This highly competitive award, named in honor of the first Penn Anesthesiology Chair, Robert D. Dripps, recognizes and helps to develop those unique individuals destined to play a leadership role in academic anesthesiology in the future. The Dripps Fellowship can be applied for either pre- or post-match. Independent of the entry choice, all Dripps fellows will complete two years of guaranteed research time following the completion of their residency training. Should an individual decide to pursue a clinical anesthesia fellowship, this year would satisfy one of the required two research years. During research fellowship years, all Dripps fellows are appointed as clinical instructors and spend 20 percent time doing clinical work to maintain the skill set acquired during residency and 80 percent time pursuing research.
Pre-Match Applicants: Resident applicants with at least two full years of research experience prior to beginning residency, who are committed to becoming physician scientists, are encouraged to apply to the Dripps program via the NRMP match. In addition to the two research fellowship years that follow residency, those who enter the Dripps program using the “pre-match” option will receive 9 months of research time during the traditional 4-year integrated residency in anesthesiology. Historically this has been assigned as 2 months during the clinical base year, 1 month during the CA1 year, 2 months during the CA2 year, and 4 months during the CA3 year.
Post-Match Applicants: Applicants who may not be ready to commit to a 6-year integrated research track residency at the time of residency application or who during their residency get excited by a research career in anesthesiology have a second option to apply to the Dripps program in the spring of the CA-1 year. Successful CA-1 applicants are appointed as Dripps fellows at the start of their CA-2 year and will receive a total of 6 months of research time during their CA-2 and CA-3 years.
Pre- and Post-match Dripps fellows are typically supported by one of the Department’s two NIH T-32 training grants. Regardless of the entry point, Dripps fellows will also receive an extra salary supplement in their CA-2 and CA-3 years. Dripps fellows have opportunities to attend scientific meetings and are required to present their research at the annual Pennsylvania Anesthesiology Resident Research Conference (PARRC).
The first Dripps Fellowship, 2007-2013, was awarded to Meghan B. Lane-Fall, MD, MSHP, FCCM, currently the Vice Chair for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, the David E. Longnecker Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and Associate Professor of Epidemiology. Meghan completed a post-doctoral fellowship, with research support from both the CHIPS fellowship and one of the department's T-32 training grants. One of Meghan's interests is in studying how communication and teamwork affect the quality of care delivered in the perioperative setting. Meghan's research mentors were Charles Bosk, PhD, Said Ibrahim, MD, MPH, and Lee A. Fleisher, MD. Meghan's publications.
Jonathan Pan, MD, PhD was a Dripps Fellow from 2009-2012. Jonathan collaborated with Roderic G. Eckenhoff, MD to examine microglial responses to anesthetics. Jonathan went on to receive a FAER Mentored Research Training Grant in 2014 at the University of California, San Francisco. Jonathan’s current research interests are on understanding the molecular mechanisms of neuroinflammation and neuronal injury after CNS injury using preclinical models and the role of biomarkers on the diagnosis of injury severity and the impact of acute care on patient outcomes after spinal trauma. Jonathan is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of California, San Francisco. Jonathan’s publications.
Andrew R. McKinstry-Wu, MD was a Dripps Fellow from 2010-2015. Andrew continued his work with Max Kelz, MD, PhD on the T-32 training grant and completed a neuroanesthesia fellowship. He has received continued research support with a FAER Mentored Research Training Grant and an NIH-K08 grant. Currently, Andrew has an NIH-MIRA grant and is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Andrew’s publications and the ^McKinstrey-Wu lab.
Ben Cobb, MD, was a Dripps Fellow from 2015-2019. After residency, Ben completed an OB fellowship and a research fellowship studying quality improvement initiatives in obstetric anesthesiology under the mentorship of Meghan Lane-Fall, MD, MSPH and Mark Neuman, MD, MSc and as a trainee in the Center for Perioperative Outcomes Research and Transformation (CPORT). Ben is currently the department chair at Bon Secours Southside Medical Center. Ben’s publications.
Kumaran Senthil, MD, was a Dripps Fellow from 2015-2020, including Pediatric Critical Care Medicine and Pediatric Anesthesia fellowships at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. While a Dripps Fellow, Kumar studied cerebral mitochondrial morphology after asphyxia associated cardiac arrest animal in a pediatric porcine model under the mentorship of Todd Kilbaugh, MD, and Robert Berg, MD. Kumar is currently a CHOP PICU/Anesthesia attending. Kumaran’s publications.
Victoria Bedell, MD, PhD, was a Dripps Fellow from 2016 – 2020. Her research interests are on anesthetic neurobiology in the zebrafish under the mentorship of Roderic Eckenhoff, MD, Max Kelz, MD, PhD, and Michael Pack, MD. Vicki received the FAER Mentored Research Training Grant and was a postdoctoral research fellow on the department’s T32 NIH training grant. Vicki is currently an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the University of Pennsylvania. Vicki’s publications
Sydney Brown, MD, PhD, was a Dripps Fellow from 2016-2020. She completed residency at Penn in 2018 and was a trainee in the Center for Perioperative Outcomes Research and Transformation (CPORT), investigating healthcare policy as it relates to pediatric anesthesiology and critical care. She then completed a clinical fellowship in pediatric anesthesiology and a research fellowship at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in 2019 and 2020 respectively. Sydney is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Michigan. She has a Young Investigator Award from the Society of Pediatric Anesthesia to investigate novel recovery trajectories following anesthetics in medically complex children using classical statistical and machine learning approaches, as well as grant funding from Merck investigating the use of Sugammadex and neuromuscular blocking medications in children. She is also interested in patient-reported outcome measures and improving longitudinal anesthetic care among medically complex children who present for multiple anesthetics over the course of their illnesses. Sydney’s publications.
Elizabeth Railey White, MD, PhD, was a Dripps Fellow from 2017-2021. She uses chemical biological tools to understand the mechanisms of anesthetic action with a focus on the non-anesthetic effects of anesthetics. Under the mentorship of Roderic Eckenhoff, MD, Railey was a postdoctoral research fellow on the department’s T32 NIH training grant and received the FAER Research Fellowship Grant. Currently, Railey is funded by the FAER Mentored Research Training Grant and is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the University of Pennsylvania. Railey’s publications.
Joseph Cichon, MD, PhD, was a Dripps Fellow from 2017- 2021. Joe employs two-photon functional and structural imaging in the living brain of rodents to dissect the mechanisms of different brain states under the mentorship of Max Kelz, MD, PhD and Alex Proekt, MD, PhD. Joe is funded with the FAER Mentored Research Training Grant and is currently an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the University of Pennsylvania. As the newest member of the NEURRAL group, Joe is dedicated to understanding how powerful, rapid acting anesthetics, such as ketamine, alter neuronal circuits in healthy individuals and neuropsychiatric diseases. His basic science approach spans neuroscience, psychiatry, and anesthesia with the hope that some of these mechanistic insights will motivate improved strategies for anesthesia and treatment of challenging neuropsychiatric diseases. Joe’s publications.
Nabil K. Thalji, MD, PhD, a Dripps Fellow from 2017 – 2023. Nabil is studying perioperative homeostasis using biochemical and in vivo imaging techniques under the mentorship of Rodney Camire, PhD and Lindsey George, MD. Nabil is currently a cardiothoracic clinical fellow at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Nabil’s Publications
Vanessa M. Mazandi, MD, a Dripps Fellow from 7/2018-6/2023. Vanessa’s research interests include studying traumatic brain injury both in a large animal model as well as within the clinical research realm under the mentorship of Todd Kilbaugh, MD. Vanessa is currently completing pediatric critical care medicine fellowship to be followed by pediatric anesthesia fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Vanessa’s publications.
Scott M. Seki , MD, a Dripps Fellow from 7/2020-6/2026. Scott’s research interests are on anesthetic exposures and neurocognitive outcomes under the mentorship of Mark Neuman, MD. Scott is currently in his anesthesia residency and a trainee in the Center for Perioperative Outcomes Research and Transformation (CPORT). Scott’s publications.
Andrew M. Becker, MD, a Dripps Fellow from 7/2021-6/2025. Andrew has an interest in health economics through his experience as an associate fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Healthcare Economics and as an internal consultant at Cigna. He focuses on the socioeconomic drivers of readmission risk and other novel social outcomes for surgical patients. Andrew is currently in his anesthesia residency and a trainee in the Center for Perioperative Outcomes Research and Transformation (CPORT) under the mentorship of Timothy Gaulton, MD and Mark Neuman, MD. Andrew’s publications.
Jeremy Zuckerberg, MD, a Dripps Fellow from 7/2021-6/2025. Jeremy is currently in his anesthesia residency with plans to complete pediatric critical care medicine and pediatric anesthesia fellowships at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. His research interest is in medical device innovation and more specifically in pulmonary mechanics and the application of affordable engineering solutions to bring widespread ventilatory support across the globe. Jeremy’s publications.
Nicholas Spornick, MD, MSc, a Dripps fellow from 7/2022-6/2026, plans to complete fellowships in pediatric critical care and pediatric anesthesia at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. His research interest is identifying the mechanism of inflammatory processes in sickle cell disease, with an aim to develop targeted therapeutics towards acute chest syndrome and vaso-occlusive pain crises. His mentors are Kandace Gollomp, MD of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Zena Quezado, MD of the National Institutes of Health. Nicholas’ publications.
Katherine Beattie, MD, PhD, a Dripps Fellow from 2023–2029. Her research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms and neural circuitry underlying pain and itch sensation. Katherine is currently in her anesthesia residency and is pursuing her postdoctoral work under the mentorship of Dr. Gregory Corder. Katherine's publications.