Research Scholars Residency Track

Research Scholars Track of the Anesthesia Residency

An Innovative Residency Track
Inaugurated with the incoming residents of July 2012, the Research Scholars program is an innovative residency track designed to produce investigators in anesthesiology who will go on to become leaders in their areas of expertise. This track is intended to rigorously prepare candidates for academic careers as independent clinician-scientists. Trainees will benefit from the wealth of research opportunities available on the UCSF campus while training clinically in one of the top-ranking anesthesiology residency programs in the country

Prior formal research training is not a pre-requisite for this track; rather, candidates must demonstrate aptitude, insight, productivity, and enthusiasm to engage in innovative and high-quality research, be it patient-oriented, translational, basic, or quantitative.

Program Structure
In this track, scholars complete their internship (Clinical Base Year) and CA-1 year essentially unchanged. In the subsequent three years (CA-2 to CA-4), the scholar will have 19 months of dedicated research time within a 24-month timeframe (includes 4 days per month of clinical service during this 24-month period).

During the research months, scholars will have the opportunity to complete coursework and present at the department’s research seminars and Anesthesia Research Day symposium. Scholars may also participate in other UCSF and UCSF-affiliated research programs:

Each scholar will receive a $15,000 annual allowance (CA-1 through CA-4 years) for research training expenses, such as course fees, conference travel, and laboratory supplies. This funding may be applied to support completion of a Masters in Public Health or Global Health.

Upon successful completion of the Research Track, scholars may join the faculty as T32 Fellows with an 80% research commitment and no call.

Research Topics
Scholars pursue research on diverse topics relevant to anesthesiology and the perioperative sciences, including: perioperative outcomes, critical care, immunology, neuroscience, pain, health services, data science, and health equity. 

Research Mentors
Research mentors can be chosen from within the Department of Anesthesia or from other departments. Since a goal of the program is to develop new expertise among future independent research scientists that can be brought into the department, trainee candidates are encouraged to select strong extra-departmental mentors if appropriate for their research project. Learn about potential research mentors and research groups

Scholars engaging in health equity research have additional access to mentorship through our Center for Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia.  

Outcomes
To date, the program has ten alumni:

  • Catherine Chen, MD, MPH (Class of 2015) – Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, UCSF
  • Paul Riegelhaupt, MD, PhD (Class of 2015) – Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medical College 
  • Elizabeth Whitlock, MD, MS (Class of 2016) – Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, UCSF
  • Michael Bokoch, MD, PhD (Class of 2016) – Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, UCSF
  • Benedict Alter, MD, PhD (Class of 2017) – Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
  • Gregory Chinn, MD, PhD (Class of 2018) – Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, UCSF
  • Paul Su, MD (Class of 2018) – Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, UCSF
  • Erica Langnas, MD, MPH (Class of 2021) – Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, UCSF
  • Won Lee, MD, ScM (Class of 2021) – T32 Fellow, Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, UCSF
  • Man-Cheung Lee, MD, PhD (Class of 2022) – Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Fellow, Stanford University

Alumni of the program have been successful in receiving extramural research grants, including:

  • Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER) Research Fellowship Grant
  • FAER Mentored Research Training Grant
  • International Anesthesia Research Society Mentored Research Award
  • NIH K08 Clinical Investigator Award and K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award
  • NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences KL2 Mentored Career Development Award
  • NIH National Institute on Aging Grants for Early Medical/Surgical Specialists' Transition to Aging Research (GEMSSTAR) R03 Research Grant
  • NIH R01 Research Project Grant
  • NIH Loan Repayment Program Grant

Learn More
Learn more about the UCSF Anesthesia Residency Program on the Education page.