Biography

Shekar obtained a Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Mysore India, in 1999, two critical care fellowships in 2005 and 2009 respectively from College of Critical Care Medicine, Mumbai, India and College of Intensive Care Medicine of Australia and New Zealand. He completed his PhD from the University of Queensland, Australia in 2016 and received the Deans award for an outstanding research higher degree thesis.

Shekar is a Senior Intensive Care Specialist and Director of Research at Adult Intensive Care Service at the Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland. He is an Adjunct Professor at Queensland University of Technology, an Associate Professor at the University of Queensland and the Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia. He currently holds a four-year research fellowship from Metro North Hospital and Health Service. Shekar is ranked in the 1% globally for his expertise in “Critical Care” (Top 0.51%), “Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation” (Top 0.062%), “Extracorporeal Circulation” (Top 0.018%) (https://expertscape.com) from 2011 through 2022. He has published over 170 peer reviewed papers and 4 book chapters and has delivered over 70 national and international lectures. Shekar has been awarded over $8.5 million in grant funding.

Shekar’s research not only involves high end complex therapies such as extracorporeal life support (ECLS) but also development of innovative, low-cost intensive care solutions for resource limited settings. His key research interests include pathophysiology of cardiorespiratory failure and ECLS, ARDS, sepsis and integration of non-invasive airway based respiratory supports with ECLS. Shekar has significant experience designing and conducting translational research in large animal models of sepsis, ARDS and ECLS that have provided mechanistic insights into landmark clinical trials. His pioneering work into altered pharmacokinetics in ECLS patients has been well recognised globally. Shekar is the chief investigator of an international multi-centre study that aims to develop evidence-based guidelines for drug dosing on ECLS.

His ongoing research programs “The NO Tube Project” and “ The Budget ICU Project” bring together clinicians, multidisciplinary allied health professionals, engineers, scientists, health economists, industry and policy experts to minimise the burden of invasive mechanical ventilation in intensive care units and to improve access to intensive care services around the world. Shekar played a key part in development of the low-cost ventilator “OzVader”(https://ozvader.com) during COVID-19 pandemic, that opened the doors for other cost-effective intensive care solutions to make intensive care more accessible.

Shekar is contributing to design of global clinical trials in ECLS as a member of the Scientific Committee of the International ECMO Network (ECMONet). He is the Research Lead for of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organisation (ELSO) Education Task Force that aims to standardise ECLS education and training to improve patient outcomes globally. He is a member of the Educational Committees of Asia-Pacific ELSO. He is the Chair of the ELSO COVID-19 Guideline Working Group, Deputy Co-Chair of the Hospital and Acute Care Panel of the National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Task Force and a member of the ANZICS COVID-19 Guideline Committee. He contributes to the Education Committee of ANZICS and the ANZICS/College of Intensive Care Medicine (CICM) Joint Global Health Special Interest Group. He is the co-opted research representative on the CICM Queensland Regional Committee and is a member of the Queensland Critical Care Research Network. He is on the Steering Committee of the Queensland ECMO Strategy Project and is the Chair of the Clinical Information System Special Users Group in Queensland. Shekar is assisting with development of an international critical care course curriculum for developing countries in collaboration with Critical Care Education Foundation, India and International Board of Medicine and Surgery.

Shekar is actively engaged in the clinical tuition of undergraduate medical, nursing, allied health, and engineering students. He teaches in postgraduate ICU and anaesthesia fellowship courses. Shekar supervises honours, MPhil and PhD students regularly. He is the Course Director of the Prince Charles Hospital ECMO Course and Convenor of the annual Mechanical Circulatory Support and ECMO CPR Symposia. He is on the Formal Project Panel of CICM for last 5 years and reviews trainee projects regularly. He has supervised over 30 trainees during their CICM formal research projects. Shekar reviews for leading journals including Lancet, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Intensive Care Medicine, Critical Care Medicine, Thorax to name a few.