Michael W. Best, MD, FASA, Lt Col, USAF, has been named Program Director of our anesthesiology residency, effective January 1, 2026.
Dr. Best graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (UPSOM) and completed his anesthesiology residency here at UPMC before completing a service commitment with the US Air Force. While on active duty, he served as an instructor at the Air Force’s Center for Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills and a core faculty member of the Saint Louis University Anesthesiology Residency Program. After completing his service, he completed a critical care medicine fellowship at Emory School of Medicine. He initially entered private practice at Saint Luke’s University Health System, but he returned to UPMC to be more involved in medical education.
Over the last five years, Dr. Best has gradually increased his involvement both in our residency and at UPSOM. In addition to leading problem-based learning discussions, serving as a mock oral board examiner, teaching at WISER, and serving as a faculty interviewer for the residency program, he has served as the Chair of our Competency Committee since January 2023. As Chair, he modernized our resident assessments, streamlining them to be consistent with the latest ACGME milestones and incorporating national best practices. From 2023-2025, he taught throughout the preclinical curriculum at UPSOM as a Longitudinal Educator and as a Clinical Skills Preceptor in the new Three Rivers Curriculum. Through these roles, Dr. Best gained significant teaching experience and expanded his skills as an educator.
Dr. Best practices clinically at UPMC Mercy, where he serves on the Professional Practice Council and Quality Improvement committees for our department and on the hospital’s Transfusion Committee. In his new role as Program Director, Dr. Best will split his clinical time between both UPMC Mercy and UPMC Presbyterian.
Dr. Best currently serves as a member of the ASA’s Committee on Trauma and Emergency Preparedness and the ASA’s Committee on Uniformed Services and Veterans Affairs. He is the Interim Chair of the Board of Directors for Surgicorps International and a current member of the Board of Directors of the Allegheny County Medical Society. He was previously on the Board of Trustees for the Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) and has served as a delegate to both PAMED’s and the AMA’s House of Delegates.
Dr. Best serves in the United States Air Force Reserves as a critical care air transport physician and holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He completed deployments to Bagram, Afghanistan, during Operation Freedom’s Sentinel and to Okinawa, Japan, as part of ongoing peacetime operations. Throughout his military career, he received numerous awards and decorations for contributions to continuing medical education, large-scale training exercises, and patient care in deployed environments.
In 2024, Dr. Best was accepted to the University of Pittsburgh School of Education as an EdD candidate majoring in Higher Education with an anticipated graduation date of 2028. His proposed dissertation examines bias in the residency interview process and looks to improve equity in how candidates are assessed and ranked.
Dr. Best became Assistant Residency Program Director in January 2025 and has gradually assumed more responsibility for the residency with the guidance of Drs. Phillip Adams, David Metro, and Elizabeth Ungerman. Dr. Ungerman will continue in her role as Associate Program Director, and Dr. Adams will remain active within the residency as the Assistant Program Director, assuming more detailed roles within the program focusing more on resident scholarly activity, wellness education initiatives, and curriculum components. Dr. Cara Esser has been named Chair of the Clinical Competency Committee.
Congratulations to Dr. Best on this well-deserved appointment. We are confident that his dedication to education, leadership, and service will further strengthen our residency program. We also extend our deepest appreciation and sincere gratitude to our outgoing Program Director, Dr. Adams, for his outstanding leadership and continued commitment to the education and well-being of our residents.