MGH-BIDMC Harvard

Elias Baedorf Kassis, MD

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Elias Baedorf Kassis, MD

Director, Respiratory Care

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Areas of Expertise: Investigation and Academic Clinical Medicine

Academic Interests

Mechanisms of lung injury in ARDS Respiratory physiology and pathophysiology, patient-ventilator interaction and dyssynchrony, lung protective sedation strategies, optimization of weaning from mechanical ventilation, and the application of esophageal manometry to personalize mechanical ventilation.

Awards and Recognition

  • American Thoracic Society Unrestricted Critical Care Award: 2022 Teacher of the Year.

  • Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship: 2021-2022

A full list of Dr. Kassis’ published work can be found on My Bibliography.

More information can be found on Dr. Kassis’ Harvard Catalyst Profile.

+Current Projects

Prospective studies:
  • Adaptive Support Ventilation in ARDS (PI): a study comparing a new mode of ventilation where parameters are automatically adjusted by the vent to minimize mechanical work and driving pressure, with standard control mode ventilation.
  • Pressure-Volume Loops in Respiratory Failure (PI): investigating the clinical application of pressure-volume loops for PEEP optimization, determination of recruitability, and ventilator optimization.
  • Dyssynchrony frequency and clinical correlations (PI): investigation of patients with moderate-severe ARDS and the frequency of specific subtypes of dyssynchrony, and investigating the correlations with sedation, ventilator mode, clinical parameters and patient outcomes.
  • Automation of a novel breathing pattern identification strategy using machine learning for clinical care and research.
  • FAST Study (PI): investigation comparing strategies of SBT frequency and method in order to expedite weaning and extubation.
  • Intellivent Ventilation (PI): investigation of a new mode of mechanical ventilation that uses ETCO2 to adjust minute ventilation needs and provides support via ASV.
  • PREVENT-VILI (PI): proposal for esophageal balloon directed PEEP combined with driving pressure guided tidal volume titration.

    Retrospective Studies:

  • Dyssynchrony pattern phenotypes with clinical correlations and inflammatory markers in EPVent2.
  • Looking at PEEP responders or “recruitable” patients in relation to outcomes and response to treatment using recruitment maneuvers and changes in driving pressure in EPVent2.
  • Transpulmonary pressure, minute stress, mechanical power in relation to mortality and clinical outcomes in the EPVent2 study.
  • How to transition off of lung protective ventilation safely using a large retrospective database to model decisions on when and how patients are transitioned safely.
  • Dosing of neuromuscular blockade using train of four modeling dose changes with treatment response.
  • Comparison of pre and post Campbell diagram neuromuscular blockade protocol in the ICU.
  • Mechanical power investigation in the ICU and intraoperatively.