New perioperative institute launches to make surgery safer

UTHealth Houston announced the establishment of the Institute of Perioperative Medicine, which will span different schools, including McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston and McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics at UTHealth Houston.

The institute is a research initiative dedicated to improving surgical outcomes and reducing perioperative complications. It aims to tackle perioperative organ injuries, a leading cause of post-surgical mortality and morbidity.

Each year, more than 200 million major surgeries are performed worldwide, with nearly 50 million in the United States alone. Research indicates that up to 4% of surgical patients do not survive within 30 days of an operation, making perioperative mortality the third leading cause of death in the U.S., behind heart disease and cancer. Additionally, approximately 15% of patients experience serious postoperative complications, including stroke, acute kidney injury, myocardial infarction, and respiratory distress.

The newly established institute will leverage laboratory discoveries, artificial intelligence, clinical trials, and multidisciplinary research to identify novel treatments and preventive strategies.

“The Institute of Perioperative Medicine brings together world-class experts in multiple disciplines to tackle the biggest questions in post-surgical complications,” said Kevin Morano, PhD, senior vice president of Academic and Faculty Affairs and Roger J. Bulger, MD, Distinguished Professor at UTHealth Houston and chair of the Institute of Perioperative Medicine advisory board. “Drs. Eltzschig and Ju have assembled a ‘dream team’ of talent at UTHealth Houston dedicated to advancing clinical and translational research to set a new standard for patient care.”

While the institute is physically housed in the Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine at McGovern Medical School, it provides a highly collaborative research environment for scientists at UTHealth Houston from a wide variety of clinical disciplines, including emergency medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and neurosciences, as well as hepatobiliary, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, renal, and critical care research. With the ability to use artificial intelligence research and perform high-level multicenter randomized clinical trials through the Center for Outcomes Research, the institute can move novel discoveries from bench to bedside to identify and clinically test new approaches to prevent perioperative organ injury in patients who are undergoing surgery or require emergency and critical care medicine.

The leadership team includes co-director Cynthia Ju, PhD, professor, vice chair of Research, and the Joseph C. Gabel, MD, Endowed Chair in Anesthesiology at McGovern Medical School, as well as co-director Holger Eltzschig, MD, PhD, associate vice president for Translational Medicine at UTHealth Houston and professor, vice president of Strategy and Development for Hospital-Based Programs, and John P. and Kathrine G. McGovern Distinguished University Chair at McGovern Medical School.

The executive leadership team will also include directors of the centers within the Institute of Perioperative Medicine:

• Xiaoyi Yuan, PhD, assistant professor of anesthesiology, critical care and pain medicine at McGovern Medical School and a faculty member at MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
• Yafen Liang, MD, professor, division chief of Cardiovascular Anesthesiology and Memorial Hermann Chair at McGovern Medical School
• Hongfang Liu, PhD, vice president of Learning Health Systems at UTHealth Houston and D. Bradley McWilliams Chair and professor of health data science and artificial intelligence at McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics
• Alparslan Turan, MD, director of the Center for Outcomes Research; professor of anesthesiology, critical care and pain medicine; and assistant vice president for Translational Outcomes Research at McGovern Medical School
• Wei Cao, PhD, Roy M. and Phyllis Gough Huffington Distinguished Professor in Anesthesiology at McGovern Medical School and a faculty member at MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School
• Daniel Sessler, MD, vice president of the Center for Outcomes Research and professor in anesthesiology, critical care and pain medicine at McGovern Medical School
• Yanyu Wang, PhD, director of research services for the Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine at McGovern Medical School
• Ed Fink, director of management operations for the Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine at McGovern Medical School

Members of the advisory board include:

• Kevin Morano, PhD, Roger J. Bulger, MD Distinguished Professor, The University of Texas Distinguished Professor, senior associate dean for Faculty Affairs, McGovern Medical School, and senior vice president of Academic and Faculty Affairs at UTHealth Houston
• John Hancock, MA, MB, BChir, PhD, ScD, senior vice president of Research Strategy and Innovation at UTHealth Houston; executive dean, John S. Dunn Distinguished University Chair in Physiology and Medicine, and H. Wayne Hightower Distinguished Professor in the Medical Sciences at McGovern Medical School; and executive director of The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases
• Zhiqiang An, PhD, professor at the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Robert A. Welch Distinguished University Chair in Chemistry, director of the Texas Therapeutics Institute, and vice president of Drug Discovery at McGovern Medical School
• Charles “Trey” Miller, PhD, associate vice president of Clinical Research and Health Care Quality at UTHealth Houston, associate dean of Hospital Quality at Memorial Hermann Hospital, and director of Clinical Research and Evidence-Based Medicine and professor of cardiothoracic and vascular surgery at McGovern Medical School
• Zhijian “James” Chen, PhD, George L. Macgregor Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Science and professor of molecular biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center
• David Schwartz, MD, chair of the Department of Medicine and professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine

“Our goal is to make surgery safer and improve patient recovery through groundbreaking research and innovative interventions,” Eltzschig said.

The institute will be structured around five specialized research centers: the Center for Perioperative Artificial Intelligence Research, the Center for Outcomes Research, the Center for Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, the Center for Hepatobiliary and Gastrointestinal Research, and the Center for Aging and Cognitive Dysfunction.

UTHealth Houston envisions the institute as a national leader in perioperative research and patient care, integrating experts across medical disciplines to enhance surgical safety. The initiative will also focus on training the next generation of scientists and physician-scientists in perioperative medicine.

With an ambitious five-year plan, the institute aims to double its research funding from $62 million to $124 million, publish findings in leading medical journals, and introduce novel therapeutic strategies into routine surgical care.

“This institute represents a transformative step in surgical medicine,” Ju said. “By integrating research with clinical practice, we hope to significantly reduce surgical risks and improve patient outcomes worldwide.”