Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor in Anesthesiology
Assistant Research Professor in Neurobiology
Assistant Research Professor in Neurobiology
Lab Description
The Anesthesiology, Cognitive Neuroscience, and Engineering Research (ACkER) Laboratory, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), operates at the intersection of neuroscience, engineering, and clinical medicine. The primary objective is to bring groundbreaking discoveries from the bench directly to the patient bedside. Dr. Leah Acker, the lab’s principal investigator, is an engineer, neuroscientist, and practicing neurosurgical anesthesiologist. She is dedicated to creating non-invasive, drug-free neuromodulation technologies that enhance brain function post-surgery, particularly for older adults. Overall, the ACkER lab is wholly focused on creating technologies that aid in patient recovery following major surgical procedures.
In our pursuit,
- We collaborate with patients to comprehend the elements that contribute to a complete and resilient recovery post-surgery.
- We analyze the basic principles of cognitive neuroscience to identify suitable targets for neuromodulation.
- We create "age-friendly" technologies aimed at addressing obstacles that range from surgery-related anxiety to physical pain and cognitive dysfunction.
- We thoroughly test non-pharmacologic, non-invasive neuromodulation technologies in patients. These tools aim to mitigate problems such as anxiety, inflammation, memory issues, and pain without causing medication-related side effects.
- We are paving the way in understanding brain-heart-immune connections as a unique approach to encourage resilience during the around-surgery period.
Would you like to take part in one of our clinical studies?
Please email hippie@duke.edu or potent@duke.edu to find out about our current studies.
Lab Members
Lab Alumni
In the News
Exploring the Role of Attentional Control in Delirium and Dementia
Congratulations to Dr. Leah Acker on receiving a $3,820,100 National Institutes of Health grant for her research that aims to better understand the neural mechanisms underlying attentional resilience.
New Test Predicts Risk of Cognitive Dysfunction in Older Surgery Patients
New research led by Duke Anesthesiology’s Dr. Leah Acker and published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia reveals that a simple preoperative electroencephalogram measurement detects a signal of cognitive vulnerability when patients are asked to close, then open their eyes.
Duke Anesthesiology Faculty Awarded FAER Grants
Congratulations to Drs. Leah Acker and Elizabeth Malinzak on being selected as recipients of the 2023 Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research-American Board of Anesthesiology Research in Education Grant and the Grant for Early Medical/Surgical Specialists' Transition to Aging Research.
Dr. Acker Receives a “Strong Start” Award
Congratulations to Duke Anesthesiology’s Leah Acker, MD, PhD, on being among the four School of Medicine faculty members selected to receive a Physician-Scientist “Strong Start” Award, which supports the development of independent research programs.
That’s a Wrap! Highlights from ASA 2022
It was another successful American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) meeting for Duke Anesthesiology! View the photo gallery and read the full recap from New Orleans!
Dr. Acker Awarded NIH Grant for HIPPIE Study
Congratulations to Leah Acker, MD, PhD, on receiving a $322,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate the role of the aging brain-heart-immune axis in postoperative delirium.
Dr. Acker Earns Neuroscience Research Accolade
Congratulations to Leah Acker, MD, PhD, on being named the 2022 recipient of the William L. Young Neuroscience Research Award for her project that focuses on electroencephalography changes in anxious older adults awaiting surgery.
Class of 2022 Graduates from Duke Anesthesiology Training Programs
Congratulations to the 14 residents and 38 fellows who graduated from Duke Anesthesiology’s residency and fellowship programs on June 4 and 5. View event highlights and learn about future plans for the graduates.
News from Duke University School of Medicine
Congratulations to the 2023 LEADER Alumni!
June 8, 2023
Announcing the 2023 LEADER Cohort
December 7, 2022
Selected Publications
- Acker L, Ha C, Zhou J, Manor B, Giattino CM, Roberts K, Berger M, Wright MC, Colon-Emeric C, Devinney M, Au S, Woldorff MG, Lipsitz LA, Whitson HE. Electroencephalogram-Based Complexity Measures as Predictors of Post-operative Neurocognitive Dysfunction. Front Syst Neurosci. 2021 Nov 10;15:718769. doi: 10.3389/fnsys.2021.718769. PMID: 34858144; PMCID: PMC8631543.
- Vasunilashorn SM, Devinney MJ, Acker L, Jung Y, Ngo L, Cooter M, Huang R, Marcantonio ER, Berger M. A New Severity Scoring Scale for the 3-Minute Confusion Assessment Method (3D-CAM). J Am Geriatr Soc. 2020 Aug;68(8):1874-1876. doi: 10.1111/jgs.16538. Epub 2020 Jun 1. PMID: 32479640; PMCID: PMC7429287.
- Vasunilashorn SM, Lunardi N, Newman JC, Crosby G, Acker L, Abel T, Bhatnagar S, Cunningham C, de Cabo R, Dugan L, Hippensteel JA, Ishizawa Y, Lahiri S, Marcantonio ER, Xie Z, Inouye SK, Terrando N, Eckenhoff RG; NIDUS Delirium Network. Preclinical and translational models for delirium: Recommendations for future research from the NIDUS delirium network. Alzheimers Dement. 2023 May;19(5):2150-2174. doi: 10.1002/alz.12941. Epub 2023 Feb 17. PMID: 36799408.
- David-Bercholz J, Acker L, Caceres AI, Wu PY, Goenka S, Franklin NO, Rodriguiz RM, Wetsel WC, Devinney M, Wright MC, Zetterberg H, Yang T, Berger M, Terrando N. Conserved YKL-40 changes in mice and humans after postoperative delirium. Brain Behav Immun Health. 2022 Nov 17;26:100555. doi: 10.1016/j.bbih.2022.100555. PMID: 36457825; PMCID: PMC9706140.
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