47th Annual Shields Research Day

Theme: New Frontiers in Translational Anesthesia Research

What is Shields Research Day?

The overall purpose of our Annual Shields Day event is to bring together our clinical faculty, fellows, residents, and anesthesia assistants from the University-affiliated hospitals. Shields Research Day aims to provide a forum for updates on and stimulate further research into the frontiers of clinical science regarding anesthesia and related topics (e.g., critical care management, obstetrical anesthesia, pain management, etc.). We have been growing in recent years!

We aim to provide an excellent research and training opportunity for Anesthesia faculty, residents, fellows, graduate students, and anesthesia assistants who wish to keep abreast of current research initiatives in the field.

Our trainees (residents, fellows, and graduate students) have a unique opportunity to experience all the stages of presenting their peer-reviewed work at a scientific meeting, from the abstract writing and submission process to the poster design and oral presentation phase. The Annual Shields Research Day prepares trainees for a future role in academia under the guidance of experienced faculty mentors.

The goal is to create synergies for collaborative research (both clinical and basic science) that will enhance the work and advance knowledge beyond what each investigator can accomplish independently. The participants will have an opportunity to discuss topics of interest in the field of anesthesia and gain a better understanding of research methodologies.

Event Details

Date: Friday, May 1, 2026
Time: 7:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. EST
Location: The Ritz-Carlton, 181 Wellington St W, Toronto

Key Dates and Deadlines for 2026

Call for Abstracts: January 12, 2026
Event Registration Opens: March 2026
Deadline for Submission of Abstracts: March 2026
Successful Applicants are Informed: April 2026
47th Annual Shields Research Day: May 1, 2026

Program: Annual Shields Research Day Program - May 2026 (coming soon)

Keynote Speakers

Keynote Address by Laura Niklason, PhD, MD

Biography

Dr. Niklason is the Nicholas M. Greene Professor at Yale University in Anesthesia and Biomedical Engineering, where she has been on faculty since 2006. Dr. Niklason’s research focuses primarily on regenerative strategies for cardiovascular and lung tissues. Niklason’s engineered blood vessels are currently in clinical trials, and are the first life-sustaining engineered tissue to be studied in any Phase III trial. Niklason’s lab was also one of the first to describe the engineering of whole lung tissue that could exchange gas in vivo, and this work was cited in 2010 as one of the top 50 most important inventions of the year by Time Magazine. She was inducted into the National Academy of Inventors in 2014, and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2015.

Dr. Niklason received her PhD in Biophysics from the University of Chicago, and her MD from the University of Michigan. She completed her residency training in anesthesia and intensive care unit medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and completed post-doctoral scientific training at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Learning Objectives: Coming Soon