How to Manage a Clinical Anesthesia Academic Department

Ali Dabbagh, MD is Professor of Cardiac Anesthesiology at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, where he serves in the Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Critical Care and is affiliated with the Anesthesiology Research Center. He is an internationally recognized clinician-scientist, educator, and academic leader with extensive experience in perioperative medicine, cardiac anesthesiology, critical care, and clinical research.Professor Dabbagh has authored and edited numerous internationally published books and book chapters in anesthesiology, perioperative medicine, and healthcare leadership. His scholarly work spans cardiac anesthesia, patient safety, translational medicine, artificial intelligence in healthcare, academic leadership, and innovation in medical education. He has served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Cellular & Molecular Anesthesia and has played a leading role in advancing international scientific collaboration and academic publishing.Beyond his clinical and research activities, Professor Dabbagh has been actively involved in developing academic programs, mentoring faculty members and trainees, and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration within clinical academic organizations. His academic vision focuses on integrating excellence in patient care, education, research, and innovation to build sustainable and high-performing clinical academic departments.A. Sassan Sabouri, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School and a faculty member in the Department of Anesthesiology at Mass General Brigham. He has served as principal investigator and site principal investigator on multiple clinical studies, including Department of Defense-supported multicenter randomized trials, and has led investigator-initiated clinical and translational research projects.Dr. Sabouri has substantial administrative and operational leadership experience. In Tehran, he founded and developed a surgery center and subsequently served for three years as both Chief Executive Officer and Chief of Staff. In these roles, he gained hands-on experience in clinical operations, physician leadership, staff recruitment and coordination, quality and safety oversight, financial stewardship, and the practical challenges of building and managing a surgical enterprise.Dr. Sabouri has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, books, and book chapters, and has delivered numerous invited national and international presentations. He serves on editorial boards for prominent anesthesia journals and has been an active member of national committees within the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, contributing to scientific review, education, and advancement of the specialty.Deeply committed to academic mentorship and education, Dr. Sabouri regularly teaches medical students, residents, fellows, and faculty at Harvard Medical School and Boston University School of Medicine. He has mentored more than 30 trainees and junior faculty, guiding them through all stages of academic development, from study design and protocol development to publication and national presentation. His work reflects a sustained commitment to advancing perioperative care through research, collaboration, administrative leadership, and mentorship.

• 1. Introduction and Structure of an Academic Anesthesiology Department 2. Characteristics of Clinical Academic Department Leadership 3. Executive Leadership in Academic Anesthesiology Departments 4. Financial Leadership: A Key Element of Academic Medical Practice 5. The Clinical Affairs and Quality and Safety Leadership 6. Clinical Leadership Operation of an Academic Anesthesiology 7. The Research and Innovation Leadership 8. The Education and Academic Affairs Leadership 9. Faculty Development Issues—What the Institutions Need to Do and What Mentoring Can Help 10. Wellness and Burnout Prevention in a Clinical Academic Department 11. Faculty Advisory and Mentorship 12. Interdisciplinary Collaboration between Different Clinical Academic Departments 13. The Effect of Partnership and Different Healthcare Systems on the Performance of a Clinical Academic Department 14. Clinical Academic Leadership During Humanitarian Crisis 15. Clinical Anesthesiology Academic Leadership in Different Geographic Regions 16. The Future of Clinical Academic Leadership: Managing and Inspiring in Modern Anesthesiology