PhD （University of Toronto）

MD（Queen’s University）

Dr. Orser is the Professor and Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto and a practicing anesthesiologist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Canada. Her clinical studies and advocacy have focused on patient safety and anesthesia workforce planning in Canada. She has founded several organizations that aim to improve patient care including ISMP Canada (www.ismp-canada.org), the Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society Quality & Patient Safety Committee, and the Perioperative Brain Health Centre (www.perioperativebrainhealth.com). Her preclinical research has provided fundamental insights into the molecular basis of anesthesia, in particular, the longer-term effects of exposure to anesthetic drugs. Her laboratory first demonstrated the unique pharmacological properties of extrasynaptic GABAA receptors then identified a role for these receptors in health and disease. Her discoveries have led to patents and potential new treatments.

Dr. Orser’s contributions have been recognized by the Award for Excellence in Research from the American Society of Anesthesioloigsts Research (2018), one of the highest honours in anesthesia. She was awarded the Gold Medal from the Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society (2017), the Peter Dresel Award in Pharmacology from Dalhousie University (2017), the first Canada Research Chair awarded to an anesthesiologist (2003), the first Frontiers in Anesthesia Research Award from the International Anesthesia Research Society (1995) and recognition awards from the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (2014) and the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (2009). She is an elected Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (2013), a Fellow of The Royal Society of Canada (2018), and a Senior Fellow of Massy College (2020). She is one of a few Canadians to be elected as an International Member of the United States National Academy of Medicine (2018). 

Selected Publications

1. Kaustov L, Fleet A, Brenna C, Orser BA, Choi S. (2021) Perioperative Neurocognitive Screening Tools for AtRisk Surgical Patients. Neurology Clinical Practice: https://doi.org/10.1212/CPJ.0000000000001132, C

2. Wilson CR, Bainbridge D, Orser BA. (2021) Improving anesthesia care and pain medicine in rural Canada: Nothing about us without us. Can J Anaesth, SRA (in press).

3. Orser BA, Jones KA. (2021) The IARS COVID-19 Pandemic Scientific Advisory Board: Supporting a Pandemic of Positivity. Anesthesia & Analgesia, SRA (in press).

4. Orser BA, Wilson CR. (2021) RE: Surgical and obstetrical services for rural and indigenous Canadians CMAJ: https://www.cmaj.ca/content/193/20/E713/tab-e-letters, C

5. Orser BA. (2021) Anesthesiology: Resetting Our Sights on Long-term Outcomes: The 2020 John W. Severinghaus Lecture on Translational Science. Anesthesiology, 135 (1):18-30, SRA

6. Choi S, Jerath A, Jones P, Avramescu S, Djaiani D, Syed S, Saha T, Kaustov L, Kiss A, D’Aragon F, Hedlin P, Rajamohan R, Couture EJ, Singh A, Mapplebeck JCS, Wong S, Orser BA. (2021) Cognitive Outcomes after Dexmedetomidine Sedation in Cardiac Surgery: CODEX Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol. BMJ Open, 11(4):e046851, C

7. Brenna C, Orser BA, Avramescu S, Fleet A, Kaustov L, Choi S. (2021) Cognitive decline among older adults: a hidden preexisting condition and its role in ‘brain-at-risk’ surgical patients. Brain Behav: 11(5):e02095, C

8. Manzo MA, Wang D-S, Li WW, Pinguelo A, Popa MO, Khodaei S, Atack JR, Ross RA, Orser BA. (2021) Inhibition of a tonic inhibitory conductance in mouse hippocampal neurons by negative allosteric modulators of α5 subunit-containing ɣ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors: implications for treating cognitive deficits. BJA