Summaries of Independent Scientist (K) Awards

Likosky, Donald

Institution: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical School
Grant Title: Redesigning Cardiac Surgery to Reduce Neurologic Injury
Grant Number: K02 HS15663
Duration: 5 years (2006-2011)
Total Award: $481,000

Project Description: This project has two main goals:

1. To understand and identify better the discrete processes of clinical care which produce neurologic injury subsequent to cardiac surgery.
2. To modify these processes of clinical care during cardiac surgery to reduce a patient's risk of developing a neurologic injury. The research combines the use of outcomes research with continuous quality improvement to redesign processes of cardiac surgery to reduce a patient's risk of developing a neurologic injury.

Career Goals: Dr. Likosky is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Surgery and Community & Family Medicine at Dartmouth Medical School. He received his PhD from Dartmouth in  Evaluative Clinical Sciences followed by a National Research Service Award (NRSA) post-doctoral fellowship. He is committed to a career in health services research and specifically, surgical outcomes research. Ultimately, he would like to become a Professor in Surgery working on improving the outcomes of patients undergoing surgical procedures.

Progress to Date: Dr. Likosky had a publication stemming from his efforts to redesign care as detailed in Aim #1. Sixty-four subjects have been enrolled from the Catholic Medical Center and 35 have been recruited from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Regarding Aim #2, the grantee published findings regarding the role of biomarkers as an endpoint for evaluating care.

Future Plans: The grantee will focus on:

1. Developing a list of proposed changes to reduce each mechanism of brain injury.
2. Developing a list of registry fields to track performance.
3. Developing a manuscript from the analyses regarding hypotension and cerebral hypoperfusion.
4. Submitting a R01 to fund further investigations.

Highlights and Specific Accomplishments:

• Recipient of numerous academic honors.
• Co-director of the Surgical Outcomes Assessment Program in the Department of Surgery.
• Director of Departmental Data Center.

K-Generated Publications: None thus far.

Return to Recently Funded Career Development Award Grants