Work in the Donald Shaffner Lab investigates several topics within critical care medicine. Our team conducts research on the mechanisms involved in neurologic injury from global ischemia as a result of cardiac arrest and resuscitation. We also study neurologic outcomes of pediatric patients who experience cardiac arrest.

Investigators in the Shivani Patel Lab study ways to improve intraoperative resuscitation during pediatric surgeries.

The Cardiology Bioengineering Laboratory, located in the Johns Hopkins Hospital, focuses on the applications of advanced imaging techniques for arrhythmia management. The primary limitation of current fluoroscopy-guided techniques for ablation of cardiac arrhythmia is the inability to visualize soft tissues and 3-dimensional anatomic relationships. Implementation of alternative advanced modalities has the potential to improve complex ablation procedures by guiding catheter placement, visualizing abnormal scar tissue, reducing procedural time devoted to mapping, and eliminating patient and operator exposure to radiation. Active projects include • Physiological differences between isolated hearts in ventricular fibrillation and pulseless electrical activity • Successful ablation sites in ischemic ventricular tachycardia in a porcine model and the correlation to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) • MRI-guided radiofrequency ablation of canine atrial fibrillation, and diagnosis and intervention for arrhythmias • Physiological and metabolic effects of interruptions in chest compressions during cardiopulmonary resuscitation Henry Halperin, MD, is co-director of the Johns Hopkins Imaging Institute of Excellence and a professor of medicine, radiology and biomedical engineering. Menekhem M. Zviman, PhD is the laboratory manager.

Research in the Raymond Koehler Lab explores cerebrovascular physiology and cerebral ischemic injury caused by stroke and cardiac arrest, using protein analysis, immunohistochemistry and histology. We also study ischemic preconditioning, neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and the mechanisms of abnormal cerebrovascular reactivity after ischemia. We 're examining ways to improve tissue oxygenation and seek to better understand the mechanisms that connect an increase in cerebral blood flow to neuronal activity.

Work in the Nicole Shilkofski Lab aims to improve patient safety in critical care settings, with a focus on resuscitation scenarios. Our research is conducted as part of the research group of the Johns Hopkins Medical Simulation Center. We investigate the communication and functionality of teams during medical crisis situations. As part of those efforts, we are designing a web-based curriculum to teach pediatric resuscitation through mannequin simulation and computer-based simulation techniques.