Ava M. Puccio, RN, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Neurotrauma Clinical Trials Center in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Puccio has over 25+ years of clinical trial design, involvement and management, with several completed and ongoing traumatic brain and spine injury research studies.

As an early adopter of team science, Dr. Puccio has been involved in the Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in TBI (TRACK-TBI) network since its inception and is the PI of the biorepository. She is also instrumental in multiple collaborative initiatives in biomarker exploration and validation within TRACK-TBI, BioBOOST, BioHOBIT and others.

Dr. Puccio’s specialized areas of interest are focused on improving outcomes in TBI and SCI patients, with clinical venues of controlled normothermia, mechanisms of brain oxygenation and exploring biomarker and genetic expression.