Mitchell P. Fink, MD, (Inaugural Chair (2001-2007) Department of Critical Care Medicine University of Pittsburgh was one of the most inspiring and influential leaders in the fields of critical care medicine and trauma and sepsis management. Excelling as a clinician, scientist, and teacher, he was renowned for his astute mentorship and caring career guidance to hundreds of physicians and scientists. A strong advocate for critical care medicine as an emerging discipline, he developed a vision of modern multidisciplinary critical care in academia.
In 2001, his vision came to life with the founding of the Department of Critical Care Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, the first stand-alone department of critical care in the United States. Fittingly, he became the inaugural chair of the Department. His clear and strategic vision for modern multidisciplinary critical care has left lasting benefits for the entire field.
Mitch Fink’s prolific scientific career began with a first-author paper in Nature while still in medical school. Over a 40-year span, he amassed more than 300 peer-reviewed publications for experimental and clinical research.
His spirit lives on in the Department’s celebration of critical care scholarship at the 2023 Mitchell P. Fink Scholar Day.
Plenary Speaker Kristen M. Burkart, MD, MSc
Dr. Burkart is a Pulmonary and Critical Care Physician, Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, Director of Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship Training Program, and Medical Director if the Chest Clinic. She is an active member of the Ethics Committee and the Department of Medicine's DE&I Executive Committee.
Dr. Burkart is a leader in medical education. She is a Past President and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Program Directors (APCCMPD), which provides leadership and support for fellowship training programs across the country. She is the Immediate-Past Chair of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Training Committee, Chair of the APCCMPD Education Committee, and Deputy Editor for ATS Scholar, an online medical education journal. Dr. Burkart provides an inclusive, equitable, and diverse learning environment that fosters development of compassionate and exceptional clinical physicians, clinician-educators, and physician-investigators.
Fink Scholar Day Abstract Winners
Congratulations to the four winners of the Fink Scholar Day abstract competition.
- Matthew O’Donnell, second-year Infectious Diseases Critical Care Medicine fellow, “Impact of Stewardship Guided T2Candida Assay on the Diagnosis and Management of Invasive Candidiasis Among Medical ICU Patients”
- Amanda Curry, senior adult Emergency Medicine Critical Care fellow, “Timely Code Status Documentation in the ICU”
- Kelly Potter, CRISMA Center Post-Doctoral Scholar, “Outcomes Among Data-Driven Delirium Subtypes During Critical Illness”
- Somair Malik, senior adult Emergency Medicine Critical Care fellow, “Development of an Interprofessional Team Simulation Training Program for Post-Cardiac Surgery Arrest”