Welcome from the Associate Chair
The Department of Emergency Medicine oversees departmental grants, research, patient safety and educational initiatives funded by federal (NIH, DOD and AHRQ), private foundation, industry, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and internal university grants. This includes oversight and implementation of industry sponsored trials (drug, device or observational), investigator-led research from other institutions seeking multi-center trials, and departmental investigator-led studies by faculty, residents and pediatric emergency fellows.
Our faculty and staff have expertise in many areas, with particular focus on sepsis, pediatric emergency care, pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic pain management, trauma and injury prevention, shock/resuscitation, geriatric emergency care, patient safety, simulation, prehospital care, biomarker studies and health literacy.
Experienced EM research coordinators and research assistants staff the emergency department 7 days a week and have experience in clinical study participant recruitment and laboratory specimen processing. The emergency medicine research offices are immediately adjacent to the ED and trauma center, allowing for easy access to equipment, facility services and patients. The division also has its own dedicated space in the UF biomedical laboratory with capabilities to process blood and other samples for analysis and storage. In addition, the lab gives access to a -80°C freezer, a standard freezer and refrigerator, and the ability to ship biological specimens for further testing.
If you are interested in collaborating with the division of emergency research please contact us.
Phyllis Hendry, MD, FAAP, FACEP
Associate Chair of Research
Awards and Recognition
The research division of the Department of Emergency Medicine is recognized as a top site for study participant recruitment and for follow-up rate excellence. Faculty Drs. Robert Wears and Phyllis Hendry are past recipients of the Robert C. Nuss Research Scholar Award, Term Professorships and UF Research Foundation Professorships. Dr. Faheem Guirgis was the first recipient of both a KL2, a K23 and a R01 award on the Jacksonville campus, recently followed by Dr. Jennifer Fishe with the department’s second KL2, K23, and R01 awards, and Dr. Lauren Black with the department’s third KL2 and K23 award. Dr. Sophia Sheikh has received a $1.46 million SAMHSA award (https://ufhealth.org/news/2021/uf-researchers-receive-146-million-grant-implement-alternatives-opioids-program). Research faculty and staff have expertise in grant writing, research coordination, feasibility and design, database development, electronic CRF programs, survey creation and IRB preparation and management.
In Memory
Robert Wears, MD, PhD (1947-2017)
We pay tribute to our dear friend, colleague and mentor, Dr. Robert Wears. He was a true scholar and leader in academic emergency medicine and was known internationally for his work in patient safety and human factors. He touched all of our lives and careers as the ultimate mentor and SCOG (super cool old guy). Though Dr. Wears is no longer with us in person, he has left a lasting footprint on the goals and aspirations of the faculty and staff in the division of research and will not be forgotten.