Mad Minute with Kathleen Stringer, PharmD

Dr. Kathleen Stringer

You were named the 2018 Albert B. Prescott Professor of Pharmacy. Can you describe how receiving that honor has impacted your work?

It was an unexpected honor to receive this recognition and it has had a significant impact on my research program. This is because the funds the professorship provides enables me to extend my research to unfunded projects that generate preliminary data and new grant applications. It also fosters new collaborations. This has included the metabolomics components of the developing swine models of sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) that I am participating in with MCIRCC. So, I would say, the honor has had a significant impact on my work!

Please share any recent strides you have made in your research.

We are pioneering new experimental models of sepsis and ARDS. These would not be possible without the support of and collaborations within MCIRCC. Our multi-disciplinary team was recently awarded an MICHR Synergy Award. This will support the further development of a swine ARDS model and prepare our team for a planned P01 submission in 2019. In other work, we are learning about how provocation of the sepsis metabolome with supplemental L-carnitine reveals a range of sepsis phenotypes. This work could help us establish a sepsis “disease clock” and a biochemical anchor for the disease.

How has being a part of MCIRCC helped you in your research?

I cannot begin to describe the enormity of the impact that MCIRCC has had on my research program! It’s been a privilege to be part of the MCIRCC team . The collaborations it has afforded me and the work we are doing as a team is well beyond what I could have achieved without MCIRCC.

As an associate director, how would you like to see MCIRCC evolve in the next five years?

I think we are just beginning, we’re at the tip of the iceberg. We have such potential and I think that it would be terrific if MCIRCC continues to move towards building multi-disciplinary teams that can competitively pursue large project funding (e.g., P01, RM1)  that are aimed at tackling clinically challenging problems in critical care.  I don’t think there’s another group or institution that has the talent and organization that we do.

When not wearing your white coat, what do you like to do to unwind?

I enjoy running, cooking, travel, and spending time with family and friends.