Dr. Virendra Arya is presently serving as a professor of anesthesiology in the department of anesthesiology, perioperative and pain medicine at the Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba. He has held the Position of Excellence (POPE) Family Professor in Anesthesiology since July 1, 2023. Before his current position, he served as the professor-in-charge of the cardiovascular and thoracic section of anesthesia at the Advanced Cardiac Centre, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh, India. Dr. Arya commenced his career as an assistant professor in anesthesiology in 1999, progressing to the position of professor of anesthesiology in 2011 and subsequently as professor of cardiovascular and thoracic anesthesia in 2017.
Dr. Arya played a pivotal role in initiating the Anesthesia Resident Exchange Program between the University of Manitoba and PGIMER-Chandigarh, fostering global medicine. He assumed the role of visiting professor at the University of Manitoba in 2013 and later, in 2020, was appointed as a professor of anesthesiology. Dr. Arya is dedicated to resident teaching and has developed the University of Manitoba Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) and Perioperative Transthoracic Echocardiography (UoM PPTTE) program, acknowledged for 20 Royal College Maintenance of Certification (MOC) section 3 credits.
His contributions extend to international collaboration, where he has been invited as a visiting professor to various institutes and has served as an instructor for Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) workshops by the American Society of Anesthesiologists. Dr. Arya is a member of the editorial board of the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia and Annals of Cardiac Anesthesia. Additionally, he is involved in committees such as the Committee on Cardiovascular and Thoracic Anesthesia (American Society of Anesthesiologists), Continuing Education and Professional Development (CEPD) committee of the Canadian Anesthesiologists Society (CAS), and the program review committee of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba (CPSM). He served as an executive member of the Indian Association of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Anesthesiologists in 2008-2009.
Dr. Arya devotes approximately 80 percent of his time to clinical work, maintaining a prolific academic output with over 50 publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals and six textbook chapters. He is a sought-after speaker at national and international conferences and has supervised numerous postgraduate and doctorate trainees in the field.
Education
Diplomate, Advanced Perioperative TEE, National Board of Echocardiography, USA (2016)
Certification in Focused Cardiac TTE, University of Montreal, Canada (2014)
Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada (FRCPC), Anesthesiology (2014)
Doctor of Medicine (MD), Anesthesiology, PGIMER-Chandigarh, India (1995)
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), IGMC-Shimla, HP University, India (1991)
Awards
Nomination for the YK Poon Teacher of the Year Award, University of Manitoba (2020)
Best Thesis Paper Award in the 27th Annual Conference of All India Coordination Committee of Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AICCROG) (2010)
'Dr. Kop’s Award' for the Best Paper in the National Conference of Indian Society of Anesthesiologists (1999)
Letter of Appreciation from Dr. Edmond I. Eager II (Prof Emeritus, University of California) (1998)
Bronze Medal in MD Anesthesia (1995)