President’s Message: A Meeting of the Minds

Our 2024 Annual Meeting (March 22-24) of the Association of University Anesthesiologists (AUA) will be a return to form. For the first time in a decade, we will host an independent meeting in a university setting, with the goal of providing a uniquely academic experience. The Department of Anesthesiology at Washington University is graciously co-sponsoring the event, which will take place on campus in the Charles F. Knight Executive Education & Conference Center.

An exciting program is starting to take shape and will commence with a keynote address on the opioid crisis by Dr. Wilson Compton, psychiatrist and Deputy Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Biyu He, a neuroscientist on the faculty of New York University, will deliver the President’s lecture on the neurobiology of consciousness. Dr. He is simply brilliant, and her work is illuminating new directions for cognitive neuroscience. She is also a true leader in the field, having recently convened an international working group at NIH to map the future of consciousness science.

The host program at Washington University will include first-rate scientists, with discussions ranging from the gut microbiome to primatology. Our Scientific Advisory, Educational Advisory, and Leadership Advisory Boards are currently crafting their sessions, with the goal of providing cutting-edge information and inspiration. However, the most important intellectual contributor to the meeting will be you. AUA members are leaders in anesthesiology and beyond, carefully selected based on their nationally recognized accomplishments. The opportunity for our members to interact in an intimate, university setting—or during a social event at the Saint Louis Art Museum—is what will make this annual meeting a true meeting of the minds.

Author

George A. Mashour, MD, PhD

President, AUA

Robert B. Sweet Professor & Chair,

Department of Anesthesiology,

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan