James J. Menegazzi, PhD, is a Professor of Emergency Medicine with tenure and Department of Emergency Medicine Endowed Professor of Resuscitation Research at the University of Pittsburgh. He holds secondary appointments in the University’s Department of Bioengineering and the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. He is also an Associate Scientist at the Safar Center for Resuscitation Research. The focus of Dr Menegazzi’s work is resuscitation of cardiac arrest. He has done pioneering work analyzing the ECG waveform during ventricular fibrillation, demonstrating that quantitative waveform measures can be used to guide therapy. He has investigated novel approaches to treating prolonged cardiac arrest such as the use of drug cocktails, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) cardiac life support (ECLS). He developed the two-thumb with thoracic squeeze method of infant chest compression that is currently recommended by the American Heart Association. Dr. Menegazzi is presently conducting research on the phenomenon of rearrest in patients who attain return of spontaneous circulation during out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. His work is funded primarily by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Dr Menegazzi is the editor in chief of the journal PreHopsital Emergency Care.
Markus Skrifvars is Professor, Prehospital Emergency Medicine and in the Department of Diagnostics and Therapeutics at the University of Helsinki
Dr. Rittenberger is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. His clinical research focuses on acute neuronal injury. As one of the founding members of the Post Cardiac Arrest Service, Dr. Rittenberger focuses on anoxic brain injury and treatments to ameliorate this injury and improve functional recovery.
Dr. Mary Beth Mancini is Professor Emeritus and the former Sr. Associate Dean for Education Innovation at The University of Texas at Arlington College of Nursing where she held the Baylor Professorship for Healthcare Research. Dr. Mancini’s research interests include basic and advanced live support education, innovative educational strategies, inter-professional collaborative practice and the development of high performing healthcare teams through the use of simulation. As an active member of the American Heart Association since 1983 she has held appointments on the Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee, Educational Science and Programs Subcommittee, Maintenance of Competency Working Group, Electronic Database Steering Committee, Writing Group for CPR Quality, and the Quality Care and Outcomes Research Steering Committee. Dr. Mancini is the current Chain of AHA’s Education, Science and Programs Subcommittee. She was one of the founders of the National Registry of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation – now, Get With The Guidelines-Resuscitation. In addition, Dr. Mancini has served as President of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare and member of the Institute of Medicine’s Global Forum on Innovations in Health Professional Education, ILCOR, and the World Health Organization’s Initiative on Training and Simulation and Patient Safety.
