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Dr. Y.S. Prakash joins the IARS Board of Trustees

Y.S. Prakash, MD, PhD, has recently joined the IARS Board of Trustees. A recognized investigator and an expert in lung biology, Dr. Prakash is Consultant and Professor of Anesthesiology and Physiology, and Chair of the Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He brings a wealth of experience in studying lung diseases across the age spectrum including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension. Dr. Prakash adds a unique perspective to the IARS Board with a background that spans anesthesiology, physiology, and electrical and biomedical engineering.

Having spent most of his career at Mayo, Dr. Prakash combines laboratory research and clinical practice in general anesthesiology. He works with an interdisciplinary team of young clinician-scientists, researchers, students and technicians in his Pulmonary Cell Biology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic. Some key areas of his research include asthma and inflammation, asthma in women, lung diseases in premature babies, and pulmonary hypertension. Affecting all age groups from newborns to the elderly, lung disease presents a major burden in the US and Dr. Prakash’s work has the potential to identify novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets for a range of these important human conditions.

Dr. Prakash was one of the only medical students to receive and maintain a major NIH Research Project Grant (R01) during medical school. Since completing anesthesiology residency at Mayo, Dr. Prakash has continually maintained NIH R01 funding, currently holding three R01 grants.

In addition to his role in research at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Prakash also serves as Chair of the Department of Physiology & Biomedical Engineering. He formerly served as Vice-Chair in the Department of Anesthesiology. He is actively engaged in education and mentoring, having mentored more than 100 individuals across the trainee spectrum from undergraduate students to junior faculty across specialties. Dr. Prakash leads an NHLBI T32 training program focused on the lung, and is a faculty and executive member of Mayo’s MD-PhD training program. He is a longstanding member of Mayo’s academic appointments and promotions committee as well as the Advisory Council for the Executive Dean for Research.   

Dr. Prakash is involved with several professional societies in anesthesiology, physiology and pulmonary medicine, including the Association of University Anesthesiologists, American Society of Anesthesiologists, American Physiological Society and American Thoracic Society. He served as the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for AUA from 2016-2018, and is currently Chair of the ASA Committee on Research. He is Editor-in-Chief of Comprehensive Physiology, and Associate Editor for the American Journal of Physiology: Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology. He has served on multiple NIH and foundation grant review panels. From 2015-2020, he served as a standing member and then Chair for the NIH Lung Cellular Molecular Immunology (LCMI) study section.

Dr. Prakash’s contributions have been recognized via his induction into the American Society of Clinical Investigation, and the FAER Academy of Research Mentors in Anesthesiology. At Mayo, he has been recognized as a Clinician-Investigator.

With such extensive and significant accomplishments in research and recognition in the field, Dr. Prakash will no doubt have much to offer to the IARS Board of Trustees.