Biography My research centers on understanding cognitive change over time in older adults, particularly as it relates to surgery and anesthesia, using population-based data sources. I am also interested in potentially modifiable risk factors for adverse anesthesia-related outcomes, including myocardial and cerebral ischemia, perioperative mortality, and postoperative delirium. Role Faculty Location UCSF at Mission Bay UCSF at Parnassus Category Clinical Research Education 2022 - KL2 Scholar, University of California, San Francisco Clinical and Translational Science Institute2022 - KL2 Scholar, University of California, San Francisco Clinical and Translational Science Institute2018 - NIH T32 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine2018 - NIH T32 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine2016 - Resident, Research Scholars' Track, Anesthesiology, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine2016 - Resident, Research Scholars' Track, Anesthesiology, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine2012 - Intern, Anesthesiology, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine2012 - Intern, Anesthesiology, University of California, San Francisco School of MedicineMSc, 2011 - Clinical Investigation, Washington University NIH TL1 Predoctoral Research Training ScholarMSc, 2011 - Clinical Investigation, Washington University NIH TL1 Predoctoral Research Training ScholarMD, 2011 - , Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MOMD, 2011 - , Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MOMA, 2008 - Biological/Biomedical Sciences, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Predoctoral Research Training FellowMA, 2008 - Biological/Biomedical Sciences, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Predoctoral Research Training FellowBA, 2005 - Biology, Scripps College, Claremont, CABA, 2005 - Biology, Scripps College, Claremont, CA Publications Postoperative Delirium in a Randomized Trial of Intraoperative Norepinephrine versus Phenylephrine Infusion. Phero A, Bokoch MP, Kothari R, Fong N, Chen D, Pirracchio R, Legrand M, Whitlock EL . Anesthesiology . Jan 1, 2025 Delirium risk profiles in a population-based study of United States older adults undergoing common noncardiac surgeries. Joo H, Avelino-Silva TJ, Diaz-Ramirez LG, Lee SJ, Whitlock EL . Journal of the American Geriatrics Society . Nov 5, 2024 Depression and delirium: association, prediction, causation, and care. Joo H, Whitlock EL . Anaesthesia . Sep 4, 2024 Subjective Cognitive Complaints and Anecdotal Descriptions of Postoperative Cognitive Decline: Missing Pieces of the Postoperative Neurocognitive Disorder Puzzle. Li LY, Staffaroni AM, Whitlock EL . Advances in anesthesia . Aug 28, 2024 Perioperative Considerations in Older Kidney and Liver Transplant Recipients: A Review. Chanan EL, Wagener G, Whitlock EL, Berger JC, McAdams-DeMarco MA, Yeh JS, Nunnally ME . Transplantation . Apr 1, 2024 REGAINing the Freedom to Choose Insensibility for Hip Fracture Surgery. Whitlock EL, Smith AK . Anesthesiology . Mar 1, 2024 Gaps in cognitive care among older patients undergoing spine surgery. Barreto Chang OL, Pawar N, Whitlock EL, Miller B, Possin KL . Journal of the American Geriatrics Society . Feb 26, 2024 Long-term cognitive outcome after elective hip or knee total joint arthroplasty: A population-based observational study. Tang AB, Diaz-Ramirez LG, Boscardin WJ, Smith AK, Ward D, Glymour MM, Whitlock EL . Journal of the American Geriatrics Society . Jan 8, 2024 Long-term cognitive outcomes after surgery and anesthesia: what we find depends on where we look. Joo H, Li LY, Whitlock EL . Current Anesthesiology Reports . Dec 20, 2023 Association of neurocognitive disorders with morbidity and mortality in older adults undergoing major surgery in the USA: a retrospective, population-based, cohort study. Abess AT, Deiner SG, Briggs A, Whitlock EL, Charette KE, Chow VW, Shaefi S, Martinez-Camblor P, O'Malley AJ, Boone MD . The lancet. Healthy longevity . Nov 1, 2023 'It was a great brain, and I miss it': lay perspectives on postoperative cognitive dysfunction. Li L, Dohan D, Smith AK, Whitlock EL . British journal of anaesthesia . Mar 1, 2023 Preoperative Factors Predict Memory Decline After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting or Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in an Epidemiological Cohort of Older Adults. Tang AB, Diaz-Ramirez LG, Smith AK, Lee SJ, Whitlock EL . Journal of the American Heart Association . Dec 30, 2022 Intraoperative Use of Albumin in Major Noncardiac Surgery: Incidence, Variability, and Association With Outcomes. Lazzareschi DV, Fong N, Mavrothalassitis O, Whitlock EL, Chen CL, Chiu C, Adelmann D, Bokoch MP, Chen LL, Liu KD, Pirracchio R, Mathis MR, Legrand M, MPOG Collaborators . Annals of surgery . Dec 14, 2022 Contemporary anesthesia practice for cataract surgery: analysis of the National Anesthesia Clinical Outcomes Registry. Phero A, Dutton RP, Chen CL, Whitlock EL . Journal of cataract and refractive surgery . Dec 1, 2022 Cardiac surgery, ICU sedation, and delirium: is dexmedetomidine the silver bullet? Smith W, Whitlock EL . Current opinion in anaesthesiology . Nov 7, 2022 Development and External Validation of a Mortality Prediction Model for Community-Dwelling Older Adults With Dementia. Deardorff WJ, Barnes DE, Jeon SY, Boscardin WJ, Langa KM, Covinsky KE, Mitchell SL, Whitlock EL, Smith AK, Lee SJ . JAMA internal medicine . Nov 1, 2022 A novel approach for the detection of cognitive impairment and delirium risk in older patients undergoing spine surgery. Barreto Chang OL, Whitlock EL, Arias AD, Tsoy E, Allen IE, Hellman J, Bickler PE, Miller B, Possin KL . Journal of the American Geriatrics Society . Sep 20, 2022 Opportunities Beyond the Anesthesiology Department: Broader Impact Through Broader Thinking. Mathis MR, Schonberger RB, Whitlock EL, Vogt KM, Lagorio JE, Jones KA, Conroy JM, Kheterpal S . Anesthesia and analgesia . Feb 1, 2022 General Anesthesia and Postoperative Neurocognitive Outcomes. Avidan MS, Whitlock EL, Mashour GA . JAMA . Jan 4, 2022 Postoperative delirium prediction using machine learning models and preoperative electronic health record data. Bishara A, Chiu C, Whitlock EL, Douglas VC, Lee S, Butte AJ, Leung JM, Donovan AL . BMC anesthesiology . Jan 3, 2022 Baseline Vulnerabilities May Play a Larger Role than Depth of Anesthesia or Sedation in Postoperative Delirium. Pandharipande PP, Whitlock EL, Hughes CG . Anesthesiology . Dec 1, 2021 Frailty: More Than the Sum of Its Parts? Whitlock EL . Anesthesia and analgesia . Nov 1, 2021 Association of Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting vs Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With Memory Decline in Older Adults-Reply. Whitlock EL, Glymour MM . JAMA . Sep 28, 2021 Anaesthetic depth and delirium: a challenging balancing act. Whitlock EL, Gross ER, King CR, Avidan MS . British journal of anaesthesia . Sep 6, 2021 Yes, no, maybe: Replication and the importance of methodology. Whitlock EL . European journal of pain (London, England) . Jul 14, 2021 Association of Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting vs Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With Memory Decline in Older Adults Undergoing Coronary Revascularization. Whitlock EL, Diaz-Ramirez LG, Smith AK, Boscardin WJ, Covinsky KE, Avidan MS, Glymour MM . JAMA . May 18, 2021 Pediatric Distraction on Induction of Anesthesia With Virtual Reality and Perioperative Anxiolysis: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Jung MJ, Libaw JS, Ma K, Whitlock EL, Feiner JR, Sinskey JL . Anesthesia and analgesia . Mar 1, 2021 An Implementation-Effectiveness Study of a Perioperative Delirium Prevention Initiative for Older Adults. Donovan AL, Braehler MR, Robinowitz DL, Lazar AA, Finlayson E, Rogers S, Douglas VC, Whitlock EL, Anesthesia Resident Quality Improvement Committee . Anesthesia and analgesia . Dec 1, 2020 Derivation, Validation, Sustained Performance, and Clinical Impact of an Electronic Medical Record-Based Perioperative Delirium Risk Stratification Tool. Whitlock EL, Braehler MR, Kaplan JA, Finlayson E, Rogers SE, Douglas V, Donovan AL . Anesthesia and analgesia . Dec 1, 2020 Creation of the Anesthesia Research Council. Culley DJ, Kelz MB, Koch CG, Eisenach JC, Neuman MD, Whitlock EL, Robertson RM, Cooper T, Pomerantz P . Anesthesia and analgesia . Oct 1, 2020 Postoperative delirium: why, what, and how to confront it at your institution. Curtis MS, Forman NA, Donovan AL, Whitlock EL . Current opinion in anaesthesiology . Oct 1, 2020 Use of Remifentanil for Open in utero Fetal Myelomeningocele Repair Maintains Uterine Relaxation with Reduced Volatile Anesthetic Concentration. Marsh BJ, Sinskey J, Whitlock EL, Ferschl MB, Rollins MD . Fetal diagnosis and therapy . Sep 10, 2020 Implications of postoperative cognitive decline for satisfaction with anaesthesia care. Whitlock EL, Liu X, Lin HM, Deiner S . British journal of anaesthesia . Jun 28, 2020 The Frailty Syndrome: Anesthesiologists Must Understand More and Fear Less. Whitlock EL, Whittington RA . Anesthesia and analgesia . Jun 1, 2020 Surgery and persistent cognitive decline: a commentary and an independent discussion. Whitlock EL, Grisell Diaz-Ramirez L, Avidan MS . British journal of anaesthesia . Dec 12, 2019 Three blind mice: a tail of discordant trials. Whitlock EL, Avidan MS . British journal of anaesthesia . Oct 31, 2019 Aging Gracefully: The Evolution of Perioperative Care for Older Adults. Whitlock EL, Whittington RA . Anesthesiology clinics . Jun 19, 2019 Intraoperative dexmedetomidine to prevent postoperative delirium: in search of the magic bullet. Donovan AL, Whitlock EL . Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie . Jan 28, 2019 Are we overdosing older patients? Whitlock EL, Sleigh J . British journal of anaesthesia . Jan 22, 2019 Cognitive Change After Cardiac Surgery Versus Cardiac Catheterization: A Population-Based Study. Whitlock EL, Diaz-Ramirez LG, Smith AK, Boscardin WJ, Avidan MS, Glymour MM . The Annals of thoracic surgery . Dec 18, 2018 Depth of Propofol Sedation and Postoperative Delirium: The Jury Is Still Out. Whitlock EL, Finlayson E . JAMA surgery . Nov 1, 2018 We may be Homo sapiens, but anaesthetists are merely apes when evaluating risk. Aranake-Chrisinger A, Whitlock EL, Avidan MS . British journal of anaesthesia . Sep 1, 2018 Estimating pediatric general anesthesia exposure: Quantifying duration and risk. Bartels DD, McCann ME, Davidson AJ, Polaner DM, Whitlock EL, Bateman BT . Paediatric anaesthesia . May 2, 2018 Improved analgesia and reduced post-operative nausea and vomiting after implementation of an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathway for total mastectomy. Chiu C, Aleshi P, Esserman LJ, Inglis-Arkell C, Yap E, Whitlock EL, Harbell MW . BMC anesthesiology . Apr 16, 2018 Central venous pressure monitoring in living donor kidney recipients does not affect immediate graft function: A propensity score analysis. Adelmann D, Bicknell L, Niemann CU, Feiner J, Roll GR, Burdine L, Whitlock EL . Clinical transplantation . Mar 30, 2018 Do Not Resuscitate and the Surgical Patient: Not a Contradiction in Terms. Whitlock EL, Lane RK . Anesthesia and analgesia . Nov 1, 2017 Association Between Persistent Pain and Memory Decline and Dementia in a Longitudinal Cohort of Elders. Whitlock EL, Diaz-Ramirez LG, Glymour MM, Boscardin WJ, Covinsky KE, Smith AK . JAMA internal medicine . Aug 1, 2017 In Reply. Whitlock EL, Feiner JR, Chen LL . Anesthesiology . Jun 1, 2016 Perioperative Mortality, 2010 to 2014: A Retrospective Cohort Study Using the National Anesthesia Clinical Outcomes Registry. Whitlock EL, Feiner JR, Chen LL . Anesthesiology . Dec 1, 2015 Importance of "default" intraoperative ventilator settings. Whitlock EL . BMJ (Clinical research ed.) . Sep 30, 2015 Harms associated with single unit perioperative transfusion: retrospective population based analysis. Whitlock EL, Kim H, Auerbach AD . BMJ (Clinical research ed.) . Jun 12, 2015 Blood Transfusion and Postoperative Delirium. Elizabeth L. Whitlock, Matthias Behrends . Current Anesthesiology Reports . Mar 1, 2015 Psychological sequelae of surgery in a prospective cohort of patients from three intraoperative awareness prevention trials. Whitlock EL, Rodebaugh TL, Hassett AL, Shanks AM, Kolarik E, Houghtby J, West HM, Burnside BA, Shumaker E, Villafranca A, Edwards WA, Levinson CA, Langer JK, Fernandez KC, El-Gabalawy R, Zhou EY, Sareen J, Jacobsohn E, Mashour GA, Avidan MS . Anesthesia and analgesia . Jan 1, 2015 Blood Transfusion and Postoperative Delirium Whitlock EL, Behrends M . Current Anesthesiology Reports . Oct 26, 2014 Postoperative delirium in a substudy of cardiothoracic surgical patients in the BAG-RECALL clinical trial. Whitlock EL, Torres BA, Lin N, Helsten DL, Nadelson MR, Mashour GA, Avidan MS . Anesthesia and analgesia . Apr 1, 2014 Delirium. Elizabeth L. Whitlock, Michael S. Avidan, Sharon K. Inouye . Neurologic Outcomes of Surgery and Anesthesia . May 1, 2013 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Following Surgery, Intensive Care, and Intraoperative Awareness. Elliott Karren, Elizabeth L. Whitlock, Thomas L. Rodebaugh, Michael S. Avidan . Neurologic Outcomes of Surgery and Anesthesia . May 1, 2013 Brain monitoring with electroencephalography and the electroencephalogram-derived bispectral index during cardiac surgery. Kertai MD, Whitlock EL, Avidan MS . Anesthesia and analgesia . Jan 17, 2012 Relationship between bispectral index values and volatile anesthetic concentrations during the maintenance phase of anesthesia in the B-Unaware trial. Whitlock EL, Villafranca AJ, Lin N, Palanca BJ, Jacobsohn E, Finkel KJ, Zhang L, Burnside BA, Kaiser HA, Evers AS, Avidan MS . Anesthesiology . Dec 1, 2011 Postoperative delirium. Whitlock EL, Vannucci A, Avidan MS . Minerva anestesiologica . Apr 1, 2011 Dynamic quantification of host Schwann cell migration into peripheral nerve allografts. Whitlock EL, Myckatyn TM, Tong AY, Yee A, Yan Y, Magill CK, Johnson PJ, Mackinnon SE . Experimental neurology . Jul 12, 2010 Ropivacaine-induced peripheral nerve injection injury in the rodent model. Whitlock EL, Brenner MJ, Fox IK, Moradzadeh A, Hunter DA, Mackinnon SE . Anesthesia and analgesia . May 4, 2010 Bipolar Electrocautery. Arash Moradzadeh, Michael J. Brenner, Elizabeth L. Whitlock, Alice Y. Tong, Janina P. Luciano, Daniel A. Hunter, Terence M. Myckatyn, Susan E. Mackinnon . JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery . Jan 1, 2010 Bipolar electrocautery: A rodent model of Sunderland third-degree nerve injury. Moradzadeh A, Brenner MJ, Whitlock EL, Tong AY, Luciano JP, Hunter DA, Myckatyn TM, Mackinnon SE . Archives of facial plastic surgery . Jan 1, 2010 Fibrin glue mitigates the learning curve of microneurosurgical repair. Whitlock EL, Kasukurthi R, Yan Y, Tung TH, Hunter DA, Mackinnon SE . Microsurgery . Jan 1, 2010 Processed allografts and type I collagen conduits for repair of peripheral nerve gaps. Whitlock EL, Tuffaha SH, Luciano JP, Yan Y, Hunter DA, Magill CK, Moore AM, Tong AY, Mackinnon SE, Borschel GH . Muscle & nerve . Jun 1, 2009 The impact of motor and sensory nerve architecture on nerve regeneration. Moradzadeh A, Borschel GH, Luciano JP, Whitlock EL, Hayashi A, Hunter DA, Mackinnon SE . Experimental neurology . Apr 23, 2008 Pregabalin does not impact peripheral nerve regeneration after crush injury. Whitlock EL, Moradzadeh A, Hunter DA, Mackinnon SE . Journal of reconstructive microsurgery . Jul 1, 2007 Binary imaging analysis for comprehensive quantitative histomorphometry of peripheral nerve. Hunter DA, Moradzadeh A, Whitlock EL, Brenner MJ, Myckatyn TM, Wei CH, Tung TH, Mackinnon SE . Journal of neuroscience methods . Jun 30, 2007 The green tea polyphenol, epigallocatechin-3-gallate inhibits telomerase and induces apoptosis in drug-resistant lung cancer cells. Sadava D, Whitlock E, Kane SE . Biochemical and biophysical research communications . Jun 14, 2007 Influence of needle tip position on injectate spread in 406 interlaminar lumbar epidural steroid injections. Whitlock EL, Bridwell KH, Gilula LA . Radiology . Apr 26, 2007
