The Robert Dunning Dripps Professorship of Anesthesia
The Professorship was established in 1965 through the bequest of Grace Slack McNeil and Robert Lincoln McNeil, a 1904 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and President of McNeil Laboratories, to honor the achievements in the field of anesthesiology of Robert Dunning Dripps, MD (1911–1973), an esteemed alumnus of the Perelman School of Medicine Class of 1938.
Dr. Dripps joined the faculty of the Perelman School of Medicine in 1941. The Department of Anesthesia, originally a Division of the Department of Surgery, became an autonomous University Department in 1965. As Chairman of Anesthesiology until 1972, Dr. Dripps built an internationally acclaimed academic department, rooted in his firm belief that anesthesiology essentially was composed of clinical pharmacology and physiology and that training in those basic disciplines would produce superior anesthesiologists, teachers, and investigators. In 1972, he was appointed Vice President for Health Affairs by the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Dripps co-authored a major textbook, Introduction to Anesthesia: The Principles of Safe Practice. He was named a Fellow of the Faculties of Anaesthetists of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of both Ireland (1970) and England (1972) and was a founding member of the Association of University Anesthesiologists (1953), serving as its President in 1957.
Current Chairholder
Deborah J. Culley, MD
Dr. Culley is the Robert D. Dripps Professor and Chair of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the Perelman School of Medicine. A specialist in neuroanesthesiology, she is a nationally recognized leader in geriatric anesthesia.
Dr. Culley’s research focuses on the effects of surgery and anesthesia on the aged brain. Her work has demonstrated that these interventions can produce lasting changes in cognition and brain function. Her work is currently funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA)/NIH and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)/NIH.
Dr. Culley received her medical degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine and completed her residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Before coming to Penn in 2021, she was Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School as well as Executive Vice Chair for the Department of Anesthesiology Perioperative and Pain Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
In addition to her research, Dr. Culley has shaped the field of anesthesiology through her leadership in service. She is a Director and former President of the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA); an Executive Editor of Anesthesiology, the principal journal in the field; and a leader and founding member of the Anesthesia Research Collaborative.
Dr. Culley has shown a strong commitment to professional education and lifelong learning. She chaired the Anesthesiology Milestones Project Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), which developed the first educational milestones for training in anesthesiology. She also led the ACGME Anesthesiology Residency Review Committee. Recently, Dr. Culley chaired the Committee on Continuing Certification of the American Board of Medical Specialties, which oversees the policies and procedures related to continuing certification for close to 800,000 board-certified physicians.
Previous Chairholders
- Harry Wollman, MD 1972–1986
- David E. Longnecker, MD 1988–2004
- Lee A. Fleisher, MD 2005-2021