Editorial introductions

Abstract

Current Opinion in Anesthesiology was launched in 1988. It is one of a successful series of review journals whose unique format is designed to provide a systematic and critical assessment of the literature as presented in the many primary journals. The field of anesthesiology is divided into 15 sections that are reviewed once a year. Each section is assigned a Section Editor, a leading authority in the area, who identifies the most important topics at that time. Here we are pleased to introduce the Section Editors for this issue. SECTION EDITORS Cynthia A. WongCynthia A. WongCynthia A. Wong is a Professor of Anesthesiology and Vice Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, USA. She is the Section Chief for Obstetric Anesthesiology and Director of the Obstetric Anesthesiology Fellowship Program at Northwestern University. Dr Wong is Section Editor for obstetric anesthesiology for Anesthesia & Analgesia and is on the editorial boards of the Internation Journal of Obstetric Anesthesia and the Obstetric Anesthesia Digest, as well as a guest reviewer for other anesthesiology and obstetric journals. She has authored or co-authored over 90 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, review articles, case reports, and editorials, in addition to serving as Editor of the authoritative obstetric anesthesiology textbook, Chestnut's Obstetric Anesthesia Principles and Practice. Her research interests revolve around labor analgesia and its effects on the progress of labor and fetal status, neuraxial labor analgesia, as well as anesthesia for cesarean delivery and postoperative analgesia. Other academic interests include malignant hyperthermia; she has served as an MH Hotline consultant for many years. She lectures worldwide. Zeev N. KainZeev N. KainZeev N. Kain, MD, MBA is Associate Dean for Clinical Operations; Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology; and Professor of Anesthesiology & Pediatrics & Psychiatry at the University of California, Irvine, USA. Dr Kain received his MD from Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Faculty of Health Sciences, Israel. He completed his residency in pediatrics at the Schnider Children's Hospital New York, USA and a residency in anesthesiology at the Yale New Haven Hospital, Connecticut, USA. He received his fellowship in pediatric anesthesia from Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA and an MBA from Columbia University in New York, USA. Dr Kain's fields of interest are pediatric pain; complimentary and alternative medicine for perioperative anxiety; and distress during surgery. Dr Kain is recognized as an international expert in the clinical management of perioperative fear and anxiety, and management of children undergoing invasive medical procedures. His research addresses major dilemmas encountered in the management of affected children. To date, Dr Kain has revolutionized the care of children in preoperative settings both in the United States and around the globe. Hartmut BürkleHartmut BürkleHartmut Bürkle, MD, is Professor of Anesthesiology and Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University Hospital of the Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany. Dr Bürkle received his Doctor of Medicine (MD) from the Medical Faculty of the Philipps-University of Marburg, Germany, and he was awarded for his professorial thesis by the Medical Faculty of the Wilhelms-University of Muenster, Germany with the facultas docendi and the venia legendi (habilitation) in 1999. He received his fellowship in anesthesia and intensive care medicine from the Landesärztekammer Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany and for pain medicine from the Ärztekammer Nordrhein, Germany. From 1994 to 1996 he was trained in basic science at the University of Southern California San Diego, UCSD, USA, where he spent a post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Experimental Anesthesiology, headed by Professor Tony Yaksh. Dr Bürkle's fields of interest concentrate on perioperative homoestasis, outcome research and perioperative pain management. He has authored or co-authored over 120 peer-reviewed journal articles, case reports reviews and editorials. Dr Bürkle is the co-editor of the textbook Anästhesie und Begleiterkrankungen and has also contributed numerous book chapters to other text books. He performed reviews for several prestigious journals including Anesthesiology, Anesthesia and Analgesia, European Journal of Anaesthesiology, Der Anästhesist, Pain, Neuropharmacology and others. Dr Bürkle has made numerous presentations and been invited lecturer on national and international meetings as a speaker. Dr Bürkle is an active member of many professional societies, including the European Society for Anaesthesiology, German Society of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (DGAI). He belonged to the Editorial Board of the European Journal of Anesthesiology.