Emily Lai
Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Division of Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine, and Pain Medicine
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2018 | University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, US, Doctor of Medicine |
| 2012 | University of Texas, Austin, Texas, US, Marketing, Bachelor of Business Administration |
Postgraduate Training
| 2022-2023 | Postgraduate Fellow, Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Heart Institute, Houston, Texas |
| 2019-2022 | Postgraduate Fellow, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas |
| 2018-2019 | Postgraduate Fellow, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2025 | National Board of Echocardiography |
| 2024 | Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support Certification |
| 2023 | Texas Medical Board License |
| 2023 | American Board of Anesthesiology |
Selected Presentations & Talks
Local Presentations
- 2024. Anesthesia for IR procedures. Invited. Grand Rounds. Houston, Texas, US.
Regional Presentations
- 2024. “Let Them Sleep”- Airway Management of a Large Mediastinal Mass (Right Chest Sarcoma): A Case Report. Poster. Texas Society of Anesthesiologists (TSA) Meeting. San Antonio, TX, US.
- 2022. Occupational Hazards in Anesthesia. Invited. Grand Rounds - Virtual, Texas, US.
- 2020. Continuous Suprascapular Block To Treat Malignant Shoulder Pain That is Exacerbated by Radiation Therapy. Poster. Annual Pain Medicine Meeting 2020 (Virtual), US.
- 2020. Broken Swan-Ganz Catheter After Inability To Successfully Position. Poster. American Society of Anesthesiologists (Virtual), US.
- 2020. Pharmaceutical Cost Reduction in the Operating Suite. Poster. American Society of Anesthesiologists (Virtual), US.
- 2020. Pharmaceutical Cost Reduction in the Operating Suite. Invited. Grand Rounds - Virtual, Texas, US.
- 2016. Effectiveness of Splanchnic Nerve Neurolysis for Targeting Location of Cancer Pain: Using the Pain Drawing as an Outcome Variable. Poster. American Pain Society's 35th Annual Scientific Meeting. Austin, TX, US.
- 2015. Improvement in the Assessment of Pain. Poster. Celebrating Improvement at MD Anderson event. Houston, TX, US.
National Presentations
- 2024. Airway Management of a Large Mediastinal Mass (Right Chest Sarcoma): A Case Report. Poster. Society for Airway Management (SAM) Meeting. Boston, MA, US.
- 2024. Ultrasound-Assisted Spinal Anesthesia in Setting of Post-COVID Pulmonary Sequelae. Poster. American Society of Regional Anesthesia (ASRA) Annual Meeting. San Diego, CA, US.
- 2018. Medical Alert Tattoos – A Pinch of Style Along with Patient Safety. Poster. Society for Pediatric Anesthesia and the American Association of Pediatrics- Pediatric Anesthesiology Meeting. Phoenix, AZ, US.
Formal Peers
- 2025. Workshop Presenter: Taught ultrasound guided peripheral intravenous access and arterial access to workshop attendees, US.
- 2025. Local Anesthetic Systemic Toxicity simulation: Facilitator. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2024. Workshop Presenter: Taught ultrasound guided peripheral intravenous access and arterial access to workshop attendees, US.
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Huang H, Lai E, Bhavsar S, Miller B, Chung J, Phillips B, Feng L, Soliz JM, Brown J. Comparison of Intraoperative Fentanyl Usage and Waste After Transition from 100-mug Vials to 50-mug Preloaded Syringes: A Single-Center Retrospective Study. Int J Anesth Clin Med 12(2):109-115, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39665116.
- Lai EA, Nesrsta EA, Bodiford JM, Jain RR. Medical alert tattoos-A pinch of style along with patient safety. Paediatr Anaesth 28(12):1154-1155, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30511798.
- Cox-Martin E, Trahan LH, Cox MG, Dougherty PM, Lai EA, Novy DM. Disease burden and pain in obese cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. Support Care Cancer 25(6):1873-1879, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28124735.
- Novy DM, Engle MP, Lai EA, Cook C, Martin EC, Trahan L, Yu J, Koyyalagunta D. Effectiveness of Splanchnic Nerve Neurolysis for Targeting Location of Cancer Pain: Using the Pain Drawing as an Outcome Variable. Pain Physician 19(6):397-403, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27454270.
Editorials
- Lumsden S, Lai E, Cata JP. The ideal regional block after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery: do we have it?. J Thorac Dis 16(4):2674-2676, 2024. PMID: 38738221.
Letters to the Editor
- Tsai EH, Huang H, Lai E, Wang M, Ruiz J. Sitting position, face-to-face rapid sequence intubation with the Airtraq video laryngoscope for cancer patients with higher aspiration risk. J Clin Anesth 106: 111909, 2025.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified January 02, 2026