Dr Edward Abraham
Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Abraham completed
his undergraduate and medical studies at Stanford University, then completed training in internal medicine and critical care at UCLA. He was on the faculty in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at UCLA for 10 years before moving to the University of Colorado where he became Director of the Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine and Vice Chair of the Department of Medicine. Since 2006, he has been Chair of the Department of Medicine at theof Alabama at Birmingham
Dr. Abraham’s research program focuses on underlying cellular mechanisms contributing to organ system dysfunction in sepsis and acute lung injury. He has been the overall principal investigator and has directed the coordinating center for a number of studies investigating novel agents for sepsis or acute lung injury. His laboratory is presently investigating the intersection of coagulation and inflammation, as well as the role of novel late acting proinflammatory mediators in inducing neutrophil activation and organ failure in sepsis and acute lung injury.
Dr Gordon Bernard- Past ISF Chair
Melinda Owen Bass Professor of Medicine, and Associate Vice Chancellor for Research at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Dr. Bernard formerly served as Director of the Division of Allergy/Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine from 2001-2007. Dr. Bernard’s research has focused primarily on improving the care and outcomes of critically ill patients with sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). He has been directly involved in NIH sponsored translational research in an academic setting for more than 25 years, supported by a wide variety of mechanisms (SCOR, R01, U01, S07, U54, Federal Contract, T-32, and industry contracts and grants). Dr. Bernard’s initial research program involved use of small and large animal models of disease to discern mechanisms and potential interventions of acute lung injury. In mid-career he transitioned to phase I and phase II translational research, exploring mechanisms and potential approaches to acute lung inflammation and lung failure. In the last 10 years Dr. Bernard has become increasingly involved in national and international multi-center clinical trials. His professional affiliations include the Association of American Physicians, the American Thoracic Society where he previously chaired the Assembly on Critical Care, the American College of Chest Physicians, and the Society for Critical Care Medicine. Gordon Bernard is also part of an NIH Roadmap initiative–a national collaboration of clinical trialists working to develop and introduce the next generation of study conduct and data gathering technology for large-scale multi-center trials, and also for exploratory phase I and II trials where interventions are complicated such as strict glucose control in a hospital environment. Dr. Bernard has also served on the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute’s Advisory Council.
Dr. Bernard’s commitment to clinical research led to his selection for the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s President’s Citation Award. He was also presented Vanderbilt’s Grant Liddle Award for faculty who demonstrate commitment and leadership in promoting an interest in research among young physicians. Dr. Bernard was selected as the “Annual Scholar for the MSCI/VPSD/VCRS programs” in 1994-an honor typically reserved for external recipients. These three programs encompass Vanderbilt’s key clinical research training programs and, depending on the program, accept post-residents in training, post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty on a competitive basis. Most recently (April of 2007), Dr. Bernard was presented a “Darby Award,” an award for excellence in teaching and research from his fellow faculty at Vanderbilt. And, for the second time, has been presented with the Roger C. Bone medal from the American College of Chest Physicians for excellence in the field of sepsis research.
In his position as Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Director for the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Dr. Bernard is charged with reorganizing the medical center’s approach to providing a clinical research infrastructure, creating a seamless clinical research process involving the IRB, grants, contracts, the General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) and the Clinical Trials Center (CTC). This has culminated in Vanderbilt’s successful application for a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) in 2007 for which Dr. Bernard is P.I.
Dr. Steven Opal – Past ISF Chair
Professor of Medicine at Brown Medical School, and the Director of the Infectious Disease Division at the Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USA.
He performed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center, Denver, CO and was a fellow in Infectious Diseases at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC. He undertook tropical medicine training at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Walter Reed Army Institute, in Washington DC.
Dr Opal is a member of many professional societies including the American Society for Microbiology, American Medical Association, Society for Critical care, International Immunocompromised Host Society, International Endotoxin Society, Infectious Disease Society of America, Shock Society, International Cytokine Society and the International Society of Infectious Diseases.
He serves on the editorial boards of Sepsis, Shock, Critical Care Medicine, Critical Care Forum and Advances in Sepsis.Dr Opal has also edited three text books- The Sepsis Text (along with J-L Vincent and J. Carlet), Endotoxin: Its Role in Health and Disease (along with S. Vogel, D. Morrison and H, Braude) and was the section editor for Special Problems in Infectious Disease Practice in Armstrong and Cohen’s Infectious Diseases, first and second editions.
He has served in many roles on various committees and research boards such as NIH Study Section for Microbiology and Mycology and General Clinical Research grant awards committee, the Medical Research Counsel (MRC) Review Section for Meningitis Research Foundation of the MRC, The British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy as an external reviewer of research proposal for novel anti-inflammatory agents-Basic science division, and has been a medical writer of National Examinations.