Draft:John Francis Fraser

Critical Care Research Group

Fraser is Director of the Critical Care Research Group (CCRG)^[9] at The Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane, Australia. The organisation conducts research in critical care medicine, cardiovascular disease, extracorporeal life support, biomedical engineering and translational health sciences^[10]. The group includes researchers and clinicians from a range of disciplines and collaborates with healthcare and academic institutions in Australia and internationally. CCRG's research infrastructure includes laboratory facilities and access to preclinical research capabilities through the Queensland University of Technology's Medical Engineering Research Facility.^[11]

The Medical Engineering Research Facility supports research and training in medical devices, implants, biomaterials, and surgical equipment and techniques to help make medical procedures safer and more efficient, leading to better health outcomes for patients^[11].

Industry and Innovation

Fraser is Founder and Chief Medical Officer at De Motu Cordis (DMC). DMC is developing emergency treatment solutions for life-threatening conditions such as anaphylaxis. Their investigational device aims to treat anaphylaxis by delivering epinephrine through inhalation, using the pulmonary pathway.

Response to COVID-19 pandemic

In January 2020, Fraser co-founded the COVID-19 Critical Care Consortium^[12] with Gianluigi Li Bassi^[13] and Jacky Suen^[14]. The consortium established an international clinical registry to collect and analyse data from patients admitted to intensive care units with COVID-19. The project involved collaboration with hospitals and research groups across multiple countries, including participants from the Asia-Pacific Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (APELSO), the SPRINT-SARI network, and the ISARIC network. It also collaborated with national registries, including the Australian ECMO registry (EXCEL).^[15][16][17]

The consortium was established to support the collection of standardised clinical data on critically ill COVID-19 patients, including those receiving mechanical ventilation and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), in order to inform understanding of disease severity and outcomes in intensive care settings.^[15][17]

Heart transplantation

Fraser and CCRG participated in the development and clinical evaluation of Hypothermic Oxygenated Perfusion (HOPE), a donor heart preservation technology designed to extend the viability of donor hearts for transplantation. The project, known as the Living Heart Project, involved collaboration with cardiac surgeons and researchers including David McGiffin and David Kaye.^{[18][19][20][21]}

HOPE uses an oxygenated preservation solution that is circulated through a donor heart during transport. Traditional heart transplantation has relied on static cold storage, which limits preservation time. Clinical studies associated with HOPE reported longer preservation times than conventional methods, potentially increasing the distance over which donor hearts can be transported.

ICU of the Future

Together with Dr Oystein Tronstad, Fraser founded the ICU of the Future in 2022.^[22] The Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane opened the ICU of the Future bedspaces with a two-bed trial in which patients will benefit from reduced noise levels, a more natural light cycle to give a clearer sense of time and enhance circadian rhythm, and increased tech connectivity with families.

Critical illness survivors increasingly experience long-term physical, cognitive, and psychological impairments following discharge from intensive care, a cluster of conditions commonly referred to as post-intensive care syndrome (PICS), a term introduced in 2012 to describe these outcomes. Reported prevalence of such impairments varies, with some studies estimating that they affect up to 60% of survivors, and they are recognised as a significant public health issue. Research into post-intensive care recovery has highlighted ongoing challenges including variability in patient outcomes, limitations in current terminology and phenotyping, and the need for improved outcome definitions. Proposed priorities for future research include improved expectation management, enhanced patient and caregiver support, better integration between hospital and community-based care, and the development of more contemporary and interdisciplinary study designs incorporating both quantitative and qualitative methods.^[23][24][25]

Other awards and positions held include:

• 2025: Mentor Award, Cardiovascular Alliance, Excellence in Cardiovascular Research Awards^[28]
• 2024: Co-President, International ECMO Network^[29]
• 2024: Director, Queensland representative, Australian Cardiovascular Alliance^[30]
• 2023: Advisory Board Member, Intensive Care Medicine Experimental
• 2023: Metro North Researcher of the Year, The Prince Charles Hospital Staff Excellence Awards^[31]
• 2023: Inaugural MedTech Ambassador, Brisbane Economic Development Agency (BEDA)^[32]
• 2022: Honorary Research Fellow, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood
• 2022: Affiliate Membership, Translational Research Institute
• 2021: Meritorious Contributions to Delivery of Extracorporeal Support, Extracorporeal Life Support Organization
• 2004: Founder and Director, Critical Care Research Group, The Prince Charles Hospital, The Institute for Molecular Bioscience
• 2012: Director Intensive Care Unit, St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital, UnitingCare^[33]
• 2010: Adjunct Professor, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland
• 2010: Adjunct Professor, School of Medicine & Dentistry, Griffith University
• 2012: Honorary Adjunct Professor, School of Medicine, Bond University
• 2009: Adjunct Professor, School of Public Health and Social Work, Faculty of Health, Faculty of Engineering, QUT^[34]
• 2005: Adjunct Clinical Professor, Central Clinical School, Monash University^[35]