Mark Dershwitz, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Dershwitz is Professor of Anesthesiology and Biochemistry & Molecular Pharmacology at the University of Massachusetts. He received his undergraduate degree in chemistry from Oakland University and his M.D. and Ph.D. in pharmacology from Northwestern University. He did his residency and postdoctoral research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and then remained on staff there for 12 years. In 2000, he became the academic vice chair of the anesthesiology department at UMass.
His research has concentrated on the pharmacology of intravenous anesthetic agents and antiemetic agents and on intraoperative brain function monitoring. He administered the first remifentanil-based surgical anesthetic and later demonstrated that the pharmacokinetics of remifentanil are unchanged in volunteers with either end-stage liver disease or on renal dialysis. Not only was he a co-investigator on an early trial in the development of the BIS monitor, but he was also a volunteer participant. The fact that a small, but significant, portion of the BIS algorithm is based upon the evaluation of his EEG waves while under propofol anesthesia may or may not make the anesthesia community feel more confident in this technology. He also believes in the safety and efficacy of droperidol as an antiemetic and has written and lectured widely in his crusade to foster the continued use of this medication.
He currently spends much time teaching both residents and medical students. He is responsible for all of the academic activities within the anesthesiology department at UMass, and he is also the course co-director of the medical pharmacology course presented to second-year medical students. In addition, he is the co-editor of the largest selling review book for the written board examination in anesthesiology. On several occasions, both his residents and his medical students have voted him their best teacher.
His hobbies (that his wife insists are too numerous and time-consuming) include tinkering with vintage electronic devices, computer hacking, and still and video photography. A paradox is that he aims to have the newest and fastest computer equipment while still relying on vacuum tube technology in his audio system.
David E. Longnecker, M.D., F.R.C.A.
Dr. Longnecker is the Robert D. Dripps Professor Emeritus of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the University of Pennsylvania and a Director in the section of Health Care Affairs of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the organization of American medical schools and teaching hospitals. At the AAMC, he leads a national organization of Chief Medical Officers, the physicians who coordinate clinical care, clinical service, and patient safety in academic medical centers, and co-leads a project to enhance the culture of quality and safety in teaching hospitals and medical schools. He also coordinates clinical health information technology and represents the AAMC in several other national organizations.
Dr. Longnecker received his undergraduate and medical education at Indiana University. He has over 35 years of experience as physician-scientist, physician-educator, and physician-administrator, first at the University of Missouri, subsequently at the University of Virginia, and eventually at the University of Pennsylvania, where he served as Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology, Vice Dean for Professional Services, and Senior Vice President-Corporate Chief Medical Officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. His research and educational interests began with basic, clinical, and translational research in anesthesia-related areas and evolved to include health services research, health care management, health information technology, and quality improvement education and practice. He is the author of numerous scientific articles and chapters and an editor of seven medical textbooks, including the 2200-page Anesthesiology (2007), and the online anesthesia education website, AccessAnesthesiology.
Dr. Longnecker served as President of the American Board of Anesthesiology, President of the National Resident Matching Program, President of the Association of University Anesthesiologists, and inaugural President of the W.T.G. Morton Society. He was a member of the Harvard-Kennedy School of Government Health Care Delivery Design Project that explored innovative approaches to quality, cost, and productivity in health care. He is a fellow (by election) of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (UK) and member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences. At the IOM, Dr. Longnecker chairs the Committee on Aerospace Medicine and Medicine for Extreme Environments, which advises NASA on medical risks, medical care, and health-related matters associated with space flight, including return to the Moon and eventually the human exploration of Mars. He is the senior author on three recent reports from the IOM; A Review of NASA's Longitudinal Study of Astronaut Health (2004); A Review of NASA's Bioastronautics Roadmap: A Risk Reduction Strategy for Human Exploration of Space (2006); and A Review of NASA's Space Flight Health Standards-Setting Process (2007). Dr. Longnecker also serves on the NASA Advisory Council, which provides strategic advice and recommendations to the NASA Administrator. His personal interests include protection of the coastal environment, and he serves on the advisory board of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.
Brian D. Sites, M.D.
Dr. Sites received his M.D. degree from Brown University in 1996. He then completed 3 years of a general surgical residency at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. During his last year of surgical residency, he was awarded the prestigious Isaac O. Mehrez award for surgical excellence. He then completed 3 years of an anesthesiology residency at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. He served there as Chief Resident in 2002.
He is currently an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Orthopedic Surgery at Dartmouth Medical School. He is Director of Regional and Orthopedic Anesthesia at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. He is also Director of the CA-4 regional anesthesia fellowship that is now in its third year of operation.
Dr. Sites has been a pioneer and international leader in techniques related to ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia. Dr. Sites and his research group were the first to describe several new important techniques of imaging peripheral nerves with ultrasound. His main area of clinical and research interest revolves around the exploration of imaging techniques that facilitate regional anesthesia. Dr. Sites is also actively involved through human simulation in techniques to minimize patient injury and improve anesthetic quality. Dr. Sites believes that ultrasound can improve patient safety and nerve block efficacy.
