Research and Publication
From its earliest days, research has been an important component of the Department's mission. Under Reich's leadership, the Department has had an upsurge in scholarly activity, with the vast majority of faculty engaged in original research or disseminating knowledge through book chapters, and lectures at regional, national and international meetings. Over the past decade, the cumulative output of the faculty has averaged approximately 50 peer reviewed publications and 100 extramural presentations per year. More than 150 book chapters have been contributed to texts.
The Department maintains research laboratories responsible for clinical trials of pain management and studies of pain mechanisms, coagulation and hemostasis in cardiac surgery, and cognitive outcomes of cardiac surgery. With approximately $6.5 million in grant funding, the Department remains, as it has for the past decade, in the top 25 per cent of medical school departments of anesthesiology. The more significant grants are those related to perioperative cognitive protection, elder surgery, functional recovery following beta blockade, pamidronate for back pain, and validation of a non-invasive brain oxygenation monitor.
A residency research track was established in 2007—the Eliasberg Clinical Scientist Training Program (CSTP). This program is lead by Jeffrey Silverstein, Vice Chair of Research in the Department and also the chair of Mount Sinai's Institutional Review Board. Designed to develop a new generation of clinician scientists, the program is named for Bernard Eliasberg, the first Chair of the Department.
The CSTP admits highly motivated residents who receive a combination of organized mentorship, protected non-clinical time and financial support. Each resident is paired with a scientist mentor who assumes the responsibility for the development of the young scientists. Mentors are mostly on the Mount Sinai faculty. CSTP is organized in accordance with the requirements set forth by the American Board of Anesthesiology, such that residents complete both their clinical requirements and their scientific training in the standard three year core curriculum. Most participants will complete a fellowship year after residency.
The Eliasberg CSTP is overseen by an advisory board of Mount Sinai scientists that reviews the progress of the CSTP participants each year. In the past year, the advisory board reviewed projects relating to informatics, clinical anesthesia, and basic biophysical studies. Now in its fourth year, the Eliasberg CSTP appears to be a successful approach to increasing the quality of academic anesthesiologists. (personal communication: Jeffrey Silverstein, February 11, 2011)