The Quest to Reinvent Anesthesia

Wed Jun 18, 2025
Sello (left) and Shoichet (right)

Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry Professors Jason Sello, PhD, and Brian Shoichet, PhD ’91. (

Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry Professors Brian Shoichet, PhD ’91, and Jason Sello, PhD, are leading a project funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that combines artificial intelligence, molecule design, and innovative animal models to evaluate 6 million small molecules for anesthetic properties.

illustration of zebrafish
Illustration by Ana Miminoshvili
In collaboration with a team of researchers based at the UCSF School of Pharmacy and UC San Diego who are seeking dramatically safer anesthetics, the work is motivated by the prospect of portable surgery requiring fewer specialists and tools and could open a brave new world in which surgery would be less onerous and less expensive for patients.

More 

Tags

Category:
Research, Education, Patient Care
Sites:
School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry

About the School: The UCSF School of Pharmacy aims to solve the most pressing health care problems and strives to ensure that each patient receives the safest, most effective treatments. Our discoveries seed the development of novel therapies, and our researchers consistently lead the nation in NIH funding. The School’s doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) degree program, with its unique emphasis on scientific thinking, prepares students to be critical thinkers and leaders in their field.

Related news

Recent news

Navigating the Pipeline: Alum Drives Drug Development at Eli Lilly
Mon Jun 16, 2025
Second Annual PSR Symposium Spotlights the Power of Collaboration
Tue Jun 10, 2025
Corelli
Leading the Way in Training Pharmacists to Tackle Tobacco Dependence
Tue Jun 3, 2025
SEE ALL >

Share your news

Faculty and staff: We want to hear about the work that you are engaged in, such as honors and awards received, publications, and events featuring you.

Submit news