Congratulations to Ibtesam A. Hilmi, MB CHB, FRCA, who was recently promoted to Professor of Anesthesiology. A key member of our liver transplant anesthesiology team who has had an enormous impact on patient safety, clinical research, and resident education, Dr. Hilmi has been a faculty member of our department since 1997. She also holds a secondary appointment in the University of Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute due to her work in transplantation medicine.
Dr. Hilmi received her medical degree at the Baghdad University Medical School in her native country of Iraq, graduating first in her class. She completed her anesthesiology residency at Basrah Teaching Hospital and later returned to Baghdad as a clinical fellow and received her Diploma in Anesthesia and Intensive Care. Dr. Hilmi passed the Fellowship Exam of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (FRCA) examination and became a fellow in liver transplantation at King’s College Hospital in London. By 1994, Dr. Hilmi and her family immigrated to the US, where she completed an additional anesthesiology residency and additional liver transplantation anesthesiology fellowship at the University of Rochester. After a brief time on the faculty at Temple University, Dr. Hilmi joined the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Dr. Hilmi teaches and mentors numerous medical students, residents, and fellows in research and scholarly pursuits and serves on a number of department committees focused on resident and fellow education. She conducts research in the areas of liver transplantation, coagulation, perioperative temperature, liver and kidney transplantation, and obstructive sleep apnea.
Dr. Hilmi has authored or coauthored 33 peer-reviewed publications, 73 abstracts published or presented at national or international meetings, and 14 book chapters. Dr. Hilmi is a member of the editorial board of World Journal of Transplantation and World Journal of Anesthesiology.