Pete Lax, MBChB

Dr. Pete Lax, MBChB (Hons.), Dip SML, Dip RTM RCSEd, FRCA, FFICM, FIMC, is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He is a highly respected anesthesiologist and intensivist with a distinguished background in trauma care, military medicine, and pre-hospital emergency services. A graduate of the University of Leicester Medical School in 2005, Dr. Lax went on to earn multiple postgraduate qualifications in UK and US training programs inside and outside of the Military. His qualifications include Fellowships of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, Fellowship of the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, and Fellowship of the Faculty of Immediate (Pre-Hospital) Care of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. Dr. Lax’s clinical career spans both civilian and military spheres. He served for 14 years in the Royal Air Force, reaching the rank of Wing Commander, and delivered anesthesia, critical care, and medical retrieval services across five continents. His deployments and operational experiences profoundly shaped his expertise in high-acuity trauma, resuscitation, and austere medicine. In 2014, he completed a trauma anesthesia fellowship at Shock Trauma, University of Maryland Medical Center, enhancing his focus on advanced trauma systems and perioperative care in critically injured patients. At Johns Hopkins, Dr. Lax provides anesthesia for complex elective and emergency surgical procedures, ICU and plays an active role in medical education. He is particularly engaged in educating residents and fellows in the use of Target Controlled Infusion (TCI) techniques for Total Intravenous Anesthesia (TIVA), an area of clinical practice in which he has significant expertise. His academic interests include human factors in healthcare, interprofessional education, and the development of trauma care systems that support rapid, coordinated responses to critical injury. Dr. Lax is the editor of the Textbook of Acute Trauma Care, a comprehensive reference widely used in trauma training, where he has shaped its educational and clinical content to reflect current best practices. He also serves as an instructor on multiple life support and trauma care courses, including the European Trauma Course, where he trains multidisciplinary teams in advanced trauma management principles. His work has been recognized with honors such as the Lady Cade Medal, awarded by the Royal Air Force and the Royal College of Surgeons of England for excellence in trauma care. Dr. Lax combines clinical excellence with a deep commitment to education, research, and system-level improvements in anesthesiology and trauma medicine, making a meaningful impact across academic, operational, and frontline care environments.