After seven years of dedicated service as our vice chair for innovation, it is with profound appreciation that we announce Evan Kharasch, MD, PhD, one of the most distinguished leaders in our specialty, will step down from this role in pursuit of new opportunities, effective July 1. We are incredibly grateful for his valuable contributions and exceptional leadership in this position.
"I consider my most significant accomplishment as vice chair to be the support and guidance I provided to early-stage faculty in nurturing their innovative ideas and advancing their research careers," says Dr. Kharasch, Merel H. Harmel Professor of Anesthesiology. "Empowering the next generation of scholars and leaders to realize their potential has been a rewarding experience, and I am proud to have played a role in their professional development and journey."
Dr. Kharasch received his MD and PhD in pharmacology from Northwestern University in Illinois and completed his training in anesthesiology at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he remained on faculty for 17 years, serving as vice chair for research and assistant dean for clinical research at the School of Medicine. He joined Washington University in St. Louis in 2005, where he was the Russell D. and Mary B. Shelden Professor of Anesthesiology, director of the Division of Clinical and Translational Research in the Department of Anesthesiology and the founding director of the Center for Clinical Pharmacology. He also held appointments in the Washington University Pain Center and Siteman Cancer Center. From 2009 to 2014, Dr. Kharasch served as the vice chancellor for research, where he oversaw one of the largest academic biomedical research enterprises in the nation and led a university-wide initiative in research and entrepreneurship, aimed at expanding the university's culture in research commercialization.
Dr. Kharasch is a nationally-renowned academic anesthesiologist and physician-scientist, specifically in the field of translational research, who has made significant contributions in advancing the understanding and practice of clinical pharmacology. He is among the leading international experts on perioperative pharmacology and the use of long-duration opioids. His research encompasses various aspects of basic and clinical pharmacology, including drug disposition, pharmacodynamics, pharmacogenetics and drug safety, and understanding individual variability in drug response. Dr. Kharasch played a pivotal role in the evaluation, testing and regulatory approval of sevoflurane, currently the most widely used volatile anesthetic in the world, having benefited more than one billion patients. His research has led to more rational drug use, elucidated mechanisms of anesthetic toxicity, enhanced the safety of anesthetics and analgesics, rewritten anesthesia textbooks, and impacted patient care on a large scale. His current focus is on reducing pain and improving patient recovery trajectories after surgery, pharmacology of opioids and opioid use disorder treatment, evidence-based patient-centered approaches to perioperative pain and opioid use disorder care, rational opioid use, reducing opioid-related harms, and evidence-based opioid policy.
An innovator at heart, Dr. Kharasch holds several patents on novel technologies and applications for biomarkers in clinical medicine, including the noninvasive detection of renal cell cancer. In addition, he co-founded Auragent Bioscience (now Brightest Bio), a company focused on developing high-sensitivity and cost-effective biodetection and was recognized as a Clarivate "Highly Cited Researcher" in both 2022 and 2023.
In 2019, Duke University awarded Dr. Kharasch the Merel H. Harmel Professor of Anesthesiology, becoming the sixth faculty member of Duke Anesthesiology to be named a distinguished professor—one of the highest honors in academia, recognizing his extraordinary scholarship in advancing science and improving human health. In 2013, Dr. Kharasch was notably elected as a member of the prestigious National Academy of Medicine. He also served as chair of the ASA Committee on Research, vice chair for grants, and on the Executive Committee of the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research, an organization that awarded him with its Mentoring Excellence in Research Award in 2010. Other notable accolades that Dr. Kharasch received include the Excellence in Research Award from the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society of Anesthetic Pharmacology. He has also received federal research support for more than three decades and has authored more than 330 peer-reviewed research and scholarly articles, as well as numerous book chapters. Additionally, he is the editor of two prominent textbooks on anesthetic pharmacology. Furthermore, he is widely known for his role as immediate past editor-in-chief of Anesthesiology, the leading journal in our specialty.
Please join us in sincerely thanking Dr. Kharasch for his leadership at Duke, along with his commitment to our department and the field of anesthesiology. We look forward to ongoing collaboration with him in the realms of research, mentorship, clinical care, and innovation, and we extend best wishes for his future endeavors.