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Featured Researcher – Eric Sribnick

Featured Researcher – Eric Sribnick 150 150 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

When children experience a traumatic brain injury (TBI) as well as significant injuries elsewhere in the body—such as a liver or spleen laceration or a broken bone—they face a substantially increased risk of subsequent infection. Research suggests this may stem from a sort of shock to the immune system leading to immunoparalysis, which leaves children vulnerable to infections that can complicate their recovery or even result in death.

In an effort to find ways to prevent this infection risk and improve post-trauma outcomes, Eric Sribnick, MD, PhD, neurosurgeon and principal investigator in the Center for Clinical and Translational Research at The Abigail Wexner Research Institute (AWRI) at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, studies injury-induced immunosuppression and opportunities for intervention.

A recent study, published by Dr. Sribnick and colleagues in the Journal of Neurotrauma, found that granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) could improve post-injury immune system response in an animal model. GM-CSF is already used in immune system support for cancer patients and offers a potentially rapid path toward translation of these findings into clinical trials.

As Dr. Sribnick continues exploring the underlying cause of immune suppression after TBI and extracranial injuries, he is also studying changes in immune function over time in post-injury patients. With clinical trials “on the horizon,” Dr. Sribnick hopes his lab can positively impact outcomes for patients with multi-site trauma in the near future.

Read on to learn more about Dr. Sribnick’s work and research career.

How/why did you decide to pursue a career in your field?

I’ve known since high school that I wanted to be a doctor, and it was the doctors in my life who showed me the positive impact that medicine can have that prompted this. Originally, I wanted to be a trauma surgeon, and that path migrated a bit when I took my first neuroanatomy course and fell in love with the brain.  Since that time, my focus has been on neurotrauma.

What was your path to your current role?

Meandering! I did not originally intend to make research a large part of my career but got the bug in medical school. I was fortunate enough to be able to switch from my MD program to the MD/PhD program, and that gave me the first tools for research.

For a long time, I studied estrogen and progesterone as possible neuroprotectants following TBI. Progesterone was the latest of probably 30 compounds researchers have investigated in TBI, and it failed Phase 3 clinical trials. That was right around the time I was leaving Atlanta to come to Nationwide Children’s, so my first year here became a sort of pivot year—I had to acknowledge that neuroprotectants were probably not going to help patients with TBI. That’s when I met Mark Hall, MD, FCCM, chief of the Division of Critical Care Medicine at Nationwide Children’s and director of the Immune Surveillance Laboratory at AWRI, who was working on immunoparalysis. It looked really interesting, and he took me under his wing. Since then, he’s been invaluable in terms of guiding my research career.

What is your favorite part of your job?

I love coming into work and not quite knowing what the day is going to bring. Being a surgeon-scientist keeps life interesting.

How does your research serve our patients and our community?

Unfortunately, we see the outcomes from trauma and neurotrauma in our little ones every day.  We are working to try and identify complications early (e.g. immunosuppression that can lead to infection) and identify safe treatments so that we can give our patients the best possible outcomes. To do that, we have been submitting grant applications to fund our research in the years to come.

I have also been blessed to be included in several opportunities for injury prevention, which has been an unexpected joy. In these collaborations with organizations such as the Central Ohio Trauma System, the Pediatric Trauma Society, the ThinkFirst National Injury Prevention Foundation, the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery, and Nationwide Children’s Center for Injury Research and Policy, I have been able to use my background in neurosurgery and immunosuppression research to influence policy and research efforts that help keep kids safer.

Fun Facts About Dr. Sribnick

What would be your dream job if you didn’t work in research?

Astronaut

What’s your favorite food?

Falafel

Favorite band/music?

The Grateful Dead / Classic Rock

What’s your favorite word, and why?

Sarah: it’s my wife’s name.

What fictional character would you most like to meet and why?

The Little Prince. He may not have all the answers, but he has the best questions.

About the author

Katherine (Katie) Brind’Amour is a freelance medical and health science writer based in Pennsylvania. She has written about nearly every therapeutic area for patients, doctors and the general public. Dr. Brind’Amour specializes in health literacy and patient education. She completed her BS and MS degrees in Biology at Arizona State University and her PhD in Health Services Management and Policy at The Ohio State University. She is a Certified Health Education Specialist and is interested in health promotion via health programs and the communication of medical information.

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