From a federal commission appointment to distinguished faculty awards, four anesthesiologists have recently earned notable recognition and leadership roles across academia, health systems and public service:
1. Gunisha Kaur, MD, has been recommended for appointment to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom for a term of two years. The commission is comprised of nine commissioners, including two appointed by U.S. Senator Charles Schumer.
2. Gregory Yurasek, MD, has been appointed as associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
3. The Duke University School of Medicine named two anesthesiology faculty members as recipients of a 2026 distinguished faculty award. Leah Acker, MD, PhD, earned the Ruth and A. Morris Williams Jr. Faculty Research Prize, and Nicole Scouras, MD, earned the Duke Health Clinical Excellence Award.
4. Greg Berman, MD, was named president and executive medical director of the Colorado Permanente Medical Group effective March 28. Dr. Berman had served in the role on an interim basis since August 2025, succeeding Jeff Krawcek, MD, who was named executive vice president and CEO of the KP Medical Foundation in 2025.