RESEARCH
Our lab's mission is to perform rigorous, high-quality biomedical research that has direct relevance to the perioperative care of children. Our overarching goal is to provide new insights into how different anesthetics affect blood pressure, blood flow, and organ perfusion in children of all ages. To accomplish these goals, we use a translational vascular biology approach that involves cutting-edge whole-organism and in vitro techniques that assess not only vascular function, but how vascular function and anesthesia impact systemic blood pressure and end organ perfusion.
Dr. Whitaker is a firm believer that biomedical science should be translatable to the patients we serve. As such, he uses the findings in his basic science laboratory to inform clinical trials in the operating room. He's currently using transcranial Doppler imaging to determine if his findings in the lab translate to human patients.
Finally, we believe that avoiding general anesthesia in neonates and infants is always a good thing. To that end, we are using electromyography to objectively measure the characteristics of infant spinal anesthesia, an anesthetic modality that obviates the need for general anesthesia and endotracheal intubation.
Click the here to read more about our research!