Charles Andrew Vacchiano

Dr. Vacchiano joined the faculty at the School of Nursing in 2008. He earned a BSN at Wright State University (OH) in 1979, a Bachelor of Science in Anesthesia from George Washington University in 1984, and a PhD in Physiology from the Medical University of South Carolina in 1995. He spent 26 years in the U.S. Navy as a practicing nurse anesthetist, educator, and researcher. During this time, he provided anesthesia care at stateside and overseas hospitals and aboard naval combat vessels, taught and performed clinical research in the Navy Nurse Corps Anesthesia Program, and was the Director of Biomedical Sciences Division at the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory.

Following his retirement from the U.S. Navy, Dr. Vacchiano became Director of the Gooding Institute, Bay Medical Center Nurse Anesthesia Program. He has published in multiple journals (including American Journal of Physiology, Cardiovascular Research, Shock, and the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists Journal, and serves as a reviewer for several agencies and journals. He has been elected President of the Board of Directors for the National Board for Certification and Recertification of Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA), and is a member of the NBCRNA task force developing recommendations for new CRNA recertification requirements. Dr. Vacchiano is the author of a chapter on regional anesthesia in the only anesthesia textbook written by nurse anesthetists. He was named the American Association of Nurse Anesthetist Researcher of the Year in 2007.

Dr. Vacchiano's research has been funded by several government and private agencies. His research interests include extremes of oxygen exposure in cell, animal and human models, and clinical studies in anesthesia and critical care.