Professor David Scott
Name:
Professor David Scott
Job title:
Professor & Director, Department of Anaesthesia and Acute Pain Medicine
Place of work / study:
St. Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, Victoria, Australia / University of Melbourne
Area of Research:
Perioperative [1] Neurocognitive Disorders – in particular delirium and cognitive decline associated with anaesthesia and surgery, the risk for patients with pre-existing cognitive decline including dementia. Areas of interest are epidemiology and risk factors, and relevant biomarkers of inflammation and neuronal injury.
Tell us a little about yourself:
An anaesthesiologist with over 30 years clinical practice in cardiac and vascular anaesthesia. A long-standing engagement in clinical research relating to patient outcomes following anaesthesia and surgery including pain, blood transfusion and cognition. PhD was in the area of neuropharmacology and neuropathic pain.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself:
Sense of humour irrevocably influenced by Monty Python and also Douglas Adam’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Why did you choose to work in dementia?
The impact of anaesthesia and surgery on acute and long-term cognition was clearly influenced by pre-existing cognitive impairment and especially dementia. Older patients are increasingly undergoing surgical procedures to improve quality of life. The early neurobiological evidence that cognitive decline may be exacerbated by the pharmacology, stress and inflammatory response during perioperative care made this into a research imperative.