Nathan Brummel, MD

About Me

I'm an aging-focused intensive care unit physician and researcher. My NIH/NIA-funded research program seeks to understand better the processes that result in disabilities in basic self-care activities and mobility for the growing number of patients who survive a critical illness each year, with a focus on older adults. Funded first by an NIA GEMSSTAR (R03) Award and now by an NIA Beeson (K76) Career Development Award, I have described the dramatic life alterations suffered by patients who develop long-lasting disability after critical illness that we hypothesize are related to underlying and newly-acquired vulnerabilities. My first-authored work, published in top-tier journals such as the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Intensive Care Medicine, and Critical Care Medicine, has identified significant gaps in the literature regarding these pre-existing and newly-acquired vulnerability factors (e.g., frailty and its correlates) that lead to disability in survivors of critical illness. I am addressing these gaps through an ongoing multicenter study of the association between physical activity during hospitalization with disability and physical function after critical illness.

I am also shaping the future of aging research on an international stage through, among other activities, leadership of aging-focused critical groups in the American Thoracic Society and the Society for Critical Care Medicine. I have given invited presentations about my work on frailty, disability, delirium, and care of older adults with critical illness across North America, Europe, South America, Asia, and Australia.

Procedures and Conditions I Treat

• Asthma
• Lung Diseases
• Pulmonary Medicine
• Respiration Disorders
• Sepsis
• Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Adult
• Cough
• Delirium
• Intensive Care Units
• Intensive Care
• Bronchitis