Leadership Announcement in the Department in Anesthesiology

After ten years of service in the departments of Anesthesiology and Population Health Sciences, Padma Gulur, MD, will be leaving Duke to accept a position as chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at Washington University in St. Louis, effective July 31, 2026.

Dr. Gulur’s decade at Duke has been marked by many achievements and honors, including being named interim chair of the Department of Anesthesiology in 2025. Some of the achievements during this time include the introduction of the departmental SPARK Innovation Grant, providing four annual awards to early-stage investigators to support high-risk, high-impact projects. Clinically, she expanded the Pre-Anesthesia Screening System (PASS) Clinic to Duke Raleigh Hospital, advancing perioperative efficiency, improving readiness for higher-acuity patients and reducing avoidable day-of-surgery delays.

As a pain specialist, Dr. Gulur holds enterprise responsibility as director of pain management and opioid surveillance for Duke University Health System. She established two nationally adopted care models for perioperative pain optimization and population health-based integrated pain programs. She leads the Pain Relief and Opioid Mitigation Innovation Science Laboratory, focused on improving pain outcomes while reducing opioid-related harm.

We want to thank the search committee for their continued dedication to this ongoing leadership search, which remains on track. We are grateful to have Dr. Gulur’s steadfast leadership during this transitional period. Please join us in wishing her well as she embarks on this new phase of her career.

Sincerely,

Mary E. Klotman, MD
Executive Vice President for Health Affairs, Duke University;
Dean, Duke University School of Medicine;
Chief Academic Officer, Duke Health

Thomas A. Owens, MD
Executive Vice President,
Chief Operating Officer, 
Duke University Health System