Dr. Oliver Karam, chief of pediatric critical care at Yale Pediatrics, was recently elected chair of the Pediatric ECMO Research Collaborative's (PediECMO) Scientific Oversight Committee (SOC). He will serve in this role until 2026. PediECMO is a research network that focuses on pediatric Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), an extracorporeal technology that provides cardiac and respiratory support when the lungs and/or the heart have severe failure. More than 4,000 neonates and children benefit from this lifesaving technology every year.
PediECMO is part of both the international Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigator network (PALISI/@PALISInet), and the international Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO/@ELSOOrg).
As chair of the SOC, Dr. Karam will oversee the scientific review of grant proposals and manuscripts submitted by PediECMO members. He will receive all submissions, be responsible for assigning reviewers, and will set the SOC meetings agenda. Dr. Karam will also be responsible for writing letters of support for proposals approved by the SOC. Finally, as a member of PediECMO’s steering committee, Dr. Karam will help PediECMO grow and foster more collaborative research projects. Beyond these responsibilities, Dr. Karam will work to develop closer relationships with the European Society of Paediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care (@ESPNIC_Society) and the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS) Paediatric Study Group (@ANZICS_PSG). Congratulations to Dr. Karam on this exciting new role!