Scientific Interest Group - Critical Illness and Injury

Annual Meeting
December 7, 2009
Just after the close of the Symposium
Natcher Conference Center
Balcony Room C

The Critical Illness and Injury Scientific Interest Group (CII-SIG) formed in response to burgeoning interest in the role of functional genomics in critical care medicine and to NIH’s growing interest in and commitment to translational research. CII-SIG will serve as an inter-institute clearinghouse for information exchange and discussion among scientists from the myriad disciplines and agencies that span this area of clinical research. In addition, CII-SIG plans to sponsor symposia, poster sessions, and lectures; offer mentoring and career guidance for junior scientists, and provide informal advice to the DDIR.

Aims
Advances in computational biology and high-throughput technologies have generated considerable interest in understanding intricate biological systems. The translation of these approaches to critical illness and injury offers the potential to define maladaptive programs of genetic expression induced by infection, trauma, and other inflammatory triggers, as well as to detect biomarkers and functional polymorphisms linked to these responses. As the tools of systems biology mature, physicians will have new resources to complement or even replace current therapies, enabling them to navigate the physiome, from system to organ to genome. The ultimate goal is to revolutionize critical care medicine by developing a global understanding of complex biological processes and systems, integrating pathophysiology, cell biology, and genomic/genetic programs. Multi-institute, multiagency, and multidisciplinary teamwork is key to achieving this goal, and CII-SIG hopes to serve as a communications mode for this area of bench-to-bedside research.

Who should join CII-SIG?
• critical care physicians
• bioinformaticians
• biostatisticians
• mathematicians
• computer scientists
• computational biologists
• ethicists
• policymakers
• anyone in the research community with an interest in functional genomics and critical care.

Steering Committee
Scott D. Somers, PhD National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH, DHHS
Anthony F. Suffredini, MD Critical Care Medicine Department, Clinical Center, NIH, DHHS