President’s Message: Research Triggers Thought . . . and Action!

SCCM is supporting transformative and informative research, encouraging thought and action through its grants, programs, sections, collaborative audits, and research networks.

What is research and how is it triggering thought and action within the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM)? Research is often defined as the creation of new knowledge or the use of existing knowledge to generate new concepts and understanding. SCCM supports transformative and informative research in many ways, including through its Research Section, research grant programs, quality improvement collaborative audits, and Discovery, the Critical Care Research Network. The summer issue of Critical Connections displays an array of research initiatives spanning data science, Discovery, and telecritical care.

During 2022-2023, SCCM received numerous applications for its Discovery and SCCM-Weil research grants, which support novel research projects in critical care, prioritizing multi-institutional collaborations and encouraging early-career researchers. All SCCM members interested in conducting research are encouraged to apply for the Society’s research grants. Visit sccm.org/grants for more details.

Following a rigorous review process, Ankita Agarwal, MD, of Emory University, received a Discovery grant for “Study of Physician Cognitive Load and Work in the ICU.” Jose Javier Provencio, MD, FCCM, of the University of Virginia, received an SCCM-Weil grant for “Developing a Treatment for Delayed Cerebral Injury After Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.” Christine Vohwinkel, MD, of the University of Colorado, received an SCCM-Weil grant for “Metabolic Crosstalk in Acute Lung Injury Between Alveolar Macrophages and Epithelium.” The Critical Connections summer issue follows up on two previous grant award winners and shows how SCCM is supporting breakthroughs that will change the practice of critical care medicine.

SCCM also leveraged its strong connections with the ZOLL Foundation to support promising early-career investigators. SCCM facilitated the foundation’s funding of two meritorious applications. Ji Won Shin, PhD, RN, of the University of California, was awarded $49,000 for “Posttraumatic Growth and Post-ICU Psychological Symptoms in ICU Survivor and Family Caregiver Dyads.” Ali Mansour, MD, of the University of Chicago, was awarded $76,772 for “Cerebral Physiology Under Pulsatile vs Continuous Circulatory Flow Patterns in a Porcine Model.” The ZOLL Foundation expressed gratitude for the opportunity to align its funding with SCCM based on the two organizations’ common interests.

In addition to bestowing grant funding, SCCM receives funding from diverse sources, including foundations, government agencies, and industry. These grants play a crucial role in supporting SCCM's mission to advance critical care research through Discovery. During the past six years, Discovery has received more than $4.6 million in funding from organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, CDC Foundation, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Discovery has made significant contributions to science and has published more than 50 articles during the past six years, including in high-impact journals. Discovery is a valuable resource for early-career researchers in critical care, providing funding, training, and mentorship to conduct high-quality research to improve patient care.

Beyond SCCM's grant programs, which are vital to fostering research and education in critical care medicine, definitions of research are expanding. Systematic, scoping, and narrative reviews are blossoming and informing SCCM’s guidelines, consensus statements, and guidance on best practices. Quality improvement collaboratives such as ICU Liberation have produced research that helps inform best practices, blending the quality improvement plan-do-study-act cycle of audit reporting with implementation science research.

Research has begun shifting from traditional two-armed randomized clinical trials to more adaptive, pragmatic, and generalizable research designs, stimulated by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. As the implementation science field develops, SCCM has hired staff to develop tools and promote the uptake of evidence-based practices and research findings into routine practice and policy. Understanding what works under what circumstances and the factors that influence the integration of evidence-based interventions into practice are vital to our mission as we work to facilitate implementation of the best science into practice.

The changing landscape of research demands that SCCM continuously revise its approaches, triggering thought and action within SCCM and beyond! Critical care research plays a vital role in improving the lives of patients, families, and clinicians facing the challenges of critical illness.

Posted: 9/15/2023 | 0 comments