Meet New Sutherland College Advisor Lorraine Ware, M.D.
1) Can you tell us a little bit about where you are from, where you received your clinical training, and what brought you to Nashville/Vanderbilt?
I am originally from Southern California but also spent a lot of time in Ontario, Canada growing up. I went to Claremont McKenna College for my undergraduate degree and then Johns Hopkins for medical school and internal medicine residency. After residency, I moved back to California for fellowship training in pulmonary and critical care medicine at UCSF. I also completed a research fellowship at the UCSF Cardiovascular Research Institute. After fellowship, my husband and I started looking for academic jobs. My husband is a neurosurgeon and we had to live apart for several years during my fellowship. My first faculty position was at UCLA which was close to my husband’s job at Cedars Sinai Hospital. In 2002, we were both recruited to Vanderbilt and have been here since then.
2) What are your current research interests?
My primary research interest is in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) which is a syndrome of acute lung inflammation and respiratory failure that we commonly see in the ICU. My lab studies the pathogenesis of ARDS in animal models and isolated perfused human lungs. We also study patients with ARDS and are interested in biomarkers for clinical diagnosis and prognosis and in developing new therapies. Mechanistically, the pathway we are most interested in targeting is oxidative injury to the lung triggered by release of cell-free hemoglobin into the circulation and airspace in ARDS and sepsis.
3) Can you summarize your involvement with medical student education at Vanderbilt thus far, and is there any unique perspective that you believe you bring to physician-scientist training?
In addition to some classroom teaching and teaching medical students in the ICU, I have directed the Vanderbilt Medical Scholars Program since 2012. The Medical Scholars Program is a one year research program for medical students that allows them to take a year out to focus solely on a research experience at Vanderbilt or elsewhere in the US or abroad. I really enjoy interacting with the medical students in this program and helping them to find appropriate research experiences that match their interests. As a former MD/PhD student who elected not to finish the PhD training, I have a unique perspective on pathways to a career as a physician scientist.
4) What aspect of your new role in Vanderbilt's MSTP are you most excited about?
I am looking forward to interacting with the MSTP students as they navigate the program and plan for the next phases of their training. As a physician scientist who is managing (most days) to blend patient care with teaching and bench-to-bedside research, I hope that I can serve both as a role model and a source of career advice.
5) How do you like to spend your free time in Nashville?
I have three kids ages 18, 15 and 12, so I spend a lot of my free time at their sports and music activities and being their “Uber” driver. I also like to ski, hike and run. I really enjoy running with a women’s running club that includes several Vanderbilt faculty.
