We’re pleased to announce Marla Ferschl, MD, as the interim chief of Pediatric Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, effective July 1st, 2023Ferschl earned her medical degree and completed her internal medicine internship at the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine. After graduating from her anesthesiology residency in the Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care at UCSF, she completed a pediatric anesthesiology fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital, before returning to UCSF as a faculty member in the Division of Pediatric Anesthesia in 2013.
In addition to treating children requiring sedation or anesthesia for procedures, radiologic studies, or surgery, Ferschl attends on the integrated pediatric pain and palliative care service, as a member of the Acute Pain Team. She is also a member of the fetal anesthesia team, and since 2017, has been the director of fetal anesthesia at UCSF.
Throughout her career, Ferschl has been dedicated to medical education, earning an excellence in teaching award from the UCSF Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators in 2012. In 2019, her excellence in teaching was further recognized through her appointment as an Academy of Medical Educators member. Her leadership roles include being the program director for the ACGME accredited Pediatric Anesthesia Fellowship Program, and the director of fellowship education in the Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care.
Ferschl's research interests include anesthesia for fetal surgery, operating room efficiency, and procedural feedback in the operating room. She has been involved in the development and implementation of the Visiting Scholars in Pediatric Anesthesia Program (ViSiPAP), a national speaker exchange program designed for junior faculty in pediatric anesthesia. With colleagues Ben Marsh, Kerstin Kolodzie, David Robinowitz, and Adam Jacobson, Ferschl recently published findings with important implications about the effects of wildfire smoke on respiratory events in pediatric patients undergoing anesthesia.
Please join us in congratulating Ferschl on her interim appointment, and thanking her for her leadership.