Professor Fang Gao

Department of Inflammation and Ageing
Professor in Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Pain

Contact details

Telephone: +44 (0)121 371 3236
Telephone (2): +44 (0)121 371 3218 (PA)
Email: f.gaosmith@bham.ac.uk

Address: Birmingham Acute Care Research Centre
Department of Inflammation and Ageing
Centre of Translational Inflammation Research
University of Birmingham Research Laboratories, Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Edgbaston
Birmingham, B15 2WB

Fang is a Professor of anaesthesia, critical care, and pain at the College of Medicine and Health, University of Birmingham, and an Honorary Consultant in anaesthesia, critical and perioperative care at the University Hospitals of Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.

Fang graduated from Beijing University in China with a degree in Medicine and Surgery. She trained clinically and academically as an Anaesthetist and Intensivist at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital and Royal Brompton Hospital, London. She completed her MPhil, MD research programmes and the Certificate Clinical Training in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care in Cardiff and London.

Fang is a leading researcher in critical and perioperative care focusing on clinical effectiveness, influencing policy and decision-making to improve patient care, with expertise in translation, clinical trials and data science research. Her pioneering work on “street fit” led to national and international guidelines for when it is safe to discharge day surgery patients. Her scientific accuracy and desire have played a major role in timely infection control, preventing the progression of severe sepsis and increasing NHS cost-saving in ICU settings. Her seminal clinical trials won the 2016 Trials and Evaluation Award Winner, Academic Health Science Network AHSN WM, and contributed to the international guidelines in the treatment of sepsis-induced ARDS.

Fang demonstrates significant leadership in her discipline and a passion for mentoring the next generation of clinicians and researchers in the UK and overseas, several of whom have gone on to the top leading clinical and academic positions nationally and internationally. In 2021, she was awarded the Dudley Buxton Medal by the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) for her meritorious work in anaesthesia and critical care. 2015-2023, Fang was appointed for the maximum full terms of the NIHR Senior Investigator for her outstanding leadership contributions. In 2024, she was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, the 1st female anaesthetist with FMedSci recognised for outstanding contribution to UK biomedical and health research. Fang was also awarded an OBE for Services for Anaesthesia in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours.

Qualifications

Order of the British Empire (OBE) 2025
FMedSci 2024 (London)
FFICM 2010 (London)
MD 2005 (Cardiff)
FRCA 1993 (London)
MPhil 1990 (Cardiff)
MB BS 1983 (Beijing)

Biography

Fang is Professor of Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Pain, Consultant Anaesthetist and Intensivist based at University of Birmingham and Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust (HEFT).

She was instrumental to form the Perioperative, Critical Care and Trauma Trials Group (PACCT) at the University of Birmingham, and to establish the Academic Department of Anaesthesia, Critical Care, Pain and Resuscitation at HEFT.

She completed two terms of NIHR RfPB WM Board, and currently at the NIHR Coordinate Training Centre Doctoral Research Fellowship Panel. She has completed the NIHR Leadership Programme and currently on NIHR Leadership Forum. Fang is NIHR CRN West Midlands Specialty Lead for Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine. Fang was awarded NIHR Senior Investigator in Anaesthesia and Critical Care Medicine in 2015.

Teaching

Medicine and Surgery MBChB - Clinical teaching of 4th and 5th year MB students.

Postgraduate supervision

Fang is Academic Supervisor/Mentor of NIHR Clinician Scientist, NIHR Post-Doctoral Fellowship, NIHR Clinical Lecturer and NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Anaesthesia. She is an active supervisor for postgraduate high degrees of PhD, MD and MS, projects including those examining clinical aspects of ARDS, Hospital Infection and Sepsis, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Chronic Pain through to basic mechanisms involved in these research areas.

Research

Fang has mainly focused on clinical research, and she has been Chief Investigator/Principal Investigator/Lead Supervisor in a number of major clinical trials, for example:

Two-centre randomized, single-blind controlled trial to evaluate paravertebral blockade on severity of Chronic Post-Thoracotomy Pain compared with thoracic epidural blockade (TOPIC-pilot).
Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of Imams in Mosques Supporting Blood Donation Sadaqa (CRISMON Sadaqa).
A multi-centre randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the effect of intravenous infusions of Salbutamol vs placebo on 28-day mortality in patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (BALTI 2).
International seven day study of standards of care and clinical outcomes for patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery (EuSOS Trial).
A multi-centre randomised controlled trial of the clinical and cost-effectiveness of early, goal-directed, protocolised resuscitation for emerging septic shock (ProMISe).
A multi-centre randomised controlled trial of the clinical and cost effectiveness use of non-invasive ventilation for weaning from mechanical ventilation (BREATH).
A multi-centre prospective observational cohort study on the UK pneumonectomy outcomes (UKPOS 2005).
A multi-centre prospective observational cohort study on variations in determining time ‘0’ in Sepsis Care Bundles amongst staff involved in acute care of patients with severe sepsis (TIME ZERO).
A single-centre randomised double-blind placebo controlled trial of 40mg/day of atorvastatin on reduction in severity of sepsis in emergency and ward patients (ASEPSIS).
A single-centre randomised, open, controlled trial of non-invasive ventilation vs conventional weaning from mechanical ventilation (BREATH-pilot).
A multi-centre randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the effect of perioperative Salmeterol vs placebo on incidence of Post-oesophagectomy Acute Lung Injury (BALTI-prevention).
A multi-centre randomised, open, controlled trial of cardiopulmonary resuscitation quality improvement initiative.
A single-centre randomised double-blind placebo controlled trial of magnesium for prevention of post-thoracotomy arrhythmias (MAGNET).

Other activities

Consultant Anaesthetist/Intensivist, Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust
Member Clinical Academic Training Committee, University of Birmingham
Member the NIHR Coordinate Training Centre Doctoral Research Fellowship Panel
NIHR CRN West Midlands Specialty Lead for Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine
NIHR Senior Investigator

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Howroyd, F, Hodson, J, Preece, A, Lea, T, Rooney, S, Wu, HSG, Rahania, S, Gao Smith, F, Veenith, T, Duggal, N, Ahmed, Z & Weblin, J 2026, 'Benchmarking mobilization practice and functional outcomes in traumatic brain injury patients admitted to the intensive care unit: a three-year service evaluation', Frontiers in neurology, vol. 17, 1694393. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2026.1694393

Huang, C, Sun, S, Mousa, NM, Lim, M, Tang, W, Chen, X, Xu, X, Xia, H, Geng, S, Kou, M, Liang, Z, Sharma-Oates, A, Xu, D, Hu, L, Zhao, X, Gao Smith, F & Feng, X 2026, 'Non-pharmacological perioperative interventions to prevent postoperative pulmonary complications after abdominal surgery: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis', Systematic Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-026-03070-8

Howroyd, F, McWilliams, D, Weblin, J, Wu, HSG, Turner, G, Gao Smith, F, Veenith, T, Duggal, NA & Ahmed, Z 2026, 'Rehabilitation in the intensive care unit for adults with traumatic brain injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis', Neurocritical Care. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12028-026-02551-x

Howroyd, F, Veiga Sardeli, A, Gao Smith, F, Veenith, T, Duggal, N & Ahmed, Z 2025, 'Biomarkers for pneumonia after major trauma: A systematic review and meta-analysis', Journal of the Intensive Care Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/17511437251344068

DECOVID Consortium, Aslett, LJM, Avramescu, A, Bakewell, N, Birds, I, Bowler, L, Camilleri, MPJ, Chung, S-C, Clifton, DA, Cohen, SN, Constantine-Cooke, N, Daub, EG, Davidson, S, Denaxas, S, Diaz-Ordaz, K, Feltbower, R, Gallier, S, Gardiner, S, Gasperoni, F, Goudie, RJB, Green, RE, Hall, M, Holmes, C, Hurst, JR, Iles, MM, Jorge, J, Karoune, E, Keogh, R, King, R, King, R, Kirk, PDW, Klapaukh, R, Kouchaki, S, Lai, AG, Lea, N, Leyrat, C, Li, K, Lilaonitkul, W, Lu, HY, Lyons, T, Mallon, AM, Manderson, A, Margaritella, N, Matteson, J, Morley, S, Nicholls, H, O’Reilly, M, Pagel, C, Palmer, E, Roberts, J, Roberts, TJ, Robertson, DS, Robinson, J, Rockenschaub, P, Ruddle, R, Sapey, E, Santos, L, Soltan, AAS, Gao Smith, F, Starr, C, Strickson, O, Su, L, Tackney, MS, Thygesen, JH, Torralbo, A, Turner, A, Vallejos, CA, Wang, C, Whitaker, K, Whitehouse, T, Westhead, DR, Wong, WK, Wu, Y, Yang, L & Zou, X 2025, 'DECOVID: A UK Two-Center Harmonized Database of Acute Care Electronic Health Records for COVID-19 Research', Data, vol. 10, no. 12, 195. https://doi.org/10.3390/data10120195

RAGA Study Investigators, Li, T, Li, J, Jiang, C, Yuan, L, Wu, J, Mazaheri, A, Wang, M, Jin, S, Myles, PS, Yao, Y, Wu, J, Chen, J & Smith, FG 2025, 'Incidence of 12-month postoperative cognitive decline following regional vs. general anaesthesia in older patients undergoing hip fracture surgery: follow-up of the RAGA trial', Anaesthesia. https://doi.org/10.1111/anae.16545

Howroyd, F, Gill, R, Thompson, J, Smith, FG, Nasa, P, Gopal, S, Duggal, NA, Ahmed, Z & Veenith, T 2025, 'Ventilator-associated pneumonia: mechanisms, an appraisal of current therapies and the role for inhaled antibiotics in prevention and treatment', Respiratory Medicine, vol. 247, 108275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmed.2025.108275

Mi, N, Yang, M, Wei, L, Nie, P, Zham, S, Nguyen, LH, Gao Smith, F, Acharjee, A, Lui, X, Huang, J, Xia, B, Jinqiu, Y & Meng, W 2024, 'Gallstone disease is associated with an increased risk of inflammatory bowel disease: results from three prospective cohort studies', The American Journal of Gastroenterology. https://doi.org/10.14309/ajg.0000000000003111

Xia, B, He, Q, Smith, FG, Gkoutos, VG, Nirantharakumar, K, Kuo, ZC, Wang, D, Feng, Q, Cheung, EC, Dai, L, Huang, J, Yu, Y, Meng, W, Qin, X & Yuan, J 2024, 'Individualized prevention of proton pump inhibitor related adverse events by risk stratification', Nature Communications, vol. 15, no. 1, 3591 . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-48007-8

Gao, Y, Cao, F, Tian, X, Zhang, Q, Xu, C, Ji, B, Zhang, Y, Du, L, Han, J, Zhou, S, Gong, Y, Ying, B, Gao-Smith, F, Jin, S & Li, L 2024, 'Inhibition the ubiquitination of ENaC and Na,K-ATPase with erythropoietin promotes alveolar fluid clearance in sepsis-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome', Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, vol. 174, 116447. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2024.116447

Comment/debate

Zhuo, X-J, Hao, Y, Cao, F, Yan, S-F, Li, H, Wang, Q, Cheng, B-H, Ying, B-Y, Gao Smith, F & Jin, S-W 2025, 'Author Correction: Protectin DX increases alveolar fluid clearance in rats with 2 lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury', Experimental and Molecular Medicine, vol. 57, pp. 2134-2135. https://doi.org/10.1038/s12276-025-01555-5

Review article

Lawrence, E, Fulton, D, Brown, P, Suresh, S, Morris, M, Goggolidou, P, Chaithanya, S, Abbawy, M, Wild, A, Nasa, P, Duggal, NA, Gao Smith, F, Ahmed, Z, Renukappa, S & Veenith, T 2026, 'Neurocognitive aging following acute illness: pathobiology and a framework for developing neurotherapeutic agents', Brain and Behaviour, vol. 16, no. 6, e71542. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.71542

Howroyd, F, Weblin, J, Gao Smith, F, Duggal, NA & Ahmed, Z 2026, 'The impact of traumatic injury on the respiratory system: a narrative review of injury-associated and clinically-induced mechanisms of trauma-associated pneumonia', Frontiers in Medicine, vol. 13, 1807707. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2026.1807707

Abbawy, M, Okoh, D, Binuraj, A, Holden, F, Fox, B, Sachdeva, R, Pooni, J, Singh, M, Allen, T, Ganguly, S, Gao-Smith, F & Veenith, T 2026, 'The role of the rectus sheath block in modern perioperative care for midline laparotomy: a review of the evidence', Frontiers in Anesthesiology , vol. 5, 1725241. https://doi.org/10.3389/fanes.2026.1725241

Howroyd, F, Chacko, C, MacDuff, A, Gautam, N, Pouchet, B, Tunnicliffe, B, Weblin, J, Gao Smith, F, Ahmed, Z, Duggal, N & Veenith, T 2024, 'Ventilator-associated pneumonia: pathobiological heterogeneity and diagnostic challenges.', Nature Communications, vol. 15, 6447. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50805-z

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