Benjamin H. Singer, MD, PhD
Clinical Lecturer, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Internal Medicine
Dr. Benjamin Singer is an Clinical Lecturer in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan. He received his undergraduate degree in mathematics at the University of Michigan in 2002. Dr. Singer completed his medical training and PhD in Neuroscience through the Medical Scientist Training Program, and subsequently completed residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship training in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, all at the University of Michigan.
Approximately half of patients who survive an episode of critical illness experience long term brain dysfunction, in the form of anxiety, depression, post traumatic stress, or cognitive impairment. Dr. Singer’s research focuses on basic and translational studies of long-term brain injury after critical illness, with a focus on sepsis. These studies utilize animal models of sepsis and patient autopsy specimens to examine the immune and vascular responses to sepsis in the brain that persist for weeks to months after the outward signs of illness have resolved. In collaboration with Dr. Bob Dickson, he also examines the role of the gut microbiome in initiation of brain injury and multiorgan failure during sepsis. The goal of this work is to identify strategies to minimize and rehabilitate ongoing brain injury in sepsis survivors. Areas of special clinical focus include the care of patients with advance neuromuscular disease requiring chronic assisted ventilation. Dr. Singer is supported by a National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Career Development Award, MICHR, and University of Michigan Depression Center.