Department of Anesthesiology Research

A multidisciplinary research initiative at The Ohio State University dedicated to advancing perioperative care through rigorous investigation, innovation, and academic collaboration.

About the collaborative

The Perioperative Outcomes Research Collaborative in Anesthesia (PORCA) brings together faculty, clinicians, data scientists, and trainees committed to improving perioperative outcomes across the surgical continuum.

Our work spans preoperative risk assessment, intraoperative management, postoperative recovery, and long‑term patient‑centered outcomes. We emphasize methodological rigor, interdisciplinary collaboration, and translation of evidence into clinical practice.

Our mission

To advance perioperative medicine through high‑quality research, innovation, and dissemination of evidence that improves patient safety, clinical outcomes, and healthcare value.

Our vision

To serve as a leading academic hub for perioperative outcomes research, fostering collaboration across disciplines and institutions while training the next generation of investigators.

Core principles

• Scientific integrity and methodological excellence
• Patient‑centered inquiry
• Interdisciplinary collaboration
• Equity in perioperative care
• Commitment to academic dissemination

Research programs

Perioperative risk and prediction

• Development and validation of risk prediction models
• Integration of EHR and perioperative datasets
• Decision support and risk communication

Quality and process improvement

• Enhanced recovery pathways
• Optimization of intraoperative practices
• Value‑based perioperative care

Long‑term and patient‑centered outcomes

• Functional and cognitive recovery
• Longitudinal postoperative health trajectories
• Health equity and disparities research

Membership

Membership is open to faculty, clinicians, trainees, and collaborators across The Ohio State University and partner institutions who are engaged in perioperative research.

Eligibility

• Faculty and clinicians in perioperative care
• Residents, fellows, and graduate students
• Data scientists and implementation specialists
• Institutional collaborators

Benefits

Access to collaborative research initiatives
Methodological and analytic support
Opportunities for authorship and academic output
Mentorship and professional development

[Learn more] 

Selected publications

Example: Smith J. et al. “Intraoperative hemodynamic optimization and postoperative outcomes.”
Example: Lee A. et al. “Implementation of enhanced recovery pathways in high‑risk surgical populations.”
Example: Patel R. et al. “Predicting postoperative pulmonary complications using EHR‑derived models.”

Contact

For inquiries regarding collaboration, membership, or ongoing research initiatives:

Email: porca@osu.edu
Department: Department of Anesthesiology
Institution: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Location: Columbus, Ohio

The nervous system is also an area of investigation. One study involves brain activation caused by pain and the signal attenuation over time within activated areas of the brain. The amount and duration of pain signal attenuation over time was examined. We found significant differences between pain and tingling in the ipsilateral cerebellum, contralateral thalamus, secondary somatosensory cortex, primary somatosensory cortex and anterior cingulate cortex. Highly significant signal decay was found to exist across each single pain task, but the signal was found to be restored after a four-minute rest period. This work shows that serial pain tasks can be used for functional magnetic resonance imaging studies using electrical nerve stimulation as a stimulus, as long as sufficient time is allowed between the two tasks.

Another line of investigation involves the gastrointestinal nervous system (the human enteric nervous system). In this research, we are determining the effects of histamine on gastric mobility and complications in bowel disease by establishing the mechanisms by which histamine alters nerve function. We are establishing the localization of specific histaminergic receptor subtypes to functionally identified neurons in the human enteric nervous system.

The department is also conducting ischemic spinal cord injury studies in thoracic aortic aneurysm patients and animal models. The department's completion of a wireless telemetry informatics suite (operating room model) enables the system to be used at Ohio State's Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital. This telemetry informatics suite includes high-security military grade encryption and the implementation of Microsoft's new web services. The success of the project is such that Microsoft has decided to showcase this work at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center on an international level.

• Cardiovascular research
• GI and CNS research
• Optical imaging techniques
• Myocardial monitoring
• Molecular biology
• Second messenger systems
• Animal models of disease for vascular
• Peripheral vascular
• Atherosclerosis
• Heart failure/bio-impedance and inflammatory bowel disease to preconditioning in humans with supportive animal studies ongoing
• System response during disease states by purine receptors and c-reactive proteins
• Effects of down-regulation of b-receptors in heart failure and their influence on clinical management
• Critical care medicine
• Extracorporeal life support (ECLS and ECMO)