Emeritus Faculty
About
We are grateful to all of those who have served the Anesthesiology Department at the University of Virginia (UVA). Our Emeritus Faculty are especially endeared and honored. They provide tremendous knowledge, inspiration and resources to Anesthesiology as well as to the UVA community. In recent years the Department of Anesthesiology has seen the retirement of several distinguished professors who have made substantial contributions to the Department. Collectively, they represent hundreds of years of service to the University of Virginia.
*It is with saddened hearts that we announce the passing of some of our legendary clinicians, researchers, and teachers:
*William P. Arnold, M.D.
Dr. Arnold
Dr. Arnold first came to the University of Virginia in 1973 as a resident in anesthesia, after earning his medical degree from the University of Rochester. After completing his anesthesia residency, Dr. Arnold worked as a Fellow in Medicine and Anesthesiology before his appointment to the faculty of the Department of Anesthesiology. Dr. Arnold was active in the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Virginia Society of Anesthesiologists, serving for nearly 20 years as a member of the House of Delegates for the national society. He was nationally and internationally recognized for his expertise on chemical dependency, particularly as it related to physician impairment.
*Robert F. Bedford, M.D.
Dr. Bedford received his medical degree at Cornell University and completed an anesthesia residency at the University of Pennsylvania. He was appointed to the faculty at UVa in 1977. In addition to his work here, he held appointments as the Chair of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, at Cornell, and at the Federal Drug Administration. More recently, he divided his time between UVA and the University of South Florida until his retirement in 2008.
*Frederic A. Berry, M.D.
Dr. Berry completed his undergraduate degree at UVA and entered the School of Medicine in 1955. Trained both as a pediatrician and an anesthesiologist, Dr. Berry joined the faculty of the Department of Anesthesiology upon completing his residency in 1966. He taught at UVA for 43 years, until his retirement in 2009. Active nationally and internationally as a sought-after speaker, Dr. Berry has traveled to six continents, authored two textbooks and dozens of chapters and professional papers.
*Robert M. Epstein, M.D.
Dr. Epstein
Dr. Epstein came to the University of Virginia from Columbia University in 1972, when he was appointed professor and chair of the department. During the 24 years he held this position, the department experienced tremendous growth in size and reputation, clinically and academically. Dr. Epstein was appointed to the Harold Carron Professorship in Anesthesiology in 1996 and occupied this chair until his retirement in 2002. In honor of his service to the department, the Robert M. Epstein Professorship in Anesthesiology was created. Zhiyi Zuo, M.D., Ph.D., currently occupies the Epstein chair.
Emeritus Faculty
Cosmo A. DiFazio, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Ross & Dr. DiFazio
Dr. DiFazio earned his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Biochemistry from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. After earning his M.D. from that institution, he came to the University of Virginia for his residency in anesthesia and was appointed to the faculty in 1964, when he graduated from the residency. The Cosmo A. DiFazio Professorship in Anesthesiology was created to honor his many contributions. John C. Rowlingson, M.D., has occupied the chair since 2005.
Charles G. Durbin, Jr., M.D.
Dr. Charlie Durbin
Dr. Durbin received his medical degree from The Johns Hopkins University in 1970. He completed two residencies, one in internal medicine at Baptist Memorial Hospital and a second, combined with a fellowship in anesthesiology, at the University of Pennsylvania. He joined the UVA Department of Anesthesiology in 1978. He served as the University’s Medical Director of Respiratory Care for over 20 years. Dr. Durbin also served the UVA Health System as the Medical Director of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit, and the Post Anesthesia Care Unit. Dr. Durbin contributed greatly to the growth and development of our department. He educated and mentored countless students, residents, and faculty over his 39 year career and was the driving force to create our first Critical Care Fellowship program of which he was the director for over 15 years.
Marcel E. Durieux, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Durieux
Dr. Durieux completed a residency in Anesthesiology and a research fellowship in Molecular Pharmacology at the University of Virginia. He joined the Anesthesiology faculty in 1994 and received secondary appointments in the Department of Neurological Surgery and the Department of Pharmacology in 1995 and 1996. Dr. Durieux has contributed greatly to the growth and development of the department. He has mentored numerous students, residents, faculty and research trainees over the years. As the chair of the Anesthesiology Clinical Research Committee, his service to the department was critical to our missions. His contributions to Global Health, the education and clinical practices of anesthesia have shaped countless careers for decades. In retirement, Dr. Durieux will continue his on-going clinical research and Global Health work with the University.
Robin Hamill-Ruth, M.D.
Dr. Robin Hamill-Ruth
Dr. Hamill-Ruth came to the University of Virginia as a Pain Management Fellow in Anesthesiology. After completing an additional fellowship in Critical Care Medicine, she joined the Department in 1988. Dr. Hamill-Ruth was the Director of the Pain Management Center for over 15 years. She also served the University as an Associate Director for the Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Director of the Interventional Pain Service Musculoskeletal Center, Director of the Rheumatology Pain Elective and Director of Clinical Pain Research. During her 30 year career, she taught extensively in the SICU, Pain Clinic and Anesthesia Resident Lecture Series. Dr. Hamill-Ruth has a significant national reputation and in retirement, plans to continue speaking on Pain Medicine and Safe Opioid Prescribing.
J. Michael Jaeger, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. J. Mick Jaeger
Dr. Jaeger came to the University of Virginia as an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Neurological Surgery in 1991. He took a year off from faculty to complete a fellowship in Critical Care Medicine and was promoted to Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Surgery in 2008. Dr. Jaeger was an outstanding leader in Critical Care Medicine at UVA. He was the Associate Chief Medical Officer (ACMO) for adult critical care and prior to that he was the Medical Director of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgical ICU. In his roles as ACMO, he served on a number of Hospital committees including Co-Chair of the UVA Health COVID-19 Resource Allocation Group which established policy and procedures for allocation and/or reallocation of critical resources if a pandemic overwhelmed available resources. He was a dedicated, respected and valued member of the Department for over 31 years and was one of the highest performing educators receiving the Dean’s Master Clinician award and two resident teaching awards.
Carl Lynch III, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Carl Lynch III
Dr. Lynch completed an internship and residency at the University of Virginia from 1978 to 1981. He joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor and received full Professor in 1993. He operated a research lab in the department for over 15 years focusing on the mechanisms of anesthetic actions and electrophysiology. Dr. Lynch served as the Chairman of the Department from 1999 to 2005 and the Robert M. Epstein Professor of Anesthesiology from 1999 to 2008. He was the Chair of our annual Anesthesiology Celebration of Research for many years and served in various roles within the department mentoring countless faculty, residents, researchers, and medical students. He was a valued member of the Department for over 42 years and his contributions to the education and clinical practices of anesthesia shaped countless careers for decades.
George D. Politis, M.D., M.P.H.
Dr. George Politis
Dr. Politis earned his medical degree at Cornell University in 1985 and a MPH from UC Berkeley in 1989. He completed a Pediatric Residency at Oakland Children’s Hospital in 1988. After 4 years in pediatric private practice he completed his Anesthesiology training at UVA in 1995. To yet further enhance his training, he completed a fellowship in Pediatric Anesthesiology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in 1996. He joined the faculty at Wake Forest University as an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology in 1996 until he joined our department in 2001. He was promoted to Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Pediatrics in 2003, and to full professor in 2022. Dr. Politis has throughout his career had an interested in global health. He not only cares for sick children throughout the world but also educates anesthesia providers worldwide in pediatric anesthesia care. He has served on over thirty Operation Smile service and education projects during his career and has won teaching and humanitarian awards for these efforts.
John C Rowlingson, M.D.
Dr. John Rowlingson
Dr. Rollingson came to the University of Virginia in 1974 for his residency in anesthesiology and a pain management fellowship and joined the department in 1978. During that time, he was a pillar of education within the department as well as nationally and internationally. For 29 years he was instrumental in the education of fellows as the director of the pain management fellowship program. He was also instrumental in establishing national pain program guidelines. Dr. Rollingson was the Director of the Pain Management Center for 18 years. In 2005, he was awarded the Cosmo Di Fazio Professorship in Anesthesiology. In 2009, the Rowlingson Lectureship in Pain Medicine was established in his honor and in 2015 he received the ASRA Labat Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the development, teaching and practice of anesthesia.
Karen J. Schwenzer, M.D.
Dr. Karen Schwenzer
Dr. Karen Schwenzer received her medical degree from SUNY Downstate Brooklyn. After completing a fellowship in Critical Care Medicine at UVA, Dr. Schwenzer joined the department in 1986.Throughout her 30 year career, she served in various capacities as Associate Director of the Surgical ICU and Chair of the University Institutional Review Board. Dr. Schwenzer also served as President of the Carolina-Virginia Society of Critical Care Medicine. She represented CVSCCM as a Delegate to the Society of Critical Care Medicine and was instrumental in bringing this regional critical care society into the national Society of Critical Care Medicine.
Terrance A. Yemen, M.D.
Dr. Terry Yemen
Dr. Yemen first came to the University of Virginia as an Assistant Professor of Anesthesia in 1990. Prior to this appointment at UVA, Dr. Yemen had held faculty appointments at the University of Saskatchewan and Harvard- Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Yemen was promoted to Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at UVA in 1996. Also in 1996, Dr. Yemen was recruited by McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to be Chief of Anesthesiology, equivalent to a Chair position here at UVA. Dr. Yemen worked at McGill University from 1996-1998, also while keeping a visiting appointment at UVA. In 1998, Dr. Yemen returned fulltime to UVA as the Director of Pediatric Anesthesia at the University of Virginia. Dr. Yemen is known for his clinical acumen and outstanding ability to educate. He also served UVA as the Medical Director of the Outpatient Surgery Center from 2002-2008, and as the Medical Director of Pediatric Anesthesia from 2015-2018 at the Battle Building Ambulatory Surgery Center. He is revered for his pediatric anesthesia skills and serves as a mentor for many junior faculty. He was honored by the Dean’s office in 2019 with the Master Clinician Award, voted on by his faculty peers across the school of medicine. Dr. Yemen considers his most significant contribution to the field of anesthesia and the practice of medicine to be the two books he has written and published: The Neuroanesthesia Handbook (1996 – collaborative author) and the Pediatric Anesthesia Handbook (2002 – single author).