Department Hosts Inaugural Endowed Smiley-Thornton Lecture

Ms. Barbara Thornton, guest speaker Dr. Cynthia Wong, Department Chair Dr. Ansgar Brambrink, Dr. Richard Smiley

Ms. Barbara Thornton, Obstetric Anesthesiology Division Chief Dr. Ruth Landau, guest speaker Dr. Cynthia Wong, Department Chair Dr. Ansgar Brambrink, Dr. Richard Smiley

Dr. Ansgar Brambrink, Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology

Dr. Mary D'Alton, Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Dr. Ruth Landau, Obstetric Anesthesiology Division Chief

Guest speaker Dr. Cynthia Wong

The department initiated its newest endowed lecture series on April 20, 2023: The Richard Smiley, MD, Phd and Barbara Thornton Lecture in Anesthesiology and Obstetrics in the Department of Anesthesiology.

The endowment is the gift of obstetric anesthesiologist Dr. Richard Smiley and his spouse Barbara Thornton, the administrator of the Department of Surgery IT group. The goal of the Smiley-Thornton lecture series is to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes by enhancing the partnership of the anesthesiology and obstetrical teams.

The inaugural lecture was well attended by friends and colleagues of the couple from their respective departments, from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and from across the institution. The audience also included residents and fellows in anesthesiology and obstetrics and gynecology. Guest speaker Dr. Cynthia Wong presented "Over three decades of learning: The contributions of anesthesiologists to obstetric care."

Dr. Wong is an obstetric anesthesiologist whose seminal studies have changed the practice over the past few decades. Her research interests revolve around labor analgesia and its effects on the progress of labor and fetal status, epidural labor analgesia, anesthesia for cesarean delivery, and postoperative analgesia.