David Greenhalgh, M.D., chief of burns at Shriners Hospitals for Children — Northern California and a past president of the American Burn Association, will be installed as president of the International Society of Burn Injuries (ISBI) in August. A main purpose of ISBI is to share information with its members in order to increase and improve burn prevention. ISBI has more than 1,000 members from 95 countries.
A recognized leader in burn care
David Greenhalgh, M.D.
Board-certified by the American Board of Surgery, with added qualifications in surgical critical care, Dr. Greenhalgh manages all aspects of burn care at Shriners Hospitals for Children — Northern California and at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine. Dr. Greenhalgh has published and presented extensively in the areas of burn injury, burn care and burn prevention. In 2019, an article by Dr. Greenhalgh, Management of Burns, was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The article focused on the principles and practices that lead to the best outcomes for patients with burn injuries. Dr. Greenhalgh is joined by Tina Palmieri, M.D., assistant chief of burns; Soman Sen, M.D.; and Kathleen Romanowski, M.D., in leading a multidisciplinary team that includes skilled reconstructive plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurse practitioners, psychiatrists and psychologists, burn technicians, occupational and physical therapists, nutritionists, social workers, pharmacists, child life specialists, schoolteachers, and orthotists and prosthetists. They work in concert to maximize patients’ cosmetic and functional outcomes.
Research efforts improve treatments and lives
Burn-related research at the Northern California Shriners Hospital encompasses everything from how the body reacts to severe stress, to diagnostic tools that can be used at the bedside when treating critically injured children. Dr. Greenhalgh performs research related to the response to injury, cell signaling and the regulation of wound healing and scar formation. Some of Dr. Greenhalgh’s specific research efforts include studies of how skin responds to injuries and how that injury results in damage to other organs. He specifically focuses on how injury can alter the cell receptor that responds to the body’s stress hormones, especially steroids (cortisol). Dr. Greenhalgh is also a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Surgical Association. Respected worldwide as a leader in pediatric burn care and research, Dr. Greenhalgh routinely shares his knowledge and expertise with audiences around the globe.
