Basic Science Research

Research collaborations are focused on enhancing patient care

The Department of Anesthesiology is deeply engaged in the newly-formed Center for Health Systems Innovation (CHSI), which serves as the nexus for participants from University Park Campus (such as Engineering, Business, Public Policy, Architecture, Social Sciences, Film, Anthropology and Law) and the Health Science Campus to discuss interdisciplinary approaches to resolving intractable problems in health care. There are opportunities for residents, medical students and students from University Park Campus to become involved in health sciences and health sciences policy. The following three faculty members are crucial to our research collaborations:

Carol Peden, MB, ChB, MD, MPH, Professor of Anesthesiology (Clinical Scholar)
Executive Director, Center for Health Systems Innovation (CHSI)

Dr. Peden joined the Department of Anesthesiology in October 2015 and directs the USC’s CHSI, a research unit established to foster innovative research relationships between the University and Health Sciences Campuses. A former leader of the National Health Services (NHS England) Quality Improvement and Early Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) initiatives and a graduate of the Institute for HealthCare Improvement’s (IHI) fellowship program and an MPH from Harvard, Dr. Peden brings expertise and insight to an area of health care with increasing importance as long term surgical outcomes are targeted as obligatory outcomes in Value Based and Bundled payment models. Dr. Peden will be working with a diverse team of Faculty Mentors and Graduate students in the disparate disciplines of Medicine, Engineering, Business, Public Policy, Architecture, Social Sciences, Film, Anthropology and Law. The institute is committed to fostering interdepartmental research projects that will create a learning environment on the health sciences campus to attract and stimulate graduate and post-doctoral engagement in the health sciences.

Marie Csete, MD, PhD, (Voluntary) Professor of Anesthesiology
Independent consultant (marie@mariecseteconsulting.com) and Visiting Associate, Caltech Medical Engineering (mcsete@caltech.edu)Dr. Csete is an internationally known anesthesiologist (MD Columbia, Faculty positions UCSF, UCLA, Michigan, Emory) with subspecialty expertise and research interests in liver transplantation. At Emory, Dr Csete was co-director of the Emory/GaTech MD/PhD program and founding director of the Emory-GaTech human embryonic stem cell core facility. She is also well known for her work in promoting translation of stem cell therapies. After a sabbatical at Caltech, she went on to a PhD there, and was awarded the prestigious Clauser Prize for her thesis work. After the passing of California’s Proposition 71 (stem cell funding initiative), Dr. Csete assumed the role of the state’s first Chief Scientific Officer of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. She has extensive consulting experience in industry and academia, and has also been actively involved in systems biology and systems medicine work. She serves on the editorial boards of Stem Cells Translational Medicine, and Anesthesia & Analgesia. We were fortunate to add Dr. Csete to our adjunct faculty on which she has agreed to serve as a research advisor, lending expertise in clinical and basic research study design, cell and molecular biology, and development of new monitoring technologies

Arash Motamed, MD (KSOM), MBA (Rossier/USC), Clinical Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology (Clinician Educator); Director of Anesthesia Informatics
Dr. Motamed was recruited following his residency training at USC to continue his work in OR Anesthesia Informatics and Business Systems development. Working in collaboration with the department’s administrator, internal department resources and the bi-campus Center for Health Systems Innovation (CHSI), Dr. Motamed is a key resource in developing the department’s Anesthesiology Informatics analytical footprint. Currently he is working closely with the Keck Hospital “Lean Transformation” team members to design an effective surgical patient screening and scheduling process, and with senior hospital leadership at Los Angeles General Medical Center to evaluate opportunities for improved flow of surgical cases.

Other Research Activities

The Department of Anesthesiology is one of 42 institutions nationwide that are part of the Perioperative Surgical Home Collaborative (PSH), the national collaborative studying the purpose, the design and implementation of the perioperative surgical home. The institution of the perioperative surgical home is the continuum of care for the surgical patient from the time of surgical diagnosis through rehabilitation.

We have relationships now with the Anesthesia Quality Institute, whose mission is to use quality management tools capturing intraoperative and post-operative events resulting in improved patient quality of care, patient outcomes and reduced mortality rates.