Hergen Buscher

Associate Professor Hergen Buscher is a leading clinician-scientist in intensive care and extracorporeal life support (ECLS) based at St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, and holds a conjoint academic appointment as Senior Lecturer at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). His clinical and research expertise centres on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), blood management, anticoagulation strategies, and critical care outcomes in cardiac and lung transplant recipients.

Education and Qualifications:

• Dr. med., University of Göttingen, Germany
• Fellow of the College of Intensive Care Medicine (FCICM)
• European Diploma in Intensive Care Medicine (EDIC)
• Diploma of the European Academy of Anaesthesiology (DEAA)
• Specialist for Anaesthesia, Intensive Care and Preclinical Emergency Medicine (Germany)

Research Interests:

Dr Buscher’s research spans the full spectrum of extracorporeal life support, with a focus on optimising anticoagulation and blood management during ECMO. His work explores the physiological and pharmacological alterations in critically ill patients supported by ECLS, aiming to improve survival and long-term quality of life. He leads multi-centre trials and registry analyses to advance evidence-based practices in cardiac arrest resuscitation using ECMO, and in perioperative care of transplant recipients.

Scientific Output and Impact:

His publication record includes over 129 journal articles, book chapters, and conference presentations, with an h-index of 16 and more than 600 citations. His recent work addresses long-term outcomes, psychological sequelae, and quality of life in ECMO survivors, as well as economic evaluations and clinical decision-making algorithms.

Grants and Funding:

• 2011: Sedation practice in ECMO
• 2012: Cost and Quality of Life Analysis in E-CPR
• 2014: ASAP – Pharmacokinetics during ECMO
• 2014: Lung and diaphragm ultrasound in ICU
• 2015: ELSO-funded bleeding algorithm trial
• 2016–2021: Multiple NSW Health and ELSO grants

Teaching and Supervision:

He provides bedside teaching for final-year medical students in the ICU and delivers regular lectures on critical care and resuscitation. He supervises undergraduate and honours projects in intensive care and ECMO-related topics.