2021 Promotion and Tenure

By: Dr. Sara B. Robertson

Please help the department congratulate Drs. Zurab Garuli and Michelle Sheth on their academic promotions to full professor and Drs. Suwarna Anand, Bryan Hierlmeier, and Anesh Rugnath on their academic promotions to associate professor! All five anesthesiologists have worked tirelessly in the areas of service, education, and research.

Dr. Zurab Garuli

In 1985, I began my medical career at Tbilisi State Medical University (Republic of Georgia, USSR). I graduated medical school as a summa cum laude and residency training as a pediatric surgeon. In 1992, I have entered in a 3 years PhD program at the Department of Pediatric Surgery and Anesthesiology of Tbilisi Medical Academy. My research project, which I have successfully finalized in my dissertation, included the study of immunological and biochemical changes in pediatric critical patients. Concurrently, I taught Topographic Anatomy and performed experimental research in transplantation of pancreatic islet cells.

In 1995, I started my American Medical training by becoming a visiting scholar at the LSU Medical Center and New Orleans Children’s Hospital. After successfully passing the USMLE exams and becoming a licensed physician in the US, I began an internship in General Surgery at the Michigan State University program. Upon completion of my internship, I entered the residency program and subsequently cardio-vascular fellowship at the Anesthesiology Department of Tulane University.

I have started my independent practice at New Orleans VA Hospital in 2004. After hurricane “Katrina” I was detailed at Jackson VA Hospital and appointed as a chief of Anesthesiology Department., where I am currently serving.

Dr. Michelle Sheth

Born into an immigrant family, I feel that I have achieved the American dream. I became a physician, the first generation of doctors in my family. I attended medical school in India after high school in the US, completed Anesthesiology residency in Mississippi in 2007, and a Pediatric Anesthesiology fellowship in Arkansas in 2008. Upon my return to UMMC, I embarked on the unique opportunity to start a Pediatric CV Anesthesia program from the ground up with a heart surgeon with whom I collaborated and fostered a lifelong professional relationship and a standard to which all other professional relationships would be compared. I performed >1000 CV pediatric anesthetics in three years as the only pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist in the State of Mississippi from 2010-2013. The opportunity to recreate this journey with a new heart surgeon emerged in 2014, and I was able to establish a heart center of excellence in Oklahoma from 2014-2016. This opportunity not only cemented my skills but instilled my confidence as a leader in my field. Returning to MS in 2017 as Director of Pediatric CV Anesthesia services, I continue to provide anesthesia to children with complex congenital heart lesions. I have however developed other interests outside the heart program and Anesthesiology such as women mentoring, diversity and inclusion, wellness, medical school admissions, and disaster preparedness initiatives. I was the founding member of the UMMC institution-wide second victim support structure "RISE" which has proved invaluable during this Covid-19 pandemic. With a recent promotion to Professor and Vice-Chair of Faculty Development, I strive to create the same opportunities for my colleagues as were afforded to me, and create a culture of wellness, support and scholarly ambition within the Anesthesiology department which will hopefully have lasting effects such as retention, job satisfaction and overall, a positive work-life balance.

Dr. Suwarna Anand

Suwarna Anand is an Anesthesiologist here at the University of Mississippi Medical Center with subspecialty expertise in Cardiac and Transplant Anesthesiology. Born in a family of physicians, medicine was ingrained in her since her childhood days. Following her medical training in India, she pursued her residency and fellowship from some of the most prestigious institutions in the United States. Her passion for education has led to her active involvement in the training and mentoring of residents and fellows and has been recognized with two “Teacher of the year” awards. She is currently the Program Director of the Cardiac Anesthesiology Fellowship program and the Division Chief of Transplant Anesthesia. She also spearheads the perioperative glycemic control program at UMMC and is a member of the Credentialing Committee for the staff at UMMC.

On a personal note, her proudest accomplishment is being the mother of a charming 7th grader.
Fun Fact: Not a single month goes by without wondering if, that faculty evaluation by a resident or that text message or that procedure note, was meant for her or her husband who is also a faculty member in the same department. After all these years it’s still a conundrum!

One of her favorite quotes “There are mysteries to this universe we were never meant to solve, who we are and why we are here are not among them, those answers we carry inside us.”

Dr. Bryan Hierlmeier

Bryan Hierlmeier, MD is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and serves as the Core Residency Program Director. He has received Board Certification in Anesthesiology as well as Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography. He also serves as the Cardiovascular Anesthesia Service Line Director as well as Director of Thoracic Anesthesia. His clinical interests include cardiothoracic, general anesthesia and perioperative echocardiography. He has presented numerous abstracts at national meetings as well has published several case reports. Dr. Hierlmeier values resident education and presents over twenty lectures per year. He has received the "Teacher of the Year Award" for four consecutive years. Dr. Hierlmeier completed his medical school training at St. Matthews University School of Medicine followed by an Anesthesia Residency at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and Fellowship at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

Dr. Anesh Rugnath

Dr. Anesh Rugnath, is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Management at UMMC and is currently the Associate Program Director of Pain Medicine Fellowship since 2013 and a member of the Graduate Medical Education committee and also a member of the UMMC Faculty Senate.. I joined UMMC in 2006 as a psychiatry intern for about a year and then completed an anesthesiology residency and pain fellowship here. Dr. Rugnath is currently an active administrator, educator, and clinician. Not only is he involved in the Pain Medicine Fellowship program, he also serves as Chair of the Program Evaluation Committee (PEC) and Clinical Competency Committee (CCC) for the pain medicine program and a member of these committees for the core Anesthesiology program. He was selected by Pain Medicine fellows as the Teacher of the Year in 2014, 2018 and 2020.

Dr. Rugnath is an Associate Vice Chair in the department of Anesthesiology in charge of clinical scheduling. Innovations in pain treatments is his interest and is responsible for setting up the first outpatient Ketamine infusion clinic here at UMMC for pain management. He is currently a coinvestigator on an NIH sponsored grant on long term opioid use in the elderly population.