The Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine (PCCSM)
at the University of Illinois at Chicago has a full array of services for patients, referring physicians, and fellows. Situated in the heart of Chicago, the Sectionprovides excellent patient care, quality education, and an environment of inquiry with innovative basic and clinical research. Twenty-four clinical and research faculty members are responsible for a broad range of activities.

The Section directs the Medical Intensive Care Unit service at the Universityof Illinois Medical Center (UIH+C) and the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center (JB-VAMC) and staffs the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Michael Reese MedicalCenter. The ICU services have members of a multidisciplinary team that include an attending intensivist physician, a pulmonary and critical care fellow, critical
care (CCRN) nurses, a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD), respiratory therapists (RRT), and social and chaplain services. The critical care team has primary responsibility for all aspects of patient care and conducts daily bedside rounds and extensive didactic teaching. Fellows, residents, and students
working on these MICU rotations carry out technical procedures including ventilator management, cardiopulmonary monitoring, and placement of centrallines under the supervision of the attending physician. The section also staffs the Surgical Intensive Care Unit and consults on the Neuro and Cardiothoracic ICUs at UIH+C.

Both the UIH+C and JB-VAMC hospitals support busy pulmonary inpatient consultation services and a robust outpatient practice in pulmonary and sleep medicine. Patients with a variety of respiratory and sleep related illnesses come to UIC for an expert opinion and care in a variety of both common and unusual illnesses. The PCCSM section conducts several clinical studies in which patients can be involved. Areas of expertise and academic interest include alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency, asthma, bronchiectasis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), interstitial lung disease, scleroderma-
related lung disease, sleep apnea, tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases.

In addition to the experience and exposure to all forms of pulmonary disease, fellows and residents learn the performance and interpretation of physiologic pulmonary function tests including spirometry, static lung volumes, pulmonary exercise testing, and bronchial challenge testing. Under supervision of attending physicians, fellows see patients on the pulmonary consultation
service and in the Ambulatory Care Clinic at UIH+C and JB-VAMC. A well equipped and busy sleep lab provides service for patients and referring physicians and learning opportunities for fellows. Pulmonary fellows have an opportunity for extensive public health experience in the treatment of patients with latent and active tuberculosis in the City of Chicago tuberculosis clinics and at the
ambulatory, inpatient pulmonary, critical care and sleep rotations. Clinical electives are available to fellows in a variety of fields and at other hospitals.

In addition to the clinic activity, fellows develop a supervised research program with one of the Section's scientists in either basic science or clinical research. Research interests of the faculty includes animal and cellular models of acute lung inflammation (e.g. ARDS and severe sepsis), molecular mechanisms of alveolar and airway inflammation, macrophage and neutrophil
cellular biology, epidemiology of asthma and occupational lung disease, use of nanoparticles for delivery of anti-neoplastic drugs, basic and clinical aspects of sleep disordered breathing and sleep apnea, clinical trials in interstitial lung disease, ARDS and severe sepsis, pulmonary vascular disease, and asthma.

For fellows committed to pursuing an academic career, we encourage a fourth or fifth year of fellowship devoted exclusively to research. Fellows can obtain a master of public health (MPH) degree during their fellowship. The section has a variety of teaching methods that are primarily
centered on one-on-one patient-centered activities and Conferences.