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Jinlei Li, MD, PhD

Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
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Additional Titles

Director of Regional Anesthesia at YNHH, Anesthesiology

Program Director of Acute Pain Medicine Fellowship, Anesthesiology

Director of Anesthesia and Acute Pain Medicine Service, Yale New Haven Health, Anesthesiology

Contact Info

Anesthesiology

PO Box 208051

New Haven, CT 06520-8051

United States

About

Titles

Associate Professor of Anesthesiology

Director of Regional Anesthesia at YNHH, Anesthesiology; Program Director of Acute Pain Medicine Fellowship, Anesthesiology; Director of Anesthesia and Acute Pain Medicine Service, Yale New Haven Health, Anesthesiology

Biography

Jinlei Li, MD PhD, F.A.S.A, earned her Ph.D. degree from University of Buffalo in Buffalo, NY, M.D. degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, anesthesia residency and regional anesthesia and acute pain fellowship at Yale University. She is currently an associate professor, program director of regional anesthesia and acute pain fellowship at Yale University Department of Anesthesiology. She is a board-certified anesthesiologist and the Director of Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicineat Yale New Haven Health in New Haven, CT in the united states. Dr. Li practices regional anesthesia and performs neuraxial block and a diverse range of peripheral nerve blocks for acute and subacute pain management in and beyond the immediate perioperative arena. Dr. Li’s supervises and teaches residents and fellows the fundamental knowledge as well as practical skills of ultrasound-guided upper extremity, lower extremity, chest and abdominal nerve blockade. Dr. Li’s has a research interest in developing new opioid-sparing regional anesthesia protocols to facility faster postoperative recovery and better functional outcome, particularly in total joint replacement and geriatric hip fracture management, hemodynamic changes associated with regional anesthesia, local anesthetics additives, regional anesthesia and anticoagulants, as well as regional anesthesia education. She is actively involved in international, national and investigator-initiated clinical studies. Dr. Li is active in American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA) in both research and teaching. She has participated and/or organized multiple regional anesthesia workshops in the united states as well as internationally.

Appointments

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

Fellowship
Yale University (2013)
Residency
Yale University (2011)
MD
McGill University Faculty of Medicine (2006)
PhD
State University of NY at Buffalo, Microbiology/Immunology (2002)

Research

Overview

Roles of regional anesthesia in geriatric hip fracture pain management and outcome

Optimization of postoperative pain management with novel regional anesthesia protocols in total knee arthroplasty

Optimization of postoperative pain management with novel regional anesthesia protocols in total hip arthroplasty

Choice of local anesthetic adjuvants in acute and subacute pain management as well as opioid reduction before and after patients’ discharge

Truncal nerve blockade for chest and abdominal procedures

Regional anesthesia and pain management for spine surgery

ERAS for breast surgery

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Jinlei Li's published research.

Publications

2023

2022

Clinical Trials

Current Trials

Clinical Care

Overview

Jinlei Li, MD, is an anesthesiologist and the director of regional anesthesiology for the Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH) Saint Raphael Campus. She is a staunch advocate for upper extremity, lower extremity, neck, chest and abdominal nerve blocks for surgical patients.

Nerve blocks are a form of anesthesia that has been increasingly effective in recent years, thanks to the precision of ultrasound guidance, says Dr. Li, who is a leader at Yale in improving pain control around surgery. To administer a nerve block, the anesthesiologist follows a picture on an ultrasound monitor while injecting a hair-thin needle into the affected area of the body, sending non-opioid pain medication to bathe the nerve or nerve bundles that will be affected by the surgery.

So, instead of the sensation of pain traveling along the nerve to the brain, “the brain isn’t getting that message,” Dr. Li says. The approach is becoming a key strategy for providing better post-surgery pain control while minimizing opioid use, which many doctors say contributes to the opioid addiction epidemic.

“If we can better control the acute pain (with a nerve block during surgery), this may ease the transition to chronic pain,” Dr. Li says, adding that the approach is also resulting in shorter hospital stays, easier rehabilitation after surgery, speedier recoveries, and none of the side effects associated with general anesthesia, which affects the entire body. “I had a 79-year-old woman in carotid surgery who received a nerve block instead of general anesthesia, which would have put her to sleep, and later she was smiling in the ICU," Dr. Li says.

An assistant professor of anesthesiology at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Li has done extensive research on peripheral nerve blocks with local anesthetic adjuvants. She continues to investigate ways to improve their use and effectiveness.

Clinical Specialties

Acute Pain; Anesthesiology

Fact Sheets

Board Certifications

  • Anesthesiology

    Certification Organization
    AB of Anesthesiology
    Original Certification Date
    2012

Yale Medicine News

Get In Touch

Contacts

Mailing Address

Anesthesiology

PO Box 208051

New Haven, CT 06520-8051

United States

Locations

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