Kumar, Priya A., M.D.

Gender: Female

Biography: Priya Kumar, MD, FASA is a Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, specializing in cardiac anesthesiology and perioperative echocardiography. She attended medical school at the University of Delhi, completed her residency at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and concluded fellowship in cardiothoracic anesthesiology at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr Kumar has a longstanding interest in collaborative clinical research. For several years, she served as the Director of Clinical Research at the University of North Carolina. She is an active member of the Outcomes Research Consortium, the world’s largest Clinical Anesthesia Research Organization. She has been the lead investigator in several successfully completed and published collaborative clinical trials at the Cleveland Clinic, as well as at UNC. She led the POISE 2 and POISE 3 studies at UNC, an international clinical trial evaluating the effect of several perioperative medications on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality after non-cardiac surgery. Under Dr. Kumar’s leadership, UNC was 2nd in domestic enrollment, and in the top 5 internationally among 106 recruiting sites. For this work, she received the 2012 Gladys Sessler Outcomes Research Consortium Annual Prize for Extraordinary Contributions to Collaborative Research. She is also the recipient of the 2023 UNC Researcher of the Year award as well as the Cleveland Clinic Innovator Award for exceptional dedication in helping patients through exemplary insight, creativity, and inspiration. Dr. Kumar has been a speaker at several regional and national anesthesiology meetings including at the SCA and ASA. She has authored several publications and serves on the editorial board of prominent peer-reviewed journals.