Critical illness affects 5.7 million people each year, with a tremendous societal and economic cost. The Michigan Center for Integrative Research in Critical Care, established four years ago, seeks to improve patient outcomes and care through research. In addition to providing proposal development support, the center’s Clinical Research Unit helps researchers engage patients and collect data to help improve patient care. This article discusses how the center can help patients suffering from critical illness.
MCIRCC
The Michigan Center for Integrative Research in Critical Care, or MCIRCC, is a new institute for the study of acute illness. The center is administratively anchored within U-M’s Department of Emergency Medicine and encourages collaborative and interdisciplinary research in acute illnesses and injuries. It also partners with the Cardiovascular Center Clinical Research Group. Here, we look at the future of critical care research.
PRIMER
The PRIMER Center for Integrative Research in Clinical Care, or M-CIRCC, is an integrated, world-class research enterprise at the University of Michigan. It draws on cutting-edge engineering and applied basic science expertise to tackle critical illnesses and injuries. The research program has enormous potential to improve the treatment and care of patients suffering from acute and critical illnesses. Here, researchers are tackling complex problems through innovative translational research.
UCLA Critical Care Center
The UCLA Critical Care Center for Integrative Research in Clinical Care (CRCC) brings together a multidisciplinary team of researchers and clinicians from different disciplines. These faculty and staff are leaders in translational science and multidisciplinary clinical research. CRCC projects aim to improve standard critical care practice through novel methods. Some of the centers’ projects include pulmonary embolism, sepsis biomarkers, and resuscitation in critical care.
Weil Institute
The Weil Institute for integrative research in critical health will soon be known as the Weil Institute for Critical Care and Innovation. The gift from the Weil Family Foundation will allow the institute to expand its research and create a new name for the center. Instead of calling it the Max Harry Weil Institute, it will be called the Weil Institute for Integrative Research in Critical Health and Innovation. It will continue to develop breakthrough research into critical illness and injury, as well as technology.
Career development
During the program, scholars are paired with senior clinician-scientists who provide hands-on training and mentoring. They will be able to develop individualized career development plans and meet milestones, including training in research, clinical trials, and data management. In addition to mentoring, scholars will participate in clinical research, receive clinical and translational science training, and gain leadership skills. The program aims to create a strong pipeline of clinician-scientists for emergency critical care research.
Grand Challenge competition
The Massey TBI Grand Challenge aims to promote interdisciplinary and milestone-driven research in critical care and the relationship between TBI and patient-family relationships. The competition is inspired by the Massey family’s experiences, which included a TBI that severely compromised Joyce’s daily function. The Massey family generously donated funds to the University of Michigan in early 2015 to support clinical research, technology innovation, and a patient-family support fund.