UMSOM Names Dr. Nader M. Habashi as the Hamish S. and Christine C. Osborne Distinguished Professor of Advanced Pulmonary Care

Professorship Celebrates Donor Generosity While Recognizing Clinical Excellence and Innovation in Advanced Pulmonary Care

On June 12, 2023 before a large audience of University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) faculty and staff, family members, friends, and distinguished invited guests, Nader M. Habashi, MD, FACP, FCCP, an internationally renowned expert on critical care medicine and a pioneer of innovative  respiratory therapy, was invested as the Hamish S. and Christine C. Osborne Distinguished Professor of Advanced Pulmonary Care.

Dr. Habashi is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Attending Physician and Medical Director of the Multi-trauma Critical Care Unit, and the Clinical Medical Director of the Respiratory Therapy Department at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, MD. Additionally, he serves as the Medical Director of Maryland’s Organ Procurement Organization (The Living Legacy Foundation) and Medical Director of Clinical Services for the Los Angeles, California, Organ Procurement Organization (One Legacy).

Dr. Habashi initiated the first extracorporeal oxygenation (ECMO) program at the Shock Trauma Center in 1992. Subsequently, Dr. Habashi’s focus turned to a mode of ventilation called airway pressure release ventilation (APRV) where he developed and refined a method of personalizing APRV to each patient, enabling the decreased need for ECMO. During the COVID-19 outbreak, he received the attention of the Department of Defense for his expertise in mechanical ventilation.

Thomas M. Scalea, MD, who is The Honorable Francis X. Kelly Distinguished Professor of Trauma Surgery at UMSOM, Director of the Program in Trauma at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and Physician-in-Chief of the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, served as master of ceremonies for the ceremony.

“Today gives us the opportunity to thank the Osborne family for their incredible generosity in endowing this distinguished professorship,” Dr. Scalea said to open the ceremony. “Ms. Osborne is here in person and Hamish is very much here in spirit. I am reminded of what generosity can accomplish, and it is a wonderful day because we get to celebrate Nader Habashi.”

UMSOM Dean Mark T. Gladwin, MD, Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor, stepped forward to recognize the Osborne family for their gift of the endowed professorship.

“The endowed professorship that we are celebrating today was established through their [Hamish and Christine’s] generosity as an expression of gratitude for the exceptional care provided by Dr. Osborne’s medical team, as well as their vision to place the University of Maryland School of Medicine at the leading edge of research, education, and clinical care for patients with acute lung disease and respiratory failure,” said Dean Gladwin.  “The goal of this program is to provide transformative care for people who suffer from chronic and acute lung disease, and with this endowed professorship Hamish and Christine established a legacy in the advancement of pulmonary care with our first recipient in 2014, Dr. Aldo T. Iacono, MD, and will continue with Dr. Nader M. Habashi.”

Among the speakers at the ceremony were Jason H. T. Bates, PhD, DSc, Professor of Medicine, Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, and Electrical & Biomedical Engineering, University of Vermont; Gary Nieman, BS, Professor of Research, Department of Surgery, Upstate Medical University; and Kevin K. Chung, MD, FCCM, MACP, Chief Medical Officer, SeaStar Medical.

In reference to Dr. Habashi, longtime scientific colleague Dr. Bates remarked, “I view him as a highly innovative clinician-scientist in a field desperately in need of individuals with the strength of character to challenge the prevailing dogma.”

“Dr. Habashi is extremely hardworking, honest, loyal, humble and kind,” said Professor Nieman of his fellow collaborator. “He is an incredible teacher, mentor, and a caring physician. If you are very sick, you want Dr. Habashi as your doctor.”

“Dr. Habashi, your legacy is already secure,” said Dr. Chung, a former fellow of Dr. Habashi. “Your legacy lives in all the trainees who have had the opportunity to work with you. Your legacy lives in me – in the way I practice medicine and approach medical innovation.”

In taking the podium, Dr. Habashi thanked all present for their support, and acknowledged his patients as his greatest motivation.

“Our patients, especially the patients we could not help, never go away,” said Dr. Habashi. “They are always in your mind constantly asking you, ‘What else can you do, push, and understand better?’ That is ultimately translated into this incredible gift of altruism… We have a long way to go, but we need to get started.”