Departmental News

Maternal mortality rates in the United States reached 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020, the highest among industrialized nations, and driven by the high medical complexity of our aging maternal population, as well as racial and geographic disparities…read more...

At the 2022 annual congress for the Scandinavian Society of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (SSAI), Michael Pinsky, MD delivered three lectures, one of which drew the attention of Oslo journalist Leni Aurora Brækhus. His talk “European export of intensive…read more...

After discharge from the ICU following a life-threatening injury or illness, many patients—both adults and children—experience significant health problems that affect their ability to function in activities of daily living. These impairments, known as Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS), may…read more...

The 19^th Annual Safar Symposium, held as a hybrid event on May 26-27, 2021, introduced attendees to Freedom House 2.0, in addition to the symposium’s traditional program of investigator presentations, a keynote address, multi-departmental trainees’ research day, and the…read more...

Professor Melinda Hamilton, MD, MS graduated in the class of 2022 from the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine^® (ELAM) program. Dr. Hamilton joins Ann Thompson, MD, MHCPM and Lori Shutter, MD, FNCS, FCCM as the only other ELAM-trained…read more...

The UPMC Neurologic Critical Care (NCC) fellowship training program became one of the first five such programs in the US to be granted accreditation status by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The ACGME is the preeminent accrediting…read more...

At the 11^th Annual Mitchell P. Fink Scholar Day, four trainee investigators were awarded prizes for their research in one of four categories. Fink Scholar Day featured a keynote presentation by R. Scott Watson, MD, MPH, professor of Pediatrics from…read more...

At the 11^th Annual Mitchell P. Fink Scholar Day, four trainee investigators were awarded prizes for their research in one of four categories. Fink Scholar Day featured a keynote presentation by R. Scott Watson, MD, MPH, professor of Pediatrics from…read more...

The 11^th Annual Mitchell P. Fink Scholar Day—a signature scholarship event of the Department of Critical Care Medicine—will be held on April 14, 2022, from noon to 4 pm at the University Club. This year’s plenary speaker is…read more...

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic—and with modest expectations for attendance—Dennis Simon, MD and two colleagues launched the monthly Pediatric Neurocritical Care Educational Series (PNCCES) in July 2021. The aim was to create a virtual program to foster advanced…read more...

Intensivists and ICU nurses are facing extraordinary pressures and stressors as they valiantly care for desperately sick COVID-19 patients. Obstacles come from all directions: rationed ICU beds and ventilators, scarce supply of medications, and a steady stream of colleagues who…read more...

The 11^th Annual Mitchell P. Fink Scholar Day—a signature scholarship event of the Department of Critical Care Medicine—will be held on April 14, 2022 from noon to 4 pm at the University Club. The Fink Scholar Day…read more...

Of hospitalized children who tested or were presumed positive for SARS-CoV-2, 44% developed neurological symptoms, and these kids were more likely to require intensive care than their peers who didn’t experience such symptoms, according to a new study led by…read more...

Five faculty members and one research fellow in the Department of Critical Care Medicine were the first to sit—and all passed—the inaugural examination for certification in Neurocritical Care by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Firas Abdulmajeed, MD, ChB,…read more...

The Department of Critical Cale Medicine will continue its strong tradition of leadership at the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) when two faculty members—Lori Shutter, MD and Melinda Hamilton, MD, MS—take up their committee roles in the coming weeks.…read more...

Assistant Professor Kristina Rudd, MD, MPH has been honored with a 2022 Young Physician-Scientist Award by The American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) in recognition of her research at the intersection of population health and critical care delivery. She integrates…read more...

The Office of Education has promoted three faculty members to leadership roles within the Pediatric Critical Care Training Program. Melinda Hamilton, MD, MS is promoted to pediatric division chief of the Multidisciplinary Critical Care Training Program (MCCTP). Dana Fuhrman, DO,…read more...

Drs. Hamilton, Fuhrman and Ghassemzadeh Promoted to New Education Roles

The Office of Education has promoted three faculty members to leadership roles within the Pediatric Critical Care Training Program. Melinda Hamilton, MD, MS is promoted to pediatric division chief of the…read more...

The Office of Education is pleased to announce the promotion of Abigail Biery to GME senior department manager, effective January 3, 2022. Abigail manages three fellowship programs—Surgical Critical Care, Neurologic Critical Care, and Anesthesiology Critical Care—as well as the medical…read more...

The Critical Illness Recovery Center for ChiLdrEn (CIRCLE) has launched a longitudinal outcomes program that focuses on children with a newly acquired brain injury (ABI). Critical illness and a stay in an ICU are associated with functional impairment in children…read more...

Professor Douglas White, MD, MAS, has been elected a Hastings Center fellow in the class of 2021. The 24 new fellows join a distinguished group of more than 200 Hastings Center fellows. Their work informs scholarship and public understanding…read more...

Ericka Fink, MD, MS and colleagues on the COVID-19 Common Data Elements Working Groups were selected to receive a Collaboration Award by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at a virtual celebration on November…read more...

July 10, 1929 – September 5, 2021

Critical care medicine was in its infancy in 1968 when Ake Grenvik moved with his wife and four children from Sweden to Pittsburgh for a one-year fellowship in critical care medicine.

Perhaps Ake was in…read more...

Professor Raghavan Murugan, MD, MS, with support from a team of investigators at the Center for Critical Care Nephrology and CRISMA, has been awarded two R01 grants, valued at more than $3.3 million, from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive…read more...

Associate professor Timothy Girard, MD, MSCI received a U01 award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute entitled “The Maximizing Extubation outcomes Through Educational and Organizational Research (METEOR) Trial.” The METEOR trial will examine innovative interprofessional education strategies designed…read more...

The Department of Critical Care Medicine announces the appointment of three faculty members who have been appointed to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Academy of Master Educators, which recognizes and rewards excellence in medical education. Melinda Hamilton, MD, MS;…read more...

The Department of Critical Care Medicine announces the promotion of three advanced practice providers, effective August 15, 2021. Their new leadership roles coincide with the department’s adoption of an enhanced APP staffing model, which sees the growth of APP clinical…read more...

UPMC and Pitt Provide First Results of Largest Comparative Randomized Trial of Monoclonal Antibody Treatment for COVID-19

PITTSBURGH (9/8/2021) – Monoclonal antibodies—an outpatient treatment that must be given soon after COVID-19 diagnosis—significantly decrease hospitalization and death from the disease. Real-world data from…read more...

Jump to remembrances and tributes >

UPDATE: Funeral arrangements in Pittsburgh

The Grenvik family will receive friends on Saturday, September 25, 2021, from 10 am until noon at Beinhauer Funeral Home, 2828 Washington Road, McMurray, PA 15317. A graveside…read more...

Assistant professor Raj Ramanan, MD has been appointed the ECMO medical director for UPMC Presbyterian. In this role, Dr. Ramanan is responsible for the management and oversight of the ECMO program including assisting to set policy, monitor quality, credential providers,…read more...

The Department of Critical Care Medicine is pleased to announce the promotions of Dr. Melinda “Mindy” Hamilton to professor of Critical Care Medicine and Pediatrics, effective March 1, 2021, and the promotion of Dr. Brad Butcher to associate professor of…read more...

A team of pediatric critical care investigators, in collaboration with the Department of Biomedical Informatics, has been awarded a five-year, $3.1 million R01 grant entitled “Bio-digital Rapid Alert to Identify Neuromorbidity (BRAIN)” from the National Institute of Neurologic Diseases and Stroke (NINDS). The grant…read more...

Emily Brant’s interest in prehospital medicine was sparked in the skies over Pittsburgh when she was a flight physician for STAT MedEvac during her Emergency Medicine residency. That interest matured during her T32 research fellowship and has led to a…read more...

Pediatric critical care fellow Michael Certo, MD, MM, has written about the challenges faced by intensivists when communicating remotely—due to pandemic-imposed restrictions—with family members and care givers of critically ill patients. He focused on the inherent subjectivity of certain terms…read more...

The global REMAP-CAP: COVID clinical trial continues to expand internationally with CCM alumni increasingly part of the REMAP community. As of June 2021, there were 312 REMAP:CAP global clinical trial sites and 22 in the United States.

“Medical society members around…read more...

Investigators at the Center for Critical Care Nephrology have shown that an improved specificity for an electronic alert for acute kidney injury (AKI)—generated by the clinical decision support system (CDSS) imbedded in electronic health records of UPMC hospitals in western…read more...

Associate professor Melinda Hamilton, MD, MS, was elected medical staff president of UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh for a two-year term beginning in 2023. Dr. Hamilton will serve the next two years as president-elect prior to taking office. 

“I am honored…read more...

The model hospital policy for allocating scarce critical care resources during the pandemic (originally distributed in March 2020) has been updated to include several modifications that strengthen the equity focus of the policy. Authored by Douglas White, MD, MAS and…read more...

Melinda Hamilton, MD, MS has been selected as a fellow in the class of 2022 in the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine^® (ELAM) program. ELAM is tailored specifically to expanding the national pool of qualified women candidates for…read more...

Weighted “Lottery” Provides Greater Access to Scarce COVID-19 Medications for Those Most Impacted

A weighted “lottery” designed to increase access to the antiviral drug remdesivir during the May-July 2020 COVID-19 surge for those most affected by the coronavirus, including members…read more...

The 18^th Annual Safar Symposium held May 19-20, 2021, broke gender, participation, and geographic records in addition to being the first virtual event. For the first time, the awards for best abstracts were won by seven women junior investigators in…read more...

Zhiyong Peng, MD and Colleagues Win Golden Team Award

There are few physicians in the world with more COVID-19 experience than Zhiyong Peng, MD. He is head of Critical Care Medicine at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University in China and…read more...

The 18^th Annual Safar Symposium—a two-day event that includes the Multi-Departmental Trainees’ Research Day and the WISER Simulation Lecture Session—will be held on May 19-20, 2021 as a virtual event. The theme for the event is “Future Visions for Neuroprotection,…read more...

The University of Pittsburgh and UPMC collaboration seeks partners from medical institutions across the US to join the global REMAP-CAP: COVID clinical trial that is testing the efficacy of COVID-19 treatment. REMAP-CAP is a platform trial for suspected or confirmed…read more...

Ake Grenvik, MD, DJ, MCCM, left his native Sweden for Pittsburgh when intensive care medicine was in its infancy. It was a moment in time when three forward thinkers—Peter Safar, William Shoemaker and Max Harry Weil—had a vision for a…read more...

In a fitting tribute to its founding ties to the University of Pittsburgh, the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) selected Lillian Liang Emlet, MD, MS to co-chair the 50^th Anniversary Congress. She was one of three co-chairs to plan…read more...

Professor Jeremy Kahn, MD, MS was appointed Vice Chair for Research for the Department of Critical Care Medicine, effective February 1, 2021. He succeeds John Kellum, MD, who held the role for the past 12 years.

“Jeremy has done a fantastic…read more...

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) awarded a Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award (R37) to Hülya Bayır, MD for her R01 renewal entitled, “Oxidative Lipidomics in Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury.” The award was announced on February 8, 2021.

“The Javits Award…read more...

The 10^th Annual Mitchell P. Fink Scholar Day—a signature scholarship event of the Department of Critical Care Medicine—will be held on April 21, 2021 as a virtual event. Fink Scholar Day is an opportunity for junior faculty and fellows to…read more...

Associate Professor Timothy Girard, MD, MSCI, is appointed the Director of the Clinical Research, Investigation, and Systems Modeling of Acute Illness (CRISMA) Center, succeeding Derek Angus, MD, MPH, who founded the center in 2001 and stepped down to lead…read more...

For the first time, three Critical Care Medicine fellows will share the McGrevin Post-Doctoral Award. The 2021 recipients are Stephanie LaCount, MD, Michael Certo, MD, and Mark Andreae, MD, who are all fellows in the Department of Critical Care Medicine.…read more...

Professor and Vice Chair for Research John Kellum, MD announced he is taking a two-year leave of absence to join Spectral Medical, a biotech company, as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Kellum will retain his faculty appointment at the University of…read more...

As part of an ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion, more than 30 faculty members of the Department of Critical Care Medicine renounced the lack of female representation on scientific panels by signing a pledge to not serve on all-male…read more...

The international COVID–LMIC Task Force published a collection of 10 journal articles on January 12, 2021 that offer guidance on severe COVID-19 management in resource-limited settings of low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Kristina Rudd, MD, MPH is a member of…read more...

For more than three decades, clinical professor of Critical Care Medicine Lakshmipathi “Luke” Chelluri, MD, MPH has been a beacon of calmness in the ICU and a physician dedicated to translating his clinical findings into practice. His retirement from the…read more...

Surging COVID-19 cases in recent weeks have led to intensive care units across the country nearing capacity. In turn, this has prompted governments and health systems to review their existing ICU triage protocols for allocation of scarce ventilators and critical…read more...

AMGEN and Eisai to Participate in the Immune Modulation Domain of REMAP-COVID, an Adaptive Clinical Trial to Test Interventions for Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19

AMGEN’s Apremilast and Eisai’s Eritoran to be Evaluated Across Multiple International Trial Sites Within the Remap Network

On…read more...

Pediatric critical care investigator Ericka Fink, MD, MS has been awarded an INCLINE grant from the Neurocritical Care Society to support the pediatrics arm of the Global Consortium Study of Neurological Dysfunction in COVID-19 (GCS NeuroCOVID).

The University of Pittsburgh is…read more...

Five faculty members in the Department of Critical Care Medicine have propelled the University of Pittsburgh to number three in the world, and first in the US, for institutions studying septic shock. The 2020 rankings, compiled by ExpertScape, identified…read more...

UPMC Announces Results of International Trial

In a tremendous demonstration of global collaboration, an international team led by clinician-scientists at UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have pooled data from 121 hospitals in eight countries to…read more...

Assistant Professor Nahmah Kim-Campbell, MD, MS was awarded a K23 grant entitled “Mechanisms of Cell-Free Plasma Hemoglobin-Mediated Renal Injury After Cardiopulmonary Bypass” from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development. The project will investigate the…read more...

One of the world’s most prestigious academic medical journals announced today that it is strengthening its editorial team with expertise from UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Dr. Derek Angus, chief health care innovation officer at…read more...

Professor Hülya Bayır, MD received a U01 award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases entitled “Radiation Mitigators Targeting Regulated Necrosis Pathways of Parthanatos Pyroptosis.” The project will explore the potential of small molecule compounds to mitigate radiation…read more...

A team of health policy researchers, led by professor Jeremy Kahn, MD, MS from the Department of Critical Care Medicine, was awarded the 2020 HCUP Outstanding Article of the Year Award in the Policy Category. Their article “Association Between…read more...

Professor and vice chair Emeritus Michael Pinsky, MD, has been selected to receive the 2020 American Thoracic Society Assembly on Critical Care Annual Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is given in recognition and appreciation of Dr. Pinsky’s career dedicated to…read more...

The Global Coalition for Adaptive Research (GCAR), in collaboration with UPMC, and Eisai Co., Ltd. announced on June 30, 2020 that Eisai Co., Ltd. will join REMAP-COVID, a substudy of REMAP-CAP (A Randomized, Embedded, Multifactorial, Adaptive Platform trial for…read more...

UPMC announced, on June 22, 2020, the appointment of Derek C. Angus, MD, MPH as UPMC chief healthcare innovation officer. His appointment comes at a time when healthcare is undergoing unparalleled change. The acceleration of biomedical discovery, together with advances in technology and…read more...

Advanced Practice Provider Jane Guttendorf, DNP, CRNP celebrated 40-years employment with UPMC on June 9, 2020. She began her career at Presbyterian University Hospital in 1980 after completing her BSN. She was assigned to the hospital’s only ICU, a 16-bed…read more...

The Department of Critical Care Medicine is pleased to announce the promotion of two faculty members: Raghavan Murugan, MD, MS has been promoted to professor of Critical Care Medicine, effective March 1, 2020 and David Wallace, MD, MPH has been…read more...

The members of the Fink Scholar Day Committee are pleased to announce the winners of the four abstract categories for the 9^th Annual Mitchell P. Fink Scholar Day, held as a virtual scholarship event on June 4, 2020.

Clinical Research category –…read more...

The 9^th Annual Mitchell P. Fink Scholar Day, a signature scholarship event of the Department of Critical Care Medicine, will be held as a virtual event via Zoom from 2pm to 4pm on Thursday, June 4, 2020.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic causing…read more...

Available now online:

To assist hospitals and health systems to implement a transparent and fair approach to allocate scarce medications to treat patients with COVID-19, we have created a model hospital policy and allocation framework. Hospitals and health systems are welcome…read more...

Assistant professor of Critical Care Medicine, Dennis Simon, MD was awarded an R21 grant entitled, “Gut Microbial Metabolite-mediated Neuroprotection in Traumatic Brain Injury” from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The multi-PI grant includes Bob Clark, MD, professor…read more...

Assistant Professor of Critical Care Medicine, Christopher Horvat, MD, MHA, was awarded a K23 grant entitled, “A Learning Health System Approach to Precision Sedation and Analgesia in Critically Ill Children,” from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health…read more...

Bradley Molyneaux, MD, PhD has been promoted to the position of co-director of the Neurovascular Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, effective immediately. He will share the co-director role with Marie Baldisseri, MD, MPH and work under Lori…read more...

Professors Robert Clark, MD and Gilles Clermont, MD have been awarded a two-year, Multiple Principal Investigators Exploratory Neuroscience Research Grant (R21) from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The study is entitled “Innovative Methods for Real-time Assessment of…read more...

UPMC Leads Global Effort to Fast-Track Testing of Hydroxychloroquine and other COVID-19 Therapies with ‘Learning While Doing’ Clinical Trial

A novel clinical trial developed by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine launched today at UPMC to address one of the…read more...

Colleagues from UPMC, Allegheny Health Network (AHN) and Pittsburgh VA Healthcare have formed the Western Pennsylvania ECMO Collaboration Team to provide expertise and advice on the use of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) for COVID-19 patients. The collaboration was spearheaded by…read more...

Available now online:

A Model Hospital Policy for Allocating Scarce Critical Care Resources

To assist hospitals and health systems to implement a fair and transparent approach to allocating scarce critical care resources during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have created a…read more...

Associate Professor Timothy Girard, MD, MSCI is to be officially inducted as a member of The American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) during the Society's annual dinner and new member induction ceremony in Chicago on April 3, 2020. Dr. Girard…read more...

In a first for the UPMC Multidisciplinary Critical Care Training Program (MCCTP), five former fellows have passed the Neurocritical Care certification examination. Namir Khandker, MD trained in the two-year Adult Neurologic Critical Care Program while Vikram Balakumar, MD, Ruth Musselman,…read more...

Novel adaptive design aims to optimize at-home interventions to reduce complications and readmission risk for sepsis and pneumonia survivors

The UPMC Center for High-Value Health Care, a nonprofit research organization housed within UPMC Insurance Services, announced Feb. 19, 2020 it has…read more...

Principal investigators Bob Clark, MD and Hülya Bayır, MD have received funding for a five-year, $2.9 million, R01 award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke entitled “Druggable Mitochondrial Targets for Treatment of Cerebral Ischemia.” Their goal is…read more...

Assistant professor Kate Kernan, MD, MFA, is one of three physician-scientists from across the United States selected as a 2020 Scholar in the prestigious Pediatric Critical Care and Trauma Scientist Development Program (PCCTSDP). The program is funded by the Eunice…read more...

Twice as many people as previously believed are dying of sepsis worldwide, according to an analysis published today in The Lancet and announced at the Critical Care Reviews annual meeting in Belfast. Among them are a disproportionately…read more...

Research published in American Journal of Critical Care finds CCRN certification a differentiating factor in nurses’ knowledge of and perceived value in evidence-based practice

Nurses with specialty certification may play an integral part in speeding translation of the latest research into…read more...

Kristina Rudd, MD, MPH, was honored with the Allen Humphrey Excellence in Mentoring Award for her mentorship of a medical student participating in the Dean’s Summer Research Scholarship Program (DSRP) in 2019. Dr. Rudd mentored Gabriela Galli, a second-year Pitt…read more...

John Kellum, MD, delivered a lively talk on December 9, 2019, entitled “The Inconvenient Truth About Acute Kidney Injury” for the Provost’s Inaugural Lecture to mark his appointment to the Endowed Chair in Critical Care Medicine Research. During the talk…read more...

Alexis Steinberg, MD, received a Young Investigator Award for the top-scoring abstract by a trainee at the 2019 Resuscitation Science Symposium (ReSS) in Philadelphia on November 16-17. The Young Investigator Awards recognize the top scoring abstracts submitted by early career…read more...

Previously vaccinated adult patients who were hospitalized with influenza A had reduced morbidity and mortality compared to non-vaccinated patients despite the poor vaccine matching recognized for the 2014-2015 flu season, according to a study by physician-scientists at the University of…read more...

It was not the wedding they would have planned but “It worked out perfect,” said the bride, Amy Harvey Shilling, of Erie.

Her now husband, Matt Shilling sought medical care at UPMC Hamot after antibiotics for bronchitis did not resolve his…read more...

Penny Sappington, MD, has been promoted to Associate Professor, effective August 1, 2019. She is the medical director of the ECMO Division for Procirca Perfusion Services and for the Procirca ECMO Simulation Committee, in addition she is the program director…read more...

Sherry Chou, MD, MMSc, was been selected to receive the Neurocritical Care Society’s 2019 Investing in Clinical Neurocritical Care Research (INCLINE) Grant, announced at the Society's annual meeting in Vancouver on October 15. She will use the $100,000 grant for…read more...

David T. Huang, MD, MPH, has been promoted to Professor of Critical Care Medicine, effective September 1, 2019. He is the associate medical director of the Transplant Intensive Care Unit at UPMC Presbyterian/Montefiore and the director of the Multidisciplinary Acute…read more...

Dennis Phillips, DO, has been appointed to the position of co-chair of the Leadership in Education And Patient Safety (LEAPS) committee, a sub-committee of the Graduate Medical Education committee. The LEAPS committee oversees the experience and safety of residents and…read more...

Patrick M. Kochanek, MD, MCCM, was awarded the title of Distinguished Professor by Chancellor Patrick Gallagher, effective October 1, 2019. The Distinguished Professor title is the highest honor that the University of Pittsburgh accords a member of the professorate. Dr. Kochanek…read more...

Fostering Across-Campus Research Collaboration on Acute Kidney Injury and Promoting Kidney Health Education

The one-day AKI Symposium on October 31, 2019 will feature scientific experts presenting the latest acute kidney injury research, abstract presentations by five junior investigators, and two…read more...

Trauma experts at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC will join a multi-center trial to evaluate the effectiveness of an experimental treatment for trauma-related abdominal bleeding. 

The two-year study — REVIVE: Reducing Exsanguination Via In-Vivo Expandable Foam — will…read more...

Critically ill children brought to hospital emergency departments that are ill-prepared to care for pediatric emergencies have more than three times the odds of dying compared to those brought to hospitals well-equipped to care for them, according to an analysis…read more...

One out of four sepsis patients who survive their hospital stay have elevated levels of inflammation a year after discharge, and they are at higher risk for major health problems and death, according to a study led by physician-scientists at…read more...

Death rates from sepsis fell faster in New York than expected—and faster than in peer states—following the introduction of the nation’s first state-mandated sepsis regulation, according to an analysis led by University of Pittsburgh researchers and published today in read more...

Associate Professor Sherry Chou, MD, was awarded an R21 grant to determine if an early biomarker test can identify subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) patients who will develop further brain injury and long-term disability. The study, entitled “MicroRNA Endotypes of Systemic Inflammation in…read more...

Two new faculty members—Rachel Sackrowitz, MD, and Jonathan Bishop, MD—were recruited for leadership positions in the Department of Critical Care Medicine, effective July 1, 2019.

Rachel Sackrowitz, MD, MBA, is the inaugural Chief Medical Officer of the UPMC ICU Service Center.…read more...

Vice Chair Emeritus Michael Pinsky, MD, has been elevated to the rank of APS Fellow by the American Physiological Society, effective June 4, 2019. The fellowship is an honor bestowed on senior scientists who have “demonstrated excellence in science, have…read more...

People who receive opioids for the first time while hospitalized have double the risk of continuing to receive opioids for months after discharge compared with their hospitalized peers who are not given opioids, according to research led by scientists at…read more...

Dana Fuhrman, DO, MS was awarded a K23 grant for an innovative study of renal fitness in young adults with congenital heart disease (CHD). She will lead a group of investigators from critical care, nephrology and cardiac surgery to unravel…read more...

The faster fluid is removed using continuous dialysis from patients with failing kidneys, the higher the likelihood they will die in the next several months, according to a study published today in JAMA Network Open by University of…read more...

Assistant Professor of Critical Care Medicine and Emergency Medicine Christopher Schott, MD, MS, RDMS, FACEP, is the recipient of a 2019 Faculty Award from Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society (AOA) at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The award recognizes…read more...

Reversibly paralyzing and heavily sedating hospitalized patients with severe breathing problems do not improve outcomes in most cases, according to a National Institutes of Health-funded clinical trial conducted at dozens of North American hospitals and led by clinician-scientists at…read more...

The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Carnegie Mellon University each have been awarded four-year contracts totaling more than $7.2 million from the read more...

Research conducted by associate professor Chris Seymour, MD, MSc, and colleagues in the Department of Critical Care Medicine finds four distinct sepsis types. The “Sepsis ENdotyping in Emergency Care” (SENECA) Project used computer algorithms to analyze 29 clinical…read more...

The Office of Education at the Department of Critical Care Medicine is pleased announce the appointment of three Chief Fellows for the 2019-2020 academic year.

The Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Chief Fellow is Madiha Raees, MD, who is one of 14 pediatric…read more...

Jeremy Kahn, MD, MS, is the first CCM faculty member to receive an Outstanding Investigator Award—known as an R35 award—from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health. His R35, entitled “Organizational strategies for…read more...

A new textbook for intensivists, entitled Hemodynamic Monitoring, was published recently and will be available for purchase at the 39^th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine in Brussels, March 19-22, 2019. The book, edited by Michael Pinsky, MD,…read more...

The 8^th Annual Mitchell P. Fink Scholar Day, a signature scholarship event of the Department of Critical Care Medicine, will be held on the afternoon of April 16, 2019 at the University Club. The event is an opportunity for junior…read more...

Jessica Wallisch, MD, a former T32 post-doctoral scholar in the Safar Center for Resuscitation Research, acknowledged her Pittsburgh-based research training and mentoring in an “ECI Biocommentary” in the journal Pediatric Research, published on January 19, 2019. Two pivotal mentors…read more...

Threadrite IV moved a step closer to reality in kids when Cameron Dezfulian, MD, was awarded a $50,000 grant for pediatric development of the product from the Philadelphia Pediatric Device Consortium…read more...

The Department of Critical Care Medicine (CCM) announced the venue for the 2019 Alumni Reunion to be held during the 48th Annual Congress of the Society of Critical Care Medicine. All current and former fellows are invited to join Lori…read more...

Derek Angus, MD, MPH, and John Kellum, MD, are identified as researchers making an impact in solving the world’s biggest challenges by Clarivate Analytics in the annual 2018 Highly Cited Researchers (HCR) list. Due to their extensive critical…read more...

Alicia Au, MD, MS, has been promoted to associate medical director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh (CHP), effective August 1, 2018. Dr. Au is an excellent clinician who is deeply committed to improving outcomes in critically…read more...

The Safar Center for Resuscitation Research was recently gifted an endowment made in memory of Mr. Lloyd Reback. This special endowment of over $300,000 will support new research initiatives on the topic of anoxic brain injury undertaken by Safar Center…read more...

September is National Sepsis Awareness Month, which also includes World Sepsis Day on the 13th. The Sepsis Alliance launched a first responder training video on August 11, 2018 to teach EMS personnel how to properly and quickly identify sepsis cases.…read more...

Under the guidance of co-principal investigator, Lori Shutter, MD, the University of Pittsburgh is a coordinating center for the $32 million Brain Oxygen Optimization in Severe TBI, Phase 3 (BOOST-3) clinical trial, which aims to improve outcomes for severe traumatic…read more...

Due to the growth and success of the pediatric critical care program, a number of leadership appointments have been made to ensure a strong leadership team directing and planning for the Division’s future. Robert Clark, MD, has been appointed to Vice…read more...

Fostering Across-Campus Research Collaboration on Acute Kidney Injury and Promoting Patient Advocacy and Kidney Health Education

VENUE: University of Pittsburgh, Starzl Biomedical Science Tower; Conference Room S120, 200 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh PA 15261

The 1-½ day AKI Symposium on October…read more...

Ian Barbash, MD, MS, a CRISMA associate faculty member and former CRISMA postdoctoral scholar, has been awarded a K08 grant by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality at the Department of Health and Human Services. The grant, entitled ‘Evaluating National…read more...

Two units of plasma given in a medical helicopter on the way to the hospital could increase the odds of survival by 10 percent for traumatically injured patients with severe bleeding, according to the results of a national clinical…read more...

Assistant Professor Alicia Au, MD, has been awarded a Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (known as a K23 award) from the National Institutes for Health for her pediatric neurological morbidity research. Entitled “Mixed Graphical Models for the Prediction…read more...

Surprisingly, there is very little data about how and where healthcare is delivered, especially in middle- and low-income counties. Primary investigator David Wallace, MD, hopes to change this with a Pitt SEED Project award from the University of Pittsburgh to…read more...

PITTSBURGH, July 24, 2018 - More than one in 10 children hospitalized with sepsis die, but when a series of clinical treatments and tests is completed within an hour of its detection, the chances of survival increase considerably, according to…read more...

When patients are discharged from the ICU, their life-threatening illness may have been treated, but a large number of patients still suffer from significant impairments in their ability to function in activities of daily living. The Critical Illness Recover Center…read more...

Jeremy Kahn, MD, has been appointed as incoming Chair of the NIH Health Services, Organization, and Delivery (HSOD) scientific review group. Dr. Kahn succeeded Justin B. Dimick, MD, from the University of Michigan Health System at the June 26 meeting…read more...

In a 'First Opinion' op-ed for STAT News, internationally recognized sepsis expert Derek Angus, MD, MPH, calls for a bold approach to fight and combat sepsis. Noting that the sepsis infection kills as many Americans each year as…read more...

Uniting the Practice of Medicine with the Business of Health Care

Three physicians from the Department of Critical Care Medicine have been selected to participate in the highly competitive 2018 Marshall Webster Physician Leadership Program. Assistant professors Chenell Donadee, MD, Matthew…read more...

Acute kidney injury (AKI), also known as a "kidney attack," is a serious problem during pregnancy yet there is no test to diagnose AKI early in pregnancy. Raghavan Murugan, MD, MS, has been awarded a grant from the Volunteer Service…read more...

The ICU Service Center launched the PARTNER family support program in the first of 32 intensive care units—the Transplant ICU— within the UPMC system on June 11, 2018. The PARTNER program is designed to improve the support provided to families…read more...

Research Assistant Professor Travis C. Jackson, PhD, was awarded a five-year R01 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Dr. Jackson and his colleagues will investigate the therapeutic potential of a new neuroprotective approach that is aimed…read more...

SAN DIEGO, May 20, 2018 - Overall antibiotic use was not curbed by giving physicians the results of biomarker tests in patients with suspected lower respiratory tract infections, according to findings from the Procalcitonin Antibiotic Consensus Trial (ProACT).…read more...

SAN DIEGO, May 23, 2018 - Families of critically ill hospital patients report higher satisfaction with clinician communication and a better perception of patient-centered care when the care team uses a low-cost strategy involving intensive emotional support and frequent meetings,…read more...

ATS 2018, San Diego, CA - Patients who receive an opioid for most of their hospital stay and patients who are still taking an opioid within 12 hours of being discharged from the hospital appear more likely to fill a…read more...

Nurse-Led Communication in the Intensive Care Unit

An editorial about the merit of the ICU nurse-led communication program adds a strong human dimension to the results of the PARTNER study by Douglas White, MD, MAS. The study…read more...

The theme for the 16th Annual Safar Symposium is "The Opioid Epidemic: Implications for Resuscitation Medicine." The symposium will be led by this year's Peter & Eva Safar Lecturer, Lewis S. Nelson, MD, whose talk will be "The Newest Opium…read more...

Ruchira Jha, MD, and colleagues are exploring a potential role of precision medicine in the understanding of cerebral edema in traumatic brain injury (TBI). Specifically, they are looking at the role of the sulfonylurea receptor 1 (Sur1) pathway related to…read more...

The Department of Critical Care Medicine (CCM) is pleased to announced the first annual CRISMA-DBMI Research Conference featuring nine speakers from the CRISMA Center in the Department of Critical Care Medicine and the Department of Biomedical Informatics. The 90-minute conference…read more...

Derek Angus, MD, talked with NIH Critical Care Fellow Dominique Pepper, MD, for the Breathe Easy podcast hosted by the American Thoracic Society (ATS). Their discussion on "Critical Perspective: Precision Medicine in the ICU" touches on an array of challenges…read more...

Congratulations to the 14 physicians from the Department of Critical Care Medicine who have been selected for the Best Doctors in America list for 2017. They are named in Pittsburgh Magazine's list of "Pittsburgh's Best Doctors in 2017."

Critical…read more...

October 29, 1959 - March 4, 2018

It is with sadness that the Department of Critical Care Medicine announce the unexpected passing of critical care medicine physician Chester B. "Skip" Hollinger, MD, on March 4, 2018.  

Dr. Hollinger was a graduate…read more...

Associate Professor Christopher Seymour, MD, MSc, was appointed a council member of the International Sepsis Forum (ISF) on March 1, 2018. ISF is an international collaboration formed to reduce the global burden of morbidity and mortality from sepsis.…read more...

Critical care intensivist and sepsis investigator Christopher W. Seymour, MD, MSc, is promoted to Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh. A faculty member in the Critical Care Medicine and Emergency Medicine departments since 2011, Dr. Seymour's promotion recognizes his…read more...

Associate professor Raghavan Murugan, MD, is conducting a multinational survey to understand fluid removal prescription and practices during renal replacement therapy in critically ill patients with fluid overload. The 25-question, anonymous survey has already been rolled out in…read more...

Intensivist, trauma surgeon and decision scientist Deepika Mohan, MD, MPH, is promoted to Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh. A faculty member in the Department of Critical Care Medicine since 2008, her promotion recognizes her innovative research program and…read more...

Jessica Wallisch, MD, a T32 post-doctoral scholar in the Safar Center for Resuscitation Research, was honored with the In-Training Award at the Society of Critical Care Medicine's 47^th Annual Congress, held in San Antonio, Tex., February 23-28, 2018.

Dr. Wallisch studies…read more...

Professor Matthew Rosengart, MD, MPH, is to be officially inducted as a member of The American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) during the Society's annual dinner in Chicago on April 20, 2018. Dr. Rosengart is one of 78 physician-scientists recognized…read more...

Internationally recognized intensivist leader Marie Baldiserri, MD, MPH, is promoted to Professor, capping a stellar clinical career with the Department of Critical Care Medicine that began in 1987 when she completed her two-year critical care fellowship under the tutelage of…read more...

In recognition of Professor Hülya Bayır, MD's, national and international prominence as an outstanding scholar at the University of Pittsburgh, she is the recipient of a 2018 Chancellor's Distinguished Research Award. Her award is in the Senior Scholar category, which…read more...

A Study at UPMC Health System Confirms It's Time to Apply User-Centered Design to Checklists

"Checklists are still important, but not a 'one and done'," says Jeremy Kahn, MD, who presented a qualitative study of the perceptions of rounding checklists in…read more...

Keynote address by Ciaran Staunton, founder of The Rory Staunton Foundation for Sepsis Prevention. CCM Speakers include Derek Angus, MD, MPH, Joseph Carcillo, MD, and Christopher Seymour, MD, MSc.

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A New Video Game Developed by CCM’s Deepika Mohan, MD, Could Help Doctors Save More Lives. Pittsburgh’s NPR station, WESA, aired a 4-minute news story on January 19, 2018 by journalist Sarah Boden about a new video game…read more...