Michael Lipnick, MD
Professor
Anesthesia
School of Medicine

Michael’s interests center around the intersection on critical care, perioperative care, medical education and health equity. Michael co-founded the UCSF Center for Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia (CHESA - globalsurgery.org), opencriticalcare.org, oxygencalculator.org, and has helped lead multiple global health programs at UCSF including the Anesthesia Health Equity Fellowship Program, the HEAL Global Health Fellowship Program (healinitiative.org) and the UCSF IGHS Global Health Faculty Program. He is currently co-Director of the UCSF World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Emergency, Critical and Operative Care and is an Honorary Lecturer at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda where he has been part of a longstanding academic collaboration for >15 years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Michael collaborated with USAID and multiple implementing partners to support critical care and oxygen ecosystem strengthening in multiple settings.

Michael continues to pursue interests in physiology research as an investigator in the UCSF Hypoxia Lab and as the Dive Medical Officer at the California Academy of Sciences. He leads active research projects including impacts of skin pigment and perfusion on pulse oximetry performance (The OpenOximetry.org Project), tools for scaling oxygen infrastructure in resource-constrained settings, examining mechanisms of hypoxia tolerance and preconditioning, as well as outcomes in critically-ill patients with ARDS.

• Evidence Against Use of Nitrogen for the Death Penalty.
  JAMA 2024 Bickler PE, Lipnick MS
• The Global Anesthesia Workforce Survey: Updates and Trends in the Anesthesia Workforce.
  Anesthesia and analgesia 2024 Law TJ, Lipnick MS, Morriss W, Gelb AW, Mellin-Olsen J, Filipescu D, Rowles J, Rod P, Khan F, Yazbeck P, Zoumenou E, Ibarra P, Ranatunga K, Bulamba F, Collaborators
• The performance of 11 fingertip pulse oximeters during hypoxemia in healthy human participants with varied, quantified skin pigment.
  EBioMedicine 2024 Leeb G, Auchus I, Law T, Bickler P, Feiner J, Hashi S, Monk E, Igaga E, Bernstein M, Chou YC, Hughes C, Schornack D, Lester J, Moore K, Okunlola O, Fernandez J, Shmuylovich L, Lipnick M
• Low Perfusion and Missed Diagnosis of Hypoxemia by Pulse Oximetry in Darkly Pigmented Skin: A Prospective Study.
  Anesthesia and analgesia 2023 Gudelunas MK, Lipnick M, Hendrickson C, Vanderburg S, Okunlola B, Auchus I, Feiner JR, Bickler PE
• Capnography-An Essential Monitor, Everywhere: A Narrative Review.
  Anesthesia and analgesia 2023 Wollner EA, Nourian MM, Bertille KK, Wake PB, Lipnick MS, Whitaker DK
• Quantifying pulse oximeter accuracy during hypoxemia and severe anemia using an in vitro circulation system.
  Journal of clinical monitoring and computing 2023 Gylys R, Feiner J, Pologe J, Delianides T, Sutter S, Bickler P, Lipnick MS
• Living the work: the HEAL Initiative as a model for perioperative health workforce transformation and health equity work.
  Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie 2023 Percy S, Sahi S, Bua E, Shamasunder S, Lipnick M, Law T
• Availability of information needed to evaluate algorithmic fairness - A systematic review of publicly accessible critical care databases.
  Anaesthesia, critical care & pain medicine 2023 Fong N, Langnas E, Law T, Reddy M, Lipnick M, Pirracchio R
• A Cross-Sectional Survey of Anesthetic Airway Equipment and Airway Management Practices in Uganda.
  Anesthesia and analgesia 2023 Bulamba F, Connelly S, Richards S, Lipnick MS, Gelb AW, Igaga EN, Nabukenya MT, Wabule A, Hewitt-Smith A
• Oxygen saturation targets for adults with acute hypoxemia in low and lower-middle income countries: a scoping review with analysis of contextual factors.
  Frontiers in medicine 2023 Herbst A, Goel S, Beane A, Brotherton BJ, Dula D, Ely EW, Gordon SB, Haniffa R, Hedt-Gauthier B, Limbani F, Lipnick MS, Lyon S, Njoki C, Oduor P, Otieno G, Pisani L, Rylance J, Shrime MG, Uwamahoro DL…
• Pulse Oximeter Bias and Inequities in Retrospective Studies--Now What?
  Respiratory care 2022 Moore KL, Gudelunas K, Lipnick MS, Bickler PE, Hendrickson CM
• Utilization of a Risk Stratification Tool and Volume-Based Cuff Leak Test to Assess Postextubation Stridor.
  Respiratory care 2022 Kallet RH, Matsushima A, Yoo S, Lipnick MS
• Respiratory Drive, Dyspnea, and Silent Hypoxemia: A Physiological Review in the Context of COVID-19.
  Respiratory care 2022 Kallet RH, Branson RD, Lipnick MS
• Treating COVID-19: Evolving approaches to evidence in a pandemic.
  Cell reports. Medicine 2022 Lee CK, Merriam LT, Pearson JC, Lipnick MS, McKleroy W, Kim EY
• Pulse Oximeter Performance, Racial Inequity, and the Work Ahead.
  Respiratory care 2021 Okunlola OE, Lipnick MS, Batchelder PB, Bernstein M, Feiner JR, Bickler PE
• The World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists Minimum Capnometer Specifications 2021-A Guide for Health Care Decision Makers.
  Anesthesia and analgesia 2021 Gelb AW, McDougall RJ, Gore-Booth J, Mainland PA, WFSA Ad Hoc Capnometry Workgroup
• Diagnosis and Acute Management of COVID-19 and Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children.
  Pediatric emergency care 2021 Kortz TB, Connolly E, Cohen CL, Cook RE, Jonas JA, Lipnick MS, Kissoon N
• Academic Global Surgery Curricula: Current Status and a Call for a More Equitable Approach.
  The Journal of surgical research 2021 Jayaram A, Pawlak N, Kahanu A, Fallah P, Chung H, Valencia-Rojas N, Rodas EB, Abbaslou A, Alseidi A, Ameh EA, Bekele A, Casey K, Chu K, Dempsey R, Dodgion C, Jawa R, Jimenez MF, Johnson W, …
• Global surgery, obstetric, and anaesthesia indicator definitions and reporting: An Utstein consensus report.
  PLoS medicine 2021 Davies JI, Gelb AW, Gore-Booth J, Martin J, Mellin-Olsen J, Åkerman C, Ameh EA, Biccard BM, Braut GS, Chu KM, Derbew M, Ersdal HL, Guzman JM, Hagander L, Haylock-Loor C, Holmer H, Johnson W, Juran S, …
• Factors affecting job choice among physician anesthesia providers in Uganda: a survey of income composition, discrete choice experiment, and implications for the decision to work rurally.
  Human resources for health 2021 Law TJ, Subhedar S, Bulamba F, O'Hara NN, Nabukenya MT, Sendagire C, Hewitt-Smith A, Lipnick MS, Tumukunde J
• Combating information chaos: a case for collaborative clinical guidelines in a pandemic.
  Cell reports. Medicine 2021 Cohen CL, Walker KH, Hsiang M, Sonenthal PD, Riviello ED, Rouhani SA, Lipnick MS, Merriam LT, Kim EY
• Expiratory Pause Maneuver to Assess Inspiratory Muscle Pressure During Assisted Mechanical Ventilation: A Bench Study.
  Respiratory care 2021 Kallet RH, Phillips JS, Summers TJ, Burns G, Pangilinan L, Carothers L, Mangalindan ER, Lipnick MS
• Murray & Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine, Ch 107 Diving Medicine
  Murray & Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine, Ch 107 Diving Medicine 2021 Lipnick MS and Van Hoesen K.
• ARDS Outcomes in Non-Research Subjects Assessed by Generalized Prospective Trial Eligibility Criteria and Adherence to Lung-Protective Ventilation.
  Respiratory care 2021 Kallet RH, Lipnick MS, Pirracchio R
• Anaesthesia facility evaluation : a Whatsapp survey of hospitals in Burundi.
  Southern African Journal of Anaesthesia and Analgesia 2021 G.C. Sund, M.S. Lipnick, T.J. Law, E.A. Wollner, G.E. Rwibuka
• "Silent" Presentation of Hypoxemia and Cardiorespiratory Compensation in COVID-19.
  Anesthesiology 2021 Bickler PE, Feiner JR, Lipnick MS, McKleroy W
• Assessment of Anesthesia Capacity in Public Surgical Hospitals in Guatemala.
  Anesthesia and analgesia 2021 Zha Y, Truché P, Izquierdo E, Zimmerman K, de Izquierdo S, Lipnick MS, Law TJ, Gelb AW, Evans FM
• The Work Is All Around Us: Health Equity in Anesthesiology - From Local to Regional to International.
  ASA Monitor 2021 Samuel Percy, Bunmi Okunlola, Elliot Wollner, Edward Medina, Michael S. Lipnick, Fred Bulamba
• The Nature of Recruitment and De-Recruitment and Its Implications for Management of ARDS.
  Respiratory care 2020 Kallet RH, Lipnick MS, Burns GD
• End-Tidal-to-Arterial PCO2 Ratio as Signifier for Physiologic Dead-Space Ratio and Oxygenation Dysfunction in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.
  Respiratory care 2020 Kallet RH, Lipnick MS
• Addressing the gaps in mental health care for internally displaced persons.
  Journal of global health 2020 Sabhlok SR, Pender V, Mauer E, Lipnick MS, Kaur G
• Management and Outcomes of Critically-III Patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia at a Safety-net Hospital in San Francisco, a Region with Early Public Health Interventions: A Case Series.
  medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences 2020 Vanderburg S, Alipanah N, Crowder R, Yoon C, Wang R, Thakur N, Slown K, Shete PB, Rofael M, Metcalfe JZ, Merrifield C, Marquez C, Malcolm K, Lipnick M, Jain V, Gomez A, Burns G, Brown LB, Berger C, …
• Why every anesthesia trainee should receive global health equity education.
  Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie 2020 Wollner E, Law T, Sullivan K, Lipnick MS
• Impact of capnography on patient safety in high- and low-income settings: a scoping review.
  British journal of anaesthesia 2020 Wollner E, Nourian MM, Booth W, Conover S, Law T, Lilaonitkul M, Gelb AW, Lipnick MS
• Towards high-quality peri-operative care: a global perspective.
  Anaesthesia 2020 Santhirapala V, Peden CJ, Meara JG, Biccard BM, Gelb AW, Johnson WD, Lipnick MS, Makasa EM, Martin J, Maswime S, Mellin-Olsen J, McClain CD
• The path to safe and accessible anaesthesia care.
  Indian journal of anaesthesia 2019 Law TJ, Lipnick M, Joshi M, Rath GP, Gelb AW
• Design, implementation and long-term follow-up of a context specific trauma training course in Uganda: Lessons learned and future directions.
  American journal of surgery 2019 Ullrich SJ, Kilyewala C, Lipnick MS, Cheung M, Namugga M, Muwanguzi P, DeWane MP, Muzira A, Tumukunde J, Kabagambe M, Kebba N, Galukande M, Mabweijano J, Ozgediz D
• Miller's Anesthesia, Ch 2 Anesthesia and Analgesia in the Global Context
  Miller's Anesthesia, Ch 2 Anesthesia and Analgesia in the Global Context 2019 Lipnick MS, Miller R, Gelb A
• Anesthesia Provider Training and Practice Models: A Survey of Africa.
  Anesthesia and analgesia 2019 Law TJ, Bulamba F, Ochieng JP, Edgcombe H, Thwaites V, Hewitt-Smith A, Zoumenou E, Lilaonitkul M, Gelb AW, Workneh RS, Banguti PM, Bould D, Rod P, Rowles J, Lobo F, Lipnick MS, Global Anesthesia …
• Characteristics of Nonpulmonary Organ Dysfunction at Onset of ARDS Based on the Berlin Definition.
  Respiratory care 2019 Kallet RH, Lipnick MS, Zhuo H, Pangilinan LP, Gomez A
• Feasibility of Simulation-Based Medical Education in a Low-Income Country: Challenges and Solutions From a 3-year Pilot Program in Uganda.
  Simulation in healthcare : journal of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare 2019 Bulamba F, Sendagire C, Kintu A, Hewitt-Smith A, Musana F, Lilaonitkul M, Ayebale ET, Law T, Dubowitz G, Kituuka O, Lipnick MS
• Reconfiguring a One-Way Street: A Position Paper on Why and How to Improve Equity in Global Physician Training.
  Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges 2019 Hudspeth JC, Rabin TL, Dreifuss BA, Schaaf M, Lipnick MS, Russ CM, Autry AM, Pitt MB, Rowthorn V
• Chapter 75 Regional Anesthesia in Resource-Constrained Environments.
  Atlas of Ultrasound-Guided Regional Anesthesia 2019 Michael S. Lipnick, Gerald Dubowitz, Agnes Wabule
• The global capnography gap: a call to action.
  Anaesthesia 2018 Lipnick MS, Mavoungou P, Gelb AW
• Surgical outcomes in eastern Uganda: a one-year cohort study
  Southern African Journal of Anaesthesia and Analgesia 2018 A Hewitt-Smith,F Bulamba, C Olupot, F Musana, JP Ochieng, MS Lipnick, RM Pearse
• Pulmonary mechanics and gas exchange characteristics in uncommon etiologies of acute respiratory distress syndrome.
  Journal of thoracic disease 2018 Kallet RH, Ho K, Lipnick MS, Matthay MA
• Comparison of Transcranial Doppler and Ultrasound-Tagged Near Infrared Spectroscopy for Measuring Relative Changes in Cerebral Blood Flow in Human Subjects.
  Anesthesia and analgesia 2018 Lipnick MS, Cahill EA, Feiner JR, Bickler PE
• Is there still a role for alveolar recruitment maneuvers in acute respiratory distress syndrome?
  Journal of thoracic disease 2018 Kallet RH, Lipnick MS
• Spontaneous Breathing Trials and Conservative Sedation Practices Reduce Mechanical Ventilation Duration in Subjects With ARDS.
  Respiratory care 2017 Kallet RH, Zhuo H, Yip V, Gomez A, Lipnick MS
• The Need for a Global Perspective on Task-Sharing in Anesthesia.
  Anesthesia and analgesia 2017 Lipnick MS, Bulamba F, Ttendo S, Gelb AW
• Lung Injury Etiology and Other Factors Influencing the Relationship Between Dead-Space Fraction and Mortality in ARDS.
  Respiratory care 2017 Kallet RH, Zhuo H, Ho K, Lipnick MS, Gomez A, Matthay MA
• Severity of Hypoxemia and Other Factors That Influence the Response to Aerosolized Prostacyclin in ARDS.
  Respiratory care 2017 Kallet RH, Burns G, Zhuo H, Ho K, Phillips JS, Pangilinan LP, Yip V, Gomez A, Lipnick MS
• Evolving State of Global Health Education for Anesthesiology Trainees.
  Current Anesthesiology Reports 2017 Sheida Tabaie, Gunisha Kaur, Maytinee Lilaonitkul, Eric Brumberger, Gerald Dubowitz, Michael S. Lipnick
• Feasibility of the modified sequential organ function assessment score in a resource-constrained setting: a prospective observational study.
  BMC anesthesiology 2017 Sendagire C, Lipnick MS, Kizito S, Kruisselbrink R, Obua D, Ejoku J, Ssemogerere L, Nakibuuka J, Kwizera A
• Effects of Acute, Profound Hypoxia on Healthy Humans: Implications for Safety of Tests Evaluating Pulse Oximetry or Tissue Oximetry Performance.
  Anesthesia and analgesia 2017 Bickler PE, Feiner JR, Lipnick MS, Batchelder P, MacLeod DB, Severinghaus JW
• Auerbach's Wilderness Medicine, Ch 105 Pre Trip Preparation
  Auerbach's Wilderness Medicine, Ch 105 Pre Trip Preparation 2016 Lipnick MS, Lewin M
• Novel global health fellowship model for anesthesia, obstetrics & gynecology and surgery.
  Annals of Global Health 2016 M.S. Lipnick, E. Ayebale, F. Lester, M. Autry, S. Shamasunder, P.V. Le
• The Accuracy of 6 Inexpensive Pulse Oximeters Not Cleared by the Food and Drug Administration: The Possible Global Public Health Implications.
  Anesthesia and analgesia 2016 Lipnick MS, Feiner JR, Au P, Bernstein M, Bickler PE
• Intensive care unit mortality in sub-Saharan Africa: The modified sequential organ function assessment score.
  Journal of Critical Care 2015 Cornelius Sendagire, Michael Lipnick, Daniel Obua, Jane Nakibuuka, Joseph Ejoku
• Research in surgery and anesthesia: challenges for post-graduate trainees in Uganda.
  Education for health (Abingdon, England) 2015 Elobu AE, Kintu A, Galukande M, Kaggwa S, Mijjumbi C, Tindimwebwa J, Roche A, Dubowitz G, Ozgediz D, Lipnick M
• Effect of temperature acclimation on red blood cell oxygen affinity in Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) and yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares).
  Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part A, Molecular & integrative physiology 2014 Lilly LE, Bonaventura J, Lipnick MS, Block BA
• Organization and optimization of global health resources for US medical trainees: The Global Health Hub Resource Page Project.
  Annals of Global Health 2014 E. Park, K. Pettersen, M.S. Lipnick
• Evaluating international global health collaborations: perspectives from surgery and anesthesia trainees in Uganda.
  Surgery 2013 Elobu AE, Kintu A, Galukande M, Kaggwa S, Mijjumbi C, Tindimwebwa J, Roche A, Dubowitz G, Ozgediz D, Lipnick M
• Accuracy of the Lifebox pulse oximeter during hypoxia in healthy volunteers.
  Anaesthesia 2013 Dubowitz G, Breyer K, Lipnick M, Sall JW, Feiner J, Ikeda K, MacLeod DB, Bickler PE
• Surgery and anesthesia capacity-building in resource-poor settings: description of an ongoing academic partnership in Uganda.
  World journal of surgery 2013 Lipnick M, Mijumbi C, Dubowitz G, Kaggwa S, Goetz L, Mabweijano J, Jayaraman S, Kwizera A, Tindimwebwa J, Ozgediz D
• The difference between critical care initiation anion gap and prehospital admission anion gap is predictive of mortality in critical illness.
  Critical care medicine 2013 Lipnick MS, Braun AB, Cheung JT, Gibbons FK, Christopher KB
• Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for 291 diseases and injuries in 21 regions, 1990-2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010.
  Lancet (London, England) 2012 Murray CJ, Vos T, Lozano R, Naghavi M, Flaxman AD, Michaud C, Ezzati M, Shibuya K, Salomon JA, Abdalla S, Aboyans V, Abraham J, Ackerman I, Aggarwal R, Ahn SY, Ali MK, Alvarado M, Anderson HR, …
• Global and regional mortality from 235 causes of death for 20 age groups in 1990 and 2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010.
  Lancet (London, England) 2012 Lozano R, Naghavi M, Foreman K, Lim S, Shibuya K, Aboyans V, Abraham J, Adair T, Aggarwal R, Ahn SY, Alvarado M, Anderson HR, Anderson LM, Andrews KG, Atkinson C, Baddour LM, Barker-Collo S, Bartels …
• Years lived with disability (YLDs) for 1160 sequelae of 289 diseases and injuries 1990-2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010.
  Lancet (London, England) 2012 Vos T, Flaxman AD, Naghavi M, Lozano R, Michaud C, Ezzati M, Shibuya K, Salomon JA, Abdalla S, Aboyans V, Abraham J, Ackerman I, Aggarwal R, Ahn SY, Ali MK, Alvarado M, Anderson HR, Anderson LM, …
• Medical missions, surgical education, and capacity building.
  Journal of the American College of Surgeons 2011 Riviello R, Lipnick MS, Ozgediz D
• Temperature effects on Ca2+ cycling in scombrid cardiomyocytes: a phylogenetic comparison.
  The Journal of experimental biology 2011 Galli GL, Lipnick MS, Shiels HA, Block BA
• Disparities in injury mortality between Uganda and the United States: comparative analysis of a neglected disease.
  World journal of surgery 2011 Jayaraman S, Ozgediz D, Miyamoto J, Caldwell N, Lipnick MS, Mijumbi C, Mabweijano J, Hsia R, Dicker R
• Improving surgery service delivery in context.
  Lancet (London, England) 2010 Ozgediz D, Mabweijano J, Mijumbi C, Jayaraman S, Lipnick M
• Estimating the burden of injuries in Uganda from all available data sources.
  Injury Prevention 2010 B Wandera, K Bhalla, J Abraham, M Lipnick, J Mabweijano, M Nakitto, A Bahcani, O Kobusingye, A A Hyder
• Current patterns of prehospital trauma care in Kampala, Uganda and the feasibility of a lay-first-responder training program.
  World journal of surgery 2009 Jayaraman S, Mabweijano JR, Lipnick MS, Caldwell N, Miyamoto J, Wangoda R, Mijumbi C, Hsia R, Dicker R, Ozgediz D
• First things first: effectiveness and scalability of a basic prehospital trauma care program for lay first-responders in Kampala, Uganda.
  PloS one 2009 Jayaraman S, Mabweijano JR, Lipnick MS, Caldwell N, Miyamoto J, Wangoda R, Mijumbi C, Hsia R, Dicker R, Ozgediz D
• Effect of thermal acclimation on action potentials and sarcolemmal K+ channels from Pacific bluefin tuna cardiomyocytes.
  American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology 2009 Galli GL, Lipnick MS, Block BA
• Surgical training and global health: initial results of a 5-year partnership with a surgical training program in a low-income country.
  Archives of surgery (Chicago, Ill. : 1960) 2008 Ozgediz D, Wang J, Jayaraman S, Ayzengart A, Jamshidi R, Lipnick M, Mabweijano J, Kaggwa S, Knudson M, Schecter W, Farmer D
• Thermal plasticity of excitation–contraction coupling in bluefin tuna myocytes.
  Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A Molecular & Integrative Physiology 2008 G. Galli, M. Lipnick, H. Shiels, B. Block