Dr. Steven Barker obtained his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 1971, with research in fluid mechanics. After a postdoctoral fellowship at Caltech, he joined the faculty of Mechanics and Structures at UCLA in 1974 where he was tenured in 1978. He obtained his M.D. from the University of Miami Ph.D.-M.D. program in 1981. After an internship in surgery, Dr. Barker served his residency in anesthesiology at the University of California, San Diego. In 1984, Dr. Barker joined the faculty of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of California, Irvine, where he was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 1986 and Professor in 1992. Dr. Barker served as Chairman of Anesthesiology at UC Irvine from 1990 until 1995. In September 1995, Dr. Barker joined the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine as Professor and Department Head. He also holds a joint appointment as Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Dr. Barker has published 100 scholarly works including 15 book chapters. His current research is in oxygen transport, continuous intravascular monitoring, brain function monitoring during neurosurgery, and the physics of airway obstruction. Dr. Barker has served as president of the Association of Anesthesiology Program Directors and president of the University of Arizona Council of Clinical Chairs. He is the editor of the Section of Technology, Computing, and Simulation for Anesthesia and Analgesia. Dr. Barker spends approximately one day a week training anesthesiology residents in the operating rooms. He gives formal lectures to both residents and faculty covering basic and advanced topics in the field of clinical anesthesiology. He also gives research seminars to the department on a regular basis. Dr. Barker gives lectures to the medical students’ pharmacology course each year on the subject of anesthesiology and its close relationship to pharmacology. In collaboration with the Anesthesiology Program Director, Dr. Barker plans and revises the didactic curriculum for the anesthesiology residency each year.
Representative Publications:
Barker SJ, Curry J, Redford D, Morgan S: Measurement of COHb and MetHb by Pulse Oximetry: A Human Volunteer Study. Anesthesiology 5:892-897; 2006.
Szocik JF, Barker SJ, Tremper KK: “Fundamental Principles of Monitoring Instrumentation,” Chapter in Miller’s Anesthesia, Sixth Edition, Elsevier Churchill Livingstone, RD Miller, ed., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pp. 1191-1225, 2005.
Tremper KK, Shanks A, Sliwinski M, Barker SJ, Hines R, Tait A: Faculty and Finances of United States Anesthesiology Training Programs: 2002-2003. Anesth Analg 94:1185-1192; 2004.
Ezekiel MR, Alkire MT, Barker SJ: AAnesthesia for Vascular Access Surgery,@ Chapter in Vascular Access Principles and Practice, Fourth Edition, Mosby-Year Book, Inc., SE Wilson, ed., St. Louis, Missouri, 2002.
Tremper KK, Barker SJ: “Monitoring of Oxygen,” Chapter in Clinical Monitoring: Practical Applications for Anesthesia and Critical Care, WB Saunders, CL Lake, RL Hines, CD Blitt, ed., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pp. 315-334, 2000.
Areas of research include:
- The accuracy and interpretation of pulse oximetry in the operating room.
- Continuous intraarterial fiberoptic blood gas monitoring.
- Monitoring of brain function during neurosurgical operations.
- Noninvasive measurement of cardiac output and blood flow.
- Transcutaneous measurement of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
- Pressure flow relationships in anesthesia breathing systems.
- The fluid mechanics of airway obstruction and the effects of helium-oxygen mixtures.
- Capnography and the relationship of arterial and end-tidal carbon dioxide.