John M. Murkin MD, FRCPC, FACI

Dr. Murkin is currently a full Senate Professor of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Director of Cardiac Anesthesiology Research, and Chair of Department of Anesthesiology Research at Western University. His most recent ongoing peer-funded investigations focus on both the role of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for assessment of cerebral oxygenation, as well as novel investigations on the impact of early sepsis on NIRS-detected microcirculatory vasoreactivity and tissue oxygenation.

For over 3 decades, Dr. Murkin’s studies have focused on cognitive and neurological outcomes in cardiac surgery. Following his initial series of studies investigating cerebral blood flow and cerebral metabolism during cardiopulmonary bypass employing differing pH management strategies, and which established the primacy of alpha-stat during adult moderate hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), these studies also demonstrated the role of cerebral emboli in the genesis of postoperative neurological and cognitive impairment.