UAB Department of Surgery Assistant Professor and Director of the Children's of Alabama Trauma Program Robert Russell, M.D., MPH, has received a two-year R13 Conference Grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Russell’s project title is “Pediatric Traumatic Hemorrhagic Shock Consensus Conference and Research Priorities.” He will receive a total of $75,000 of funding to organize the conference and publish its proceedings over a two-year time period. Russell worked closely on this conference proposal and grant with Washington University in St. Louis Professor of Pediatrics and Critical Care Phil Spinella, M.D., FCCM.

The conference, scheduled in Birmingham during 2021, will bring together an international group of experts from pediatric critical care, pediatric emergency medicine, pediatric anesthesia, pediatric trauma surgery and pediatric blood banking. There will be lectures from experts on proposed consensus topics, consensus statement development by this groups, and suggestions for future research priorities in this field. In addition, travel awards will be available to encourage attendance by medical students, residents, fellows, junior faculty and Ph.D. scientists who may be interested in these topics (more forthcoming in future).

Russell looks forward to using this grant to further research and clinical care for pediatric trauma patients who experience hemorrhagic shock, especially through the sharing of knowledge and consensus developed at this future conference.

“It’s an honor to help organize and lead these efforts right here at UAB,” said Russell. “Our hope is that this funding ultimately leads to breakthroughs and advancements in the realm of pediatric trauma resuscitation.”