William Brooks Gentry, M.D., Appointed Chair of the UAMS Department of Anesthesiology

By Liz Caldwell

 

William Brooks Gentry, M.D.

| May 7, 2014 | Williams Brooks Gentry, M.D., has been appointed chair of the Department of Anesthesiology in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

Gentry takes the position July 1 after the retirement of Carmelita Pablo, M.D., who has been in the department 33 years and chair for 13 years.

“Under Dr. Gentry’s leadership, the Department of Anesthesiology will be well positioned to expand on the strides that Dr. Pablo has made in residency education, clinical operations and research,” said G. Richard Smith, M.D., dean of the UAMS College of Medicine.

Gentry has been on faculty at UAMS for two decades as professor in both the Department of Anesthesiology and the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. He also served as vice chair for research since 2002. He chaired the UAMS Committee on Clinical Research from 2009 to 2013, and has special clinical interests in ambulatory and trauma anesthesiology.

Gentry has partnered since 1998 with Mike Owens, Ph.D., a professor in the UAMS College of Medicine’s Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, on research into the development of therapies for drug addiction. Their collaboration and work led to the formation of InterveXion Therapeutics LLC, a UAMS BioVentures company that works to develop monoclonal antibody and vaccine medications, with Gentry serving as chair. He also is the principal investigator on the first human studies of a chimeric anti-methamphetamine monoclonal antibody medication.

He has authored or co-authored nearly 50 scientific papers and two book chapters. He serves as an oral examiner and oral exam editor for the American Board of Anesthesiology. He’s also been a reviewer for several publications including the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Gentry received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Hendrix College in 1984. He came to UAMS for his medical degree and then trained in anesthesiology at Northwestern University in Chicago. There he served as chief resident and also completed a fellowship in clinical pharmacology and pharmacokinetics.