Drs. Akira Mukai and Alan Yang received the Joint Society Award from the Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and Critical Care (SNACC) and the Japanese Society of Anesthesiologists (JSA) at the 2025 SNACC Annual Meeting, held in Atlanta, Georgia.
This prestigious award recognizes outstanding research by trainees and early-career faculty that advances the care of patients with neurological and neurosurgical conditions through education, research and collaboration.
Their research focused on the use of caffeine in awake craniotomy, with retrospective cohort study results demonstrating that caffeine administration was associated with a significantly shorter emergence time from anesthesia without increasing hemodynamic or behavioral complications.
“These findings support the potential role of caffeine as a useful pharmacologic adjunct to achieve reliable emergence during awake craniotomy,” Dr. Mukai explained.
Dr. Mukai joined UW as a neuroanesthesiology fellow in November 2024, bringing twelve years of clinical experience and eight years of research expertise from Japan. With a primary research interest in hemodynamic monitoring, he hopes to continue to pursue projects integrating hemodynamic monitoring and neuroanesthesiology.
“I have been fortunate to participate in various research projects at the University of Washington and have learned a great deal,“ Dr. Mukai shared, emphasizing that Assistant Professor Dr. Yang, who was appointed interim director for the neuroanesthesiology fellowship program last summer, has been an impactful mentor both professionally and personally.
“Out of gratitude to Dr. Yang, the neuroanesthesiology faculty and the University of Washington for giving me the opportunity to work in the United States, I hope to continue contributing to the University through both my clinical work and research endeavors.”
Pictured left to right above: Drs. Alan Yang and Akira Mukai, outside UW Medical Center’s Surgery Pavilion.