About Us
Why Penn Medicine TTM Academy?
Targeted temperature management (TTM), previously known as therapeutic hypothermia (TH), is an important intervention that has improved outcomes from cardiac arrest and among patients with neurocritical injury. In our experience as educators and scholars on cardiac arrest and post-arrest care, we have learned that many hospital-based providers struggle with consistent implementation of TTM protocols, and there is a general lack of educational resources to train new staff in TTM application.
We wanted to build a set of resources to address this need . . . and that is Penn Medicine TTM Academy.
Why Us?
Our team at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Resuscitation Science has been involved in post-arrest care and TTM research and teaching for nearly 15 years. We are passionate about improving cardiac arrest outcomes, and equally passionate about teaching and sharing with other emergency and critical care providers around the world Dr. Abella, the Director of the Center for Resuscitation Science, developed the idea for Penn Medicine TTM Academy along with the team members below:
Benjamin Abella, MD MPhil
Professor of Emergency Medicine • Director, Center for Resuscitation Science
Dr. Abella helped establish post-arrest TTM protocols at both the University of Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania, and has authored over 180 scientific works on cardiac arrest and post-arrest care. He is highly regarded as a prolific lecturer on TTM, and has led TTM training workshops around the world, including Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Poland, Iceland, and at numerous conferences in the United States. He is Co-Chair of the National American Heart Association Resuscitation Science Symposium, the premier global meeting focused on cardiac arrest and post-arrest care. He has discussed TTM with Dr. Sanjay Gupta on CNN, on National Geographic, and other media sources.
Joshua Levine, MD
Associate Professor of Neurology • Director, Neurocritical Care Unit
Dr. Levine is a leader in neurocritical care, having established the neurocritical care units at both the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. Dr. Levine has lectured at numerous TTM workshops alongside Dr. Abella, and has trained numerous fellows in the care of patients after cardiac arrest. He has participated in clinical trials pertaining to cutting-edge cerebral resuscitation and monitoring.
Ramani Balu, MD PhD
Assistant Professor of Neurology • Attending physician, Neurocritical Care Unit
Dr. Balu is an expert on neurologic monitoring in the ICU setting, and has developed a research program focused on critical brain illnesses such as encephalitis and post-arrest injury. A superb speaker and teacher, he has lectured at national meetings and authored scientific works on brain injury and physiology.
Juliana Jablonski, DNP RN
Critical Care Nurse Specialist Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Jablonski is an experienced critical care nurse and nursing Chair of the Penn Critical Care Committee, where she has led the TTM task force for protocol development and updates. She is a passionate teacher and collaborator on critical care nursing topics.
Felipe Teran-Merino, MD
Instructor of Emergency Medicine , University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine
Dr. Teran is a clinical instructor of Emergency Medicine in the Division of Emergency Ultrasound at Penn. He works clinically at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and is a clinical investigator at the Center for Resuscitation Science. Dr. Teran completed his Emergency Medicine residency and fellowship in Emergency Ultrasound at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Dr. Teran’s field of work includes critical care ultrasound, transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), emergency critical care and resuscitation.
David Poliner, DO
Instructor of Traumatology and Surgical Critical Care, Department of Surgery University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Poliner is an Instructor of traumatology and surgical critical care at Penn. He works clinically at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. In addition, he is a Research Fellow in the Center for Resuscitation Science with particular interest in ECMO and post-arrest care. Previously, Dr. Poliner worked with the Post-Cardiac Arrest Service within the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.
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David Buckler, EMT-P
Program Manager TTM Academy and Center for Resuscitation Science