Critical Illness and Injury Scientific Interest Group

The Critical Illness and Injury Scientific Interest Group (CII-SIG) formed in response to burgeoning interest in the role of functional genomics in critical care medicine and to NIH’s growing interest in and commitment to translational research. The group held its inaugural meeting at the Fourth Symposium on the Functional Genomics of Critical Illness and Injury, held at NIH in November 2006.  

CII-SIG serves as an inter-institute clearinghouse for information exchange and discussion among scientists from the myriad disciplines and agencies that span this area of clinical research. In addition, CII-SIG sponsors symposia, poster sessions, and lectures; offers mentoring and career guidance for junior scientists; and provides informal advice to the DDIR.

What are the scope and aims of CII-SIG?

Advances in computational biology and high-throughput technologies have generated considerable interest in understanding intricate biological systems.  The translation of these approaches to critical illness and injury offers the potential to define maladaptive programs of genetic expression induced by infection, trauma, and other inflammatory triggers, as well as to detect biomarkers and functional polymorphisms linked to these responses.

As the tools of systems biology mature, physicians will have new resources to complement or even replace current therapies, enabling them to navigate the physiome, from system to organ to genome.  The ultimate goal is to revolutionize critical care medicine by developing a global understanding of complex biological processes and systems, integrating pathophysiology, cell biology, and genomic/genetic programs.  Multi-institute, multiagency, and multidisciplinary teamwork is key to achieving this goal, and CII-SIG hopes to serve as a communications node for this area of bench-to-bedside research


Who should join CII-SIG?

• critical care physicians
• bioinformaticians
• biostatisticians
• mathematicians
• computer scientists
• computational biologists
• ethicists
• policymakers
• anyone in the research community with an interest in functional genomics and   critical care.


Steering Committee

Scott D. Somers, Ph.D.
National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH, DHHS

Anthony F. Suffredini, M.D.
Critical Care Medicine Department, Clinical Center, NIH, DHHS




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