Division of Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

Critical Care Research

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has an active and diverse research community within the field of critical care. Researchers in the Division of Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine are working to understand, prevent, and cure critical illnesses. 

Our faculty has robust programs in basic mechanisms of acute lung injury, sepsis, ICU delirium, brain injury and recovery in critical care, lung transplantation, and pragmatic trials in critical care settings.   


Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction and Survivorship (CIBS) Center 

After surviving a critical illness, many patients and families experience lingering effects. New or worsening impairments in physical function, cognition, and psychological health may persist for months or years. These impairments, collectively known as the post-intensive care syndrome (PICS), are only beginning to be understood. At Vanderbilt, we seek to understand how PICS affects recovery from critical illness, and how these effects impact patients, families, health care, and larger systems. 


Pragmatic Critical Care Research Group 

Our faculty lead national research networks conducting randomized clinical trials in critical illness. Areas of expertise include sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, emergency tracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation, and fluid management.  Results of randomized trials led by our faculty have identified treatments that improve outcomes for critically ill adults and have been incorporated into international guidelines.   


Laboratory for Science and Translational in Critical Illness 

The Laboratory for Science and Translational in Critical Illness is a multi-disciplinary group of basic, translational, and clinical scientists who are focused on understanding mechanisms of organ injury during critical illness.  

Our group has several areas of research focus including sepsis, ARDS, delirium, multiorgan failure, sex differences in critical illness and lung transplantation with active research projects using ex vivo human lung perfusion, physiologic models of sepsis in mice, animal models of sterile and non-sterile acute lung injury, and large well-phenotyped clinical cohorts with critical illness. We also are interested in genetic contributors to disease and leveraging the electronic medical record for discovery.