Dr. Egan completed his undergraduate education at Brigham Young University, graduating Magna Cum Laude in the humanities. He attended medical school at the University of Utah School of Medicine where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha academic honor society. After completing a preliminary general surgery residency at the University of Utah, Dr. Egan sought postgraduate training in anesthesiology and critical care which he completed at Stanford University. Following residency he pursued fellowship training in clinical pharmacology also at Stanford. He recently completed intensive physician executive training at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Dr. Egan is currently staff physician and chair at the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center. His clinical practice focuses on neurosurgery and obstetric patients. He is past President of the Medical Staff and Chairman of the Medical Board, and served for over a decade as the Chief of Neuroanesthesia.
Dr. Egan's research interests include the clinical pharmacology of sedatives and analgesics, the development of novel intravenous anesthetics and alternative propofol formulations, the development of optimal drug administration regimens based on pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic concepts, the identification of factors (i.e., gender, body weight, shock, SNPs, etc.) that influence drug behavior, and computer controlled drug delivery technology. These interests have resulted in successful entrepreneurial ventures, patents and trademarks. Dr. Egan is internationally regarded as a pioneer in the development of total intravenous anesthesia techniques, particularly the clinical application of the short acting opioid remifentanil, and the characterization of the interaction between propofol and opioids. His publications have been accompanied by numerous editorials and have been featured as cover stories in leading, peer-reviewed anesthesiology journals. Dr. Egan has mentored over 20 junior faculty and graduate students who have emerged as independent investigators.
Dr. Egan served for many years as a board member, treasurer, and president of the International Society for Anaesthetic Pharmacology. Currently an Associate Editor for the British Journal of Anaesthesia, he has also served as Associate Editor for Anesthesiology and guest reviewer for numerous other pharmacology, anesthesia and bioengineering journals. For many years Dr. Egan was a member and Chair of the American Society of Anesthesiology Subcommittee on Drug Disposition. He recently published a well-received anesthesia pharmacology and physiology textbook with Elsevier (Pharmacology and Physiology for Anesthesia: Foundations and Clinical Application) as co-editor.
Dr. Egan was the inaugural recipient of the International Anesthesia Research Society’s Teaching Recognition Award. He is holder of the K.C. Wong Presidential Endowed Chair in Anesthesiology at the University of Utah. Dr. Egan has lectured extensively in the United States and internationally, including numerous honorary and keynote lectures at major universities and international anesthesiology societies.
His personal life is devoted to his wife of 30 years and their five children. He is fond of saying that his family is the most important element of his CV! Dr. Egan enjoys coaching basketball (two time Utah State AAU Boys Champions!), snow skiing, bass guitar, English literature and Japanese conversation.
