Program for Advancing Critical Care Translational Science

Overview 

The Program for Advancing Critical Care Translational Science (PACCTS) at Massachusetts General Hospital underpins a patient-centered research program to advance a precision medicine paradigm in critical illness. The program aims to advance the understanding of critical illness syndromes by building a comprehensive, prospective biorepository of clinical and human biosamples.  

PACCTS supports a sustainable research infrastructure within the Mass General Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine (DPCCM) and serves as a central resource for the larger Mass General Brigham community. It establishes a collaborative environment to span the clinical and research missions of the DPCCM, support junior faculty and trainees to become future leaders in critical care academic medicine, and facilitate partnerships inside and outside the institution.   

Research Team

George Alba, MD 

PACCTS Co-Director  

Dr. Alba studied English Literature and Biology at Washington University, earned his MD at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and completed both Internal Medicine and Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine training at Mass General. During his postdoctoral research fellowship, Dr. Alba completed the Harvard Catalyst Clinical and Translational Research Academy and obtained a National Research Service Award (F32) from the NHLBI to study hypoxia and platelet-endothelial interactions in pulmonary thromboembolism under the mentorship of Dr. Bradley Maron. Dr. Alba’s research has also been supported by a Harvard KL2 and the Mass General Center for Diversity and Inclusion.  

As associate director of the Pulmonary CORE clinic at Mass General, Dr. Alba cares for and studies the acute and long-term cardiopulmonary consequences of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and oversees the research protocols aimed at clinically and molecularly phenotyping ARDS survivors.  

Recently, Dr. Alba was awarded the Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program, a four-year career development award administered through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Dr. Alba’s project investigates anti-NEDD9 targeting as a novel therapeutic strategy for acute lung injury using animal models of ARDS.  

Dr. Alba was recently selected as a 2023 American Society for Clinical Investigation Young Physician-Scientist Award, which recognizes physician-scientists who are early in their first faculty appointment and have made notable achievements in their research.  

Jehan Alladina, MD

PACCTS Co-Director 

Dr. Alladina completed her medical school training at Baylor College of Medicine and completed an Internal Medicine residency at Mass General and a Pulmonary and Critical Care fellowship at the Harvard combined program. During her postdoctoral research fellowship, Dr. Alladina completed the Harvard Catalyst Clinical and Translational Research Academy and joined the laboratory of Dr. Benjamin Medoff at the Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Disease.  

Dr. Alladina developed expertise in using human experimental models to study inflammatory lung disease. She was the recipient of the Harvard KL2/Catalyst Medical Research Investigator Training award to further study the contribution of trained immunity of airway mononuclear phagocytes in asthma pathogenesis. 

Dr. Alladina now leverages her training in translational research and immunology to interrogate the role of the innate immune response in the pathogenesis of ARDS. She found that soluble ST2, a decoy receptor for IL-33, is associated with mortality and ventilator dependence in ARDS. Using murine models of lung injury, she is determining if soluble ST2 plays a causal role in ARDS. She also longitudinally profiles patients with ARDS over their disease trajectory to identify immune pathways that drive disease progression, as well as those that may promote the resolution of lung injury.  

Alicia Rizzo, MD, PhD

Physician Investigator

Dr. Rizzo completed her undergraduate studies in neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University in 2009. She completed her MD and a PhD in Pharmacology at the University of Illinois in 2017. Her thesis work tested the effects of the FDA-approved chemotherapeutic agent imatinib mesylate in murine models of ARDS and elucidated the mechanisms by which the Abl family kinases mediate pulmonary vascular barrier function. She then completed Internal Medicine Residency and Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship at the University of Colorado. 

In 2020, she joined the Schmidt Laboratory as a post-doctoral research fellow. Her research there investigates the role of the alveolar epithelial glycocalyx in ARDS using both human airspace fluid samples obtained from heat moisture exchange filters and a complementary mouse model of targeted epithelial glycocalyx degradation. Dr. Rizzo was awarded grant funding for this work from the NIH/NHLBI (F32 NRSA and LRP) and the Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI) and she was selected for the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) Emerging Generation Award in 2022. In 2023, she was awarded a Parker B. Francis Fellowship.  

Charlotte Crutchlow, BA

Clinical Research Coordinator

Charlotte Crutchlow is a New Jersey native and recent Summa Cum Laude graduate of Middlebury College with BAs in Neuroscience and English Literature. In her role as clinical research coordinator, she will facilitate the collection of samples from eligible ICU patients that will guide investigations of critical illness pathologies. She will also contribute to translational research projects involving more specific studies of biomarkers and disease development factors. Outside of work, she enjoys playing ice hockey, going on hikes with friends, and baking.

Jack Tietjen BA, RRT

Research Respiratory Therapist

Jack Tietjen grew up near Portland, Oregon, where he studied emergency medical services before moving to complete his undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology from the University of Colorado. In 2020 he moved to Rhode Island where he furthered his medical training to become a respiratory therapist (RT), working as a student RT and medical scribe while in school. After graduating, Jack began work at Mass General as an RT and in 2023 as an ECMO specialist. He is thrilled to be starting his role as a research RT on this project. In his free time, Jack enjoys playing bass guitar, riding his bike, and playing with his cat Bebop. 

Emma White, BA 

PACCTS Alumni 

Ms. Emma White is a Massachusetts native and recent Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Middlebury College with a BA in Neuroscience and a minor in Global Health. She worked on a variety of projects in her role as a clinical research coordinator, including an investigation into the early detection of ventilator-associated pneumonia and translational research on the varying immune profiles in asthma. Outside of work, she enjoys road biking, crossword puzzles, and travel. Ms. White is now a medical student at Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai.