Career
Gelb began his academic career at the University of Western Ontario,initially as a lecturer. He was appointed assistant professor in 1982,associate professor in 1986,and professor of Anesthesia in 1991,a position he held until 2004. [3] He chaired the Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine from 1990 to 2001. [4] In 2004,he joined the University of California,San Francisco as a professor and vice chair in the Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, [3] where he was later named professor emeritus. [1]
Gelb worked as an associate scientist at the Robarts Research Institute between 1987 and 1997,while also taking on positions as chief of anesthesia at University Hospital,then at London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s Health Centre. [3]
Gelb was appointed chair of the Patient Safety and Quality Committee of the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA),since when he has worked with the World Health Organization,and helped develop International Standards for a Safe Practice of Anesthesia and an associated checklist,as well as metrics for evaluating surgical services. [5] [6] He has held roles in organizations such as the International Anesthesia Research Society, [7] and the WFSA,where he was elected president from 2020 to 2022. [8]
Research
Gelb’s research has focused on neuroanesthesia,neuropharmacology,neurophysiological monitoring,perioperative neurological dysfunction,and global health aspects of perioperative care,including health policy and patient safety. [3] He observed that perioperative stroke after noncardiac,nonneurosurgical surgery occurs more often than expected (0.05–0.7%),mostly embolic and post-anesthesia,not intraoperatively,with higher mortality linked to delayed diagnosis and combined inflammatory effects. [9] [10] He co-developed and validated a contrast-enhanced CT method that measured cerebral blood flow and blood volume,including in brain tumors,where it distinguished tumor tissue from surrounding regions with strong agreement to the microsphere reference method. [11] [12] Moreover,analyzing how loss of consciousness from anesthesia reduces beta-band oscillatory communication between the motor cortex and subcortical motor regions,he highlighted the role of frequency-specific brain interactions in normal motor function. [13]
In a collaborative study,Gelb investigated whether stimulation of the human insular cortex elicits cardiovascular responses and revealed lateralized autonomic control,with right-sided dominance for sympathetic effects. [14] His research evaluated the timing,clinical presentation,and characteristics of postoperative myocardial infarction (PMI) in at-risk patients undergoing noncardiac surgery,finding that PMIs typically occurred within the first two days postoperatively,were often not accompanied by chest pain,and were usually non-Q wave in nature. [15]
In neuroanesthesia,Gelb studied the interaction of anesthetic agents and cerebral ischemia, [16] the use of evoked potential monitoring, [17] and the influence of GABAergic agents on neurological examination in patients with supratentorial tumors,as well as the reversibility of midazolam effects. [18]
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