WFSA Council 2026-28

Dr Sompwe Lupwesha Mwansa is a consultant paediatric anaesthesiologist with a strong focus on strengthening anaesthesia systems across Africa and amplifying African leadership within global health. She is committed to building collaborative networks that support safe anaesthetic and critical care services on the continent, with particular emphasis on paediatric and perioperative care. Her work bridges clinical practice, education, and policy engagement, with active contributions to regional and international initiatives aimed at improving patient safety and workforce capacity in anaesthesia.

She currently serves as President of the Society of Anaesthetists of Zambia and Deputy Secretary General for the WFSA Africa Regional Section, in addition to representing WFSA in global working groups linked to the Acute Care Action Network. Clinically, she works as a consultant anaesthesiologist and critical care specialist providing care across adult and paediatric settings, including intensive care and outreach services. She has held multiple leadership, academic, and faculty roles, and has contributed to curriculum development, training programmes, and health policy initiatives in Zambia and beyond.

Adnane Berdai is an obstetric and pediatric anaesthesiologist and intensivist, Professor of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine at Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Fes, Morocco and at University Hospital Hassan 2, Fes. He also holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in neurosciences with eclampsia as main research field.

Professor Berdai is member of the WFSA obstetric anaesthesia committee, board member of the Moroccan society of anaesthesia, Analgesia and intensive care (SMAAR) and president of the Moroccan club of anesthesiologists and intensivists practicing obstetrics (CARPO).

Professor Berdai is Author of many scientific publications. His areas of interest include obstetrics, pediatrics, transfusion and hemostasis. He has been a speaker in many international meetings in Africa, Middle East and North America.

Professor Vanda Yazbeck Karam Abi Raad is a Clinical Professor and Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at the Lebanese American University (LAU), where she also serves as Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Development at the School of Medicine. Her academic and leadership career has focused on advancing anesthesiology education, simulation-based training, and faculty development in complex and resource-challenged environments. She is the founder of the LAU Anesthesia Residency Program and Clinical Simulation Center, reflecting her long-standing commitment to building structured, high-quality training pathways for future anesthesiologists.

At regional and international level, she has held senior leadership roles including Immediate Past President of the Lebanese Society of Anesthesiologists and board member of the Pan Arab Federation of Societies of Anesthesia. She is actively engaged with the WFSA Education Committee, contributing to fellowship review processes, educational initiatives, and global webinars on training and well-being in anesthesia. Her academic work spans medical education, burnout, simulation, and crisis health systems, with extensive publications and speaking engagements at major international congresses. Across all her roles, she brings a strong focus on resilience in healthcare systems, leadership development, and improving anesthesia education in challenging contexts.

Dr. Hailong Dong, M.D, Ph.D., Professor, council member of WFSA, the vice-president of Chinese Society of Anesthesiology, the vice-president of Chinese Association of Anesthesiologists and the associate editor of Chinese Journal of Anesthesiology, etc.

Dr. Dong’s research mainly focuses on the mechanism of general anesthesia. As a principal investigator, he has been presiding over 13 national and international research projects, and published over 100 academic papers in the international journals, such as in the Science, Nature Neuroscience, J Clin Invest, Cereb Cortex, Anesthesiology, etc.

Dr Hasmizy bin Muhammad is a Senior Consultant Cardiothoracic Anaesthesiologist and Perfusionist and Head of Department at the Sarawak Heart Centre in Malaysia, where he leads clinical services in anaesthesiology and critical care. He also serves as Sarawak State Anaesthesiologist and holds key national leadership roles within the Ministry of Health Malaysia, including Head of Training for Parallel Pathway Specialist Training in Anaesthesiology and Critical Care and Head of Subspecialty for Cardiothoracic Anaesthesiology and Perfusion. His work sits at the intersection of clinical excellence, workforce development, and system strengthening in cardiac and critical care services.

He is widely involved in regional and national professional leadership, serving as President of both the Confederation of ASEAN Societies of Anaesthesiologists (CASA) and the Malaysian Society of Anaesthesiologists (MSA), as well as holding multiple roles within academic and specialty bodies in Malaysia. His background includes advanced training in cardiothoracic and paediatric cardiac anaesthesia in Malaysia, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, alongside additional qualifications in clinical ultrasound, business administration, and medical leadership. Alongside his clinical and leadership roles, he contributes actively to education, examinations, guideline development, and international conferences, with academic publications spanning cardiothoracic anaesthesia, perioperative imaging, and perioperative pharmacology.

Dr Naveen Malhotra is a Senior Consultant Anaesthesiologist with extensive experience in cardiac anaesthesia, pain medicine, and academic leadership. He is currently Director at APMC, Aas Pain Management Centre in Rohtak, India, and previously served as Senior Professor and Head of the Department of Cardiac Anaesthesia and Pain Management at Pt. B.D. Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences. With more than two decades of post-MD experience, his clinical and academic work has been strongly focused on advancing pain management services, cardiothoracic anaesthesia, and postgraduate medical training.

He has held multiple senior leadership roles within national and regional professional societies, including President-Elect of the Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists, National Vice President of the Indian Society for Study of Pain, and Deputy Chair of the WFSA Asian Australasian Regional Section. He is also actively engaged with WFSA through the Intensive & Critical Care Medicine Committee and contributes to education, examination, and guideline development. Alongside his leadership roles, he has an extensive academic output with over 240 publications and more than 500 presentations, and has played a key role in postgraduate teaching, supervision, and examiner responsibilities across anaesthesiology and related disciplines.

Dr Kumudini Ranatunga, after completion of her training and FRCA in the UK, has worked as the senior consultant cardio-thoracic anesthesiologist and intensivist at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka for 30 years. She is a past president of the College of Anesthesiologists and Intensivists of Sri Lanka. She has been a postgraduate trainer in Anesthesiology, Critical Care, Emergency Medicine and Clinical Nutrition for doctors, nurses and paramedics for over 25 years. She has functioned as an examiner in Final MD Anesthesiology examinations since 1996 and was the chief examiner from 2017-2023. She also functioned as the clinical coordinator and examiner in Final MD Emergency Medicine. She was a past external examiner in the Final Fellowship of Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons (FCPS) in Anesthesiology.

She was the General Secretary of the Asian-Australasian Regional Section of the WFSA from 2014-2018 and 2018-2022. During this period, she has worked to organize several training fellowships and scholarships for the young Anaesthesiologists in the AARS region. She was a member of the Education Committee of the WFSA from 2016 -2020 and 2020- 2024. She also functioned as the regional lead for the Global Anesthesia Workforce Survey of the WFSA. She has been a regular invited speaker in many global anaesthesia forums over the years.

Dr Chris Bowden has worked as a consultant anaesthetist in Australia for the last 20 years and is currently Deputy Director of the Anaesthetic Department at the Gold Coast University Hospital in Queensland, Australia.

He has worked and taught throughout the Pacific region and has held academic roles at the Fiji National University, including Adjunct Professor in Anaesthesia. He is the immediate Past Chair of the Australian Society of Anaesthetists Overseas Development and Education Committee and is a Final Examiner of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists.

He is the current Chair of the Asian Australasian Regional Section of the WFSA and was a WFSA Education Committee member between 2016-2024. Areas of interest include leadership development, professional wellbeing and education, and he has presented at many national and international Anaesthesia meetings.

Prof Aykut Sarıtaş is a Professor of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care at the University of Health Sciences, Izmir Faculty of Medicine, Tepecik Training and Research Hospital in Türkiye. His career spans more than two decades across anaesthesia, intensive care, and critical care leadership, with progressive roles from assistant doctor to consultant and academic leader. He trained in anaesthesiology and reanimation at Eskişehir Osmangazi University and later completed advanced fellowships in intensive care medicine at leading European centres, including Charité University Berlin, Giessen and Marburg University Hospital, and RWTH Aachen University.

His professional focus sits at the intersection of intensive care systems, airway management, and perioperative critical care, with a strong emphasis on training, education, and service development. He has held senior academic and clinical leadership roles, including ICU management and associate professorship, and is now Professor at his institution. He is actively involved in national and international professional societies such as the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, European Resuscitation Council, and European Airway Management Society. Alongside his clinical work, he contributes extensively to education, guideline development, symposium leadership, and international projects, particularly in palliative care, nutrition in critical care, and airway management innovation.

Professor Vladimir Černý is a Professor of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine with a long-standing academic and clinical career spanning Europe, North America, and the Middle East. He trained at Charles University in Prague, where he also completed his PhD and progressed through academic ranks to full professorship. His clinical leadership has included senior consultant and chair positions in major university hospitals, alongside visiting and adjunct professorships at institutions such as Dalhousie University in Canada and Texas Tech University in the United States. Over time, his work has combined intensive care leadership, perioperative medicine, and emergency care systems with a strong focus on critical care development at institutional and national levels.

He has held some of the most senior leadership roles in European and national anaesthesia and intensive care societies, including multiple terms as President of the Czech Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine and the Czech Society of Intensive Care Medicine. At European level, he has contributed to ESICM governance, the European Board of Intensive Care Medicine, and the European Board of Anaesthesiology, and he has also served within WFSA committees focused on safety and quality of practice. Alongside his leadership roles, he has been deeply involved in accreditation, guideline development, and education, including examiner roles for European diplomas in intensive care. His academic profile includes extensive publications, a strong research footprint, and an H-index of 26, reflecting sustained contributions to the advancement of anaesthesiology and critical care medicine internationally.

Prof Leonard Azamfirei is the Rector of the George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Târgu Mureș in Romania, where he has also held senior academic leadership roles including Dean and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. A senior clinician and academic in anaesthesiology and intensive care, he has built a long-standing career spanning clinical practice, teaching, and large-scale university governance. Alongside his medical training at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Târgu Mureș, he also holds a degree in legal and administrative sciences, reflecting a multidisciplinary approach to healthcare leadership and policy.

He has served extensively in national and international academic and professional organisations, including leadership roles within Romanian anaesthesia and intensive care societies, as well as contributions to simulation-based education and medical training innovation. His academic output includes over 250 scientific publications, numerous textbooks, and editorial leadership of international journals. He has also led major national and international research projects, contributed to patent development, and been widely involved in medical education reform, simulation training, and institutional development across Europe and beyond.

Dr Catia Sousa Govêia is an anaesthesiologist and academic based in Brasilia, Brazil, with a long-standing career at the University of Brasilia, where she serves as Professor, Vice-Chair of the Department of Anaesthesiology, and Director of the Residency Programme. She combines clinical practice with academic leadership, also working as an attending anaesthesiologist in private ophthalmology centres. Her training includes a medical degree and residency in anaesthesiology from the University of Brasilia, a Master’s in Medical Sciences, and she is currently pursuing an MBA focused on leadership and organisational management.

Her professional work extends beyond clinical and academic roles into national and international society leadership. She has held senior positions within the Brazilian Society of Anaesthesiologists, including Board Director for International Relations and previously Director of Administrative Affairs, as well as leadership of national certification and continuing education initiatives. She is also active in editorial work, including serving as Editor-in-Chief of Anestesia em Revista and contributing to the Brazilian Journal of Anaesthesiology. Across her career, she has focused on education, professional development, and strengthening anaesthesiology practice through training, publications, and institutional leadership.

Dr. Rodrigo Rubio Martínez is an anesthesiologist from Mexico and has been actively involved in the WFSA Education Committee and other educational activities within the WFSA since 2020. During this time, he has contributed to the development of international educational programs, faculty development initiatives, and projects aimed at expanding access to high quality anesthesia education, particularly in low resource settings.

He is Director of the Simulation Center at Centro Médico ABC in Mexico City and has dedicated much of his career to advancing medical education through simulation, serious games, and active learning methodologies. His professional interests include simulation based education, serious game design for healthcare education, curriculum development, educational innovation, and international collaboration.

Dr. Rubio Martínez is committed to supporting the WFSA mission of improving patient care through education, capacity building, and professional development.

Dr Ronald George is a Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine and a senior obstetric anesthesiologist with clinical and academic leadership roles across Canada and the United States. He currently serves as Director of Obstetric Anesthesia at Mount Sinai Hospital within the University Health Network in Toronto and holds a full professorship at the University of Toronto. His earlier academic appointments include senior leadership positions at the University of California San Francisco and Dalhousie University, where he built a strong foundation in obstetric anesthesia research, education, and service development.

His clinical and academic focus has centred on improving maternal safety, labour analgesia, and obstetric anesthesia systems, alongside a sustained commitment to research and trainee development. He has led multiple obstetric anesthesia programmes, including serving as Chief and Medical Director of Obstetric Anesthesia at UCSF Mission Bay and holding key research leadership roles at Dalhousie University and the IWK Health Centre. His contributions to the field are reflected in numerous awards, competitive research recognitions, and international presentations, particularly in obstetric anesthesia and global maternal health initiatives.

Dr. Drum is a Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, USA. As a pediatric anesthesiologist, she practices at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, USA. She serves as a North American regional representative on the WFSA Council, is a member of the Constitution Committee, and has previously completed a term on the WFSA Pediatric Anesthesia committee. She has been active in anesthesiology education and training in LMICs for more than fifteen years. She is Chair of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Committee on Global Health and a member of the ASA Charitable Foundation Board. As a member of the Editorial Board of the ASA Monitor, she solicits articles featuring perspectives from the international community.

She directs the Resident International Anesthesia Scholarship program through the ASA which has coordinated rotations for over 60 US anesthesiology residents and fellows to allow them to be involved in educational endeavors around the world. She is a member of the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia (SPA) Global Committee and the Global Initiative for Children’s Surgery (GICS) and served as Secretary/Treasurer of the Alliance for Surgery and Anesthesia Presence (ASAP). She led the effort with the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS) to start an anesthesiology residency training program at Kijabe, Kenya in 2022.

Dr Ilona Bobek is a Hungarian anaesthesiologist and intensive care specialist with extensive experience in perioperative medicine, critical care, and healthcare leadership. She trained at Semmelweis Medical University in Budapest and has held senior clinical and academic roles across major institutions in Hungary and internationally. Her career has included advanced training and professional exchanges in Norway, Belgium, Canada, Italy, and the United States, alongside leadership positions in cardiovascular surgery, transplantation, nephrology, and intensive care services. Since 2009, she has served as Head of the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care at the South Pest Central Hospital and National Institute of Haematology and Infectology in Budapest.

Her clinical expertise spans cardiac and vascular surgery, heart transplantation, haematology, burn care, and complex critical care medicine. During the COVID-19 pandemic, her department played a leading national role in the management of critically ill patients in Hungary. Dr Bobek has also been deeply involved in professional society leadership at both national and European levels, serving on the boards and councils of organisations including the Hungarian Society of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, the European Society of Anaesthesiology, and the European Union of Medical Specialities. Her academic and research interests focus on renal replacement therapies, sepsis management, acute kidney injury, and haemodynamic monitoring, with more than 60 publications and multiple book chapters contributing to the advancement of intensive care medicine.

Dr Ekta Rai is Professor and Head of the Department of Anaesthesia at Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore, India, where she leads one of the country’s major academic anaesthesia departments. A paediatric anaesthesiologist by training, she holds qualifications including MBBS, MD, MRCA, and FIAPA, and completed an Associate Clinical Fellowship in Paediatric Anaesthesia at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Singapore. Her clinical and academic work focuses strongly on paediatric anaesthesia, simulation-based education, structured competency-based training, and global health collaboration. She has also served as examiner and thesis evaluator for multiple postgraduate anaesthesia programmes across India.

Dr Rai is actively engaged in international anaesthesia education and WFSA initiatives, currently serving on the WFSA Education Committee and contributing to projects including the WHO POTT initiative and the WFSA-Smile Train Capnography GAP project. She has coordinated the WFSA Paediatric Anaesthesia Fellowship at CMC Vellore since 2016 and has contributed to the WFSA INSPIRE educational programme. Internationally, she has been faculty at major meetings including ESA, ASPA, and IARS, and was involved in education track planning for the World Congress of Anaesthesiologists 2024 in Singapore. Alongside her academic and leadership roles, she is deeply involved in community outreach and public education through initiatives such as HOTFABLES, a first aid and basic life support programme for schools and local communities.

Professor Sheila Myatra has worked in the Department of Anaesthesia and Critical Care at the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai for over 20 years. She is a Professor of Intensive Care at the Homi Bhabha National Institute University. She is the President and founder member of the “All India Difficult Airway Association” (AIDAA) and is the Vice Chancellor of the Indian College of Critical Care Medicine (ISCCM).She is one among the 13 international airway experts who is working on the Project for the Universal Management of the Airway (PUMA) guidelines and the next American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) difficult airway guidelines.

She has also developed a new test in hemodynamic monitoring, called the “tidal volume challenge” (Critical Care Medicine 2017).She was recently appointed on the Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) steering committee, working on updating the SSC COVID Guidelines. She is also on the steering committee of several ongoing international studies including the COVID Steroid 2, HOPE, IntubateCOVID, Unite COVID, SANDMAN Study and the InPUT Study. She is presently on the editorial board of Anaesthesia (Impact factor 5.739), Journal of Critical Care (Impact factor 2.78), and Trends in Anaesthesia and Critical Care (1.81).Previously, Intensive Care Medicine, the journal of the ESICM (Impact factor 17.679).

Emilia Guasch is an obstetric anaesthesiologist, and she currently works at Quirón-Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz. Madrid. She is also Honorary Professor of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Spain. 

Dr Guasch is current member of ESAIC Board as non-officer member, and Vicepresident of European Board of Anesthesia-UEMS. She has held responsibilities in the obstetric committee of ESAIC, as WFSA Council European representative (2020-24) and in her National Society (SEDAR), as Vice-president (2013-21). 

Dr Guasch´s main research interests include labour analgesia and anesthesia, postpartum haemorrhage and obstetric patient safety. She is author of the European Minimum standards in obstetric anesthesia and analgesia departments in Europe, among other papers. She currently chairs WFSA obstetric anesthesia committee. 

Dr Ustalar Özgen, is working as an anesthesiologist at the Altunizade Hospital of Acibadem Health Group and as an associate professor at the department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation and at the Vocational School of Anesthesia Technicians in the University of Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar, in Istanbul Türkiye. She has worked at the pediatric anesthesia Department of Queen’s Medical Center, Nottingham, UK after completing her residency at the Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, University of Marmara, Istanbul Türkiye.

She is a member of several professional societies including ESPA, SPA, ASA, ESRA and ASPA. She has been a member of the executive committee of ASPA, served as general secretary, and is serving as the President of ASPA for 2023-2025. She has coordinated, organized and taught on several national and international meetings and workshops, including Perioperative Pediatric Life Support Courses of ASPA. She is a member of the educational committee of ASPA. She serves as the Chair of the Scientific Committee of Pediatric Anesthesia of Turkish Society of Anesthesiology and Reanimation and country coordinator of Perioperative Pediatric Life Support Courses in Türkiye. She is the founder member of the Association of Anesthesia Technicians in Türkiye and now serves as the Honarary President of the Association. She has worked as the country representative in Pediatric Anesthesia Committee of WFSA, and from 2024, she will serve as the Chair of the Pediatric Anesthesia Committee.

Dr Gauhar Afshan is the Tajdin Hussein Jaffer Endowed Professor of Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine at Aga Khan University and a leading figure in the development of pain medicine services in Pakistan. She founded one of the country’s first multidisciplinary pain management programmes and previously served as Chair of the Department of Anaesthesiology at the university. She currently heads the Section of Pain Medicine, where her work focuses on advancing multidisciplinary approaches to chronic pain care, education, and research.

Internationally, Dr Afshan plays an active leadership role in global pain medicine initiatives. She serves as Deputy Chair of the Pain Management Committee of the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists, is a member of the 2025 Global Year Task Force of the International Association for the Study of Pain, and is Convener for Pain Medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan. Her academic contributions include more than 150 peer-reviewed publications, leadership in multidisciplinary pain research projects, and editorial and reviewer roles for numerous national and international journals.

Dr Elizabeth Rebello, MD, FASA, FACHE, CPPS, CMQ, is a Professor of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and serves as Executive Director of Anesthesiology, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine for the Cancer Network. A pharmacist by training, she has been involved in quality and patient safety initiatives for more than fifteen years. She received her medical degree and completed her residency in Anesthesiology at the University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio.

She previously served as Chair of the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ (ASA) Committee on Professional Diversity and Chair of the ASA Quality, Management and Departmental Administration Committee, where she led the Medication Safety Workgroup to standardise drug concentrations. She is the immediate past Chair of the ASA 2025 Annual Meeting Oversight Committee and currently serves as Section Chair for the ASA Section on Subspecialties. She also serves as President of the Texas Society of Anesthesiologists.

Dr Rebello serves on the Board of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF), chairs the APSF Patient Safety Advisory Group on Medication Safety, and is a member of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee. She also served on the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Expert Compounding Committee from 2020 to 2025 and currently chairs the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) Patient Safety and Quality Committee.

Jodi Sherman, MD, is Associate Professor of Anesthesiology of the Yale School of Medicine, Associate Professor of Epidemiology in Environmental Health Sciences, and founding director of the Yale Program on Healthcare Environmental Sustainability in the Yale Center on Climate Change and Health. 

Dr. Sherman also serves as the Medical Director for Yale New Haven Health Center for Sustainable Healthcare. She is inaugural and former chair of the American Society of Anesthesiologists Committee on Environmental Health, and inaugural chair of the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists Sustainability Committee.

Rodrigo López Barreda, MD, MPH, PhD, is a cardiovascular anesthesiologist from Chile. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Health, a PhD in Biomedical Ethics and Law, and is currently completing a PhD in Public Policy. Alongside many years in academia, he has also been involved in the humanitarian sector, working with various organisations on missions in Burundi, the DRC, Chad, Ecuador, Honduras, Somaliland, Sudan, and several other countries.