Dr. O'Brien is an Instructor in Medicine in the Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Division. He maintains an outpatient practice specializing in Asthma and Obstructive Lung Disease at the PENN Lung Center located at the Presbyterian Medical Center of the University of Pennsylvania. He also serves as an attending physician on the Intensive Care and Pulmonary Medicine services at Presbyterian Medical Center.
Dr. O'Brien has developed an active basic science research program in cell adhesion molecule signaling, particularly in the context of leukocyte-endothelial interaction. He received an NIH KO8 award in 1999 and an American Heart Association Beginning-Grant-in-Aid Research Award in 2001. His interests include signal transduction pathways underlying PECAM-1-regulated endothelial cell processes such as cell migration. Similarly, he maintains an interest in the PECAM-1-dependent mechanisms regulating leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions in the context of inflammation and oxidant-mediated injury.
Dr. O'Brien completed his bachelor's degree in marine biology at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his MD degree from the University of Connecticut where he served as President of the Medical/Dental Student Government 1988-1989. At the University of Connecticut, he was elected into the Scholars in Medicine Honor Society and awarded the Waterbury Medical Association Academic Scholarship and the Merck Book prize for academic excellence.
Dr. O'Brien completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and subsequently entered a four-year research fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He was the recipient of the William Dyson Research Fellowship Award in 1997 and received the American Federation for Medical Research Henry Christian Award at FASEB 2000. Dr. O&Mac185;Brien was appointed an Instructor in Medicine in July 2000 in the Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Division.
In conjunction with his clinical and scientific interests, Dr. O'Brien maintains an active teaching presence in both clinical and laboratory settings. He serves as a clinical preceptor and lecturer on Asthma and Rhinitis in the PENN Lung Center Preceptorship Program established for medical students, residents, fellows, and industry representatives. He similarly serves as a group discussion leader in the Medical School Pulmonary Curriculum and as a lecturer on Asthma during the Pulmonary Division Summer Lecture Series. Dr. O'Brien is a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians. He is a member of the American Physiological Society, the American Federation for Medical Research, and the American Thoracic Society.
O'Brien CD, Ji GJ, Manevich Y, Sun J, Albelda SM, Kotlikoff M. PECAM-1 (CD31) regulates a hydrogen peroxide-activated nonselective cation channel in endothelial cells. Journal of Cell Biology, submitted.
Coa G, O'Brien CD, Zhou Z, Sanders SM, Greenbaum JM, Makrigiannakis A, Delisser HM. The involvement of human PECAM-1 in angiogenesis and in vitro endothelial cell migration. Blood, submitted.
O'Brien CD, Ju GJ, Sun J, Wang YX, Krymskaya VP, Ruberg FL, Kotlikoff M, Albelda SM. Engagement of PECAM-1 activates a phosphoinositide-independent, nonspecific cation channel in endothelial cells. FASEB Journal 15(7): 1257-1260, 2001.
Nakada MT, Amin K, Christofidou-Solomidou M, O&Mac185;Brien CD, Gurubhagavatula I, Heavener G, Taylor A, Paddock C, Zehnder JL, Newman PJ, Albelda SM, Delisser HM. Antibodies against the first Ig-like domain of human PECAM-1 that inhibit PECAM-1 dependent homophilic adhesion block in vivo neutrophil recruitment. Journal of Immunology 164: 452-462, 2000.
O'Brien CD and Manaker S. Smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning. In: Lanken PN, Hanson CW III, and Manaker S (eds.), The Intensive Care Unit Manual, Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders Company, 2001.
O'Brien CD and Manaker S: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy. UpToDate in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine on CD-ROM, vol. 9(1).
O'Brien CD and Manaker S: Nitric oxide and pulmonary hypertension. UpToDate in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine on CD-ROM, vol. 9(1).
