Chair, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management

We are pleased to announce the appointment Stephen Kimatian, MD as the next permanent Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern), effective immediately. He will hold the Margaret Milam McDermott Distinguished Chair in Anesthesiology and Pain Management.

Dr. Kimatian joined UT Southwestern in 2017, and since January 2025 he has effectively fulfilled the responsibilities of Interim Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management. He has also been the Anesthesiologist in Chief for Children’s Health and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Dallas Physician Medical Servies for Children (DPMSC), a non-profit that supports the operation of multi-disciplinary clinical practices.

Dr. Kimatian earned his undergraduate degree at Princeton University and medical degree at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at SUNY University at Buffalo. He was assigned to active duty as a Flight Surgeon for Air Force Special Operations Command and served as Chief of Aerospace Medicine for the 16th Operations Support Squadron, Air Force Special Operations Command. Serving in numerous theatres of operation, Dr. Kimatian distinguished himself, receiving the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Malcolm C. Grow Award as the USAF Flight Surgeon of the Year.

Dr. Kimatian completed a residency in anesthesiology at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, then pursued advanced fellowship training in pediatric anesthesiology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. In clinical practice, he specializes in pediatric and congenital cardiac anesthesiology. His clinical research focuses on neuroprotection during the perioperative period, particularly on pediatric patients with congenital heart disease, the use of intraoperative EEG monitoring to guide anesthesia administration, and the use of advanced analytics to assess neurocognitive function.

Dr. Kimatian is a Past President of the Society for Education in Anesthesia (SEA) and Co-Director of the SEA Teaching Workshop. He is also a member of the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, and the Association of University Anesthesiologists. He is a scientific adviser to the board of directors of The Children’s Cancer Foundation.

Ariannah Mirick led this search with Katie White, Erin Schwass, and Maddie Ruth.