Maxim S Eckmann, M.D.

Dr. Eckmann was appointed Department Chair after serving as interim Chair for over a year. He leads one of the largest departments that provides anesthesia services to University Health, UT Health SA, and VA Health Systems including areas of general, regional, obstetric, transplant, hepatobiliary, cardiac, and critical care anesthesiology. 

Dr. Eckmann was born and raised in Austin, Texas. He completed his undergraduate training at Texas A&M University, where he received the Gathright Scholar Award for the College of Engineering. After attending medical school and completing his internship at Baylor College of Medicine as a Presidential Scholar, he pursued residency at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He then trained at UT Health SA for his Pain Medicine Fellowship, staying on as faculty thereafter. He has since maintained a diverse practice in clinical anesthesiology, interventional pain medicine, medical education, healthcare leadership, and clinical research.

Dr. Eckmann’s local leadership has included directorship of the Acute Pain Service, Pain Medicine Division, Pain Medicine Fellowship, and UT Health Anesthesiology Research program over a 15 year career at the HSC. In these roles, he has worked to expand inpatient and outpatient access to pain management specialty services. Dr. Eckmann has a special academic interest in chronic joint pain. He also lead a translational investigative team to create several novel procedural techniques in nerve ablation and is active in pre and post-market medical device development. Dr. Eckmann’s vision is to elevate departmental activities in research related to data science, transplant medicine, critical care, and pharmacology. In 2021, Dr. Eckmann was awarded with the Ramamurthy Endowed Professorship, named after his long-time mentor and friend, Dr. Somayaji Ramamurthy.

While Dr. Eckmann is recognized as a medical and technical expert, he also serves many national functions for the field of Anesthesiology. He is a Senior Examiner for the American Board of Anesthesiology, helping deliver certifying exams to future diplomates. He sits as a Board Member for the American Society of Regional Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, stewarding societal involvement in advocacy, continuing medical education, and practice guidelines. He is Past President and Board Member Emeritus for the Texas Pain Society, which is also dedicated to continuing education and advocacy.