Congratulations to Tetsuro (Ted) Sakai, MD, PhD, MHA, who has been appointed to the executive leadership position of Vice Chair for Professional Development in our department and Chair of our Academic Promotions Committee.
Dr. Sakai earned his MD and his PhD from Kyoto University in Japan. After completing an internship and cardiovascular surgery residency at Tenri Hospital, Nara, Japan, he completed clinical and research fellowships at the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery at Toronto Hospital before relocating to Pittsburgh in 1999. Upon completing his anesthesiology residency at UPMC in 2005, he joined the faculty in our department and became a member of the UPMC hepatic transplantation anesthesiology team. Dr. Sakai was promoted to Professor in 2014. In addition to his appointment as Professor in our department, he is also a Professor of Pitt’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute and a faculty member of the McGowan Institute of Regenerative Medicine. He received an MHA from Penn State University in 2017.
Ted was elected to the Association of University Anesthesiologists in 2013 and is Secretary for the Society for the Advancement of Transplant Anesthesia, Designated Chair of the Society for Education in Anesthesia Research Committee, and Associate Editor of Seminars in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia. He has authored or co-authored 100+ peer-reviewed published manuscripts.
Dr. Sakai’s most significant contributions have been in teaching and mentoring. He’s served as the inaugural Director of our Resident Research Rotation since 2006 and as our inaugural Director of Scholarly Development since 2015. His track record of support and mentoring both faculty and trainees in the development of scholarly skills has been exceptional and his expertise in scholarly education is widely recognized.
In his new role as Vice Chair for Professional Development, Dr. Sakai will provide executive leadership in professional and career development of our faculty. He will also serve as the Chair of our Faculty Academic Promotions Committee.