Research training

The first Dripps Fellowship, 2007-2013, was awarded to Meghan B. Lane-Fall, MD, MSHP, FCCM. Meghan completed a post-doctoral fellowship, with research support from both the CHIPS fellowship and one of the department's T-32 training grants, under the mentorship of Charles Bosk, PhD, Said Ibrahim, MD, MPH, and Lee A. Fleisher, MD. Meghan became the David E. Longnecker Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and Associate Professor of Epidemiology. In 2025, Dr. Lane-Fall became the Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and  Anesthesiologist-in-Chief at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Meghan's publications. 

Jonathan Pan, MD, PhD was a Dripps Fellow from 2009-2012. Jonathan collaborated with Roderic G. Eckenhoff, MD to examine microglial responses to anesthetics. Jonathan went on to receive a FAER Mentored Research Training Grant in 2014 at the University of California, San Francisco. Jonathan’s current research interests are on understanding the molecular mechanisms of neuroinflammation and neuronal injury after CNS injury using preclinical models and the role of biomarkers on the diagnosis of injury severity and the impact of acute care on patient outcomes after spinal trauma. Jonathan is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of California, San Francisco. Jonathan’s publications.

Andrew R. McKinstry-Wu, MD was a Dripps Fellow from 2010-2015. Andrew continued his work with Max Kelz, MD, PhD on the T-32 training grant and completed a neuroanesthesia fellowship. He has received continued research support with a FAER Mentored Research Training Grant and an NIH-K08 grant. Currently, Andrew has an NIH-MIRA R35 grant and is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Andrew’s publications and the McKinstrey-Wu lab.

Ben Cobb, MD, was a Dripps Fellow from 2015-2019. After residency, Ben completed an OB fellowship and a research fellowship studying quality improvement initiatives in obstetric anesthesiology under the mentorship of Meghan Lane-Fall, MD, MSPH and Mark Neuman, MD, MSc and as a trainee in the Center for Perioperative Outcomes Research and Transformation (CPORT). Ben is currently the department chair at Bon Secours Southside Medical Center.  Ben’s publications.

Kumaran Senthil, MD, was a Dripps Fellow from 2015-2020, including Pediatric Critical Care Medicine and Pediatric Anesthesia fellowships at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. While a Dripps Fellow, Kumar studied cerebral mitochondrial morphology after asphyxia associated cardiac arrest animal in a pediatric porcine model under the mentorship of Todd Kilbaugh, MD, and Robert Berg, MD. Kumar is currently a CHOP PICU/Anesthesia attending.  Kumaran’s publications.

Victoria Bedell, MD, PhD, was a Dripps Fellow from 2016 – 2020. Her research interests are on anesthetic neurobiology in the zebrafish under the mentorship of Roderic Eckenhoff, MD, Max Kelz, MD, PhD, and Michael Pack, MD. Vicki received the FAER Mentored Research Training Grant and was a postdoctoral research fellow on the department’s T32 NIH training grant. Vicki received a NIH K08 grant and was an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the University of Pennsylvania. Vicki’s publications.

Sydney Brown, MD, PhD, was a Dripps Fellow from 2016-2020. She completed residency at Penn in 2018 and was a trainee in the Center for Perioperative Outcomes Research and Transformation (CPORT), investigating healthcare policy as it relates to pediatric anesthesiology and critical care. She then completed a clinical fellowship in pediatric anesthesiology and a research fellowship at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in 2019 and 2020 respectively. Sydney is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Michigan. She has a Young Investigator Award from the Society of Pediatric Anesthesia to investigate novel recovery trajectories following anesthetics in medically complex children using classical statistical and machine learning approaches, as well as grant funding from Merck investigating the use of Sugammadex and neuromuscular blocking medications in children. She is also interested in patient-reported outcome measures and improving longitudinal anesthetic care among medically complex children who present for multiple anesthetics over the course of their illnesses.  Sydney’s publications.  

Elizabeth Railey White, MD, PhD,  was a Dripps Fellow from 2017-2021. She uses chemical biological tools to understand the mechanisms of anesthetic action with a focus on the non-anesthetic effects of anesthetics. Under the mentorship of Roderic Eckenhoff, MD, Railey was a postdoctoral research fellow on the department’s T32 NIH training grant and received the FAER Research Fellowship Grant and the FAER Mentored Research Training Grant. Currently, Railey is currently an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the University of Pennsylvania and her research is funded by an NIH R35 grant.  Railey’s publications.

Joseph Cichon, MD, PhD, was a Dripps Fellow from 2017- 2021. Joe employs two-photon functional and structural imaging in the living brain of rodents to dissect the mechanisms of different brain states under the mentorship of Max Kelz, MD, PhD and Alex Proekt, MD, PhD. Joe was funded with the FAER Mentored Research Training Grant. Joe is currently an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the University of Pennsylvania and his research is funded by an R35 grant from the NIH. As the newest member of the NEURRAL group, Joe is dedicated to understanding how powerful, rapid acting anesthetics, such as ketamine, alter neuronal circuits in healthy individuals and neuropsychiatric diseases. His basic science approach spans neuroscience, psychiatry, and anesthesia with the hope that some of these mechanistic insights will motivate improved strategies for anesthesia and treatment of challenging neuropsychiatric diseases.  Joe’s publications.  

Nabil K. Thalji, MD, PhD, was a Dripps Fellow from 2017 – 2023. Nabil studies perioperative homeostasis using biochemical and in vivo imaging techniques. During his Dripp's Fellowship, he worked under the mentorship of Rodney Camire, PhD and Lindsey George, MD. Nabil also completed a cardiothoracic clinical fellow at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Nabil is currently an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the University of Pennsylvania. Nabil’s Publications. 

Vanessa M. Mazandi, MD, a Dripps Fellow from 7/2018-6/2023.  Vanessa’s research interests include studying traumatic brain injury both in a large animal model as well as within the clinical research realm under the mentorship of Todd Kilbaugh, MD. Vanessa also completed a pediatric critical care medicine fellowship. Vanessa became an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Vanessa’s publications. 

Scott M. Seki , MD, a Dripps Fellow from 7/2020-6/2026. Scott’s research interests are on anesthetic exposures and neurocognitive outcomes under the mentorship of Mark Neuman, MD. Scott is currently in his anesthesia residency and a trainee in the Center for Perioperative Outcomes Research and Transformation (CPORT). Scott’s publications.

Andrew M. Becker, MD, a Dripps Fellow from 7/2021-6/2025. Andrew has an interest in health economics through his experience as an associate fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Healthcare Economics and as an internal consultant at Cigna. He focuses on the socioeconomic drivers of readmission risk and other novel social outcomes for surgical patients. Andrew completed an anesthesia residency at PennMedicine and is a trainee in the Center for Perioperative Outcomes Research and Transformation (CPORT) under the mentorship of Mark Neuman, MD. Dr. Becker is currently an anesthesiologist at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a member of the faculty at Harvard Medical School. Andrew’s publications.

Jeremy Zuckerberg, MD, a Dripps Fellow from 7/2021-6/2025. Jeremy is currently a pediatric critical care medicine and pediatric anesthesia fellow at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. His research interest is in medical device innovation and more specifically in pulmonary mechanics and the application of affordable engineering solutions to bring widespread ventilatory support across the globe.  Jeremy’s publications.

Nicholas Spornick, MD, MSc, a Dripps fellow from 7/2022-6/2026, plans to complete fellowships in pediatric critical care and pediatric anesthesia at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. His research interest is identifying the mechanism of inflammatory processes in sickle cell disease, with an aim to develop targeted therapeutics towards acute chest syndrome and vaso-occlusive pain crises. His mentors are Kandace Gollomp, MD of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Zena Quezado, MD of the National Institutes of Health. Nicholas’ publications.

Katherine Beattie, MD, PhD, a Dripps Fellow from 2023–2029. Her research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms and neural circuitry underlying pain and itch sensation. Katherine is currently in her anesthesia residency and is pursuing her postdoctoral work under the mentorship of Dr. Gregory Corder. Katherine's publications.

Razvan Azamfirei, MD, PhD, is a Dripps Research Fellow (2024-2030). His research interests focus on optimizing the interprofessional delivery of care to critically ill patients, ICU delirium, and pain management strategies in the perioperative period. He is working with Mark Neuman, MD, MSc and Emily Vail, MD, MSc, Co-Directors of the Penn Center for perioperative Outcomes Research and Transformation (CPORT). Razvan’s publications.

Andreas Tzavelis, MD, PhD, is a Dripps Research Fellow (2025-2031). His research employed skin-like sensors to monitor adult and pediatric patients before, during, and after surgery using innovative algorithms to extract and analyze vital signs to predict patient recovery trajectories. In collaboration with Baxter International, Andreas also developed hemodynamic monitoring technologies, utilizing AI and Machine Learning, photoplethysmography, and electrical impedance tomography to improve critical care. Andreas' publications.

Peter Kalugin, MD, PhD is a Dripps Research Fellow (2026-2032). His research focuses on understanding how the body and the brain exchange signals to coordinate states of arousal, cardiovascular and metabolic function, and perception. To this end, he developed new imaging approaches to measure many molecules simultaneously, in 3D and on a second-to-second basis, as they dynamically travel through the blood and cerebrospinal fluid to bring information to the brain. Peter's publications.