JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Moeen Panni, M.D., Ph.D., has been named chairman of the department of anesthesiology at the University of Florida College of Medicine-Jacksonville.
"I am most excited about the opportunity to build an academic department and develop an anesthesiology residency program from the ground up in an excellent clinical setting," said Panni, who will begin June 1.
Prior to coming to UF, Panni served as an associate professor and director of obstetric anesthesia at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston,. From 2002 to 2005, Panni worked in Duke University’s Division of Women’s Anesthesia and served as co-director of research for the division.
Robert Nuss, M.D., dean of the UF College of Medicine-Jacksonville regional campus and associate vice president for health affairs, said Panni was selected from a very competitive group of applicants.
"He has superb academic credentials and demonstrated leadership in the field of anesthesiology," said Nuss. "He recognizes the need for strong faculty, research, responsible financial infrastructure and possesses the collaborative skills necessary to effect change. We’re delighted to have him join us."
Panni is a graduate of the University of Cambridge, where he received a doctorate in neuroscience in 1994 and a medical degree in 1995. He was a medical house officer at both the University of Cambridge and University of Oxford prior to pursuing molecular neurobiology fellowship work at Harvard University as a fellow in molecular neurobiology. Panni completed his residency in anesthesiology and a clinical research fellowship in obstetric anesthesia at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. He is board-certified in anesthesiology by the American Board of Anesthesiology. In addition, Panni received a certificate of business administration from the American Society of Anesthesiologists.
Panni has received numerous prestigious awards and honors. While at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, he was awarded the Dean’s Teaching Excellence Award three times consecutively and also received the Outstanding Clinical Instructor-Faculty Teacher of the Year Award. In addition, he has received Duke’s Robert N. Sladen Teacher of the Year Award and the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology’s Research in Education Award.
Panni is a member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the International Anesthesia Research Society and the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology. He also serves on the editorial board for The Open Anesthesiology Journal, is a reviewer for Anesthesiology and Anesthesia & Analgesia journals, and his research appears in more than 30 peer-reviewed publications.
Panni’s goals for the department involve the continued provision of excellent clinical care, recruiting new faculty, developing a research program and fostering an educational environment for students and residents.
"Teaching medicine has been my greatest joy since I first entered medical school," said Panni. "To practice the best evidence-based medicine possible is something I have always emphasized in my teaching and practice and will continue to advocate."