Congratulations!

Our department is full of wonderful and engaging faculty, staff, and trainees who are being recognized on campus, in our community, and nationally for their outstanding work and character. We would like to start recognizing awards and achievements of everyone in the department in every issue of the newsletter.

Dr. Lakshmi Kurnutala deserves BIG kudos for his most recent publication in the ASA Monitor on "Anesthetic Management of Awake Craniotomy: Current Concepts and Clinical Practice”.

Dr. Mason received the Trailblazer Teaching award by the School of Medicine. The Trailblazer Award for Excellence in Medical Student Education recognizes our faculty's time and effort devoted to educating future physicians. Nominated by their peers, recipients of the award are recognized as effective teachers who engage, inspire, and mentor learners, demonstrate teaching innovations in curriculum design, and serve as a catalyst for enhancing teaching and learning. Additionally, the award committee awards one Trailblazer Teaching Award recipient the Trailblazer of the Year award. Dr. Mason also received this award in 2022.

Dr. Maxwell James has been selected to participate in the 2026-2027 Children’s Leadership Program.

Dr. Patrick Curling was placed in the top 5% of Doximity users for citations with over 1500 citations of his articles written over the years, some of which were referenced in the development of the AHA/ACC guidelines for diagnosis and Management of Aortic disease.

Let’s congratulate several members of our department that have reached milestones in their service to UMMC:
     1. 20 years of service—Robin Ellis, CRNA
     2. 5 years of service—John Bell, anesthesia tech