Fostering Junior and Mid-Career Faculty Research Careers: The 2025 Patricia Sander Anesthesia Research Awardees

We are pleased to announce that Drs. Erica Langnas and Jina Sinskey have been selected as the Patricia Sander Research Awardees for 2025-2027.

Designed to support early and mid-career faculty balancing the demands of home and work-life, the Patricia Sander Awards for Anesthesia Researchers drive research discoveries while prioritizing faculty well-being. This unique award can be used for both research and childcare expenses.

Established in 2018 and made possible by funds from an anonymous donor, previous awardees include Drs. Odmara Barreto Chang, Kerstin Kolodzie, Marc Buren, Solmaz Manuel, Catherine Chen, and Jeremy Juang. Read more about the 2025 awardees’ projects below.

Erica Langnas, MD, MPH

Project Title: National Variation in Multimodal Analgesia Use and Associated PACU Outcomes for Common Surgeries

Project Narrative: Despite national guidelines recommending multimodal analgesia to improve postoperative pain control and reduce opioid use, its use across US institutions is poorly characterized. This project will use data from the Multicenter Perioperative Outcomes Group, which includes over 80 institutions and millions of cases, to examine how often multimodal strategies are used for common surgeries and whether their use is associated with better recovery outcomes in the post-anesthesia care unit.

Jina Sinskey, MD

Project Title: CO-OR: CO-Designing Solutions for Well-Being and Patient Safety in the Operating Room

Project Narrative: Addressing threats to perioperative healthcare worker (HCW) well-being requires developing feasible and sustainable solutions that incorporate the perspectives of HCWs across various roles. The CO-Designing Solutions for Well-Being and Patient Safety in the Operating Room (CO-OR) project aims to: (1) Identify well-being and patient safety challenges faced by HCWs in the perioperative environment by engaging anesthesiologists, surgeons, and perioperative nurses; (2) Utilize the Quality of Life Improvement approach to co-design and implement systems-based solutions with active HCW involvement; and (3) Employ mixed-methods to evaluate the impact of these interventions on HCW well-being and patient safety in the perioperative setting. Through addressing these well-being challenges, the CO-OR project will develop new strategies and tools to enhance patient safety.