Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine

The Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine at UMass Chan Medical School is committed to developing a strong portfolio in clinical and translational research. Under the leadership of Guido Musch, MD, MBA, executive vice-chair and director of research, the department has embarked on the following research projects:

• Translational research on the pathophysiology of acute and ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI): In a research laboratory housed within the department, the role of IL-33 in the pathogenesis of ventilator-induced lung injury is being studied using animal models, molecular biology techniques, physiology measurements and advanced molecular imaging methods. This research is conducted in collaboration with the Division of Nuclear Medicine in the Department of Radiology.
  
  
• Protective intraoperative mechanical ventilation: The department has joined 12 other leading academic anesthesia departments as a site for a NIH-funded multicenter clinical trial assessing the effect of a bundled intervention consisting of preoperative teaching, intraoperative individualized lung recruitment and postoperative intensive incentive spirometry plus early ambulation on the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications after open abdominal surgery (primeairstudy.org).
  
  
• Development and evaluation of communication devices for ICU patients: A team led by Matthias Walz, MD, FCCP, chair of the department, has developed, built and tested a hand-held communication device to enable intubated ICU patients to communicate with medical personnel and visitors.
  
  
• Noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring: An industry-sponsored trial led by J. Aaron Scott, DO, and Stephen Heard, MD, is assessing a new device for continuous noninvasive arterial blood pressure monitoring in ICU and surgical patients.
  
  
• Prevention of emergence delirium in pediatric patients: A team led by R. Ian Richmond, MD, is conducting a clinical trial comparing preoperative oral midazolam with intranasal dexmedetomidine to prevent postoperative delirium in pediatric ambulatory surgical patients.

In addition, other studies are ongoing to identify risk factors for difficult airway in patients with cervical spine trauma, risk factors for poor outcome in elderly patients requiring operative fixation of hip fractures and in the realm of pain medicine. These multifaceted research endeavors reflect the department’s vision to foster an environment where intellectually curious and motivated academic anesthesiologists can pursue their research interests and fulfill their passion for discovery.