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Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

The Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine includes physician educators and scientists dedicated to delivering state of the art pulmonary and critical care medicine. 
The division is led by Dr. Amy O'Brien-Ladner for the last six years where the division has doubled in size of faculty and the Fellowship Program.  The division is active in all excellence in all three missions of the School of Medicine: Clinical care, education and research.

  1. Patient Clinical Care.  The division has undergone remarkable growth over the past five years in the development of Pulmonary and critical care medicine where its association with the University of Kansas Hospital include, the Medical Intensive Care Unit and the Transplant Intensive Care Unit, as well as the development of the Center for Pulmonary Hypertension, growth of the Cystic Fibrosis Adult Center with now a well-established Adult Center.  Our faculty is heavily partnered with our medical center and serve in medical directorships with our Pharmacy, both transplant and medical intensive care units materials and management, and the step-down units.  We have two independent ICU teams as well as a strong consultative role in subspecialty practice in pulmonary medicine as well as a vibrant procedural service with excellence in bronchoscopy and the development of innovations in navigational bronchoscopy and sonographic evaluations in the ICU.  We are partnered loosely with the nursing services in our ICUs and their awards of the Magnet Award and the Beacon Award for Nursing Excellence in Critical Care.

  2. Education.  The division is also very heavily involved in education at all levels within the medical center.  Dr. Steve Simpson heads up our 12-member Pulmonary Critical Care Fellowship where our Fellows present their research at national meetings and train to the highest level of pulmonary and critical care.  We also have leadership positions within the Medicine Residency with Dr. Tim Williamson as Associate Director, Critical Care Selective Student Requirement is headed up by our Dr. Matthew Sharpe and we are also very active in the problem-based learning groups in first and second year basic science modules within the medical school.  Members of the division have been awarded the Kemper Teaching Award, the annual Internal Medicine Teaching Award, etc.

  3. Research.  The division is expanding its research program and is in partnership with the Department of Physiology with a Parker B. Francis Pulmonary Research Fellowship.  The Parker B. Francis Research Grant involves the development of nanoparticles in the treatment of HIV-related lung disease; we also partner with our Lawrence KU campus with a Wallace Coulter Career Translation Research Award involving nanoparticles in the treatment of asthma.  Along with these more basic efforts, we have a robust clinical trial effort and have expertise in trials for sepsis, pulmonary arterial hypertension, cystic fibrosis, and other critical care investigations.  The division has a particular interest in the physiology of sepsis, hypoxia-related signaling, and nanoparticle technology.  The division has had funding from the NIH, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, and several members have held the Max Allen Award.

Full time Faculty

Divisional Contacts

Academic Contact:  Barbara Robinson, 913-588-4046
Clinical Contact: 913-588-3905