Celebrating a Major Milestone: Marwa Ramsie Passes Her PhD Candidacy Exam 🎓

I am delighted to share some fantastic news from our team at CSAR: Marwa Ramsie has successfully passed her PhD Candidacy Exam—a major milestone that marks her transition to independent doctoral research.

\A focused and impactful PhD program

Marwa’s PhD work centers on vasopressin as a potential alternative to epinephrine during neonatal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Her research addresses a critical gap in neonatal resuscitation science, combining rigorous physiology, pharmacokinetics, and translational large-animal models to inform safer and more effective therapies for newborns in cardiac arrest.

Her candidacy exam reflected a deep command of the literature, a clear scientific vision, and the ability to thoughtfully defend complex experimental and clinical concepts—exactly what we hope to see at this stage of PhD training.

Exceptional productivity and scientific contribution

In just three years within CSAR’s lab, Marwa has authored or co-authored 15 peer-reviewed publications, an extraordinary achievement at the PhD level. Her work spans:

• Vasopressin vs. epinephrine during neonatal CPR

• Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics across routes of administration

• Brain and cardiovascular injury mechanisms during resuscitation

• Airway devices, ventilation strategies, and chest compression techniques

• Translational animal models informing clinical trial design

These studies include original research in Pediatric Research, Neonatology, Scientific Reports, Resuscitation Plus, and Children, as well as the VERSE Trial protocol, laying the groundwork for clinical translation.

Looking ahead

With candidacy successfully completed, Marwa now moves fully into the final phase of her PhD—focused on completing her experimental program, synthesizing her findings, and translating them toward clinical impact. She is on track to graduate by June 2026, and her work is already shaping how we think about pharmacologic support during neonatal resuscitation.

I am incredibly proud of Marwa’s dedication, productivity, and scientific maturity. Her success reflects not only hard work, but also a genuine commitment to improving outcomes for the most vulnerable newborns.

Congratulations, Marwa—this milestone is richly deserved, and the best is yet to come.