Otolaryngologist, Boston, MA
Founder and President, Global Tracheostomy Collaborative
Associate in Otolaryngology, Boston Children's Hospital
Associate Professor of Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical School
Dr. Roberson has worked in quality improvement in Otolaryngology and Pediatrics for over a decade. He is co-chair of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Quality Improvement Committee. From 2003-2011, he was Director of Implementation for the Children's Hospital Boston Program for Patient Safety and Quality. He has participated in a national QI collaborative to introduce surgical checklists into pediatric hospitals, and co-led an international QI collaborative to improve outcomes of congenital cardiac surgery in developing nations. His research focuses on understanding the nature of medical errors and adverse events, and on the contribution of patient complexity to cognitive errors.
Brendan qualified from the University of Sheffield and trained initially in general medicine in Yorkshire, the North East and then Australia. He returned to specialize in Anaesthesia & Intensive Care Medicine, appointed as a consultant at the recently renamed Manchester University Foundation Trust, at Wythenshawe Hospital in 2009.
Brendan’s research interests in patient safety and airway management led to the initiation of the UK National Tracheostomy Safety Project, collaborating widely in developing educational resources to guide the multidisciplinary response to airway emergencies. Realising that the real work was in prevention of airway emergencies, Brendan helped to develop the Global Tracheostomy Collaborative in 2012, bringing together international expertise from Harvard to Melbourne with the goal of improving tracheostomy care ‘everywhere’ through quality improvement initiatives. Brendan has worked on and led a number of domestic and international quality improvement projects and research studies, securing significant grant funding. His contributions in his field were recognised by appointment as Visiting Professor to Harvard Medical School in 2016 and as NHS England National Clinical Advisor for Tracheostomy in 2015. He remains European lead of the Global Tracheostomy Collaborative, supporting UK and European sites to improve care for patients and their families.
Outside of medicine, Brendan is entertained by a young(ish) family, plays guitar in the family rock band, "Death Metal Children of Rock," attempts to support Liverpool FC whilst living near Old Trafford, and tries to ride his road bike when it isn’t raining (too hard).
Vinciya Pandian is an acute care nurse practitioner who has clinical expertise in managing individuals with a tracheostomy. She completed her undergraduate degree in nursing at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, India, Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Nursing at the Johns Hopkins University, and Masters of Business and Administration degree at the University of Baltimore. She works as an Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and serves as the Associate Director of Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)-Executive and DNP-MBA programs.
The focus of her scholarship has been in advancing the management of mechanically ventilated patients with a tracheostomy, integrating biological and behavioral science for better health, with an emphasis on improving quality of life and eliminating health disparities. Her primary research focuses on identifying signs and symptoms of laryngeal injury post-extubation in intensive care units. Her other interests surround developing, implementing, and evaluating airway products and multidisciplinary programs. She has been highly productive academically, publishing over 60 scientific articles and presenting over 100 abstracts nationally or globally.
Vinciya Pandian is currently the Vice President of Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Nurses and the President of Sigma Theta Tau International Nu Beta-at Large chapter. She has been involved with global tracheostomy collaborative since 2014 and now, also serves a chair for the Educational committee of the Global Tracheostomy Collaborative.
Otolaryngologist, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Treasurer, Global Tracheostomy Collaborative
Associate Professor of Otolaryngology
Division of Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery
University of Michigan School of Medicine
Dr. Brenner is on faculty as University of Michigan, where his academic efforts focus on both patient safety, quality, and scientific research on injury prevention. He is board certified in Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, and Sleep Medicine. He has an interest in healthcare policy leadership and QI, serving as the 2012 Health Policy Scholar for the ACS/AAO-HNSF and as a delegate to the AMA for the young physicians section. He has participated in the Telluride Roundtable on Patient safety and Transparency and is active in national Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Committees through the American Academy of Otolaryngology and the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He has participated in the TeamSTEPPS Collaborative at American Institutes for Research by DOD, AAMC, AIR, and AHRQ. His active and pending research support is through the National Institutes of Health, Triological Society, and an Excellence in Academic Medicine award.
AbilityLab (formerly the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
Associate Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Anesthesiology
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine