There is tremendous breadth and depth to the research at McMaster. Members of our division are active in the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group, dedicated to designing and conducting large clinical trials in critical care. Dr. Deborah Cook is the principal investigator (PI) on several projects, including Probiotics to prevent Severe Pneumonia & Endotracheal Colonization Trial (PROSPECT), Re-Evaluating the Inhibition of Stress Erosions: Gastrointestinal Bleeding Prophylaxis in ICU (REVISE) and 3 Wishes, which aims to dignify a person’s death and celebrate their life. Dr. Bram Rochwerg is leading Fluids in Septic Shock trial (FISSH). DONATE is a research program studying organ donation practices in Canada led by Dr. Maureen Meade. Dr. Michelle Kho is leading a research program on critical care rehabilitation (CYCLE). Dr. Alison Fox-Robichaud is the principal investigator of the Canadian Sepsis Research Network. Dr. Waleed Alhazzani leads the GUIDE group providing methodological support for clinical practice guideline development and systematic reviews for several international critical care societies. Dr. Emilie Belley-Côté is studying the outcomes of patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Dr. Joanna Dionne is a clinical scholar with an interest in the prevalence of diarrhea in the intensive care unit (DICE-ICU trial).

Major Accomplishments

Several members of our division have been recognized for their accomplishments. Dr. Deborah Cook is a Distinguished University Professor at McMaster and holds the Canada Research Chair of Research Transfer in Critical Care. This Officer of the Order of Canada received the 2017 Killam Fellowship Award, the 2018 Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Gold Leaf Prize for Impact and, in 2020, she was appointed to the expert advisory panel to Canada’s Chief Science Advisor. Dr. Cook and Dr. Maureen Meade co-chair a special interest group called ACCADEMY (Academy of Critical Care: Development, Evaluation and Methodology) for critical care research mentorship. Dr. Roman Jaeschke has been a pioneer in clinical practice development and he is the founding editor of the McMaster Textbook of Internal Medicine. Over the years, McMaster Critical Care has been integral to the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group (CCCTG). Drs. Michelle Kho and Bram Rochwerg currently sit on the CCCTG Board of Directors. Dr. Alison Fox-Robichaud is the president of the Canadian Sepsis Foundation and is the co-chair of the 2021 World Congress of Intensive & Critical Care. Dr. Jennifer Tsang, with Dr. Erick Duan, has created the Canadian Community ICU Research Network (CCIRNet) which brings intensivists from community hospitals together to promote participation in clinical research studies. Locally, Dr. Simon Oczkowski has provided leadership as the president of the Hamilton Academy of Medicine and Dr. Peter Kraus as the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant (HNHB) Regional Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) leader.

Future Directions

Our division is indebted to Dr. Andreas Freitag for his tireless leadership of the division for over 20 years. Over that time, there has been profound growth in the support for scholarship and the development of programs that conduct research that influences practice locally, nationally and internationally. Following a decade of service as the residency program director, Dr. Tim Karachi has taken on the role of division director.

The division remains committed to providing high-quality patient and family-centred care while increasing our commitment to excellence in research, with a focus on both clinical trials and guideline development. We are equally committed to the mentorship of the next generation of physicians and scientists to remain leaders in critical care.