Our department had the distinct honor of hosting the Association of University Anesthesiologists (AUA) 2026 Annual Meeting last weekend, bringing 140 colleagues from across the country to our campus. Centered on the theme Discovery, Mentorship and Adaptive Learning in an Evolving Healthcare Environment, the meeting highlighted our collective dedication to research, collaboration, and the sustainability of academic anesthesiology. Timed with the peak bloom of the famed Yoshino cherry trees on the quad, the gathering also included a celebratory private reception at the Burke Museum, where attendees engaged with the rich Indigenous history of our region.
A special congratulations to our department liaison Dr. Deepak Sharma for his coordination efforts with AUA leadership! Dr. Sharma, with the support of Department Chair Dr. G. Burkhard Mackensen and members of our department staff, organized a highly successful event with many memorable highlights.
Dr. David Baker, head of the Institute for Protein Design and Henrietta and Aubrey Davis Endowed Professor in Biochemistry at UW, graciously provided the opening keynote lecture. The winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, he described recent advances in protein design and answered many inspired questions related to his research.
We are also deeply grateful for the outstanding featured speakers of our host program, Philip G. Morgan, MD, and Heidi van Rooyen, PhD.
Dr. Morgan, a professor in our department, and his research partner Dr. Margaret Sedensky jointly received the Excellence in Research Award from the American Society of Anesthesiologists in 2023. For the AUA meeting, he explored their findings related to the role mitochondria plays in adverse reactions to anesthetic exposure in young patients.
Dr. van Rooyen, an experienced clinical psychologist and internationally recognized South African scholar, focused on the importance of integrating the arts with patient care, inviting attendees to reflect on how poetry, visual art and other forms of creative expression can help clinicians listen differently, act ethically and care more deeply. Dr. van Rooyen is the William H. Foege Endowed Chair and Professor of the Department of Global Health in the Schools of Public Health and Medicine at the University of Washington.
Congratulations to Bonica Scholar Dr. Ian Jones, who was presented with the prestigious Lisa Wise-Faberowski Resident Prize for Research Excellence! The award honors the author of the best research paper submitted to the AUA Annual Meeting by a resident or fellow each year.
Other presenters included Drs. Mike Crowder (with Julien Goldstic), Carolyn Diaz, Vikas O’Reilly-Shah, See Wan Tham, Wil Van Cleve and Jiang Wu. UW-GAIN colleague Douglas Bosibori, who is currently pursuing a PhD in the UW School of Public Health, also presented a poster at the meeting. Thank you to everyone who attended and represented our department proudly at the AUA Annual Meeting!
