Dr. Bembea’s research is focused on determining the best ways to monitor neurologic status of these critically ill patients. To that end, she is investigating novel neuromonitoring methods and working toward developing a panel of brain-specific proteins that could be measured in the blood. Brain-specific protein testing could become an adjunct to other neuromonitoring methods commonly used in intensive care units (e.g., cerebral oximetry, EEG) and could act as triggers for obtaining neuroimaging studies (e.g., brain CT). They could also be used to assess response to neuroprotective interventions, prognosticate long-term outcomes, and assist with family counseling. She uses neuroimaging techniques and sees patients for follow-up at 6 months and 1 year to assess their development, evaluate their neurologic function, and ascertain their self-reported health-related quality of life. This research, which is being conducted in collaboration with other ECMO centers, will enable her and her colleagues to correlate protein levels with specific outcomes. She believes that by optimizing neuromonitoring, this research will help improve safety and outcomes of patients who require ECMO. Dr. Bembea is also actively collaborating in research related to coagulation disturbances and blood transfusion requirements during ECMO.