 9
• Romeiser JL, Smith DM, Clouston SAP. Musical instrument engagement across the life course and episodic memory in late life: An analysis of 60 years of longitudinal data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. PLoS One. 2021 Jun 24;16(6)
• Naftalovich R, Iskander AJ, Eloy JD, Tateosian VS, Naftalovich D. The Case for Bougie Consideration in Every Intubation. Air Med J. 2021 Jul-Aug;40(4):194
• Beg T, Daoud BE, Richman DC. Preoperative optimization of patients undergoing interventional procedures: infrastructure, logistics, and evidence-based medicine. Curr Opin Anaesthesiol. 2021 Aug 1;34(4):482-489

Tazeen Beg, MD