Beverley Orser

Dr. Orser is the Professor and Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto and the Chair of the Board of the International Anesthesia Research Society. She is also a practicing anesthesiologist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Canada. Her clinical studies and advocacy work focus on patient safety and the anesthesia workforce in Canada. She has co-founded several patient safety organizations, including ISMP Canada (www.ismp-canada.org), the Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society Quality & Patient Safety Committee, and the Perioperative Brain Health Centre (www.perioperativebrainhealth.com). Her preclinical research has offered fundamental insights into the molecular basis of anesthesia, including the longer-term effects of exposure to anesthetic drugs. Her laboratory first demonstrated the unique pharmacological properties of extrasynaptic GABA_A receptors and identified novel roles for these receptors in health and disease. Her advocacy work has improved patient care and her discoveries have led to patents and potential new treatments.

Dr. Orser’s contributions have been recognized by numerous awards including the Award for Excellence in Research from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (2018), one of the highest honours in anesthesia. She received the Gold Medal from the Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society (2017) and the Peter Dresel Award in Pharmacology from Dalhousie University (2017). She received the first Canada Research Chair awarded to an anesthesiologist (2003), the first Frontiers in Anesthesia Research Award from the International Anesthesia Research Society (1995) and awards from the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (2014) and the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (2009). She is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (2013), a Fellow of The Royal Society of Canada (2018), and a Senior Fellow of Massy College, University of Toronto (2020). She is one of a few Canadians elected as an International Member of the United States National Academy of Medicine (2018). In 2023, the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists recognized her as a leading female pioneer and innovator in the field. Dr. Orser was honoured with the Order of Ontario (2022), the highest civilian recognition conferred by the province of Ontario.

Dr. Orser received a Medical Doctorate from Queen’s University (1981), a Fellowship from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (1987), and a PhD in medical science from the University of Toronto (1995). She completed postgraduate clinical training at the Royal Columbian Hospital in British Columbia, McMaster University, the University of Oxford, and the University of Toronto.