Frailty in Elective Surgery: I am interested in how the syndrome of frailty can be used to identify patients at greatest risk for perioperative morbidity and mortality, and leveraging that information to support and improve perioperative decision making and outcomes for these patients. I am particularly interested in how preoperative palliative care consultation can improve decision-making and outcomes through explicitly negotiated and documented surgical buy-in, time limited trials and overarching goals of surgical therapy. I am also investigating ways to prehabilitate frail patients before surgery to mitigate frailty-associated risks.
IRB Efficiency and Quality: How can IRB review procedures be organized more efficiently while maintaining adequate protections to institutions, researchers and participants? How can IRB review quality be measured? How might IRB committees focus their deliberations on substantive ethical judgment rather than mere regulatory compliance?
Theology and Medicine: In what ways, and under what circumstances is it appropriate for theology to interface with the practice of medicine? Patients living through illness confront large questions of meaning and value. Many patients frame their worldview in terms of religious and theological traditions. How is it possible and/or appropriate to incorporate these perspectives in the clinical context?
