Tetsuro (Ted) Sakai, MD, MHA, PhD, has been selected to serve as the next chair of the UNC Department of Anesthesiology. He will begin his work in the role on Aug. 1.
Sakai joins the UNC School of Medicine from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where he served as a professor as well as in several leadership roles in its Department of Anesthesiology, including as chair of the department’s Academic Promotions Committee, vice chair for professional development, and more.
He earned his MD and PhD from Kyoto University, Japan, and his MHA from Pennsylvania State University. He completed his residency in the Tenri Hospital Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, clinical and research fellowships in the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery at The Toronto Hospital, internship in the Department of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and residency in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Nationally and internationally, Sakai serves as the immediate past president of the Society for the Advancement of Transplant Anesthesia, chair for the leadership advisory board of the Association of University Anesthesiologists, and chair of the research committee of the Society for Education in Anesthesia. He has published more than 100 scientific papers in transplant anesthesia, education, cell transplantation and tissue engineering.
Please join us in welcoming him to the Carolina community. Thank you to Tony Passannante, MD, who has served as interim chair of the department since Oct. 1, 2023.