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Hendrix Alumnus to Lead UW Health’s Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine Department

CONWAY, Ark. (June 13, 2014) – Hendrix alumnus Dr. C. Michael Crowder will lead the University of Washington Health System’s Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine.

A 1982 Hendrix graduate and 2009-2010 Hendrix Odyssey Medal recipient, Crowder was recently named Professor and Chair of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Allan J. Treuer Endowed Professor of Anesthesiology and Adjunct Professor of Genome Sciences for the University of Washington Health System.

“We are a part of the University of Washington School of Medicine and provide care for patients within its affiliated institutions – University of Washington Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, and Northwest Hospital,” Crowder said in a news release on the university health system’s website. “We are integrated into the fabric of these institutions and have lead roles in all components of perioperative care and pain management. Our core missions are to provide the very best care for our patients, to train the next generation of physician leaders in anesthesiology and pain medicine, and to perform innovative research that advances patient care and fundamental medical knowledge.”

Read more here.

Crowder was formerly the Dr. Seymour and Rose T. Brown Professor of Anesthesiology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo. He completed a residency in anesthesiology at the University of Washington in Seattle before returning in 1993 as a postdoctoral fellow in molecular genetics and an instructor in anesthesiology. In addition to research involving identifying the targets of general anesthetics as well as looking for genes that control survival and adaptation to cellular injury from low oxygen, he was an attending anesthesiologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, where he cares primarily for patients undergoing neurosurgical procedures. He was also a faculty member at the University's Hope Center for Neurological Disorders. Crowder is an author of more than 90 publications, and he has lectured nationally and internationally. He has trained numerous students and fellows. He is active in many professional societies and organizations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Society for Neuroscience. He is an associate editor for Anesthesiology and reviews manuscripts for 18 other journals. He is a recipient of the Public Health Service National Research Service Award and the Philip Needleman Pharmacology Prize. He has received awards and funding from the American Heart Association and the McKnight Foundation, and his studies on anesthesia mechanisms and hypoxic injury have been funded continuously by the National Institutes of Health since 1997.

Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is a national leader in engaged liberal arts and sciences education. For the sixth consecutive year, Hendrix was named one of the country’s “Up and Coming” liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report.  Hendrix is featured in the latest edition of Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges, as well as the 2014 Princeton Review’s The Best 378 Colleges, Forbes magazine's list of America's Top Colleges, and the 2014 Fiske Guide to Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu