The AUA Council recently held a retreat at which it discussed its Mission and reformulated its strategic plan. Dr. Alex Evers kindly facilitated the discussion, and helped to ensure that it was focused, action oriented, and high level.

We are delighted to welcome 4 new members to the Education Advisory Board (EAB). In June of 2018 we issued a call for membership to the EAB. We received many applications from qualified candidates which made the decision to select only 4 new members quite challenging. Each new member has significant leadership experience and also has a long-term commitment to education.

The Scientific Advisory Board requested applications earlier this year for new members to fill four open positions. We were honored to receive a large number of outstanding applications in response. The SAB is proud to welcome the following new members, who started their three-year terms this summer.

The mitochondrion is a dynamic organelle that maintains cellular homeostasis by generating high-energy phosphates, buffering intracellular calcium, and modulating oxidative stress. However, mitochondria are also capable of mediating programmed cell death and necrosis. Central to many of these regulatory functions is the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP). Mounting evidence suggests that permeability transition (opening of the pore) within mitochondria plays a pathological role in a variety of cardiac disease processes and neurodegenerative states while physiological regulation of the mPTP has recently been shown to be important for cellular development and differentiation.

In medical school and post-graduate training, most practicing anesthesiologists and intensivists learned through listening to lectures and reading textbooks. However, modern educational and neurobiological research is showing that these traditional approaches may not be nearly as effective as other modalities of learning.

The flipped classroom (FC) format contrasts with “traditional” didactic formats in two ways: 1) the FC format is necessarily preceded by assigned self-directed learning (the “flipping”), and 2) traditional formats do not necessarily include interactive discussion. The FC format is gaining popularity and the subject of increasing amounts of medical education research.

During embryonic development, primitive yolk sac myeloid progenitors enter the brain and differentiate into microglial cells. It is usually estimated that around 10% of the adult brain cells are microglia cells. Microglia can develop into proinflammatory/classically activated M1 or anti-inflammatory activated M2 phenotypes depending on the signals present at different stages after brain lesions.

The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) recently presented Alex Macario, M.D., M.B.A., with its 2018 Excellence in Education Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to resident and graduate education in anesthesiology. The award is presented annually to an ASA member who has made significant contributions to the specialty through excellence in teaching, development of new teaching methods, or the implementation of innovative educational programs in anesthesiology.

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) today announced the election of 75 regular members and 10 international members, including George Mashour, M.D., Ph.D.

If you have an idea for an article, an announcement, or an opinion on a recently published article, please submit your proposal/article to Dr. Lisa Wise-Faberowski, MD, lwf1212@stanford.edu before Thursday, January 31, 2019. If your article is selected, we will contact you for editing and formatting!