Oliver Karam, MD, PhD, John Mickell Endowed Professor of Pediatrics at Virginia Commonwealth University, has been appointed the section chief of critical care medicine for Yale’s Department of Pediatrics and chief of pediatric critical care for Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital (YNHCH) effective July 1, 2022. Dr. Karam is a pediatric critical care physician who is an international authority on transfusion medicine and acute coagulopathy.
Dr. Karam earned his medical degree from the University of Geneva School of Medicine. He then completed a pediatric residency at Geneva Children’s Hospital and subsequent fellowships in pediatric critical care at Sainte-Justine Hospital, University of Montreal, and Geneva Children’s Hospital, respectively. Dr. Karam also earned a master’s in clinical research from the University of Montreal and received his PhD in critical care medicine from the University of Lille in Lille, France.
From 2011 through 2017, Dr. Karam served as an assistant professor in the pediatric critical care unit at Geneva University Hospital. Then, in 2017, he was appointed associate professor of pediatrics in the division of pediatric critical care medicine at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). In 2019, he became division chief of pediatric critical care at VCU and was named the John Mickell Endowed Professor of Pediatrics. He was promoted to professor of pediatrics in 2020.
Dr. Karam is a member of several professional societies and organizations, including the Society for Pediatric Research (SPR) and the American Society of Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Karam has authored 146 original scientific manuscripts, reviews, and chapters as well as several international consensus conference guidelines regarding the care of critically ill children. Dr. Karam serves an associate editor for the Frontiers in Pediatrics and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Pediatric Intensive Care. He also served as chair of BloodNet, the largest pediatric blood research network internationally.
As section chief of critical care medicine for Yale Pediatrics, Dr. Karam will oversee, develop, and manage the section’s clinical, research, and educational programs. He will work with department leadership on the section’s recruitment, retention, appointment, and promotion initiatives as well as lead quality improvement initiatives and policy-making activities. Dr. Karam will provide clinical service in the Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital PICU and continue his research on bleeding, hemostasis, and transfusion medicine.
The Department of Pediatrics and YNHCH thank Josep Panisello, MD, FAAP, for his outstanding leadership as chief of pediatric critical care for the past seven years. Dr. Karam will work closely with Dr. Panisello to transition leadership of the section.