The Ohio Information Exchange (OIEx) is a platform created by the Ohio Department of Higher Education that connects businesses and industry with professors, equipment, and facilities available at Ohio research universities. Professors create profiles that provide their research interests, scholarly works, and contact information, which can be viewed by professionals at other institutions and in industry. There are well over 10,000 profiles on OIEx from a growing number of universities, so far including: Case Western Reserve University, University of Cincinnati, Ohio State University, Ohio University, University of Dayton, Cleveland State University, University of Akron, and Northeast Ohio Medical University.
On a semi-yearly basis, the Ohio Department of Higher Education runs a report of the most visited profiles on the OIEx platform, which shows general interest in particular researchers across Ohio. In January 2023, the #1 most visited profile was UC’s Dr. Timothy Pritts, who also held the #8 spot for the entire year of 2022. No doubt part of this increase in fame is due to his work on the team that cared for Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin in January. Damar Hamlin suffered from a heart attack on the field at Paycor Stadium, where he was resuscitated and promptly transported to UC Health. At the hands of UC’s skilled staff, including Dr. Pritts, Damar Hamlin made a swift recovery and has been cleared to play again. You can see an interview that Dr. Pritts gave with Good Morning America here.
On top of being a distinguished physician, Dr. Pritts is also an accomplished researcher; in FY2022, he received over $400,000 in sponsored research awards, landing him as one of UC’s outstanding sponsored research rainmakers for his sixth time. Being one of UC’s rainmakers points towards excellence in the field, and we wanted to know exactly what it is like to be at that level. Below is an exclusive interview with Dr. Timothy Pritts.
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How would you say your research affects the care that you provide?
“In general, we try to do things that are very practical. Most of my research looks at the care of trauma patients, which is directly applicable to the care of injured and patients.”
How do you continue to provide personalized care, even when under the national spotlight like with Damar Hamlin?
“You really work to take care of each patient and family as individuals, regardless of their status. Each patient needs the individualized personal care, and you really can’t do it any other way.”
You mentioned in a Good Morning America interview that, to treat Damar Hamlin, you worked on a team of over 150 individuals. What is it like to work with a team that size?
“The team is better thought of as a team of teams. We can account for that many people because there are really many different teams involved. It isn’t quite 150 people working simultaneously, they’re there working at the different levels of care. Everyone has a job and everyone knows their job and does it to the best of their ability.”
What research project has you most excited right now, and why?
“We do a lot of work helping and improving the care of our wounded warriors. A lot of what we do is angled toward care and resuscitation of the injured and the critically ill, which directly impacts those who pledge their lives to serve their country.”
What’s your favorite part about being a researcher at UC?
“I really like the collaborative environment. It’s great to work with the many great teams together to solve problems.”