Welcome

Welcome to the Duke Department of Anesthesiology.

At Duke, we do more than practice anesthesiology—we shape its future.

As Interim Chair, I have the privilege of stewarding a department known for bold science, precise medicine, and an unwavering commitment to people. Ours is a community of clinicians, researchers, educators, and trainees who understand that what we do can mean the difference between fragility and recovery, pain and relief, loss and life.

We discover by relentlessly questioning what is—driven by the needs of patients and the promise of better outcomes.

Whether we are developing novel diagnostics for perioperative brain injury, leading national trials in critical care outcomes, or advancing the frontiers of pain neuroscience, our pursuit is the same: discovery that transforms.

We develop people—with intention. Education is not a pipeline here; it is a forge. We train anesthesiologists not just to keep pace with medicine’s evolution, but to lead it—with intellectual agility, ethical clarity, and clinical excellence. Our residents and fellows graduate from Duke not just prepared, but ready to reimagine what is possible in the field.

We deliver exceptional care and inspire trust. Every patient encounter at Duke is an opportunity to bring the best in medicine to the bedside: evidence-based, deeply human, and often lifesaving. We believe excellence in anesthesiology is not defined by the procedures we perform, but by the outcomes we create and the dignity we preserve.

We believe the best ideas—and the most compassionate care—emerge when people with different perspectives, lived experiences, and voices come together to inform both the questions we ask and the way we answer them.

At the end of every innovation, every paper, every procedure, there is a person—and that person is our why.

This is a department that spans the operating room and the ICU, the research lab and the bedside, the most complex surgeries, and the most vulnerable patients. At Duke, we do not see boundaries—we see systems, and we move them forward.

Thank you for visiting. Whether you are a patient, a prospective trainee, a collaborator, or a curious visitor, we hope you see in this department what we strive to live each day: that anesthesiology at Duke is more than a discipline—it is a mission.

We invite you to be part of a department advancing anesthesiology through impactful science, clinical excellence, and a deep belief that transformation stems from our shared purpose.

With resolve,
Padma Gulur, MD

Professor of Anesthesiology and Population Health
Interim Chair, Department of Anesthesiology
Duke University School of Medicine