About me

Dr. Abella studies sudden cardiac arrest, a leading cause of death that claims over 350,000 lives each year in the United States. Specifically, projects within his clinical research team include: (1) evaluation of CPR and resuscitation performance, (2) testing new methods to teach CPR in the community, (3) prognostication of neurologic outcomes after cardiac arrest, and (4) methods to improve post-arrest care and outcomes. Dr. Abella is also the developer and Medical Director of a novel training course for post-arrest care and targeted temperature management (TTM), the Penn TTM Academy. Dr. Abella has published over 200 scholarly works, reviews and monographs in numerous professional journals including NEJM, JAMA and Circulation, as well as textbook chapters on cardiac arrest and resuscitation. He is Co-Chair of the global Resuscitation Science Symposium and has participated in developing international CPR guidelines. He has won a number of honors for his research, clinical care in the Emergency Department and his teaching of residents and medical students, and has lectured widely on the topics of cardiac arrest and post-arrest treatment. The investigative work of Dr. Abella’s team is supported by funding from the NIH and PCORI, as well as industry sources.