The Resuscitation Science Center Research Overview

Leveraging experts in biomedical engineering, drug development, and numerous commercial partners, the Resuscitation Science Center has developed a pipeline that can accelerate the discovery of pediatric-specific resuscitation therapeutics and their implementation at the bedside of patients. Areas of interest include mitochondrial targeted therapeutics, neurotherapeutics, biomedical devices, drug discovery platforms, and novel extracorporeal membrane oxygenation rescue strategies. Our laboratory is in development of software and approvals for Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) certification to easily facilitate device and drug development to FDA application.

The Resuscitation Science Center has developed collaborative partnerships with experts in AI/ML analytics not only across the University of Pennsylvania campus, but around the world. A primary area of interest is in developing algorithms for noninvasive assessment of cerebral health, resuscitation quality, and pharmacodynamic outcome metrics for clinical trials for devices and therapeutics targeting critical illness.

The Resuscitation Science Center has developed a true bench-to-bedside-to-bench platform. Our platforms extend from cell lines through zebrafish, KO mice, rats, and novel large animal models. Along with a one-of-a-kind resuscitation database, these platforms allow for promising resuscitation interventions. The Resuscitation Science Center team can replicate human critical care and surgical environments, including standards of care, monitoring, and next generation invasive and noninvasive monitoring with continuous data capture and blinded interrogation.

These approaches facilitate randomized, blinded pre-clinical trials that mimic the rigor of the best clinical trials, informing trial design and outcome metrics that will help to ensure clinical trial success. These platforms include: traumatic brain injury, cardiac arrest, cardiopulmonary bypass, extracorporeal support, stroke, sepsis, hydrocephalus, and more.

Furthermore, we have strategically developed clinical research networks to provide a platform for ongoing clinical trials and relationships with implementation science experts to ensure our discoveries achieve maximum impact for our patients. Our Center has extensive expertise in working with corporate partners to advance their scientific discoveries through pre-clinical trials to FDA Phase 1-3.

Our Center members are not only conducting the scientific studies to support national resuscitation guidelines, but many members have an international reputation and serve on the writing group committees of resuscitation governing bodies (American Heart Association, American College of Surgeons —traumatic brain injury guidelines, Extracorporeal Life Support Organization), providing an avenue for dissemination of our scientific discoveries.

The Resuscitation Science Center has multiple imbedded bioengineers working on development of in-house biomedical device design from concept to 510K application. This group is also working closely with several corporate partners for device development across several areas of critical illnees, including: CPR device development, ventilator development, and many more. Additionally, our group is pioneering microbubble technology for therapeutic delivery and diagnostic capabilities in critical illness.

Utilizing the strength of the Resuscitation Science Center, we also employ computational biologists and informaticists who are developing approaches to mitochondrial genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and advanced liquid biomarkers for neurodiagnostics.