The 22nd annual Safar Symposium and 15th annual Multi-Departmental Trainees’ Research Day took place on May 15–16, 2025, continuing a longstanding tradition of honoring the legacy of Peter Safar, MD, founding chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, and his wife, Eva. Established in 1980 by Peter M. Winter, MD, former chair of the department, the Peter and Eva Safar Lectureship serves as the cornerstone of this annual event, organized by the Safar Center for Resuscitation Research (SCRR).
The Safar Center’s mission—to advance methods for preventing premature death and minimizing disability from traumatic brain injury, cardiac arrest, and other acute brain injuries in individuals with “hearts and brains too good to die”—was on full display throughout the event, which brought together experts in neurocritical care, resuscitation, and simulation-based education.
The first day of the symposium opened with a series of presentations aligned with this year’s event theme, Mentoring the Mentors in Neurocritical Care:
- “Integrating Bench, Bedside, and Big Data to Solve the Problem of Brain Injury” by Robert S. B. Clark, MD, Endowed Chair of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine; Vice Chair, Critical Care Medicine; Associate Director, SCRR, Pediatric Neuroscience and Molecular Biology, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
- “Cerebral Resuscitation after Experimental Pediatric Cardiac Arrest” by Mioara D. Manole, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics; Associate Director, SCRR, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
- “Pediatric Cardiac Arrest Prognostication: Advancing Insights, Improving Outcomes” by Ericka L. Fink, MD, MS, FCCM, Professor, Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Pediatrics, and Clinical and Translational Science; Associate Director, SCRR; Research Director, PCCM Fellowship Director, Critical Illness Recovery for ChiLdrEn Program, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
- “Redox Medicine in Traumatic Brain Injury” by Hülya Bayır, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of Children’s Redox Health Center, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons; Chief of Critical and Palliative Care and Hospital Medicine, NYP Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York.
- “The Gut Microbiome in Neurotrauma” by Dennis W. Simon, MD, Associate Professor of Critical Care Medicine and Pediatrics; Associate Director, SCRR; Director, Neurocritical Care, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
- “Mechanistic Therapy for Blood-Brain Barrier Dysfunction in the Chronic Phase of TBI” by Michael J. Whalen, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital.
- “Improving Detection of Abusive Head Trauma: From Blood to AI and Everything in Between” by Rachel P. Berger, MD, MPH, Medical Director, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Children, Youth and Families, Pittsburgh, PA.
- “Advancing Precision Medicine by Deconstructing Secondary Injury in Traumatic Brain Injury” by Ruchira M. Jha, MD, MSc, Associate Professor of Neurology and Translational Neuroscience; Medical Director, Neurointensive Care Unit, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZ.
- “Pediatric TBI Research: What Can the Future Bring?” by Michael J. Bell, MD, Chief, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine; Professor of Pediatrics; Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay Chair in Pediatric Research, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX.
The keynote lecture—the 44th Annual Peter and Eva Safar Lecture in Medical Sciences and Humanities—was delivered by Patrick M. Kochanek, MD, MCCM, on the topic “Mentoring the Mentors in Neurocritical Care.” Dr. Kochanek, who has led the SCRR for over three decades, was honored at a celebratory reception following the lecture in recognition of his extraordinary career and contributions to the field.
The afternoon featured the 15th annual Multi-Departmental Trainees’ Research Day, a collaborative initiative involving the Departments of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Critical Care Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Neurological Surgery, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, along with the Winter Institute for Simulation Education and Research (WISER).
This year’s event showcased 53 posters, including 25 from trainees in our department. Notable achievements included:
 | First-place Anesthesiology Abstract/Poster Award: Hadi Daher (mentor: Ramakrishna Mukkamala, PhD) for “Smart Cuff for Multi-Parameter Hemodynamic Monitoring: An Initial Non-Invasive Approach to Cardiac Output Trend Estimation.”
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 | Second-place Anesthesiology Abstract/Poster Award: Aleksander Bearden (mentors: Bradley K. Taylor, PhD/Paramita Basu, PhD, MS) for “Androgens Maintain Protein Kinase A Signaling of Chronic Postsurgical Pain Sensitization.”
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The second day centered on the theme Transforming Pediatric Care Through Simulation, featuring presentations from national leaders in simulation-based education and pediatric care innovation:
- “Patient Centered Simulation—Preparing Parents to Become Clinicians” by Jennifer Arnold, MD, MSc, FAAP, Executive Director, Immersive Design Systems, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston Children’s Hospital Simulator Program, Boston, MA.
- “Simulation Can Also Be Resilience Training” by Jared W. Henricksen, MD, MS-HPEd, Professor, Division of Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah; Simulation Consortium Medical Director, Intermountain Health.
- “Outside of the ER: An Outpatient Pediatric In-Situ Simulation Program” by Advait K. Kothare, MB, BCH, BAO, Clinical Instructor, Emergency Medicine, UPMC/WISER and Medical Education Fellow, UPMC Shadyside Hospital Emergency Department, and Alyssa A. Vigliotti, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of General Academic Pediatrics, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
- “From Manikins to Mastery: Two Decades of Pediatric Simulation at CHP” by Melinda Fiedor Hamilton, MD, MS, Professor of Critical Care Medicine and Pediatrics; Associate Director, Pediatric Multidisciplinary Critical Care Training Program; Director, Pediatric Simulation, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Simulation Center and WISER, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Recordings of the faculty presentations and the Peter and Eva Safar Lecture will be made available on the SCRR website.