Dr. David C. Warltier appointed Chairman
April 18, 2005 World issue - David C. Warltier, MD, PhD, has been appointed Chairman of Anesthesiology by Michael J. Dunn, MD, Dean and Executive Vice President. Dr. Warltier is Professor of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Toxicology and Medicine (Cardiology), Vice Chairman of Anesthesiology, and Director of the Medical Scientist Training Program. His appointment became effective March 18.
Dr. Warltier succeeds John P. Kampine, MD, PhD, the John P. Kampine Professor of Anesthesiology and Professor of Physiology, who announced last summer that he would resign as Chairman once a successor was found. Dr. Kampine served as Chairman since 1979 and will remain at the College as a Professor of Anesthesiology and Physiology.
"Dr. Warltier has established himself as a national leader in both the clinical and basic sciences, and his laboratory is considered one of the leading cardiovascular anesthesiology centers in the world," said Dr. Dunn. "He is a willing teacher and effective leader who can solidify and expand the department's national reputation in anesthesiology research that was built under Dr. Kampine's leadership."
Dr. Warltier sees patients at Froedtert Hospital and the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center.
His research focuses on the physiology and pharmacology of the coronary circulation and alterations in ventricular function in ischemic heart disease.
He has been instrumental in redefining how anesthesiologists view cardiac physiology and its interactions with volatile and intravenous anesthetics. His work with left ventricular pressure-dimension and volume analysis in the normal and diseased heart established his laboratory as the international center for the study of interactions between anesthetics, vasoactive drugs and ventricular function.
His findings have contributed to proving that the anesthetic agent isoflurane is safe for patients with coronary artery disease. He has made significant contributions to understanding blood vessel growth in the heart and pioneering work to describe how anesthetics protect the heart from lack of blood flow.
Dr. Warltier has provided research training for more than 40 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
In addition to his teaching and research, Dr. Warltier has been a member of the editorial board of Anesthesiology for the past 13 years, serves as an editor for Cardiovascular Drug Reviews and The American Journal of Physiology – Heart and Circulatory Physiology and has been an editorial consultant and reviewer for 18 journals. He is editor of the book Ventricular Function and has published more than 350 original articles, book chapters and reviews.
He has received numerous honors, including the American Society of Anesthesiologists' 2001 Excellence in Research Award for his lifetime contribution to anesthesia research and the Medical College's 2002 Distinguished Service Award, which is the school's highest honor. He was also chosen as the 2004 Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research Distinguished Lecturer.
Dr. Warltier received his PhD in pharmacology in 1976 from the Medical College and then completed American Heart Association and National Science Foundation-sponsored postdoctoral fellowships. He received his first National Institutes of Health-funded grant in 1979 and then returned to school at the College to earn his MD, maintaining his grant the entire time, and earned election into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical school honor society. He completed a residency in anesthesiology between 1985 and 1988.
Two years after finishing his residency training, Dr. Warltier was promoted to Professor of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Medicine and was appointed Vice-Chair for Research in Anesthesiology. He is also adjunct professor of biomedical engineering at Marquette University.
The Department of Anesthesiology has 108 faculty members, including 86 physician anesthesiologists and 22 PhD scientists. More than one dozen of those faculty members serve on journal editorial boards, and five serve as members or chairmen of National Institutes of Health study sections. The department is ranked 5th in the nation for anesthesiology funding support from the National Institutes of Health, and oversees more than 40,000 anesthetic cases annually.
The College's Medical Scientist Training Program is a comprehensive, seven-year program established in 1983 for students who desire to become physicians and biomedical researchers, and enables them to earn both an MD and a PhD.