Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program
SRI programs
Affiliate scientist
University of Toronto
1 King’s College Circle, Room 3318
Toronto, ON
M4G 2A3
For summer and graduate students inquires:
Dr. Lilia Kaustov
lilia.kaustov@sunnybrook.ca
Education:
- MD, Queen’s University, Canada
- PhD, anesthesia, University of Toronto, Canada
Appointments and Affiliations:
- Affiliate scientist, Biological Sciences, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Research Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute
- Professor, departments of physiology and anesthesia, U of T
- Chair, department of anesthesia, U of T
- Canada Research Chair in Anaesthesia, Tier 2
Research Foci:
- Neuroscience
- Mechanisms of anesthetic
- GABAA receptor physiology
Research Summary:
Dr. Orser's scientific research is driven by several fundamental questions: how do general anesthetics work, what are their adverse effects and how can such adverse effects be prevented? Her team is currently studying how anesthetic drugs cause the profound memory loss that is required during surgery and how they contribute to long-term cognitive deficits that occur in patients the postoperative period.
Dr. Orser’s laboratory was the first to demonstrate the unique pharmacological properties of extrasynaptic GABAA receptors and the exquisite sensitivity of these receptors to general anesthetic drugs. These receptors are now being targeted for novel treatments for a variety of neurological disorders including cognitive deficits, chronic pain and depression.
Dr. Orser is a co-founder of the Perioperative Brain Health Centre, which is located at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Her clinical research also focuses on ways to improve medication safety in the operating room. She co-founded the Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada, the first Canadian reporting system for medication errors. She also established the patient safety committee for the Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society and chaired the Canadian Standards Association subcommittee on the labeling and packaging of drugs.
Her scientific discoveries have been recognized by several awards and prestigious grants, including a 2017 CIHR Foundation Grant, a Canada Research Chair in Anesthesia and the first Frontiers in Anesthesia Award from the International Anesthesia Society. She is the recipient of the 2017 Gold Medal from the Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society; the 2017 Peter Dresel Award in Pharmacology from Dalhousie University; a Premier's Research Excellence Award; a Recognition Award from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices in the U.S.; and a Career Scientist Award from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
Selected Publications:
See current publications list at PubMed.
Related News and Stories:
- Ask a scientist: "What is the biggest misconception about being a scientist?" (SRI Magazine, 2017)
- Is there still a place for opioids? Doctors are grappling with how to relieve acute pain while minimizing opioid use and averting descent into chronic pain (SRI Magazine, 2016)
- Why anesthetics cause prolonged memory loss: Discovery can have serious implications for post-operative patients (Nov. 3, 2014)
- 2014 Australian and New Zealand College of Anesthetists Annual Scientific Meeting (video interview, May 2014)
- Post-surgery memory loss may be reversible (Sept. 20, 2012)
- Study suggests remembering surgery might be real in rare cases (June 25, 2007)
Related Links:
