Sinziana Avramescu

The diseases and disorders that plague our society are complex and involve multiple systems including signaling pathways, cellular physiology and behavioral phenotypes. To better understand health and disease it is important to integrate these multiple levels of discourse. One of the fundamental challenges of modern research is linking a particular clinical disorder to a target receptor; Dr. Avramescu’s desire to overcome this gap was the catalyst for her training as both a clinician and a bench researcher. She completed her specialty training in anesthesiology at the University of Toronto and obtained a PhD in neuroscience from Laval University in Quebec City. She has a particular interest in developing biomarkers and treatment strategies for acquired brain injuries, such as traumatic brain injury, post-operative cognitive dysfunction and post-traumatic epilepsy. Her aim is to further the understanding of the cellular and molecular basis of memory and cognition with the ultimate goal of improving patient care and safety.

Recent Publications

1. Wang DS, Zurek AA, Lecker I, Yu J, Abramian AM, Avramescu S, Davies PA, Moss SJ, Lu WY, Orser BA. (2012). Memory deficits induced by inflammation are regulated by α5-subunit-containing GABAA receptors. Cell Rep., 2(3), 488-496.
2. Avramescu S, Arzola C, Tharmaratnam U, Chin KJ, Balki M. (2012). Sonoanatomy of the thoracic spine in adult volunteers. Reg Anesth Pain Med., 37(3), 349-353.
3. Arzola C, Avramescu S, Tharmaratnam U, Chin KJ, Balki M. (2011). Identification of cervicothoracic intervertebral spaces by surface landmarks and ultrasound. Can J Anaesth., 58(12), 1069-1074.
4. Timofeev I, Bazhenov M, Avramescu S, Nita DA. (2010). Posttraumatic epilepsy: the roles of synaptic plasticity. Neuroscientist, 16(1), 19-27.
5. Avramescu S, Nita DA, Timofeev I. (2009). Neocortical post-traumatic epileptogenesis is associated with loss of GABAergic neurons. J Neurotrauma, 26(5), 799-812.
6. Avramescu S, Timofeev I. (2008). Synaptic strength modulation after cortical trauma: a role in epileptogenesis. J Neurosci., 28(27), 6760-6772.

Appointments

Staff Anesthesiologist, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Honours and Awards

Name: Best Paper in Neuroanesthesia
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2015 - Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society (CAS) Annual Meeting, Ottawa, Canada

Name: Richard Knill Research Competition
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2015 - Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society (CAS) Annual Meeting, Ottawa, Canada

Name: Junior Faculty Research Award
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2014 - 61st Annual Meeting of the Association of University Anesthesiologists, Stanford, USA

Name: Best of the Meeting Abstract Award for Basic Science
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2014 - International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS), Montreal, Canada

Name: Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and Critical Care (SNACC) Award and the Best in the Category Award
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2014 - International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS), Montreal, Canada