The goal of academic medicine is to make medicine better. The goal of academic anesthesiology is to make perioperative care better. Our department is dedicated to nurturing an integrated culture of our clinical, research, and education activities, with the focus on making preoperative medicine better.

Partner with us to make perioperative medicine better

Through these efforts we strive to improve patient outcomes, reduce the cost of care, provide innovative education for all members of the preoperative care team and to lead in the discovery of knowledge, techniques and process that will benefit our patients and enhance the science of anesthesiology.

Learn more about our areas of special focus below

Initiative for Quality Improvement Research & Informatics

INQUIRI seeks continuous improvements in perioperative patient care. INQUIRI team members assimilate information from electronic health records, hospital databases and other datasets, and conduct rigorous research and quality assessment exercises. Improvements in patient care are facilitated by the provision of information to clinicians, researchers, and leaders in quality, and by implementation of quality improvement initiatives.

Learn more about INQUIRI.

Jennifer Cole International Education Initiative

Created to provide a transformative experience for participants, the Jennifer Cole International Education Initiative offers a unique opportunity for our trainees and faculty to work closely with international colleagues on education program development and quality improvement projects. These projects could potentially have a significant impact on the quality of their training programs and clinical practice. Our international teaching sites will provide clinical rotations and novel career development opportunities for our residents and fellows.

Clinical and Translational Research

Our Division of Clinical and Translational Research (DoCTR) is an international leader in the metabolism and pharmacogenetics of opiates, in clinical investigation of cognitive function following anesthesia and surgery and in prevention of perioperative morbidity and mortality. Recently, DoCTR faculty members, published an article in the New England Journal of Medicine detailing potential causes of intraoperative awareness. By donating to DoCTR you can help fund research like this that will significantly improve the quality of healthcare for all patients.

Learn more about DoCTR.

Basic Research in Anesthesiology

We are a leading center for anesthesiology research in the world. Our investigators are discovering how drugs produce anesthesia, making better anesthetics, and in unraveling how SEPSIS kills people and identifying treatments to stop it. We are innovators in developing methods to protect cells and organs from hypoxic (low oxygen) injuries that occur during surgeries as well as during heart attacks and strokes. Your contribution could provide seed funding for our research efforts, scholarships for outstanding post-doctoral fellows and professorships for faculty conducting leading edge research.

Learn more about what we’re doing in Basic Research.

Washington University Pain Center

Our Pain Center is a leader is identifying the mechanisms of various kinds of pain including migraine, thermal pain and neuropathic pain. This work is coupled to a region-leading program in clinical care and research in pain management. Your gift to the WUPC could support our efforts in ameliorating acute and chronic pain. 

Learn more about Pain Research.