Dr. Feinstein is currently a clinical assistant professor in the Division of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology within the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. He completed the NIH-funded Medical Scientist Training Program at the State University of New York at Stony Brook where his research focused on studying the biology of mental illness using rodent models. After earning his MD and PhD, he went on to complete a residency in anesthesiology and a fellowship in cardiothoracic anesthesiology at Stanford University.

During clinical training, he became interested in factors that affect mental health in patients undergoing major surgery. A critical aspect of mental health is intact cognition, which is often impaired as a result of surgery. Increasing evidence suggests that cognitive dysfunction after surgery may have a biological link to the processes underlying chronic neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s Disease. His current research focuses on studying the biological underpinnings of post operative cognitive dysfunction and their relationship to chronic neurodegenerative disorders using blood-based biomarkers, large scale plasma proteomics and novel methods of immune profiling, together with longitudinal cognitive assessments. The goal of his work is to 1) accurately identify patients at high risk for post-operative cognitive dysfunction, and 2) develop mechanism-based interventions that will improve brain health, especially in vulnerable patients undergoing high-risk major surgery.