Professor Ellen O'Sullivan

DAS MACEWEN MEDAL PROF ELLEN O’SULLIVAN, FRCA, FCAI,

FCPSP (HON) FCANECSA(HON)

| Anil Patel |

Professor Ellen O'Sullivan qualified from the National University of Ireland in Cork and trained in anaesthesia and intensive care both in the UK and USA. She returned to the UK as a Consultant Anaesthetist at Aintree Hospital, Merseyside and subsequently took up a post as a Consultant at St James’s Hospital Dublin, Ireland affiliated to Trinity College Dublin.

Throughout her career she has been delivering the highest quality teaching, research and developing and improving airway management throughout the world. She has developed a worldwide reputation in airway management and has lectured and taught workshops internationally.

I first met Ellen over twenty-five years ago at the inception of the Difficult Airway Society. It was obvious then she was passionate about improving airway management both locally, nationally and internationally. She remains as passionate today, but perhaps just as importantly her grace, humour, goodwill, approachable manner and encouragement to everyone she encounters are unchanged. Ellen has contributed to the airway training of a generation of anaesthetists as director of the Fellowship in Advanced Airway Management and Simulation. She was Past-President of the College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland and was the first female and first anaesthetist to chair the Forum of Irish Post Graduate Training Bodies.

She has played a leading role in Global Anaesthesia, supporting education and training in low & middle income countries. As elected Council Member of the Royal College of Anaesthetists she set up and chaired the Global Partnership Committee. Over many years she has worked on education projects in Malawi & Uganda including Lifebox and more recently the Global Capnography Project. She is most proud of having been involved in the establishment and supporting of CANECSA (College of Anaesthesiologists of East, Central & Southern Africa). In March 2022 she was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of CANECSA, one of the first recipients of that award. There are I suspect few airway enthusiasts globally who have not heard of Professor Ellen O’Sullivan.

She is a Past President of the Difficult Airway Society, and is currently the DAS International liaison officer. She was appointed DAS Professor of Anaesthesia & Airway Management in 2018. Prof O’Sullivan is Airway Lead Advisor to the College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland (CAI) & runs the CAI national airway training. She is an Executive Director of WAAM (World Alliance for Airway Management) and cochaired the World Airway Management Meeting, WAMM1, in Dublin 2015 and WAMM2 in Amsterdam 2019.

Ellen has held numerous airway roles over many years including the elected Irish representative of the European Society of Anaesthesiology, board member of Society of Airway Management (SAM) USA, invited member of the Academy of Anaesthesiologists USA, Fellowship of European Airway Management Society (EAMS), honorary member Airway Special Interest Group (ANZCA) Australia, chair Respiration & Airway Management committee European Society Anaesthesia & Intensive Care, founding director of International Airway Management Society, and founder of the Global Capnography Project. Ellen has been a Council Member of the Royal College of Anaesthetists and chair of the Global Partnerships Committee and member board of directors of the British Journal of Anaesthesia. Her most current contributions to airway management have been as a member of the ASA task force publishing the new 2022 ASA Difficult Airway Guidelines and as a member of the Project for Universal Management of Airways.

Ellen has unsurprisingly won many awards during her career including the Irish Healthcare Awards on two occasions and the John Snow Silver Medal from the Association of Anaesthetists. She has a substantial portfolio of clinically relevant research and has authored or co-authored more than 100 scientific papers, book chapters, website modules etc.

Throughout her career in parallel to all of her teaching, research and academic achievements Ellen has continued a busy clinical anaesthetic practice in Dublin and found time to enjoy her other passions skiing, sailing and golf.

Professor Ellen O’Sullivan has made an immense contribution to the field of airway management and it is a great personal pleasure to congratulate Ellen on being awarded the DAS Macewen Medal.