The Pulmonary and Critical Care & Sleep Medicine (PRISM) research team is based in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. PRISM was established in 2008 by Akram Khan, MD (MBBS) as the principal investigator to advance research to improve patient outcomes in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Sepsis. Our group also has ongoing clinical trials on Pulmonary Artery Hypertension, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Pulmonary Fibrosis and Asthma in outpatient settings.

We are part of the Clinical Trials Network for the Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL). PETAL is a network of 12 Clinical Centers (CC) and one Clinical Coordinating Center (CCC) funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to develop and conduct randomized controlled clinical trials to prevent or treat Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and Sepsis which is the leading cause of ARDS. Our team is also working with the VICTAS Study to study Vitamin C, Thiamine and steroids and sepsis.

Our team always has opportunities for residents and fellows to be involved in clinical research, learn about clinical trial design, and have first and exposure to cutting edge research by helping with patient screening and enrollment in ongoing studies. These opportunities have helped residents and fellows with developing an understanding of the clinical trials process and develop and design their own research ideas. Most residents and fellows who are able to dedicate one to two half days a week for 6-12 months have been able to submit an abstract a national meeting.

We also provide opportunities to undergraduate students interested in healthcare careers to for data abstraction and supporting research coordinators through the PRISM volunteer program. This allows exposure to research methods and clinical medicine in outpatient and intensive care unit settings.