Adrian W Gelb

Adrian Walter Gelb is an anesthesiologist, academic, and author. He is a professor emeritus in the Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care at the University of California, San Francisco.

Gelb's research has addressed anesthetic pharmacology and anesthetic techniques in relation to neurosurgery and cerebral ischemia, alongside broader work on global health. He received a gold medal for his contributions to anesthesia from the Canadian Anesthesiologists Society in 2018 and the Nicholas Greene MD Humanitarian Award from the American Society of Anesthesiologists in 2024.

Gelb is an elected Fellow of the Royal College of Anaesthetists and was awarded honorary membership to the German Society of Anaesthesiology.

Education and early career Gelb earned an MBChB from the University of Cape Town in 1972, followed by clinical training in South Africa and the UK. He completed anesthesia residencies at the University of Western Ontario and the University of Toronto in 1977 and 1979, respectively. He received his FRCPC in Anesthesia in 1979 and completed a research fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in 1980.

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. He chaired the Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine from 1990 to 2001. In 2004, he joined the University of California, San Francisco as a professor and vice chair in the Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, He has held roles in organizations such as the International Anesthesia Research Society, and the WFSA, where he was elected president from 2020 to 2022.

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. 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. 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.

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. 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.

In neuroanesthesia, Gelb studied the interaction of anesthetic agents and cerebral ischemia, the use of evoked potential monitoring, and the influence of GABAergic agents on neurological examination in patients with supratentorial tumors, as well as the reversibility of midazolam effects.

Awards and honors 2001 – Elected Fellow, Royal College of Anaesthetists, UK 2009 – Special Award for Contributions to the Development of Anesthesia in China, Chinese Society Anesthesia 2016 – Honorary Membership, Czech Society of Anesthesia, Intensive Care, and Resuscitation 2018 – Gold Medal, Canadian Anesthesiologists Society 2020 – Honorary Membership, German Society of Anaesthesiology 2024 – Nicholas Greene MD Humanitarian Award, American Society of Anesthesiologists 2025 – Honorary Membership, Romanian Society of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care