Research News

We are proud to feature Benedict Alter, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine and Director of Translational Pain Research in this inaugural edition.

Henry Paiste, MD, and Brendan Lynch, MD, anesthesiology residents in our department, were co-authors with Grace Lim, MD, MSc, MBA, of a chapter for Anesthesiology Clinics addressing management of parturients with opioid use disorder.

Aleksander J. Bearden received the Edward M. Stricker Neuroscience Excellence Award from the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Neuroscience, in recognition of outstanding work and research potential.

Previously serving as an Assistant Editor for Anesthesia & Analgesia, Dr. Howard Quijano continues to expand her editorial leadership while advancing our department’s research mission as Associate Vice Chair for Research.

The Pitt research team includes Drs. Murat Kaynar, Harikesh Subramanian, and Senthil Sadhasivam (Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine); Dr. Ryan Shi, (Computer Science); and Dr. Shyam Visweswaran, (Biomedical Informatics).

The event drew more than 200 attendees and underscored the strength of Pittsburgh’s collaborative pain research ecosystem, featuring cross-disciplinary basic and clinical science from the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and Duquesne University.

Siamak Salavatian, MEng, PhD, will present a poster and lecture and moderate a poster session at the 7th World Congress of the INS, May 9-14, 2026, in Lisbon, Portugal.

Paramita Basu, PhD, MS, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, and Michael S. Gold, PhD, Department of Neurobiology, have been selected for notable honors in recognition of their leadership and contributions to the field of pain research.

Our department earned the #4 spot among all NIH-funded anesthesiology departments in the nation, up from #6 in 2024.

The grant, titled "A Parabrachial Hub for the Prioritization of Pain and Other Survival Behaviors," will support Dr. Taylor's continued investigation into how the brain naturally modulates pain in response to competing survival needs.