ANNOUNCEMENT

The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and its journal Anesthesiology announce the 18th annual Journal Symposium, to be held at the Annual Meeting of the ASA on October 20, 2009, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 2009 Journal Symposium will highlight up-and-coming and noteworthy concepts in anesthesia research and clinical practice.

Just as anesthesiologists have been affected by the recent imaging revolution, so are we now by a revolution in novel biomarkers for disease. Assessing the value of proposed biomarkers is complex, but validated biomarkers of disease could improve diagnosis, guide therapy, and presage outcome in perioperative and critical care medicine. In this Symposium, lectures by internationally recognized experts will describe the history of an established and validated biomarker (troponin for cardiac injury) and the evolution of novel biomarkers for acute renal injury in perioperative and critical care medicine. Although considerable progress has been made in the methodology and report of randomized trials, anesthesiology lags behind some areas of medicine regarding development, validation, and interpretation of diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. The third lecture, by the Statistical Editor of Anesthesiology, will discuss approaches for clinical investigators and readers of scientific literature to make sense of this important emerging literature.

Investigators from around the world with an interest in this subject are requested to submit their work to the ASA for the Annual Meeting. Abstracts from both basic and clinical sciences are welcome. Studies examining or evaluating key biomarkers in perioperative and critical care medicine are encouraged. Abstracts should be submitted via  the usual online process (which can be accessed via  the Web sites www.ASAhq.organd www.anesthesiology.org). Interested individuals should be sure to check the Journal Symposium box on the abstract submission form to be considered for inclusion in this special session. The deadline for abstract submission is March 31, 2009. Abstract selections will be made by the Symposium organizers, Anesthesiology Editors Bruno Riou, M.D., of University Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris, France, and Evan D. Kharasch, M.D., Ph.D., of Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri.

The authors of abstracts selected for the Symposium will be offered an opportunity to submit their work to Anesthesiology for inclusion in a special Symposium issue to be published in the spring of 2010.

Anesthesiology, in conjunction with the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER), is pleased to announce the 2nd annual joint session, to be held at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) on October 20, 2009, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Simulation plays a key role in patient safety programs, in human factors research, and as a method to assess performance. Over the last decade, simulation-based training has stimulated and fostered a number of interrelated initiatives aimed at improving clinical practice. In this Session, a combination of invited speakers and selected abstracts and posters will include sessions that describe performance assessment, simulation training for maintenance of anesthesia certification (MOCA), and a novel application of simulation to improve the safety of clinical research.

The advent of simulation-based training has stimulated a more thorough appraisal of the breadth of skills required in patient care settings. Practice skills that were often considered difficult, if not impossible, to acquire in settings other than clinical care are included in simulation-based training and assessment programs. For this reason, simulation has stimulated a renewed interest in learning strategies that assure physicians more effectively acquire and retain the knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential to practice. Three invited speakers will describe a) the application of simulation-based training as a method to measure performance, b) the implementation of the MOCA simulation training for maintenance of anesthesia certification, and c) an innovative training approach using simulation to prepare for a clinical research protocol.

These lectures will be accompanied by the presentation of eight posters selected for their relevance to the Session topic.

Abstracts should be submitted via  the usual online process (which can be accessed via  the Web sites www.ASAhq.organd www.anesthesiology.org). Interested individuals should be sure to check the Anesthesiology/FAER Joint Session box on the abstract submission form to be considered for inclusion in this special session. The deadline for abstract submission is March 31, 2009.

To ensure continued support of young investigators during difficult financial times, the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER) implemented the following changes to FAER grants during the American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting.

• February 15 will be the only grant application deadline in 2009.

• Beginning with the February 15, 2009, application deadline, FAER Mentored Research Training Grants (MRTG) will no longer provide a mentor stipend. MRTG grant funding will now be $75,000 in year one and $100,000 in year two for a total of$175,000.

Revised grant application forms and instructions are available at www.faer.org/programs/grants. In addition, completed grant applications can now be submitted via  the FAER website at www.faer.org/grants/upload.