The annual C.R. Stephen Lecture honors the first chair of the anesthesiology department at the School of Medicine, C. Ronald Stephen, MD, FFARCS.


2023 Event Details

Topic: Consciousness
Wednesday, March 29 | 4-5 p.m. CDT
Eric P. Newman Education Center (EPNEC) Auditorium (in person only)
To register for this event, please contact Kristy Meyer at kgutreuter@wustl.edu.

Featured Speaker

George A. Mashour, MD, PhD
Robert B. Sweet Professor & Chair
Department of Anesthesiology
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI

Dr. Mashour will discuss the neural correlates of consciousness, with a focus on the controversial role of the prefrontal cortex. This discussion will span both the content of consciousness (i.e., qualitative experience) and level of consciousness (i.e., global state of arousal).

Learning Objectives

  • Differentiate phenomenal consciousness and access consciousness.
  • Differentiate content of consciousness and level of consciousness.
  • Describe the role of the prefrontal cortex in consciousness and anesthesia.
About Dr. George Mashour

George A. Mashour, MD, PhD, is an anesthesiologist and NIH-funded neuroscientist at the University of Michigan. He is internationally recognized for his work on consciousness and the mechanisms of unconsciousness. Mashour was the founding director of the Center for Consciousness Science at the University of Michigan, where he currently serves as the Robert B. Sweet Professor and Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology.

In 2022, Mashour founded the Michigan Psychedelic Center, which he currently directs. He also founded the Center for Drug Repurposing in 2019, for which he is the executive sponsor, and serves as Co-Director of the Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research. Mashour is President of the Association of University Anesthesiologists, a Trustee of the International Anesthesia Research Society, and Past President of the Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and Critical Care.

After his undergraduate study of philosophy, he received his MD and PhD in Neuroscience from Georgetown University and was an intern, resident, and chief resident in anesthesiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Mashour has received numerous awards throughout his career, including two Fulbright Scholarships, the Presidential Scholar Award from the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the Distinguished Service Award from the Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and Critical Care, the Excellence in Research Award from the American Society of Anesthesiologists, election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and election to the National Academy of Medicine.   

Event Registration

To register for this event, please contact Kristy Meyer at kgutreuter@wustl.edu.


About the Annual C.R. Stephen Lecture

Washington University School of Medicine named Dr. Stephen professor and chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology in 1971, at which time he also was named anesthesiologist-in-chief at Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals. Following his retirement from academic medicine in 1980, he served as chief of anesthesiology at St. Luke’s Hospital, St. Louis, for five years. Dr. Stephen was known for his devotion to teaching, pioneering two anesthetics — Halothane and Ketamine — and developing inhalers, valves, and vaporizers for more controlled administration of anesthetics. Learn more about Dr. Stephen.

This lecture is partially funded by gifts from Dr. Stephen’s former colleagues, trainees, and friends who generously endowed the C.R. Stephen Lecture Fund.