Media Coverage

Various media outlets reported on UB-led research that found an experimental nanoparticle-based flu vaccine consisting of disease-fighting proteins was proven effective in preclinical studies. The technology could boost the effectiveness and accelerate the production of seasonal flu vaccines. The study was co-authored by Jonathan F. Lovell, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering, and Bruce A. Davidson, PhD, research associate professor of anesthesiology, and led by Zachary Robert Sia, a trainee in the doctoral program in biomedical engineering.

Rose Berkun, MD, clinical assistant professor of anesthesiology, was quoted in an article on the effect a second wave of COVID-19 would have on elective surgeries. “Delaying those surgeries had major consequences," said Berkun, who noted that although surgeries postponed early in the pandemic were not considered an emergency, they were all medically needed. “Think of the patients first. Think of how your decisions are going to affect our patients’ health,” she said in a message to state officials.

An article in The Buffalo News featured observations from Erik J. Jensen, MD, an Erie County Medical Center anesthesiologist and clinical assistant professor of anesthesiology in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, who warned of the unprecedented urgency and unknown of the COVID-19 virus. “These were the sickest patients I have ever cared for in 25 years of doing this medicine thing,” wrote Jensen. “The whole floor was full of sick people and absolutely shell-shocked staff.”

A story on WGRZ-TV described how two UB anesthesiology residents saved a man’s life at a Buffalo Sabres game on Dec. 1. Alex Heleba and Mike Ferrante discussed how they saw a fellow fan collapse inside the KeyBank Center shortly after they entered and ran to see how they could help.

Oscar A. deLeon-Casasola, MD, professor of anesthesiology, says anesthesiologists are “uniquely qualified” to help cut opioid use among cancer pain patients by offering alternative treatments, including interventional techniques. He is president of the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine.

Sphenopalatine ganglion block (SPGB) may relieve post-dural puncture headache following complications of a labor pain epidural, according to case reports presented by a University of Cincinnati physician. Oscar A. deLeon-Casasola, MD, professor of anesthesiology, commented on the findings and added: “I look forward to an investigation of the underlying pathophysiology.”

Oscar A. deLeon-Casasola, MD, professor of anesthesiology, was a faculty member on the trip by a team of anesthesiologists from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine who completed an historic medical education mission to Havana, training 21 members of the Cuban Society of Anesthesiologists on acute pain management. It marked the first regional anesthesia and acute pain medical conference conducted by U.S. physicians in Cuba since the 1959 revolution.

Common anesthesia used during surgeries may help combat viral and bacterial infections in the lung, according to a study by Paul R. Knight III, MD, PhD, professor of anesthesiology, and Krishnan Chakravarthy, MD, PhD. Chakravarthy earned his MD and PhD from the University at Buffalo and is currently at the Johns Hopkins Institute of Nanobiotechnology. The research showed animals exposed to volatile anesthetics had less viable bacteria compared to those not exposed. This could be helpful in the treatment of seasonal or pandemic influenza and pneumonia. 

Mark J. Lema, MD, PhD, professor and chair of anesthesiology, comments on the possible legalization of medical marijuana and says, “What place does it have in society? I wouldn't bring it through the medical route to answer that question.”

Prominent researchers Paul R. Knight III, PhD, professor of anesthesiology, and Daniel J. Kosman, PhD, professor of biochemistry, have achieved the highest rank within the State University of New York.

A significant percentage of women who undergo mastectomies for breast cancer continue to suffer pain from the surgery for at least a decade, according to Ognjen Visnjevac, MD, a resident in anesthesiology.

New advances promise continued improvements in anesthetic practices.