Rachel Beekman

Rachel Beekman, MD, serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at Yale School of Medicine and Director of the Neurocritical Care Fellowship Program. She specializes in caring for patients in the Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit at Yale New Haven Hospital, where she treats complex neurological conditions including ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, traumatic brain injury, brain tumors, and epilepsy. As the first Yale alumni to continue as faculty in the department of neurocritical care, she has established herself as a key member of Yale's neurointensivist team, which comprises 10 dedicated specialists focused on preventing secondary brain injury through advanced monitoring capabilities.

• MD from Stony Brook School of Medicine (2014)
• Neurology Residency at Yale New Haven Hospital
• Neurocritical Care Fellowship at Yale New Haven Hospital

Dr. Beekman's research program centers on improving outcomes for cardiac arrest survivors, with particular focus on therapeutic hypothermia protocols, cerebral autoregulation monitoring, and developing precision medicine approaches for brain-injured patients. She has developed a multi-disciplinary cardiac arrest program and is passionate about treating survivors of cardiac arrest. Her clinical philosophy emphasizes building meaningful relationships with patients' families during critical illness, adapting her communication style to meet individual family needs while providing guidance through challenging medical decisions.

Analysis of Dr. Beekman's publication record reveals a consistent research trajectory focused on cardiac arrest management, cerebral autoregulation, and neurocritical care monitoring. Her work spans clinical trials (particularly the ICECAP trial), neuroimaging prognostication, therapeutic hypothermia optimization, and subarachnoid hemorrhage management. The publications demonstrate increasing leadership in multi-center collaborations, with frequent co-authorship with Yale colleagues including Emily Gilmore, Kevin Sheth, Charles Matouk, and Nils Petersen. Her research increasingly incorporates multimodal monitoring approaches and personalized medicine frameworks for neurocritical care patients.

Dr. Beekman serves as Principal Investigator for multiple significant clinical trials:

• Site PI for ICECAP trial (Influence of Cooling Duration on Efficacy in Cardiac Arrest Patients)
• Site PI for MOCHA study (Multimodal Outcome CHAracterization after cardiac arrest)
• PI on investigator-initiated proposal evaluating cerebral pressure autoregulation after cardiac arrest
• PI on industry-sponsored pilot grant studying synaptic density in cardiac arrest survivors

She also contributes as Sub Investigator to major trials including BOOST3 (Brain Oxygen Optimization in Severe TBI) and ASPIRE (Anticoagulation for Stroke Prevention and Recovery After ICH). Her research program integrates clinical care with innovative investigation to advance the field of neurocritical care, particularly in optimizing temperature management and developing precision medicine tools for brain-injured patients.