Lauren Sorce, PhD, RN, CPNP-AC/PC, FAAN, FCCM

Lauren R. Sorce, PhD, RN, CPNP-AC/PC, FCCM, FAAN is the Senior Scientist in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine and Associate Director for Nursing Research in the Department of Nursing at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago where she also practices as a Pediatric Critical Care Nurse Practitioner. She is an Assistant Professor at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine. She trained as a Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist at Loyola University, followed by her post masters Pediatric Nurse Practitioner certificate and her PhD from Rush University.

Dr. Sorce’s key contribution to critical care has been her extensive leadership as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN). Starting her career as an APRN in the PICU early in the evolution of the role provided her many opportunities. She was instrumental in the exploration of the first acute care pediatric nurse practitioner (ACPNP) certification exam as well as the development of the first national certifying exam for the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board. Dr. Sorce also served as on the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies board of directors as the Vice President for Nursing. She has served in leadership roles on numerous local and international committees as well as participating on editorial boards.

Dr. Sorce has served SCCM in many capacities since joining in 1998. Prior to her role on Council, Dr. Sorce was recognized with numerous Presidential Citations, the Norma J. Shoemaker Research Grant and the Norma J. Shoemaker Award for Nursing Excellence. In addition to 9 years on SCCM Council, she has been on the Congress Program Planning committee and co-chaired the 2015 Congress, chaired the SCCM Strategic Planning Committee, Finance Committee, Norma J. Shoemaker Research Grant Committee, and . She served as the 2019 editor of SCCM’s newsmagazine, Critical Connections. Dr. Sorce has also been funded to study corneal abrasions and worked on numerous research teams to study post-intensive care syndrome, stress hydrocortisone in pediatric septic shock, positioning in PARDS, and criteria for convening family conferences in the ICU.

Daniel Arellano, PhD, RN, APRN, ACNP-BC, FNP-BC, CCRN, CEN, CFRN, EMT-P, FCCM, FAANP

Dr. Daniel Arellano is currently an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner in the Intensive Care Unit at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He also holds an appointment as an Assistant Professor of Nursing at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston where he has taught undergraduate pathophysiology, High Acuity nursing, and Acute Care Nurse Practitioners for the last 12 years. Dr Arellano attended the University of Rochester in upstate NY for his undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing. He also holds a PhD from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston with a dissertation focus involving vasopressor titration methods in patients with septic shock. He speaks both locally and nationally on topics related to critical care and diversity. He is a fellow of the American College of Critical Care Medicine and Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Dharani Narendra, MD

Dr. Narendra is a pulmonary critical care faculty at Baylor college of medicine since 2014. She specializes in airway disorders, ARDS, and medical education. Her remarkable contributions to education are evident from her role as the Course Director for the medical student’s Respiratory course at BCM. Her educational journey ascended as she became the Program Director for the Critical care medicine fellowship program. Recognized for her exemplary service and contribution, Dr. Narendra has been honored with numerous prestigious awards at Baylor. These accolades include awards from BCM Internal Medicine Residents, the NRF Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching and Evaluation, the Early Career Award for Excellence in Patient Care, and the BCM Women of Excellence Award. A testament to her scholarly activity, Dr. Narendra holds a position as an editorial member for CHEST magazine and Chair of the Bronchiectasis section for the Airway disorders network for CHEST.

Natalie Organek, DO

Dr. Natalie Organek graduated from medical school at Michigan State University. She then completed Neurology Residency at the Cleveland Clinic and Fellowship in Neuro Intensive Care at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr Organek maintains Board Certification in Neurology and Neuro Critical Care.

Dr. Organek currently works as a Neuro-Intensivist at Houston Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center. She is involved in multiple projects within the Houston Methodist Hospital System focused on Death By Neurological Criteria.

Khalid Mohamed Ahmed, MD

Dr. Khalid Mohamed Ahmed is an Assistant Professor in Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth. He brings over 10 years of experience in the field to his role, along with a strong research interest in bedside neurological assessment and clinical expertise in neuroprognostication post cardiac arrest and neuromuscular diseases causing respiratory failure.

Dr. Ahmed holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.B.S) from the University of Khartoum, Faculty of Medicine. He has completed residencies and fellowships in Internal Medicine, Neurocritical Care, and Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, and is board certified in Internal Medicine and Critical Care by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Dr. Ahmed’s accomplishments include serving as Chief Resident (2018-2019), leading a team of 26 residents. He has earned numerous awards, including the House Staff Teaching Award from Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar Internal Medicine Residency Program (2016), The World Federation of Critical Care Nurses Best Paper Award (2020), and CHEST Challenge Championship (2023).

Jairo Barrantes-Perez, MD, FCCP

– Undergraduate Universidad del Rosario Bogota, Colombia 2004 MD

– Internship St John’s Episcopal Hospital, Far Rockaway NY 2006

– IM residency Pinnacle Health/Penn State 2010

– Pulmonary Critical Care fellowship 2013

– Sleep fellowship 2014

– Assistant professor at BCM 2016 to present

– FCCP 2019

– BCM senator 2017-2019

– Public Safety Committee 2019-2021 AASM

-Diversity and Inclusion ambassador BCM 2019-2023

-Health equality committee chair at TCH 2024-2025

Neha Rao, MD

Charlene Kalani, PharmD, BCCCP

Charlene Kalani is a Board Certified Neurocritical Care Clinical Pharmacist at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center. She received her Doctorate of Pharmacy at the University of Toledo College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and completed her PGY2 Critical Care Pharmacy Residency at Texas Tech University Health Science Center and the Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System in Dallas, Texas. She is involved with many organizations including the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, the Society of Critical Care Medicine, and Texas Society of Health-System Pharmacists. In her free time, Charlene enjoys volunteering with the Hope Center Homeless Shelter and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

Orlando Garner, MD, FACP, FCCP

Dr. Orlando Garner is a critical care medicine specialist who trained at Texas Tech for his internal medicine residency and later pursued critical care medicine fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, graduating in 2021. After that he worked at Midland Memorial Hospital were he was awarded physician of the year, and has participated as associate program director of the critical care medicine and internal medicine training programs at Texas Tech at the Permian Basin.

Luis Pacheco, MD

Dr. Luis Pacheco is the Division Chief of Obstetrics and Maternal Fetal Medicine as well as Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Department of Anesthesiology, Division of Surgical Critical Care at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

Dr. Pacheco has been a member of the faculty of UTMB since 2008 and serves as the Director of Obstetrical Critical Care and Director of the Residency Education Program for the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. He is the Departmental Director of the Obstetrical Patient Safety Committee and Chair of the Anesthesiology Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Clinical Competency Committee.

Dr. Pacheco completed medical school and his first residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Costa Rica. He then completed a second residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology and two fellowships, one in Maternal-Fetal Medicine and the other in Anesthesiology Critical Care, all at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. He is triple board-certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and Critical Care Medicine.

Dr. Pacheco’s work in both maternal fetal medicine and critical care medicine is unique in that he is the only maternal-fetal medicine specialist in the country who actually staffs a non-obstetrical surgical critical care unit along with other critical care specialists. His publications have contributed significantly to the education of maternal fetal medicine doctors and general obstetricians regarding medical complications during pregnancy. He has written a textbook addressing medical diseases in pregnancy and has directed courses around the United States in similar topics. Dr. Pacheco has written expert opinion papers for the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine in topics such as amniotic fluid embolism.

Kali Dayton, DNP, AGACNP

Dr. Kali Dayton is a critical care nurse practitioner, host of the Walking Home From The ICU and Walking You Through The ICU podcasts, and critical care outcomes consultant. She is dedicated to creating Awake and Walking ICUs by ensuring ICU sedation and mobility practices are aligned with current research. She works with ICU teams internationally to transform patient outcomes through early mobility and management of delirium in the ICU.

Jenna Hightower, PT, DPT, CCS

Dr. Jenna Hightower is an American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties certified Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Clinical Specialist and Critical Care Physical Therapist who specializes in early mobility in the ICU, specifically for patients on mechanical circulatory support such as ECMO, IABP, Impella, and LVAD, as well as various forms of mechanical ventilation. She works with populations suffering from end organ failure and/or various forms of shock requiring invasive support and has a special passion for pre and post heart and lung transplant patients.

Critical care knowledge and skills are not offered to physical therapy candidates in school, so it is a career goal of Jenna’s to use her unique specialty to help this field of physical therapy grow. She enjoys teaching these skills to other clinicians to assist them in practicing at the top of their license and help them to create the best outcomes for their patients in the ICU.

She is especially interested in working to further research on mobilizing patients who are supported on various forms of mechanical circulatory support. She has given several guest lectures for entry-level DPT programs, spoken at national level conferences, produced webinars for various healthcare institutions and has been featured in publications aimed at helping to improve ICU skill development for entry level physical therapists and future specialist candidates.

Monica Damasceno, PT, DPT, CCS

Dr. Monica Damasceno  is a Senior Physical Therapist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Monica is a Doctor in Physical Therapy and is a board-certified Clinical Specialist in Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Physical Therapy. She is also a graduate of the Critical Care Physical Therapy Fellowship at Houston Methodist Hospital, and for the past 8 years, she has cultivated a passion for critical care rehabilitation.

Monica’s expertise spans both adult and pediatric ICU settings where she is dedicated to improving patient outcomes. Her commitment to advancing critical care practices is evident through her active involvement with the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM). She served on the Board of Directors for the SCCM Texas Chapter from 2020 to 2023 and remains an active member at the regional and national level.

Monica is also an active member of the Latin America Society of Pediatric Critical Care (Sociedad Latino Americana de Cuidados Intensivos Pediátricos-SLACIP). She served as coordinator of the Early Mobility Work Group since 2020 with physical therapists and kinesiologists from multiple countries in South America in which she developed early mobility guidelines that helped colleagues in other countries develop their own protocols. She is also a co-author of the “En Enfoque Preventivo: Movilización y (Re) Habilitación Precoz” in the Tratado de Cuidados Intensivos textbook from the Latin America Society of Pediatric Critical Care (SLACIP). Regarding international presentations, Monica served as one of the instructors for the SCCM ICU Liberation Course in Ukraine in 2023. She was also one of the instructors of the Early Mobility Workshop in Pediatrics at The World Federation of Pediatric Intensive & Critical Care Societies Congress in Cancun 2024, presenting the topics: “Functional Outcome Measures Utilized in PICU” and “The Use of Assistive Technology Devices in Early Mobility.”

Her diverse clinical experience includes working in highly specialized ICUs, such as those caring for patients with congenital heart diseases and cancer, both pediatric and adult patients. Over the past few years, she has developed a special interest in strategies to implement early mobility programs and enhanced rehabilitation strategies, and functional outcome measures in pediatric population in ICU, further demonstrating her dedication to advancing critical care practices.

Steve Klahn, MBA, BSN, RN, CCRN, FACHE

Steve Klahn is the system clinical director for Virtual Medicine at Houston Methodist, leading the Virtual ICU, Virtual Urgent Care and TeleNursing programs. He is a Registered Nurse and has served in various administrative roles over the last 16 years. He has over 23 years of critical care experience and is dual board-certified in critical care nursing (CCRN) and healthcare leadership (FACHE). He has a passion for collaborating with clinicians and incorporating technological innovations to optimize patient care.

Sylvia Stefanos, PharmD, BCCCP

Sylvia Stefanos earned a Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Houston College of Pharmacy. Her post-graduate training includes completing a PGY1 pharmacy residency at Methodist University Hospital and PGY2 critical care pharmacy residency at the University of Colorado. She is board certified in critical care pharmacy and is currently a clinical specialist in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Houston Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center. She plays an active role in multidisciplinary bedside education and mentorship of students and residents. Sylvia has several peer reviewed publications and research recognitions, including receiving a 2023 SCCM STAR Research Award and 2024 SCCM Silver Snapshot Research Award. Her clinical interests include critical pulmonary disorders, shock states, and pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics in critically ill patients.

Michael Sirimaturos, PharmD, BCNSP, BCCCP, FCCM

Dr. Michael Sirimaturos is a Clinical Pharmacist and currently serves in the role of System Critical Care Pharmacy Services Leader for Houston Methodist. He previously spent 13.5 years at the bedside as a Clinical Pharmacist Specialist in the Medical ICU at Houston Methodist Hospital. He received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from The University of Mississippi and completed his PGY1 and PGY2 Critical Care Pharmacy Residency training at Houston Methodist.

Michael is involved in teaching, collaborative research, and protocol development at Houston Methodist. He is the Director for the PGY2 Critical Care Pharmacy Residency Program and has been a member of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for 14 years in which he was appointed IRB Vice-Chair in 2018. His research, publication and professional interests include blood glucose control, electrolyte management, toxicology, nutrition, anticoagulation stewardship and COVID-19. Michael is board certified in nutrition and critical care pharmacy. Michael has also been an active member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) and the SCCM Texas Chapter in which he served as Texas Chapter President in 2016. He is an active Fellow of the American College of Critical Care Medicine (FCCM) and has served on several national SCCM committees including the Membership Committee (Past-Chair), Chapters Alliance (Chair-elect), FCCS: Crisis Management Committee, and the Insulin Infusion Guidelines Committee (Co-Vice Chair).

Jennifer Cortes, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, FCCM

Dr. Jennifer Cortes is a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. She is Board Certified in Critical Care and received the designation of Fellow of the American College of Critical Care Medicine. She enjoys teaching and leading research projects and quality improvement projects. Dr. Cortes’ clinical and research interests include sedation/analgesia/delirium in mechanically ventilated patients, pulmonary hypertension, alcohol withdrawal, and septic shock.

Brandy Mckelvy, MD, FCCP

Dr. Brandy McKelvey is a board certified physician and associate professor in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

Regarded by patients as a physician who is easy to talk to, Dr. McKelvy’s practice philosophy centers on teamwork that delivers efficient and effective healthcare. She treats primarily adults.

She has served as a faculty member since 2005. Dr. McKelvy’s accolades include being named “Physician of the Year” at Memorial Herman Hospital-TMC for 2012, and multiple years being recognized for the UTHealth Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence. She enjoys training future physicians and dedicates herself to the education of medical students, residents and fellows.

Nationally, she is a current member and Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and the American Thoracic Society. Locally, she is member of the Texas Chapter of Society of Critical Care Medicine and served as president in 2023.