As a  clinician in the Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit, I strive to provide cutting-edge care for severely brain-injured patients. In my relatively young field of neurocritical care, many of our treatment paradigms lack the mature evidence base of other fields. As a clinician-scientist it is my goal to conduct clinical trials to enhance understanding of underlying pathophysiology, and to test novel mechanism-based treatments to aid the maturation of our subspecialty.

Through clinical encounters with challenging patients during my fellowship, I developed a strong interest in autonomic dysfunction after acute  brain injury. I became dissatisfied with mere symptom management, and desired to understand the pathophysiology underlying the clinical manifestations we observed in the ICU. Since joining the faculty at OHSU, my interests have broadened to include other types of autonomic dysfunction, specifically hyperthermia or fever, after severe brain injury. To address this clinically relevant issue, I designed an observational study to test the hypothesis that early fever after severe TBI was associated with neurologic deterioration, and/or promoted the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. I was awarded the Oregon Multidisciplinary Training Program for Emergency Medicine Clinical Research K12 for my projected, entitled "Fever and Inflammation in Neurotrauma (FAINT)."

Honors:

2010—Abstract Dual Catheters in Severe Intraventricular Hemorrhage selected  for presentation in Critical Care and Emergency Neurology Section Highlights in the Field at the 62nd American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting, Toronto,  Canada.

2010—Awarded a fellowship to attend NINDS sponsored Clinical Trial Methods Course in  August 2010 for Dysautonomia in Traumatic Brain Injury protocol.

2011—Abstract Anatomical basis of paroxsysmal sympathetic hyperactivity chosen to be featured as a daily highlight among the best abstracts accepted  for presentation at the 24th Annual Congress of the European Society  of Intensive Care Medicine.

2012—Winner of the American Academy of Neurology Practice Research Training  Fellowship Grant 2012 for Quantifying Paroxysmal Sympathetic Hyperactivity  in Traumatic Brain Injury.

2013—Session entitled "Weathering the Storm: Brain Injury & the Autonomic  Nervous System" selected as the members submitted session for the 11th  annual NCS meeting.

2014—American Heart Association Young Investigator Award for abstract, "Differences  in Inflammatory Dysregulation in TBI versus Major Trauma" submitted to the 2014  Resuscitation Science Symposium, Chicago, IL.