Dr. McDonnell’s two main research pathways are within the field of patient safety & quality assurance. His first focus is opioid and tenfold drug error throughout pediatric hospital medicine. The long-term goal is to abolish harmful pediatric medication errors which he sees coming to fruition through a mixture of: 1) root –cause investigation of at-risk practices, drugs, and, system weaknesses; 2) innovative solutions that utilize informatics, interactive applications and technology; and 3) reduction of complexity and redundancies within hospital medication processes. His second focus is the design and performance of quality improvement projects within the Department of Anesthesia & Pain Medicine. These are suggested by the data collected within the department’s quality & safety program and have been implemented throughout many different facets of clinical pediatric anesthesia practice.