Joseph Scarpa

Joseph Scarpa, M.D., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University, and serves as an Assistant Attending Anesthesiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. His academic and clinical work bridges anesthesiology, neuroscience, and genomics, with a focus on understanding the molecular and systemic effects of anesthetics and analgesics, particularly in cancer and neuropsychiatric contexts.

Education:

• B.A., University of Virginia (2011)
• M.D., Ph.D., Mount Sinai School of Medicine (2019)

Dr. Scarpa's research centers on precision anaesthesiology, leveraging multi-omic profiling and network biology to explore how intraoperative interventions affect long-term patient outcomes. His work spans chronic pain, opioid signaling, neurodegeneration, and cancer recurrence, frequently integrating human clinical data with animal models and molecular analysis. Key interests include gene network dysregulation in the prefrontal cortex, epigenetic changes in addiction and depression, and the immunomodulatory effects of anesthetics.

His recent publications reveal a strong trend in applying systems biology to clinical anesthesiology, with a focus on how opioids and other perioperative drugs influence cancer recurrence, neuroinflammation, and psychiatric conditions. He employs advanced techniques such as transcriptomics, epigenomics, and network modeling to uncover shared molecular signatures across diseases.

Scientific Awards:

• No specific awards mentioned in the provided text.

Dr. Scarpa is the Principal Investigator on a funded research project titled The Response of Circulating Tumor Cells to Surgical Resection and Intraoperative Ketamine in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, supported by the Foundation for Anesthesia Education & Research (2024–2026). While no formal advisees are listed, his research program likely involves mentoring trainees in translational neuroscience and anesthesiology. He is actively involved in collaborative research and has disclosed an ownership interest in ExactRx, reflecting engagement with industry innovation.

His work is conducted within the Department of Anesthesiology at Weill Cornell, a leading academic medical center fostering translational discovery and clinical excellence.