About Our Research

Anesthesiology has been undergoing major changes globally, expanding roles beyond the operating room in offering high quality personalized services in peri-operative health, pain management, critical care and other medical disciplines. Research has been a major factor underlining these changes and will continue to be an essential force driving the evolution of the specialty.

Stanford Anesthesia research includes a wide spectrum of programs in basic, translational, clinical, health service, and medical education areas. Project fields range from subcellular mechanisms of anesthesia, pain, and opioid addiction, tissue/organ injury, novel anesthesia agents, techniques and devices, treatment effectiveness, epidemiology, patient safety, health economics and other areas. Interdisciplinary collaborations are increasingly a feature. Our department has been among the top five NIH funded anesthesia departments since 2011, with current external research grants and contracts totaling $17 million annually.

Stanford Anesthesia pays special attention to research training for the next generation of anesthesiologists and has established a research-training continuum bridging between medical student and faculty stages. We place special emphasis on supporting the residency-fellowship-junior faculty period. A key part of this support is the Fellowship in Anesthesia Research and Medicine (FARM) program and our two NIH supported T32 training grants.

Research Programs

Basic Science

Visit our basic science page to learn more about our ongoing research. 

Clinical and Translational Science

Visit our clinical and translational science page to learn more about our ongoing research. 

Data Science

Visit our data science page to learn more about our ongoing research. 

Anesthesia T32 Research fellowship

Visit our research fellowship to learn more about our NIH funded opportunities for residents and postdoctoral fellows. 


News Spotlight

Dr. Jessica Ansari Wins Best Research Paper Competition at SOAP

May 31, 2023

Congratulations to Dr. Jessica Ansari, MD, for her outstanding achievement in winning the Best Research Paper Competition at the esteemed SOAP (Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology) conference. Her remarkable dedication and exceptional research have been recognized by experts in the field, further highlighting her expertise and contribution to the advancement of obstetric anesthesia and perinatology.

Aghaeepour Lab featured on the cover of Science Advances

May 24, 2023

We are pleased to announce that an article authored by the Aghaeepour Laboratory has been prominently featured on the cover of Science Advances. The article, titled "Multiomic Signals Associated with Maternal Epidemiological Factors Contributing to Preterm Birth in Low- and Middle-Income Countries," presents groundbreaking research in the field of maternal health. 

Dr. Ken Weber Awarded an NIH NINDS R01 award

May 8, 2023

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Ken Weber in being awarded an NIH NINDS R01 award entitled: “MRI-Derived Neuromuscular Signatures to Predict Surgical Response in Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy."

Congratulations, Dr. Weber!


Louise Sun featured on ScienceFriday

April 21, 2023

We are thrilled to announce that our very own Louise Sun was featured on ScienceFriday, the nationally syndicated NPR show! In her interview, Louise discusses the topic of "All You Need to Know About Anesthesia.We are immensely proud of Louise's accomplishments and her dedication to advancing the field of anesthesiology. Her interview was broadcasted on KQED, this Monday.  Congratulations, Dr. Sun!

Stanford Takes Home Three Awards

April 1, 2023

Eleven Stanford residents represented our department taking home 3 awards at the 2023 Western Anesthesia Resident Conference (WARC); hosted by Mayo Clinic in Arizona. Congratulations to all!
 

  • 3rd place poster presentation: Jessica Dawson
  • Best Neuroanesthesia presentation: Lovemore Makusha
  • Best Acute Pain & Regional Anesthesia presentation: Dae Ik Yi

RO1 Grant Awarded to Boris Heifets to study psychedelics

Mar. 2023

Dr. Boris Heifets, MD, PhD, just received an R01 from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) for a grant entitled: "Mapping Neural Circuit Activity Mediating MDMA's Prosocial Effect”. 

His work was also recently featured in Stanford Magazine.