In Memoriam: Paul R. Knight III, MD, PhD

By Dirk Hoffman

Recruited to the University at Buffalo in 1992 as professor of anesthesiology and microbiology, he served as department chair until 1998, providing steady, principled leadership during a period of significant growth. He later served as senior vice chair for research in the Department of Anesthesiology and retired in January 2025.

“Dr. Knight’s death is a huge loss because he had a more than 50-year legacy of being a scientific investigator, not just in anesthesiology, but in the field of microbiology as well,” says Brian M. Parker, MD, clinical professor and chair of anesthesiology at the Jacobs School. “He clearly had a huge impact on this department; the majority of his professional career was spent at UB.”

In addition to his leadership roles, Knight was an attending anesthesiologist at the Veterans Affairs Western New York Healthcare System and served as director of the Jacobs School’s MD‑PhD Program, where he was a tireless advocate for the training and support of physician‑scientists.

Knight’s academic journey was distinguished from its earliest days. He was the first MD‑PhD degree candidate to graduate from the Pennsylvania State College of Medicine and completed an anesthesiology residency after switching from surgery at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. He later joined the faculty of the University of Michigan Department of Anesthesiology, where he rose to the rank of professor before being recruited to UB as chair.

His international prominence stemmed from his seminal contributions to the study of lung injury and myocardial dynamics and from his pioneering work examining how general anesthetics affect viral replication and host immune responses. He was the first to demonstrate that anesthetic agents can modify host antiviral immunity — findings that reshaped scientific understanding in anesthesiology and critical care.

In the late 1980s, Knight began investigating lung injury associated with aspiration pneumonitis. His findings challenged established treatment protocols and led to new ways of thinking about the management of this uncommon yet devastating perioperative complication.

In later years, his work increasingly focused on innovative technological approaches to understanding inflammatory responses. His laboratory developed microarray immunoassays to study cytokine involvement in lung injury and championed the use of nanotechnology in treating lung injury and disease pathogenesis — most notably in the treatment and spread of viral infections such as influenza. These efforts included collaborations with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2010, Knight and his colleagues published a seminal study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences demonstrating the effectiveness of gold nanorod delivery systems in inhibiting replication of the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus — an example of his commitment to translational research with global relevance.

Among his many professional commitments, mentorship held a special place for Knight. He was known as an exacting yet generous mentor who opened his laboratory to junior clinical faculty, medical students, and fellows seeking research training.

Bruce A. Davidson, PhD, research associate professor of anesthesiology, worked on research alongside Knight for 46 years.

“I first met Paul in the spring of 1979 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He joined a senior amateur soccer team that I had started, and we played in southeastern Michigan and southwestern Ontario. We enjoyed the game and the camaraderie,” he says.

“In the fall, I lost my job and was planning to move to Utah, but Paul liked the way I ran the soccer team, and he knew that I had a Bachelor of Science degree in oceanic and atmospheric sciences,” Davidson says. “He had just lost his research assistant and since I had a science degree he offered me the position.”

When Knight was recruited to UB in 1992, he asked Davidson to accompany him to help set up and run his laboratory.

“We wrote many grants, got some, and continued to push back the frontiers of science until his retirement a year ago,” Davidson says.

Knight was a very collaborative researcher and was very well read in a wide variety of subjects, with the philosophy of scientific thought being a particular interest, Davidson notes.

“Paul’s areas of research were quite expansive. His PhD work was in virology, and he set up his lab to investigate the effects of volatile anesthetics on replication of a range of viruses,” Davidson says. “This led to a pediatric clinical observational study that demonstrated that volatile anesthetics actually dampened the inflammatory response from an upper respiratory virus infection.”

“The final conclusion was that surgeries did not have to be postponed due to a pulmonary infection. This was contrary to the practice at the time.”

Nader D. Nader, MD, PhD, professor of anesthesiology and director of the anesthesiology residency program at the Jacobs School, was a first-year resident at UB when he first met Knight.

“I was giving a Grand Rounds presentation, and he attended as the incoming department chair,” Nader says. “He approached me afterwards and noted that our research was in the same field — gastric aspiration.”

Knight offered Nader the opportunity to work in his lab and Nader eagerly accepted.

“Our work was quite successful. We published five or six papers together in that same field,” Nader says. “Our collaboration bloomed and he later became my thesis adviser when I pursued by PhD degree.”

“He helped me obtain mentor grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the American Heart Association,” he adds. “His collaboration brought me nothing but increased credibility and helped me advance my career.”

Nader became chief of perioperative care and anesthesiology at the VA in 2000 and was also director of the cardiac anesthesia fellowship at the Jacobs School.

“With Dr. Knight’s help, we were able to receive a T32 training grant from the NIH that allows us to have cardiac clinical fellows,” Nader says. “He was an inseparable component of the fellowship. He was the anchor for the program.”

The Department of Anesthesiology established the Paul R. Knight III, MD, PhD, Outstanding Researcher Award several years ago and both Davidson and Nader are among the recipients. 

“I was quite proud to receive this award in recognition for my research efforts throughout the years,” Davidson says. “Considering Paul’s considerable contributions to my research career it is befitting that I be acknowledged with an award bearing his name.”

“He was very fond of the award, and it is a great incentive for researchers in the department,” Nader adds. “His power was to bring a research flavor into anesthesia.”

“I consider myself to be a physician-scientist and that was all because of him. He was more than a friend — I considered him family,” he says.

A prolific scholar, Knight authored more than 100 peer‑reviewed publications and numerous book chapters. He served as editor of the seventh edition of “Wylie and Churchill‑Davidson’s A Practice of Anesthesia,” widely regarded as the premier textbook in the field. His reputation as a physician‑scientist led to his appointment to national review committees and panels for the National Institutes of Health, the March of Dimes, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, and the American Heart Association, among others.

Knight received the University at Buffalo Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship in 2011 and the Stockton Kimball Award in 2010, honoring his outstanding contributions to biomedical education, research, and the mission of the Jacobs School.

Ali A. El Solh, MD, MPH, professor of medicine, anesthesiology, epidemiology and environmental health, worked with Knight at the VA and notes “as a researcher, Paul was distinguished by his intellectual rigor, curiosity, and ability to bridge disciplines.”

“He consistently asked me to think outside the box and to approach complex problems with both creativity and precision. His work was driven by a genuine desire to improve patient care, and he had a remarkable talent for translating scientific insight into meaningful clinical impact.”

“He set a powerful example for trainees by demonstrating that empathy and scientific rigor are not only compatible, but essential to outstanding medical care,” El Solh says.

Knight’s family has planned a memorial gathering to celebrate his life and career from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, April 11, at the Amigone Tonawanda Chapel, 2600 Sheridan Drive, Tonawanda, NY. A formal service will not be conducted.

Flowers are respectfully declined. In lieu of flowers, the family would prefer donations in his memory be made to support medical student research, an area that meant a great deal to him.

To honor his commitment to education, research and mentorship, the Department of Anesthesiology has established a dedicated giving link that allows the department to directly support this work in his memory.