Research Academic Evening 2019

   We are delighted to welcome Dr. Evan Kharasch, MD, PhD as the Keynote Speaker for this year's Academic Research Evening. Dr. Kharasch is Professor of Anesthesiology at Duke University School of Medicine. He also serves as Vice-Chair for Innovation in the department and as Director of Research Entrepreneurship for the School of Medicine.

    Dr. Kharasch received his MD and his PhD in Pharmacology from Northwestern Medical School. He moved to the University of Washington in Seattle for his Internship, Residency and Research Fellowship (Postdoctoral NIH Fellow) in Anesthesiology. From 1998 to 2005, Dr. Kharasch was a faculty member at the University of Washington becoming a full professor of Anesthesiology in 1997. In addition, he had an adjunct appointment in Medicinal Chemistry in the School of Pharmacy. Dr. Kharasch moved to Washington University, St. Louis in 2005. He was appointed Professor and Director of the Division of Clinical and Translational Research and one year later became the Russell D. and Mary B. Shelden Professor at Wash U. Among his additional duties at Wash U were Vice Chancellor for Research and Founding Director of the Center for Clinical Pharmacology. Last year, Dr. Kharasch made yet another eastward move; this time to Duke University.

    It's hard to know where to start describing Dr. Kharasch activities and accomplishments. He has been recognized for his teaching as the recipient of the Professor of the Year, Distinguished Service Teaching Award. Washington University School of Medicine in 2016. He received the 2011 Excellence in Research Award from the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Anaesthetic Pharmacology (ISAP) in 2017. (I particularly like the title of his talk upon receiving this honor: Going where science takes you.) He has published over 250 refereed research articles. His current NIH grant funding shows some of the breadth of his research interests: "Nanotech biomarkers for renal cancer intervention: clinical validation & utility", "Optimizing outpatient anesthesia: improving analgesia and reducing opioid misadventure”, and "5-HT3 receptor antagonists for neuropathic pain". He holds three patents for methods of renal cancer detection and has seven other patents pending.

    Although you are likely to see Dr. Kharasch's name in many contexts, the most likely place is on the masthead of Anesthesiology. Since 2016, he has been the Editor-In-Chief of the journal.

    Dr. Kharasch's keynote talk is entitled "Perioperative Opioids, Public Health and Anesthesiology". We look forward to hearing his perspective on this timely and important topic! Welcome to Stony Brook Anesthesia, Dr. Kharasch!