Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care

The Center for Anesthesia Research

Roderic G. Eckenhoff, MD
Vice-chair for Research
Austin Lamont Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care

The Center for Anesthesia Research was established by the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care in 1967 to encourage collaborative and interdisciplinary research, and research training, on problems relevant to anesthesiology.

The expansion of anesthesiology into the broad realm of perioperative medicine, including critical care, pain, metrics and policy, has required, and been driven by, parallel expansion in the Center's laboratories and focus. These laboratories are located on the 3rd floor of the historic John Morgan Building of Penn’s School of Medicine, dedicated in honor of David E. Longnecker, and the 7th floor of the Dulles Building in the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

The Center includes a Core Laboratory for analytical and preparative chemistry, and an administrative unit to assist department investigators in the preparation of protocols, proposals and orders. The Center organizes a weekly research seminars with speakers from the Department, University, and other institutions.

Mission of the Center for Anesthesia Research
To conduct investigation into problems and questions faced by our colleagues and patients in the conduct of our specialty in the broadest sense. Investigations at any level (molecular, cellular, animal, translational, clinical, epidemiological, policy) are expected to be at a level to attract national attention and support, interdisciplinary collaborations, and the most qualified trainees.

Research Themes
A central theme of the Center for Anesthesia Research is team and collaborative science. The unified nature of the Penn campus greatly facilitates collaborations, and Center investigators currently have strong working relationships with several other departments and institutes in the schools of medicine, arts and sciences, engineering and veterinary medicine.

Teams are broadly organized around the following themes, and many encompass basic, translational, clinical and epidemiological investigations. Click on a theme to learn more.

NIH Funding and Rankings
The Penn Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care received over $4 million in NIH funding in 2006, placing it among the top departments in the country.

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