His lecture, titled "Starling Forces and Vascular Permeability in the Lung: 30 Years of Evolution,” will take place April 12, 2012, at 4 p.m. in the Medical Sciences Building auditorium on USA's main campus.
Dr. Parker received a Ph.D. degree at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and completed postdoctoral studies at the University of Mississippi.
Dr. Parker’s research interest focuses on a recent large scale clinical study which demonstrated a 22 percent reduction in mortality of patients on mechanical ventilation for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) when tidal volume was reduced from the conventional 12 ml/kg to 6 ml/kg. This clinical study was based on previous animal experiments from Dr. Parker’s laboratory and others showing that alveolar overdistention produces microvascular injury and increased vascular permeability.
An additional recent direction in Dr. Parker's laboratory has been the development of a perfluorocarbon liquid ventilator in conjunction with Mallard Medical Company. This project utilizes a patented method of liquid delivery through a bias flow mode that improves both gas exchange and fluid clearance from the lung compared to conventional tidal liquid ventilation.
For more information on Dr. Parker’s research, click here.
