We are pleased to announce that Chakib Ayoub, MD, MBA, has been appointed the associate vice chair for perioperative care innovation, effective July 1. Dr. Ayoub brings 27 years of experience to his leadership role, in which he will be responsible for integrating systems that improve patient flow and team effectiveness while ensuring the highest clinical quality—from preoperative assessment through postoperative recovery and discharge. Key responsibilities include perioperative optimization and evaluation strategy and strategic optimization of clinical operations and delivery.
"This appointment is both an honor and a privilege," says Dr. Ayoub, professor of anesthesiology. "I am committed to fostering a culture of excellence and collaboration within our department and look forward to working alongside our talented team to support the department’s mission to lead in perioperative care excellence across the surgical continuum. Together, I am confident we will continue to elevate the standard of anesthesiology and innovation in health care."
Dr. Ayoub received his medical degree from the Saint Joseph University of Beirut before completing an anesthesiology residency at the American University of Beirut (AUB). Subsequently, he pursued further training in the United States, beginning with an internal medicine internship at Yale University School of Medicine, where he went on to pursue and complete both an anesthesiology residency and a cardiovascular anesthesiology fellowship. Upon graduation in 1998, he joined Yale faculty where he remained an attending at New Haven Hospital until 2016 while also holding a position as an attending at AUB Medical Center. During his time at AUB, he served as a professor and vice chair as well the associate chief of staff at its medical center. Furthermore, he was the president of the Lebanese Society of Anesthesiologists from 2014 to 2016. Continuing his academic pursuits, he obtained his Master of Business Administration degree in 2004 from L'École Supérieure des Affaires de la Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie de Paris. In June 2017, Dr. Ayoub joined Duke Anesthesiology as a professor of anesthesiology, having served since 2015 as adjunct faculty. In 2019, he returned to Lebanon and AUB; he re-joined our faculty in 2021.
Dr. Ayoub has made significant contributions to the field of anesthesiology as a whole, with a notable focus on airway management and cardiothoracic anesthesiology subfields. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and has been cited more than 1,000 times. He has written numerous textbook chapters on a variety of topics in anesthesiology and has co-edited one of the premier textbooks in perioperative echocardiography. He also served as editor of the Middle East Journal of Anesthesiology. Dr. Ayoub has been an instrumental clinical teacher and speaker throughout his career. He currently co-leads Duke Anesthesiology's Advanced Airway Program, which offers a multidisciplinary comprehensive training course in advanced airway management to attending physicians, residents, and fellows of anesthesiology, ENT, critical care, and emergency medicine. Dr. Ayoub has been invited to speak at numerous conferences in the Middle East, Europe and the United States. Moreover, as an effective mentor, he has engaged many trainees and junior colleagues in his clinical research endeavors.
Please join us in extending Dr. Ayoub congratulations on his new leadership role in our department. We look forward to the positive impact that he will undoubtedly have in advancing patient care and shaping the future of anesthesiology.