David O. Warner, M.D.

The overall research goal of David O. Warner, M.D., is to improve the health of patients who have surgery and patients who suffer from chronic pain. He is also interested in methods to help other researchers perform their work.

Focus areas

• Improving lung health in the time around surgery
• Methods to help cigarette smokers who have chronic pain or who are undergoing surgery quit tobacco
• The effects of anesthesia and surgery on the development of children's brains
• Health disparities and community-engaged research
• Supporting others' research through leadership roles in the Mayo Clinic Center for Translational Sciences Activities (CTSA)

Significance to patient care

Although modern surgery and anesthetic techniques are generally quite safe, there are many opportunities to improve the care of patients undergoing surgery, and Dr. Warner's work addresses several of these areas.

He also works to make a lasting difference to long-term health though efforts such as using the time around surgery as an opportunity to help patients quit smoking and studying the potential long-term effects of anesthesia on the brains of young children.

Professional highlights

• Editor, Anesthesiology, 1997-2006
• Chair, Committee on Respiration, American Society of Anesthesiologists, 1998-2008
• Director, American Board of Anesthesiology, 2010-present