Department Celebrates 50 Years of Dr. Nathan Pace — With Many More to Come
Friends, family, and colleagues gathered to celebrate the remarkable — and continuing — career of Dr. Nathan Pace, who has now spent 50 years with the University of Utah. The event was a joyful tribute to his decades of contributions to the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative & Pain Medicine, U of U Health, and the field of medicine at large.
Guests enjoyed hors d'oeuvres, drinks, and dessert alongside displays highlighting the milestones that have shaped Dr. Pace's extraordinary career, before gathering for an evening of remarks that were equal parts heartfelt and humorous.
Words of tribute came from Dr. Grace Lim, Dr. Harriet Hopf, Dr. Ken Johnson, and Cameron Jacobsen, each sharing their own perspective on what makes Dr. Pace such an integral part of the department's story.
Dr. Hopf's remarks opened with a fitting nod to milestones: Dr. Pace joined the University of Utah in 1976, meaning he has now been part of the institution for roughly 28 percent of its entire history. He was promoted to associate professor in 1980, awarded tenure in 1983, and made full professor by 1986 — spending the vast majority of his career at that rank. She also shared a favorite memory from her own early days in the department, when Dr. Cahalan named Dr. Pace her mentor. Dr. Pace's first reaction was surprise — "You're already a full professor," he told her. "What do you need with a mentor?" — before quickly proving, over two decades of office visits and reworked research ideas, exactly why he was the right person for the job.
Dr. Hopf also shared words on behalf of Dr. Derek Sakata, who couldn't attend but wanted Dr. Pace to know just how much his mentorship had meant: "Fifty-plus years is a remarkable span of service, and I'm one of many who benefited from his patience and rigor. He made me a better scientist, a better clinician, and honestly, a little less afraid of a p-value. Thank you, Dr. Pace, for your knowledge, your generosity, and your training."
The evening closed with a presentation from Dr. Pace himself — a look back at his life and career, delivered with the humor and wit his colleagues have come to expect from him.
An incredible mentor, anesthesiologist, and statistician, Dr. Pace has been part of the department since it was just eight faculty members strong. Over five decades, his contributions have ranged from leading the anesthesiology team through a world-first artificial heart implant surgery to becoming the first statistician of the Cochrane Anaesthesia Group — work that has helped shape safer, evidence-based anesthesia care both at the University of Utah and around the world.
To be clear: this was a celebration, not a send-off. Dr. Pace has no plans to slow down, and his colleagues made sure that message came through loud and clear throughout the evening — from the remarks to the reminder that he'll be right back at his keyboard, ready to "compute some more."
Dr. Hopf closed her remarks with a tribute of her own — an ode fitting for a statistician who has spent a career exploring new frontiers:
"Statistics: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the SS Pace, its 50-year — and continuing — mission: to explore the strange worlds of artificial hearts, statistics, the Cochrane Collaboration, and MPOG; to seek out new models and new ideas; to boldly teach anesthesiologists the hidden realm of study design and data analysis; and to build a legacy of faculty advancement, mentoring, sponsorship, and excellence."
So much care went into making the day feel personal, joyful, and worthy of such an extraordinary milestone. Thank you to everyone who helped with the planning, details, setup, coordination, and celebration — and, most of all, thank you to Dr. Pace for fifty remarkable years, with many more still to come!