Cedars-Sinai Appoints Department of Anesthesiology Co-Chairs

Newswise — LOS ANGELES (June 12, 2024) -- Cedars-Sinai has appointed Andrew Geller, MD, and Michael Nurok, MB, ChB, PhD, as co-chairs of the Department of Anesthesiology. The pair will tap their clinical and operational expertise, technical skills and financial acumen to guide the department amid the continued growth of anesthesiology and surgical services.

Geller and Nurok assume the responsibilities of Bruce L. Gewertz, MD, surgeon-in-chief and vice dean of Clinical System Development and Faculty Affairs, who served as executive director of Anesthesiology during the two-year recruitment period.

Anesthesiology Vice Chairs Laura Audell, MD, and Lorraine Sdrales, MD, will continue in their roles and collaborate with administrative leaders to oversee operating room utilization and efficiency as well as perioperative patient care for the department, which comprises anesthesiologists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, residents and fellows.

“Drs. Geller and Nurok possess complementary talents that will help them effectively guide and build the Anesthesiology Department in the years to come,” said Shlomo Melmed, MB, ChB, executive vice president of Medicine and Health Sciences, dean of the Medical Faculty and the Helene A. and Philip E. Hixon Distinguished Chair in Investigative Medicine at Cedars-Sinai. “I also extend profound gratitude to Drs. Gewertz, Audell and Sdrales for their exceptional work leading the department over the last two years.”

Geller earned his medical degree at Temple University before coming to Cedars-Sinai to complete his residency in anesthesiology and fellowship in obstetrical anesthesia. Since joining the Cedars-Sinai faculty in 2013, he has served as medical director of Obstetrical Anesthesiology Services and as assistant fellowship director of Obstetrical Anesthesiology through Beverly Anesthesiology Inc. He also has substantial experience in liver transplant anesthesiology and neuroanesthesiology.

Geller has won the Outstanding Teaching Faculty Obstetric Anesthesiology Award four times in the last eight years.

“I’m honored to have been selected to serve as co-chair of the Department of Anesthesiology,” Geller said. “It’s a great pleasure to lead our team alongside Dr. Nurok as we work to ensure the continued growth and success of the department.”

Nurok received his medical degree from the University of Cape Town and completed his residency in anesthesiology and fellowships in thoracic anesthesia, cardiac anesthesia and critical care medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School. After working as a faculty member at Brigham and Women’s and in the departments of Anesthesiology and Social Medicine at Harvard, he designed and implemented a dedicated orthopedic intensive care unit at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, serving as its director and on the faculty of Weill Cornell Medical College. He also holds a PhD in sociology from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris.

Nurok is a professor, director of the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit, director of the fellowship in Critical Care Medicine and co-chair of the Ethics Committee at Cedars-Sinai. He also chairs a task force on cardiothoracic critical care delivery for the American Association of Thoracic Surgeons, the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. He has published broadly on healthcare delivery and ethics in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals, including The New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“I’m eager to tackle the responsibilities of this expanded role within the Department of Anesthesiology,” Nurok said. “Dr. Gewertz did an outstanding job and now, alongside Dr. Geller, I am eager to continue and expand on the tradition of excellence for which Cedars-Sinai is known.”

Bryan Croft, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, congratulated Geller and Nurok on their new leadership positions.

“Dr. Geller has made significant contributions to the advancement of anesthesiology and perioperative services,” Croft said. “Dr. Nurok’s leadership of the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit has helped contribute to our stature as one of the world’s largest and most successful heart transplant programs. Together, Dr. Geller and Dr. Nurok are an excellent team, and we wish them every success in their new roles.”

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