2024 AAAC Council Candidates
Listed Alphabetically by Last Name
Candidate for President-Elect
Candidate for Secretary/Treasurer
Candidates for Councilor
- David Adams, MD
- Harendra Aroa, MD, FASA, MBA
- Michael Green, DO, MBA, FASA
- P. Allan Klock, Jr., MD
- Luis Tollinche, MD, FASA
Candidate for President-Elect
Cythina A. Lien, MD
Medical College of Wisconsin
Following residency at NewYork Presbyterian Hospital- Columbia University, I joined The Department of Anesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC). Over the course of my tenure there, I pursued my interest in the pharmacology of neuromuscular blocking agents, leading a research effort that defined the pharmacokinetics of mivacurium and developed cisatracurium for clinical use. More recently, my research has focused on safety in the use of these agents and their impact on patient outcomes. In addition to pursuing my research interests, I was also the Vice Chair for Academic Affairs in the Department of Anesthesiology while at WCMC. After 20+ years in NYC, I moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to join the team at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) as the John P. Kampine Professor of Anesthesiology and Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology.
Since joining MCW in 2016, the size of the Department has more than doubled as we have expanded to provide care throughout southeastern Wisconsin across seven different sites, our Master of Science in Anesthesia program has graduated its first six classes and has continue to grow both in size and reputation, and our research portfolio has grown significantly. I strongly believe that anesthesiologists are integral to the optimal functioning of a health system and have ensured that anesthesiologists and anesthetists are active participants, if not leaders in much of the committee work throughout the healthcare network and Medical College - including those involved with curricular development, faculty advancement, system-wide quality, funds flow, and medical directorships at each of our hospitals.
On the national level, I completed my term as a Director on the American Board of Anesthesiology in 2016, serving as its President from 2015-2016. I have also been active on several different Committees of the ASA, including the Committee on Scientific papers, the Scientific Advisory Committee and was the Chair of the ASA Section on Education and Research from 2011-16. I was also a member of the Education Advisory Board of the AUA and President of the Association of Midwest Academic Anesthesia Chairs. I am currently serving my second term as Secretary-Treasurer of AAAC/SAAAPM and in this role have contributed to the development of educational programs associated with the Society’s Annual Meeting and the “New Chair” Sessions of the AAAC and have worked to ensure the financial stewardship of our organization. I would be honored to continue to serve AAAC/SAAAPM and be selected as your President-Elect.
Candidate for Secretary/Treasurer
Jeffery S. Berger, MD, MBA, FASA
The George Washington University School of Medicine
Jeffrey S. Berger, MD, MBA, FASA, is Seymour Alpert Professor and Chair, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C. Prior to his current role, Dr. Berger was anesthesiology residency program director for 8 years and associate dean for graduate medical education and ACGME designated institutional official (DIO) for 4 years at The George Washington University.
Dr. Berger is currently completing his third year on the AAAC Council. He assisted with planning the 2021, 2022 and 2023 SAAAPM and AAAC meetings and has facilitated New Chair Sessions annually for the AAAC. Dr. Berger serves on the SAAAPM Annual Survey committee, and recently represented SAAAPM at the ASA Annual Meeting with a report on ASA Finances to the Academic Caucus.
Dr. Berger looks forward to continuing to bring lessons learned from previous and on-going leadership experiences to the Council role, such as associate editor for the Journal of Graduate Medical Education, co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Education in Perioperative Medicine, ad hoc reviewer for the NIH’s Health Services Organization and Delivery study section, board member of the Society of Education in Anesthesia (SEA), council for the Society for Academic Anesthesia Core Program Directors, education advisory board member of the Association of University Anesthesiologists, and executive board member of the DC Society for Anesthesiologists where Dr. Berger served as President of the Society.
He and his wife, Rachel, who is a private practice cardiologist, have three daughters and live in the Maryland suburbs, just outside of Washington, D.C.
Candidate for Councilor
David Adams, MD
Indiana University School of Medicine
Dr. David Adams has served as the Robert K. Stoelting Professor and Chair of the Department of Anesthesia at Indiana University School of Medicine since January, 2021. After earning undergraduate and medical degrees at Michigan State University, Dr. Adams completed his residency and post-doctoral clinical fellowship in anesthesiology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, where he joined the cardiovascular and neuroanesthesia teams as an Assistant Professor. After 5 years as a member of the CUMC anesthesia faculty, Dr. Adams was recruited as Associate Professor and neuroanesthesia section chief in the Department of Anesthesiology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Thereafter, Dr. Adams joined the anesthesia faculty at the University of Vermont, where he held several clinical and administrative leadership positions. At UVM, Dr. Adams served as Vice Chair for Education and Residency Program Director in the Department of Anesthesiology, Chair of the Research and Education Committee of the UVM Faculty Practice Group, and the inaugural Chair of the multidisciplinary Learning Environment and Professionalism (LEAP) Committee. Dr. Adams served as the Associate Dean for GME and the Designated Institutional Official at UVM from 2007 through 2014. In 2017, Dr. Adams was recruited as Professor and Executive Vice Chair in the Department of Anesthesiology at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine prior to being recruited to his current position at IUSM. Dr. Adams has been an ABA examiner since 2014 and a member of the ASA Committee on Economics since 2019, where he serves on the ASA Crosswalk, Reverse Crosswalk, and Relative Value Guide editorial board.
Candidate for Councilor
Harendra Arora, MD, FASA, MBA
University of Mississippi Medical Center
Dr. Harendra Arora is the current Department Chair at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Dr. Arora previously served as the Edward A. Norfleet Distinguished Professor in Anesthesiology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. At the University of North Carolina, he also served as the Residency Program Director from July 2012 thru Dec 2020. Dr. Arora obtained his medical education from Maulana Azad Medical College, India. After completing residency training at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, he obtained subspecialty training in Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology. He currently practices Cardiothoracic, Vascular, Transplant and Regional anesthesia. Dr. Arora received his Master’s in Business Administration from the Kenan Flagler Business school at the University of North Carolina in October of 2018. Dr. Arora has served as an Oral Board Examiner for the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) since 2014. He has also served on ABA’s Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) committee from its inception. Dr. Arora has published extensively in the areas of cardiovascular and transplant anesthesiology. He has participated in a number of clinical trials as well as quality improvement projects that have resulted in a substantial contribution to new and evolving knowledge in the field of anesthesiology.
Candidate for Councilor
Michael Green, DO, MBA, FASA
Thomas Jefferson University, Sidney Kimmel Medical College
I am grateful for the opportunity to express my strong interest in running for the position of Councilor, for the SAAAPM. I am enthusiastic about the opportunity and hope you will share my excitement, because of the synergies between my career experiences and the SAAAPM.
My current position is Chair, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and Senior Vice President of Perioperative Services for Thomas Jefferson Health System, Philadelphia PA. I have extensive experience in anesthesiology leadership with a strong focus on integration, efficiency improvement, clinical quality, and education. Further, I have provided leadership for Health System initiatives related to governance, strategic growth, quality, safety, and efficiency. My entire career has been in academic medicine, serving as chair at both Sidney Kimmel Medical College and Drexel University College of Medicine.
My past experience includes employment by Tenet Healthcare, a for-profit health care company, during my time as Chair at Drexel University College of Medicine. In addition, I have employment experience in Venture Capital as well. This required me to adapt and utilize creative problem solving to fulfill the missions of the department in a resource constrained and regulated environment, where the academic and research missions may have otherwise been deprioritized.
I earned my undergraduate degree from Rutgers University prior to my medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ. I completed my anesthesiology residency at Drexel University College of Medicine/Hahnemann University Hospital. I completed my master’s in business administration from Washington State University and completed Leadership Training at the Harvard School of Public Health.
These experiences have transformed my understanding of departmental, medical school, and health system operations and finances. They have made me a stronger, more agile and humble leader. Experience has provided me with a broad perspective and specific knowledge about the challenges of integrating goals to advance clinical service, education, and research programs. With that foundation, I am excited to run for a Councilor position with the SAAAPM.
If given the opportunity, I would demonstrate my commitment to Academic Medicine. I would embrace the opportunity to provide service to the SAAAPM.
Candidate for Councilor
P. Allan Klock, Jr., MD
The University of Chicago
P. Allan Klock Jr., MD is a board certified anesthesiologist. He is professor and chairman at the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care and the Anesthesia Medical Director of the Operating Rooms at the University of Chicago.
Dr. Klock received a B.S. in biomedical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. After he earned his MD from the University of Connecticut, he completed his residency in anesthesiology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA. He later completed the Program in Clinical Effectiveness and the Leadership Development Program for Physicians in Academic Health Centers at the Harvard School of Public Health.
At the University of Chicago, Dr. Klock has been section chief for urologic anesthesia and medical director of the post-anesthesia care unit and medical director of his department’s ambulatory clinics. As vice chair for clinical affairs, Dr. Klock was responsible for clinical operations at over 45 anesthetizing locations at the University of Chicago Medical Center campus. Dr. Klock serves on his department’s quality assurance, education, resident recruitment and executive committees. He also served two terms as an officer of the Medical Center’s Medical Staff Organization. He chaired the medical center’s credentialing and privileging committee for 2 years before his term as Medical Staff President from 2011 to 2014
Dr. Klock’s main academic and clinical focus is airway management. Dr. Klock is past president of the Society for Airway Management and is co-director of the Airway Study and Training Center at the University of Chicago. He was the inaugural chair of Ambu corporation’s scientific advisory board where he helped develop and launch the first single-use flexible intubation scope. He has lectured nationally and internationally and has published journal articles and book chapters on the subject of difficult airway management. He served on the American Society of Anesthesiologists task force that in 2022 published revised guidelines for management of the difficult airway.
Dr. Klock’s other major area of interest is educating non-anesthesiologist health professionals about making sedation more effective and safer. Dr. Klock has developed a curriculum entitled, “Safer Sedation and Analgesia” that has been delivered to over 600 surgeons, gastroenterologists, radiologists, nurses and other professionals who administer or supervise sedation during diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.
Candidate for Councilor
Luis Tollinche, MD, FASA
MetroHealth System of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
I served as SAAAPM councilor for the 2022-2024 term and humbly ask for your support in extending my service as a councilor for this coming term. I am Chair and Professor of Anesthesiology at MetroHealth (MH), Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. It was 20 years ago that I graduated Harvard College and came to Cleveland to start my love affair with CWRU SOM. My priorities lie squarely in developing faculty and elevating the academic mission of the Department of Anesthesiology at MH and CWRU SOM. I am committed to providing unparalleled quality care, mentor colleagues, and foster a collaborative and inclusive environment within the Department of Anesthesiology at MH Medical Center, at CWRU SOM and through the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. I contribute to advancing quality in our specialty in the national arena. The clinical service commitments within our department are high. While a minority of all CWRU faculty are on the clinician-educator track, almost all faculty in the Department of Anesthesiology are clinician-educators. I guide faculty members on various career trajectories as they identify their unique niches in the institution. I have served as a mentor to four medical students, two junior faculty and one mid-career faculty member. I usher promising clinicians through their formative years by helping them develop academically through appointments, promotion and tenure. One challenge that arises for faculty in a department with such a strong clinical commitment is finding a balance between clinical care and academic pursuits. I have worked to strike this balance in my own career with extra-clinical pursuits. It is through advocacy efforts at the regional and national level that we will most successfully determine the future of our discipline. I teach MH Anesthesiology Residents and oversee the Program Director of our residency program. I help maintain the highest standards of anesthesia board certification by serving as an oral board examiner for the American Board of Anesthesiology. I am an associate editor of Anesthesia & Analgesia. I serve on several ASA national committees. I am a board member of the MetroHealth Foundation, the Harvard College NE Ohio Alumni Club, and the CWRU SOM Alumni Board (chair DEI committee). I believe that excellence in academic medicine is best achieved through an atmosphere that encourages collaboration rather than competition. I work with hospital leadership and other Academic Department Chairs to ensure that the activities in our Services synergize in support of the goals of our broader institutions. Health care is at a crossroads and faces a reckoning that involves the critical analysis of the social determinants of health that lead to health care disparities. I am motivated both on a personal and professional level to investigate population health. I am committed to attending and being an active participant in the programming of the Annual meeting and in network formation, collaboration and cohesion among AAAC/SAAAPM members. Finally, teaching, training, and policy are among my professional interests that align well with the role of Councilor of AAAC/SAAAPM. I humbly ask you to consider my candidacy and kindly support me with your vote to renew my service as councilor of SAAAPM.
