The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is honoring Drs. Philip Morgan and Margaret Sedensky with the 2023 ASA Award for Excellence in Research at the annual ASA meeting in San Francisco in October. The award is bestowed in recognition of the significant research accomplishments of Drs. Morgan and Sedensky studying the role of mitochondrial dysfunction and basic mechanisms of anesthetics. As partners and collaborators throughout their scientific careers, Drs. Morgan and Sedensky seek to understand how anesthestics work to cause unconsciousness and block pain. They are the first investigators to discover how gas anesthestics cause unconsciousness at the cellular level (Current Biology, 2022). Recent studies include exploring whether children with mitochondrial dysfunction are more sensitive to a gaseous anesthetic and whether intravenous anesthetics are safe in children with mitochondrial disease.
“There are many components of a successful career in science. We have been lucky enough to have departmental support and talented trainees who shared our goal of trying to discover the molecular targets of gas anesthetics. This award reflects a longstanding team effort that has resulted in a rewarding career.” – Dr. Sedensky and Dr. Morgan
In addition to receiving the Award for Excellence in Research, Dr. Sedensky has been selected to present the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research-Helrich Research Lecture at the ASA 2023 Annual Meeting. The FAER-Helrich lecture recognizes outstanding scholarship by a scientist to encourage young anesthesiologists to consider careers in research and teaching. The lecture is named in honor of Martin Helrich, MD, FAER’s first Executive Director.