Honoring Dr. George W. Williams II, MD
September 5, 2025
The UTHealth Houston Institute of Perioperative Medicine (IPM) is advancing safer surgery by uncovering disease mechanisms, developing new therapies, and testing innovations through clinical trials. By uniting AI, bioinformatics, and cross-disciplinary research, it is positioning UTHealth Houston as a national leader in perioperative medicine.
Vision
The UTHealth Houston Institute of Perioperative Medicine will be the national leader in scientific discovery, research training, and transformation of clinical care in anesthesia, perioperative, pain, and critical medicine.
Mission
Promote groundbreaking research aimed at understanding the underlying disease mechanisms and immunology of perioperative organ injury, discover novel treatment targets or interventions for perioperative organ injury, conduct clinical trials in perioperative patients, and advance excellence in clinical outcomes research and patient care within perioperative medicine, while championing education and training of the next generation of scientists and physician-scientists within this field.
Research Spotlight
2025 Nobel Prize of Physiology and Medicine
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi for their groundbreaking discoveries on peripheral immune tolerance. It explains how these scientists discovered the role of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and the Foxp3 gene in maintaining immune system balance, thereby preventing autoimmune diseases. Their work transformed immunology and paved the way for new therapies targeting autoimmune disorders, cancer, and transplant rejection.
Center Director for Perioperative Genomic Research Announcement
UTHealth Houston’s Institute of Perioperative Medicine (IPM) has launched the Center for Perioperative Genomic Research and named Zhongming Zhao, PhD, as its inaugural director. The center will leverage genomics, multi-omics, and advanced analytics to predict perioperative risk, improve recovery, and develop clinical tools that enhance surgical outcomes.
News & Announcements
Partnering Schools
McGovern Medical School McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics