Dr. Watson's research has been focused on understanding critical care and critical illness in the larger contexts of medical, social, and family systems. He serves as an associate editor of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, on the editorial board of the Journal of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, on the National Advisory Committee of the Pediatric Critical Care and Trauma Scientist Development Program, and on the Executive and Scientific Steering committees of the Pediatric Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators (PALISI www.PALISI.org). His primary research endeavors have focused on two areas: 1) the epidemiology and patterns of care of critical illnesses and 2) investigations of patient-centered and socially-relevant outcomes of critical care and critical illness. His research has been funded by NICHD and NHLBI and has included multi-center studies of long-term, patient-centered outcomes of newborns, infants, and older children with acute respiratory failure to determine the relationship between severe, acute illness and long term physical, psychological, cognitive, and family functioning, as well as the impact on overall health-related quality of life, resource use, and the development of post-intensive care syndrome.