August 22, 2017

Qingbian Ma enjoys summer observership at U-M

PKU Third Hospital Emergency Medicine Physician Qingbian Ma (second from right) with members of the Michigan Medicine ED team in Ann Arbor.

Michigan Medicine this summer welcomed the leader of Peking University Third Hospital’s Emergency Medicine department for an extended visit.

Qingbian Ma, Chief Emergency Medicine Physician and Vice Chair of the department at Third Hospital, spent all of July and most of August in an observership with UMMS Emergency Medicine colleagues – Dr. Ma’s second lengthy stay in three years, in addition to a number of shorter recent visits for meetings.

“Each time I come to the University of Michigan, the most memorable part is my dear friends in the Emergency Department,” Dr. Ma said. “They treat me as a family member and make me feel at home.”

Dr. Ma is the Principle Investigator along with UMMS Emergency Medicine Associate Professor Kyle Gunnerson, MD, on a Joint Institute project to explore potential clinical research collaboration opportunities following the launch of a dedicated Emergency Critical Care Center at UMHS. (Such facilities are the norm in China but rare in the United States.)

She is also involved in a new JI project awarded this summer that aims to better treat sepsis through faster, more sensitive tests to identify pathogens and antibiotic susceptibility. Advancing these projects was the primary reason for Dr. Ma’s visit.

“We were able to make great progress on our JI projects,” Dr. Ma said. “We discussed the collaboration in detail including data analysis phase for the ongoing project, protocols for new project implementation, and timelines for future faculty exchanges.”

In addition to the Emergency Critical Care Center, Dr. Ma spent time visiting in the UMHS Transplant ICU lab and the labs of Dr. Robert Neumar, Emergency Medicine Chair, and Dr. Robert Bartlett, a professor emeritus of General Surgery who remains active in clinical research.

“I got a lot of experience that will influence my work at Peking University Third Hospital,” Dr. Ma said. “In addition to the lab visits, the teamwork in the U-M Emergency Medicine Department was inspiring. Their clinical flow and teamwork spirit has impressed me deeply.”