UNC Department of Anesthesiology is pleased to announce Residency Program Director and Academy of Educators Medical Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor Susie Martinelli, MD, FASA, has been named its second Edward A. Norfleet, MD ’70 Distinguished Professor. Over two decades, Dr. Martinelli has been a dedicated and valued member of UNC Anesthesiology. She served as Chief Resident as a Department resident (2003-2007). A year later, she joined the Department’s Cardiothoracic Anesthesia faculty team upon completing her fellowship (2007-2008) at Duke University Medical Center.

Over 15+ years, Dr. Martinelli’s contributions to advancement of resident education have been felt both within the institution and in the field. As UNC Anesthesiology’s Residency Program Director, she leads a 60-resident program that has grown each year under her two+ years as Director. Dr. Martinelli has received multiple departmental awards for excellence in faculty teaching and faculty mentoring. Within UNC School of Medicine, she chairs several Academy of Educators (AoE) committees and been awarded the AoE’s Excellence in Teaching Clinical Science Award (2013).

Nationally recognized for her expertise in anesthesiology education, Dr. Martinelli’s leadership and research in teaching innovation has impacted the direction of standards and resident education models nationwide. In October 2019, she authored an invited review of novel resident education concepts in Anesthesiology. In scholarly exploration of teaching models in academic medicine, Dr. Martinelli has led AMA- and AAMC-funded ($60K+) studies of underexplored areas such as improving the family anesthesia experience to enhance resident wellness. Dr. Martinelli’s institutionally funded ($100K) comparative study of the “flipped” versus traditional classroom has brought to the fore a novel teaching approach for the resident education community to further explore. Among her many in honors anesthesiology education, Dr. Martinelli was named the 2020 Distinguished Educator in Anesthesiology by the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Society for Education in Anesthesia.

UNC Anesthesiology chair David Zvara noted of Dr. Martinelli’s selection as the Department’s second Norfleet Professor: “It is not only expertise and experience that makes Dr. Martinelli the top choice for this professorship, but her character as well. Dr. Martinelli is simply a wonderful, caring, and kind person. Ed [Norfleet] would be thrilled to know that his legacy lives through her hands.”