Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Division

Best Medical Schools for Anesthesiology #3 in the nation.The Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Division provides care to some of the most complex cardiothoracic surgical and medical patients across the perioperative spectrum. The clinical expertise of the division is complimented by a robust research mission, with contributions in transesophageal echocardiography, genomics, coagulation, and perioperative outcomes. Our faculty is actively engaged in training the next generation of leaders in anesthesiology through our nationally recognized fellowship and residency experience.

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Historical Timelines of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Division Chiefs

Omar Al-Qudsi, MBBS

Omar Al-Qudsi, MBBS

Sandy An, MD, PhD

Sandy An, MD, PhD

Jon Andrews, MD

Jon Andrews, MD

Brandi A. Bottiger, MD

Brandi A. Bottiger, MD

Anne D. Cherry, MD

Anne D. Cherry, MD

Rasesh Desai, MD

Rasesh Desai, MD

Benjamin Dunne, MD

Benjamin Dunne, MD

Kamrouz Ghadimi, MD, MHSc

Kamrouz Ghadimi, MD, MHSc

Loreta Grecu, MD

Loreta Grecu, MD

Nicole R. Guinn, MD

Nicole R. Guinn, MD

Nazish K. Hashmi, MBBS

Nazish K. Hashmi, MBBS

Ehimemen Iboaya, MD

Ehimemen Iboaya, MD

Jorn Karhausen, MD

Jorn A. Karhausen, MD

Rebecca Klinger, MD

Rebecca Y. Klinger, MD, MS

Sundar Krishnan, MBBS

Sundar Krishnan, MBBS

Jerrold H. Levy, MD, FAHA, FCCM

Jerrold H. Levy, MD, FAHA, FCCM

Yasmin Maisonave, MD

Yasmin Maisonave, MD

Negmeldeen Mamoun, MD, PhD

Negmeldeen Mamoun, MD, PhD

Michael Manning, MD

Michael W. Manning, MD, PhD

Joseph P. Mathew, MD, MHSc, MBA

Joseph P. Mathew, MD, MHSc, MBA

Sharon McCartney, MD

Sharon L. McCartney, MD, FASE

Marie-Louise Meng, MD

Marie-Louise Meng, MD

Alina Nicoara, MD, FASE

Alina Nicoara, MD, FASE

Mihai V. Podgoreanu, MD

Mihai V. Podgoreanu, MD, FASE

Angela Li Pollak, MD

Angela L. Pollak, MD, FASE

Mark Stafford-Smith, MD, CM, FRCPC, MBA, FASE

Mark Stafford-Smith, MD, CM, FRCPC, MBA, FASE

Madhav Swaminathan, MD, MMCi, FASE

Madhav Swaminathan, MD, MMCi, FASE

Annemarie Thompson, MD

Annemarie Thompson, MD

Ian J. Welsby, MB, BS, BSc, FRCA

Ian J. Welsby, MB, BS, BSc, FRCA

Meredith Whitacre, MD

Meredith Whitacre, MD

The Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Division provides care to complex cardiovascular and thoracic and critically ill patients throughout their perioperative or periprocedural experience in the operating rooms and intensive care unit.

Our Clinical Services Include:


Clinical Expertise and Collaborations within the Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Division

Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography

The mission of the Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography Service is to promote excellence in perioperative cardiac ultrasound imaging and to inspire and educate future generations of anesthesiologists and critical care physicians.


Cardiac Surgical Procedures 2020

Thoracic Surgical Procedures 2020
Brandi A. Bottiger, MD

Brandi A. Bottiger, MD
Fellowship Director

The Adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology (ACTA) Fellowship provides an immersive experience to the trainees as they develop their clinical and echocardiographic skills over the course of a year. The clinical curriculum is complemented by a focused research project and exposure to quality improvement (QI). Our faculty is committed to the success of our fellows, with the goal of producing the next generation of leaders in cardiothoracic anesthesiology.

Dr. Brandi Bottiger serves as the fellowship director, and Dr. Mark Stafford-Smith is the vice chair of education for the department.

Fellowship Page
Meet our Current Fellows

Duke Anesthesiology residents are provided a well-rounded cardiothoracic experience with exposure to a variety of cardiac surgical procedures, including coronary artery bypass grafting, valvular heart disease, minimally invasive cardiac surgery, transcatheter valve implantation, thoracic anesthesia, aortic surgery, thoracic organ transplantation, cardiothoracic intensive care unit and transesophageal echocardiography.

ACTA Educational Leadership Team

Joseph P. Mathew, MD, MHSc, MBAJoseph P. Mathew, MD, MHSc, MBA
Jerry Reves, MD, Professor of Anesthesiology and Chairman

Mark Stafford-Smith, MD, CM, FRCPC, MBA, FASEMark Stafford Smith, MD, CM, FRCPC, MBA, FASE
Vice Chair of Education
Director, Fellowship Education Program
Director, Academic Career Enrichment Scholars
Professor of Anesthesiology

Madhav Swaminathan, MD, MMCi, FASEMadhav Swaminathan, MD, MMCi, FASE
Vice Chair of Faculty Affairs
Director, ABLE Scholars Program
Professor of Anesthesiology

Mihai V. Podgoreanu, MDMihai V. Podgoreanu, MD, FASE
Chief, Division of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology

Annemarie Thompson, MDAnnemarie Thompson, MD
Director, Residency Program
Professor of Anesthesiology
Professor in Medicine & Population Health Sciences

Brandi A. Bottiger, MDBrandi A. Bottiger, MD
Director, Adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Fellowship
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology

Nazish K. Hashmi, MBBSNazish K. Hashmi, MBBS
Director, Anesthesiology Critical Care Medicine Fellowship
Director, Cardiac Anesthesia Resident Rotation
Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology

Anne Cherry, MDAnne D. Cherry, MD
ACTA Fellowship Research Director
Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology

Sharon McCartney, MDSharon L. McCartney, MD, FASE
Course Director, Acute Care Rotation
& CTICU Medical Student Rotation
Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology

Alina Nicoara, MD, FASEAlina Nicoara, MD, FASE
Director of Perioperative TEE
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology

Angela Li Pollak, MDAngela L. Pollak, MD
Assistant Residency Program Director
Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology

Rebecca Klinger, MDRebecca Y. Klinger, MD, MS
Director of Thoracic Anesthesia
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology

Ian J. Welsby, MB, BS, BSc, FRCAIan J. Welsby, MB, BS, BSc, FRCA
Director of Cardiothoracic ICU
Professor of Anesthesiology

The Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Division is a highly productive research division with interests in clinical, translational, education, and basic science research. Current research interests and expertise include:

  • Perioperative myocardial injury and ischemia-reperfusion injury (Mihai Podgoreanu)
  • Clinico-genomic risk prediction models for perioperative and long-term adverse cardiovascular outcomes following cardiac surgery (Mihai Podgoreanu, Joseph Mathew)
  • Atrial fibrillation following cardiopulmonary bypass (Joseph Mathew)
  • Postoperative cognitive decline following cardiac surgery (Joseph Mathew, Rebecca Klinger)
  • Determinants and prevention of acute kidney injury following cardiac surgery (Mark Stafford-Smith, Madhav Swaminathan)
  • Perioperative echocardiography research (Madhav Swaminathan, Alina Nicoara, Sharon McCartney, Meredith Whitacre, Sundar Krishnan)
  • Risk factors predisposing to thrombotic or hemorrhagic complications and adverse outcomes related to transfusion after cardiac surgery (Ian Welsby, Jerrold Levy)
  • Point-of-care/bedside washing of paced red blood cells to reduce perioperative lung injury (Ian Welsby)
  • Utilizing outcomes data after cardiac surgery to optimize transfusion safety in this patient group (Ian Welsby, Nazish Hashmi, Brandi Bottiger)
  • Anticoagulation and reversal (Jerrold Levy, Ian Welsby)
  • Coagulopathy in critically ill patients (Jerrold Levy)
  • Regional techniques in cardiac and thoracic anesthesia (Rebecca Klinger, Brandi Bottiger)
  • Lung transplantation outcomes research (Brandi Bottiger, Nazish Hashmi, Angela Pollak)
  • Heart transplantation outcomes research (Alina Nicoara, Sharon McCartney)
  • Mitochondrial dysfunction and immune activation in heart transplant (Anne Cherry)
  • Perioperative outcomes and biomarkers in early right heart failure (Kamrouz Ghadimi, Alina Nicoara)
  • Inhaled pulmonary vasodilation for pulmonary vasoreactivity and management of pulmonary hypertension (Kamrouz Ghadimi)
  • Quality improvement and process optimization in the cardiothoracic operating rooms (Negmeldeen Mamoun, Brandi Bottiger, Nazish Hashmi)
  • Perioperative outcomes in adults with congenital heart diseases (Nazish Hashmi, Jon Andrews)

View the department’s competitive and non-competitive research grant awards by calendar year.

Duke Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery

We collaborate with our cardiothoracic surgical colleagues to achieve the best outcomes for our patients.

Duke Heart Center

We collaborate with the Duke Heart Center to provide multidisciplinary care to patients through the entire perioperative spectrum, including providing anesthesia for outpatient cardioversions, structural heart interventions and cardiac catheterizations. We also collaborate on perioperative outcomes and imaging research with faculty at the Duke Heart Center.

Duke Transplant Center

Our faculty are active participants in the pre-transplant listing conferences and collaborate in perioperative outcomes research with the Duke Transplant Center.

Duke Cardiac Electrophysiology Lab

Our faculty specializes in providing anesthesia care to patients undergoing electrophysiology procedures in the Duke Electrophysiology Lab.

Adult EP Lab CRNAs

Philip Butler, CRNA

Philip Butler, CRNA

Stewart Capps, CRNA

Stewart Capps, CRNA

Kristen Caraher, CRNA

Kristen Caraher, CRNA

Bryan Carrico, CRNA

Bryan Carrico, CRNA

Brad Dean, CRNA

Brad Dean, CRNA

Kevin Dedmond, CRNA

Kevin Dedmond, CRNA

Derrick King, CRNA

Derrick King, CRNA

Jeff Mills, CRNA

Jeff Mills, CRNA

Mike Neal, CRNA

Michael Neal, CRNA, MSN

Chad Ragains, CRNA

Chad Ragains, CRNA
Adult EP Lab CRNA Manager

Not Pictured: Kristine Eiden, CRNA

Duke Interventional Pulmonology

Our faculty provides anesthesia care to complex patients undergoing bronchoscopic interventions in the operating room and intensive care units.

Anesthesia Critical Care Medicine

Most of our faculty are dual trained in critical care medicine and participate in clinical care, education and research in the intensive care units along with our critical care medicine colleagues.

Please contact the Critical Care Medicine Division’s interim staff assistant, Audrey McGregor, at 919-684-0862 or audrey.mcgregor@duke.edu with inquiries.

Divisional News

Chris KeithCardiothoracic Anesthesiology Division