Dr. Thomas Schricker appointed Chair, Department of Anesthesia, McGill and Chief, Anesthesia, MUHC

We are pleased to confirm the appointment of Dr. Thomas Schricker as Chair, Department of Anesthesia, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University and Chief, Department of Anesthesia, McGill University Health Centre (MUHC). Dr. Schricker succeeds Dr. Steven B. Backman, who served with distinction for over a decade and to whom we express our sincere gratitude and best wishes for continued success.

As Chair of McGill’s Department of Anesthesia, Dr. Schricker will build on its research and education missions, while providing mentorship to faculty members and steering the department’s strategic planning. He will make recommendations on recruitment, academic appointments, promotion and tenure, participate on the Faculty Leadership Council and advise the undersigned on all academic matters pertaining to the Department of Anesthesia.

As Chief of the MUHC’s Department of Anesthesia, Dr. Schricker will ensure both the coverage and quality audits of anesthesiology services across four sites. He will use his management skills to foster a synergistic department that will be aligned with organizational objectives such as appropriateness of care, accountability and interdisciplinary collaboration. In parallel, his academic leadership will ensure strong undergraduate and post-graduate training and continued expansion of the Department’s research efforts.

Dr. Schricker earned his MD and PhD at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany), followed by a Research Fellowship at Harvard Medical School and a residency in Anesthesia at the University Hospital Ulm (Germany). He has published over 160 scientific papers, review articles and book chapters. Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research since 2001, his research focuses on pharmacological/nutritional strategies to prevent and/or reverse the metabolic and endocrine changes associated with surgery (Catabolic Stress Response). His research collaborations span North America, Europe and Australia and include the Outcomes Research Consortium at the Cleveland Clinic (Dr. D. Sessler), McMaster’s Canadian Network and Centre for Trials Internationally (CANNeCTIN, Dr. P. J. Devereaux) and the Outcomes Research Group at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne (Dr. P. Myles).

Until this recent appointment, Dr. Schricker was Director of Anesthesia at the Royal Victoria Hospital and was responsible for ensuring the highest standards of perioperative care and safe anesthesia practice, as well as resident teaching and clinical research. He is also a Professor in McGill’s Faculty of Medicine; Associate Member of the McGill Centre for Studies in Aging and the School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition; and an active member of MUHC and McGill committees, as well as professional associations.

Please join us in welcoming and congratulating Dr. Schricker as he assumes this new leadership role.