2020 Promotion and Tenure
Published on Wednesday, August 26, 2020
By: Dr. Sara B. Robertson
Please help the department congratulate Drs. Bill Gusa, Vanetta Aguilhon-Levesque, Charles Robertson, Sara Robertson, and Henrique Vale on their academic promotion to Associate Professor! All five anesthesiologists have worked tirelessly in the areas of service, education, and research.
Dr. Bill Gusa
William E. Gusa Jr., M.D. is the Vice Chair of Pain Medicine in the Department of Anesthesiology. Doctor Gusa completed his anesthesiology residency and pain subspecialty year at SUNY Buffalo. He has received Board Certification in Anesthesiology and subspecialty certifications in both Pain Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. He took the first Pain Certification exam in 1993 and the first Hospice and Palliative exam in 2008, becoming one of the first 19 anesthesiologists to become certified. Before joining UMMC, Doctor Gusa was in private practice for 26 years, receiving a number of awards for patient satisfaction and most compassionate doctor.
Doctor Gusa engages in one on one teaching of the residents and fellows in the Pain Clinic as well as giving lectures from the fellowship’s core education series. He added lectures to the core series concerning skills needed to thrive in private practice. He is involved in ensuring the quality of the fellows’ education by membership in the Clinical Competency Committee as well as the Program Evaluation Committee.
In the role of Vice Chair of Pain Medicine, Doctor Gusa has led the expansion of pain services to three new locations, increasing the options available for patients. He was asked to serve as the Vice Chair of the Opioid Task Force where he has been heavily involved with a number of their initiatives.
Dr. Vanetta Aguilhon-Levesque
Vanetta Levesque M.D. is an American Board of Anesthesiology certified Cardiothoracic Anesthesiologist with certification by the National Board of Echocardiography in advanced perioperative TEE. She is adept at both Cardiothoracic and General Anesthesiology. Her clinical interests include management of patients with cardiovascular and thoracic diseases in the operating room as well as the use of Transesophageal Echocardiography in patient care.
Throughout her career, Dr. Levesque has established a strong role in the education of future physicians. She established the first Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Fellowship at UMMC, of which she is the current Program Director. She is also the Director of the Cardiovascular Echocardiography Rotation for Residents. Before beginning her clinical career, Dr. Levesque also had extensive research experience in basic science at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and has published her work in a peer-reviewed journal.
Dr. Charles Robertson
Dr. Robertson is originally from Jackson and graduated from Tupelo High School. He attended the University of Virginia and trained at Washington University in St. Louis, where he was on staff before coming to UMMC in 2013. He performs a full spectrum of pediatric anesthesia and sedation care at Batson Children's Hospital. Outside of work, he holds an FAA Airline Transport Pilot Certificate and is also a flight instructor. He lives in Ridgeland with his two children, partner and two dogs.
Dr. Sara Robertson
Dr. Robertson grew up in Jackson, MS. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Mississippi in 2006 Summa Cum Laude and then graduated from the University of Mississippi Medical School in 2010. Dr. Robertson completed residency and fellowship training at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (2010-2014) and Arkansas Children's Hospital (2014-2015). She is starting her fifth year at UMMC as a pediatric anesthesiologist.
Dr. Robertson has presented many posters and PBLDs at scientific meetings, and she is dedicated to teaching the fellows, residents, and medical students. She has received the Teacher of the Year award and the John I. Lauria Award for Resident Advocacy. She serves as the assistant program director for the pediatric anesthesia fellowship, the clinical competency committee chair for the residency, and editor of the departmental newsletter, The Pulse.
Dr. Henrique Vale
Henrique Vale, M.D. is a Doctor from Brazil who trained at the University of Texas Medical Center in Houston, department of Anesthesiology for his residency. He also finished his Cardiovascular and Thoracic Anesthesiology Fellowship at the same institution.
He Joined UMMC in 2014 and since then he has become the director for the Abdominal Transplant Anesthesia Division as well as Simulation Center Director for the department of anesthesiology. He is a member of several committees at the department and university level and is the Chair for the Program Evaluation Committee for the Cardiothoracic and Vascular anesthesiology fellowship.
Dr. Vale has published several articles and book chapters as well as presented many posters in national anesthesiology meetings. He was awarded the Teacher of The Year in 2016 as well as received two other awards at the university for his dedication to teaching residents and medical students.