It is with nostalgia and much gratitude that I convey to all of you that Dr. David Murray, a longtime member of our WUDA family, has announced his plans to retire from Washington University in May of this year.
Dr. Murray has been a faculty member in our community since he arrived as associate professor in 1995, and he has held a variety of notable leadership roles over the past 25 years, including interim Division Director for what would become DoCTR from 2003-2005 and Anesthesiologist-in-Chief for St. Louis Children’s Hospital from 2009-2016.
Within the department, Dr. Murray was named the Division Chief of Pediatric Anesthesiology from 2009-2016. After Dr. Gary Hirshberg retired from this role, there was an extensive international search, and Dr. Murray rose to the top as the most outstanding of the candidates. Over the next seven years, the division flourished under Dr. Murray’s dedicated leadership. Throughout his career, Dr. Murray has mentored countless budding pediatric anesthesiologists and contributed substantially to the professional development and careers of many prominent pediatric anesthesiologists. Several of his proteges have gone on to be leaders at other leading institutions, including Stanford and UCSF.
Dr. Murray’s great passion has also long been in education and simulation training, and in 2007 he had the honor of being named the Carol B. and Jerome T. Loeb Professor of Medicine (Mrs. Loeb continues her lifelong commitment to both education and patient care). In 2008 he also took over as Director of the Howard & Joyce Wood Simulation Center. Dr. Murray’s expertise and commitment to the Simulation Center have made it truly an integral part of medical student and resident training across the School of Medicine, and we are grateful for his leadership. I would also like to highlight that Dr. Murray has effectively developed simulation as a vehicle for scholarship and for advancing teamwork and patient safety. He has garnered substantial federal funding to support his academic activities and has made seminal scientific contributions in relation to this work.
Throughout his career, Dr. Murray has been unwavering in his commitment to children requiring surgeries and other invasive procedures. Pediatric patients are among our most vulnerable and require compassion, expertise, and dedication. As an exemplary pediatric anesthesiologist, Dr. Murry has served our broader community, has impacted the lives of many children and families, and has inspired the next generation to follow in his footsteps.
Please join me in thanking Dr. Murray for his many years of service and important contributions. He has truly left an indelible mark, and we wish him all the best in his next adventure.
With very warm wishes,
Michael
Michael S. Avidan, MBBCh, FCASA
Dr. Seymour and Rose T. Brown Professor of Anesthesiology
Head of the Department of Anesthesiology
Anesthesiologist-in-Chief, Barnes-Jewish Hospital