The Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine stresses excellence in research.

Our research faculty consists of 22 outstanding scientists passionately dedicated to improving human health through investigations in anesthesiology, biology of pain, and critical care medicine. We are internationally recognized for high impact discoveries in neuroscience, pulmonary biology, cardiovascular disease, and patient-centered research, hinging on the use of cutting-edge technologies, translational and transformative approaches, and multidisciplinary collaborations. These efforts have led our department to become nationally ranked among the top 10 anesthesiology departments in NIH funding, thereby conferring us elite anesthesiology and critical care research designation. Notably, our faculty consists of three Editors-in-Chief (Physiological Reviews, Anesthesia and Analgesia, and Molecular Pain) and multiple members serving on review panels for the NIH, Department of Defense, and private foundations. We have trained physicians, physician-scientists, and basic researchers with faculty appointments and leadership roles throughout the country, globally making our department a thought-leader for 21st century academic medicine. 

Areas of Interest

The main goal of the Division of Molecular and Translational Biomedicine is to foster the development of highly innovative research programs spanning from the bench to the bedside, and to the population, which will generate new knowledge, benefit patient care, complement clinical training of residents and fellows, and help launch the careers of new faculty. Members of the division work closely with each other as well as faculty in other School of Medicine departments and schools to enhance the strategic goals of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In addition, members of the research division worked closely with Dr. Susan Black, Director of the Residency Program, and Dr. Keith A. (Tony) Jones, former chairman of the Department of the Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, to establish the highly successful Systemic Training in Anesthesia (STAR) Program and Resident Mentored Research Experience Track (RMRET), which promote the development of academic anesthesiologists and enable residents to participate in research projects. 

Faculty

In 2014, the department recruited five outstanding scientists  (Jianguo Gu, M.B., Ph.D.; Aftab Ahmad, Ph.D.; Jennifer J. DeBerry, Ph.D.; Kevin S. Harrod, Ph.D.; Shama Ahmad, Ph.D.) who brought with them or recruited a large number of younger faculty, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, along with significant amounts of NIH funding. In addition, three of the faculty members of this division serve as editors-in-chief of prestigious, society-based peer-reviewed journals. We are also very proud of the fact that two of our colleagues are the previous recipients of the highly prestigious FAER awards.

Members of this division strive to continue to conduct groundbreaking research, expand our extramural support, enhance our interactions with our clinical colleagues, and participate in the teaching of graduate and professional students and in the training of postdoctoral residents and clinical fellows.