I am an anaesthesiologist whose research started in earnest in 2005, as a clinical research fellow for Professor Pierre Foex in Oxford. At the time my research was centred around perioperative cardiovascular outcomes. I returned to South Africa, but over time, I became distressed by poor surgical outcomes and my field of interest broadened to include all perioperative outcomes. I also realised how limited research resources were, and the damage of wasteful research with limited impact. The result was the formation of collaborative research groups (the South African Perioperative Research Group, and then the African Perioperative Research Group) to address perioperative outcomes in Africa. This network now spans over 40 African countries and includes over 2000 clinician investigators. It has produced impactful work on adult and paediatric surgical patients, and critically ill patients in Africa. While we try to generate the evidence needed to improve patient outcomes in Africa, I have penned my thoughts on what may work in a book ‘Safer Surgery for Africa: challenges and solutions.’ Now 20 years later, I am back in Oxford, in the Chair that my first mentor held in 2005. I am honoured to be in this position, and fortunate to be in Pembroke College, the home of the Chair of Anaesthetic Sciences.

I am married to Penny, and we have two children. When I can, I enjoy cycling, and in particular endurance cycling events, such as the Race Across South Africa, known locally as the Freedom Challenge.

Bluesky: @brucebiccard.bsky.social

Linkedin: @brucebiccard

Nepogodiev, D., et al. (2025). "Surgical health policy 2025-35: strengthening essential services for tomorrow's needs." Lancet 406(10505): 860–880.

Marcucci, M., et al. (2025). "Effects of a Hypotension-Avoidance Versus a Hypertension-Avoidance Strategy on Neurocognitive Outcomes After Noncardiac Surgery." Ann Intern Med 178(7): 909–920.

African Critical Illness Outcomes Study Investigators. (2025). "The African Critical Illness Outcomes Study (ACIOS): a point prevalence study of critical illness in 22 nations in Africa." Lancet 405(10480): 715–724.

Alvarez, A., et al. (2025). "Patient outcomes after surgery in 17 Latin American countries (LASOS): a 7 day prospective cohort study." The Lancet Global Health 13(4): e635–e645.

POISE-3 Investigators. (2025). "A sub-study of the POISE-3 randomized trial examined effects of a perioperative hypotension-avoidance strategy versus a hypertension-avoidance strategy on the risk of acute kidney injury." Kidney Int 107(1): 155–168.

ASOS-Paeds Investigators, (2024). "Outcomes after surgery for children in Africa (ASOS-Paeds): a 14-day prospective observational cohort study." Lancet 403(10435): 1482–1492.

Roshanov, P. S., et al. (2024). "One-year Outcomes after Discharge from Noncardiac Surgery and Association between Predischarge Complications and Death after Discharge: Analysis of the VISION Prospective Cohort Study." Anesthesiology 140(1): 8–24.

Fuller publications list can be found here:

Bruce Biccard — Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences