Welcome to Our 2026 FAER Medical Student Anesthesia Research Fellows!
We are so excited to welcome three talented medical students to our department this summer as part of the 2026 FAER MSARF program!
FAER MSARF is a nationally competitive fellowship that places medical students in leading academic anesthesiology departments to conduct meaningful research alongside faculty mentors. Joining us this year are Colton Gardner, Joshua Preece, and Daniel Reep.
Colton Gardner
Colton Gardner is a medical student at the University of Utah who will spend the summer working with Dr. Christian Guay on a project titled "Neuro-electrophysiological Signatures During Anesthesia and Critical Illness."
This summer, Gardner will study how different anesthetic drug combinations affect brain activity, oxygenation, and metabolism during surgery. Using EEG and other advanced neuromonitoring technologies, his research aims to better understand how anesthetic agents influence cerebral physiology — with the ultimate goal of contributing to improved perioperative patient care.
Joshua Preece
Joshua Preece is a medical student at the University of Utah who will spend the summer working with Dr. Norman Taylor on a project titled, "Metformin as a Novel, Mechanistic Treatment of Fibromyalgia."
Despite intense research, what causes fibromyalgia is poorly understood and no single therapy is found to be beneficial to all patients. Preece will assist Dr. Taylor in evaluating the effect of low dose diabetes medication, metformin, on fibromyalgia symptoms.
Daniel Reep
Daniel Reep is a medical student at Rush University who will spend the summer working with Drs. Kai Kuck and Derek Sakata on a project titled "JIT Smart Cart."
Reep's project centers on prototyping a just-in-time (JIT) smart medical cart designed to help clinicians rapidly locate and use medications, tools, and supplies during urgent, highly protocolized emergencies — such as cardiac arrest. The goal is an integrated system that improves speed, accuracy, usability, and documentation when seconds matter most.