While bench science is high profile at Duke University, there is an equally strong emphasis on clinical and translational research in the Neurology Critical Care Unit.
Duke participates in a number of multicenter NIH trials, including the use of albumin in acute stroke (ALIAS), intracranial stenting in patients with symptomatic intracranial disease (SAMPRAS), clot aspiration in intracranial hemorrhage (MISTIE), and the use of thrombolysis for intraventricular hemorrhage (CLEAR IVH).
In addition, there are a large number of faculty-initiated studies, including the use of new noninvasive diagnostic modalities for detection of seizures, cerebral ischemia, and trauma, as well as studies looking at optimizing ventriculostomy and ICP management, evaluating nursing interventions to promote sleep and recovery, evaluating the role of therapeutic hypothermia, and piloting the use of statins in the setting of subarachnoid hemorrhage and acute brain injury just to name a few.
The high level of collaboration, combined with a dedication to improve the quality of care provided have made our multidisciplinary group highly productive over the past few years, and has made our unit a dynamic place to work.