On July 1, Michael C. Lewis, M.D., joined the University of Florida College of Medicine–Jacksonville to serve as professor and chair of the Department of Anesthesiology.

Prior to joining UF, Lewis was professor of anesthesiology and senior associate dean for graduate medical education at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Lewis, who joined UM in 1995, held a number of leadership positions at UM, including assistant dean for international graduate medical education, vice chair of residency affairs for anesthesiology, and program director of the anesthesiology residency. He has also served as chief of anesthesia service at Miami’s Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

"I’d been a senior associate dean in Miami, and wanted to return to my roots in anesthesiology by leading a department," said Lewis. "The vision that Dean [Daniel] Wilson outlined gave me the impression that this was an environment in which I could succeed."

Lewis received his medical education at University College London. In the U.S., he completed an internship in internal medicine at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia and a residency in anesthesiology at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital. Lewis also received residency training in Israel, in anesthesiology at Sha'are Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem and Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, as well as training in oncology at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. He is board certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology.

"We are fortunate to have Dr. Lewis take leadership of the Department of Anesthesiology as he is not only a nationally respected academic anesthesiologist, administrator and educator, but also a font of energy and ideas," said Daniel R. Wilson, M.D., Ph.D., UF’s vice president for health affairs and Dean of the College of Medicine–Jacksonville. "He will help UF Health advance in every mission area and already has launched initiatives in and beyond the department he newly leads."

Lewis' academic focus has been on perioperative issues facing the elderly. He received the Hartford Award from the American Geriatrics Society to develop a medical education curriculum in geriatric anesthesiology. His expertise in issues facing geriatric surgical patients was recognized with a Fulbright Scholarship in 2006, and the American Society of Anesthesiologists enlisted him to chair its committee on geriatrics. He also sits on the society’s Committee on Medical Student and Resident Affairs and is a board member of the Society for Education in Anesthesia.

Lewis has published numerous papers and has authored or co-authored several medical texts. He has served as a visiting professor to medical schools across the United States—including the UF College of Medicine–Jacksonville—as well as in the Middle East, Europe and the Caribbean.

"My initial efforts will be to further consolidate a good department and form it into the best small anesthesia department in the nation," said Lewis.