Alam is an academic trauma surgeon. He is an international leader in bench-to-clinic translational trauma research.[4][5][6] In 2017,he was awarded the American Heart Association Lifetime Achievement Award for Trauma Resuscitation Science.[7]
Biography
Early life and education
Alam was born in Quetta,Pakistan. He wanted to be a surgeon from early on in life. After completing medical education at the Aga Khan University Medical College,Pakistan in 1990,he moved to the United States for surgical training.[2][8]
Alam served as the Norman W. Thompson Professor of Surgery,and the Section Head of General Surgery at Michigan Medicine,Ann Arbor,Michigan from 2012 to 2020.[4][11] He now serves as the Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. "It's a bigger stage,more complex healthcare system,located in an iconic city. It puts you on a growth trajectory where you are learning new things and growing constantly. These new challenges keep you engaged and energized",said Alam in 2021.[12] "If a patient enters a facility that has the Northwestern Medicine logo on it,they should rest assured that they will get the right care —no matter which door they enter," he added.[12]
He has delivered lectures at national and international forums on topics ranging from combat casualty care to achieving academic success in surgery.[10] In 2010,he was featured on the ABC television series Boston Med.[13] He served as the Chair of the Massachusetts Committee on Trauma from 2009 to 2012.[14] He is the vice-chair of the Multi-institutional Trials Committee for the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma.[15] He currently serves on the editorial board of multiple journals including the Annals of Surgery,[16] the Journal of the American College of Surgeons,[17] and the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery.[18]
Alam has authored more than 350 peer-reviewed manuscripts with around 19,000 citations,and has the h-index of 71.[20] In 2001,in collaboration with the Office of Naval Research,Alam was the first to successfully test the hemostatic dressing QuickClot® for use on the battlefield. For him,this meant "your buddy has to stop the bleeding,not the medic,not the surgeon".[21][22][23] Within months of testing,QuickClot®was deployed for use by the special operation forces in Afghanistan.[24] His work on QuickClot®has been featured in an interview on the surgery podcast series Behind the Knife.[25]
Alam's work on suspended animation models and therapeutic hypothermia as a treatment strategy to improve outcomes in trauma patients received international coverage.[26][27][28][29] By suspending hundreds of injured pigs in hypothermia for more than an hour each,Alam has proved that crucial time can be bought to fix lethal injuries without compromising the vital organs.[30][31][32] "With the pig essentially dead (in hypothermia),we've got hours to fix it",says Alam.[30] His work helped in the conception of a federally funded clinical trial on the use of profound hypothermia in patients with traumatic arrest.[33]
His ongoing research aims to create 'survivors out of non-survivors' using novel cell-preserving drugs that target epigenetic modulation to treat critically ill trauma patients.[34][35][36][37] The aim is to create an economical,shelf-stable and easy to administer treatment,in the form of a pill or an injection,that the soldiers can use on the battlefield to survive the critical first few hours of injuries.[6] "If we can sustain the patient through the first few hours,not only will they recover,but they can return to being contributing members of society",says Alam.[6] One such drug,valproic acid,is currently under clinical testing for use in hemorrhagic shock and traumatic brain injury.[38]
Dr. Alam holds more than 10 patents including the patent on 'portable hand pump for evacuation of fluids',which is used widely in hospitals around the world.[39]
The Alam Laboratory
Alam has led a trauma research laboratory that started at the Uniformed Services University and then moved to the Massachusetts General Hospital,before relocating to the University of Michigan,Ann Arbor.[33] Currently,the laboratory is housed in the Feinberg School of Medicine Campus in Downtown Chicago.
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