Tepper Faculty Member Named Co-Investigator on $4.4 million NIH Grant

Linda Argote, Thomas Lord Professor of Organizational Behavior and Theory; Director, Center of Organizational Learning, Innovation and Knowledge; Senior Associate Dean, Faculty and Research, is a co-investigator on a newly awarded National Institute of Health (NIH) five-year grant for $4.4 million. The grant will compare several strategies for improving the uptake of new care procedures by strengthening coordination within ICU teams.

Nearly one million U.S. patients and many more worldwide suffer acute respiratory failure every year and require the support of mechanical ventilators. This number has been magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent clinical advances have provided effective methods for removing patients from respirators when they are close to recovery. These new procedures, however, are not widely utilized. The NIH grant will compare several strategies for improving the uptake of these new care procedures by strengthening coordination within interprofessional ICU teams.

Argote will be collaborating with investigators from the University of Pittsburgh who are physicians and other healthcare professionals, statisticians, and subject matter experts. Timothy Girard, M.D., at the University of Pittsburgh is Principal Investigator for the project. Other co-investigators are Jeremy Kahn, M.D., Derek Angus, M.D., Joyce Chang, Ph.D., Barbara E. Barnes, M.D., Jennifer Seaman, Ph.D., Jennifer Russell, Ph.D., and Dean Hess, Ph.D. Argote is bringing to the project her expertise in team performance and the transfer of knowledge within and between teams to foster widespread use of best clinical practices. Bringing this new knowledge to hospitals nationwide will reduce the suffering experienced by patients and also significantly reduce the risks of patient death or injury, both during and after the pandemic.

“I am excited to be a part of the research team on this NIH project,” says Argote. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to understand how to increase the uptake of ICU procedures and thereby improve patients’ well-being.”