Roy G Brower, MD

Roy Brower is a Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University and was Medical Director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital for over 30 years. He obtained his M.D. degree and completed his residency and fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins.

Brower’s earlier research explored mechanisms of cardiopulmonary interactions and pulmonary circulation physiology. He subsequently focused research efforts in the clinical venue. Brower has led four multicenter clinical trials of lung-protective mechanical ventilation strategies in patients with the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). One of these trials demonstrated substantially improved clinical outcomes in ARDS patients who received mechanical ventilation with lower tidal volumes. Brower was a member of the NIH ARDS Network from its inception in 1994. He was the Chair of the Steering Committee of the NIH Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL) Network from 2014 to 2023.

Brower has been actively involved in the American Thoracic Society. He served on the Program Committee of the Pulmonary Circulation Assembly and chaired the ATS Critical Care Assembly Planning Committee for two years. He served as chair of the Critical Care Assembly from 2003-2005 and is the recipient of the Critical Care Lifetime Achievement Award. Brower chaired the ATS Publications Policy Committee from 2012 to 2016 and twice received the ATS Presidential Citation.

Brower is an accomplished clinical educator. The Johns Hopkins Osler Medical Residency Program awarded him its annual award for outstanding teaching twice, in 1996 and in 2015. The Johns Hopkins Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship program awarded him its annual Fellows Teaching Award in 2009.

 As the former Medical Director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Brower focused the energy of the critical care staff to develop rigorous, evidence-based protocols and practice guidelines. He promotes standardization of care with good protocols because they help to reduce medical errors, improve the clinical research environment, and serve as effective teaching tools.