Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine

Professor Tim Walsh

Tim Walsh is professor of Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine and lead for the Edinburgh Critical Care Research Group.

Professor Tim Walsh

Head of Section/Lead of Edinburgh Critical Care Research Group

  • Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine
  • Usher Institute
  • College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine

Contact details

Address

Street

Edinburgh Royal Infirmary
51 Little France Crescent

City
Edinburgh
Post Code
EH16 4SA

Background

Tim Walsh is professor of critical care and lead for the Edinburgh Critical Care Research Group. He trained in anaesthesia and critical care in Edinburgh, and undertook research towards his MD thesis in the area of oxygen transport and metabolism during liver failure and transplantation. He was appointed consultant anaesthetist in NHS Lothian in 1999, practicing anaesthesia and critical care with a strong focus on developing a clinically focussed research programme. This culminated with the award of an Honorary Professorship in 2007 in Edinburgh University, and subsequently appointment to the first Chair of Critical Care at Edinburgh University in 2010.

Research interests

His main interest is in pragmatic clinical trials, epidemiology, and quality improvement research. He currently leads three major research programmes in the areas of blood and blood product transfusion, recovery following critical illness, and sedation management in the ICU. He collaborates with a number of Edinburgh University groups in developing translational research programmes, notably Professor Chris Haslett (novel lung imaging) and Adriano Rossi (inflammation biology). He also has strong links with Professor Gordon Murray at the Centre for Population Health with whom he collaborates on a number of epidemiological projects and clinical trials in the area of critical illness.

Roles

Tim has key strategic roles with the National Institute of Healthcare Research (Chair of UK Critical Care Specialty Group), Chief Scientists Office (Critical Care Specialty Group lead and member of the Research Strategy Oversight Group), and through national professional societies (Chairman, Scottish Critical Care Trials Group; Member of UK Intensive Care Society Research Committee). He is a strong believer in collaborative national and international research and the importance of research networks.

His vision is to lead a world class multidisciplinary group undertaking bench to bedside research, always keeping patient-centred outcomes as the central focus of the group’s activities.