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UTA researcher helps ensure high-caliber anesthesia patient safety research

Yan Xiao, professor of undergraduate nursing, has been charged with ensuring anesthesia patient safety research meets the highest standards. As chair of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) Scientific Evaluation Committee, Dr. Xiao leads the committee that selects research projects for funding from APSF and provides feedback to applicants so they can learn and improve their research projects.

“As chair, my responsibility is to ensure the credibility and caliber of the committee members and to conduct rigorous scientific reviews,” he says.

With members from across the globe, APSF is one of the foremost organizations in anesthesia patient safety and has awarded over $13.5 million in research grants. Applicants for APSF funding are mostly anesthesiologists from the U.S. and Canada who are passionate about patient safety.

“The APSF has a long tradition of working at the cutting-edge of patient safety theory and practice,” says Xiao, a human factors researcher. “The work I have done, specifically around anesthesia patient safety, lends credibility to lead this group.

”Xiao’s research is closely aligned with patient safety, and he sees his role as chair as an opportunity to influence trends in patient safety through working with committee members, as well as an opportunity to advance the science.