2 11 40 3d 3d 40 8 16 35 43 2b8 21 1a e 78 David Fischer | Department of Neurology | Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania 62 4d 65 48 48 54 4e 52 5f 41 43 52 5b 7e 7a 88 59 55 4e 5f 57 4b 10 13 58 94 88 1e9 9 10e 3c 1f
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79 faculty photo 30

David Fischer, M.D.

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Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
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Founding Director, Recovery of Consciousness Via Evidence-Based Medicine and Research (RECOVER) Program, University of Pennsylvania
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Department: Neurology
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46 Contact information
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Dept of Neurology
32 Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
10 3 Dulles
35 3400 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
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13 Education:
21 7 BS 43 (Psychology, Neural and Behavioral Sciences, Philosophy) c
2a Haverford College, 2010.
21 7 MD 15 (Medicine) c
2f Harvard Medical School, 2016.
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1f Post-Graduate Training
24 57 Intern in Internal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 2016-2017.
24 76 Resident in Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 2017-2020.
24 7d Fellow in Neurocritical Care, Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 2020-2022.
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b6 > Perelman School of Medicine   > Faculty   > Details a
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Description of Clinical Expertise

23 Neurocritical care
1c Neuroprognostication
15 Consciousness
22 Disorders of consciousness
1d Functional MRI (fMRI)
1c Advanced neuroimaging
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Description of Research Expertise

23 Neurocritical care
1c Neuroprognostication
15 Consciousness
22 Disorders of consciousness
1d Functional MRI (fMRI)
1c Advanced neuroimaging
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Selected Publications

144 Halablab, S.M., Shofer, F., Kaviyarasu, A., Mitchell, O.J.L., Reis, W., Brothers, T., Fischer, D., Abella, B.S., Greenwood, J.: Computed tomography assessment after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest resuscitation. Resuscitation Plus 2026 Notes: In press.

19e Copeland, J.M., Boivin, C.C., Rosa, P., O’Brien, C.S., Bahti, M., Fischer, D.*, Auriemma, C.L.* (*co-last authors): The Surrogate Perspective: Quantification of important recovery outcomes after acute disorders of consciousness. Poster presentation at the Annual Assemble of Hospice & Palliative Care; March 4-7, 2026; San Diego, CA. 2026.

190 Fischer, D., Halablab, S., Kaviyarasu, A., Law, C., Abella, B.S., Greenwood, J., Schneider, A.L.C.: A specialized neuroprognostication program is associated with improved guideline-adherence and outcomes after cardiac arrest. Selected platform presentation at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL 2026.

176 Van Roy, S., Hsu, L., Ho, J., Scirica, B.M., Fischer, D., Snider, S.B. & Lee, J.W.: Quantitative and radiological assessment of post-cardiac-arrest comatose patients with diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Neurocritical Care 42(2): 541-550, Apr 2025 Notes: doi: 10.1007/s12028-024-02087-y.

167 Fischer, D., Reyes-Esteves, S., Law, C., Ford, A., Schwab, P., Abella, B.S., Schneider, A.L.C. & Kumar, M.A.: Implementation of a specialized neuroprognostication consultation program and associated provider attitudes: A survey-based study   Resuscitation Plus 23: 100932, Mar 2025.

127 Fischer, D., Edlow, B.L., Freeman, H.J., Alaiev, D., Wu, Q., Ware, J.B., Detre, J.A., Aguirre, G.K: Author Response: Reconstructing Covert Consciousness: Neural Decoding as a Novel Consciousness Assessment. Neurology 2025.

db Alan Yu: The mystery of consciousness. National Public Radio, The Pulse (https://www.npr.org/2025/03/21/1239865407/mystery-of-consciousness) 2025.

136 Fischer, D., Abella, B.S., Ford, A., Greenwood, J., Halablab, S., Kumar, M.A., Law, C., Levine, J.M., Reyes-Esteves, S., Schwab, P., Schneider, A.L.C.: Implementation of a specialized neuroprognostication program: Impact on provider attitudes and patient care cc Poster presentation at the American Neurological Association and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Career Development Symposium, Baltimore, MD, 9/2025 2025.

146 Young, M.J., Koch, C., Claassen, J., Fischer, D., Aubinet, C., Gosseries, O., Kondziella, D., Rosanova, M., Sarasso, S., Casarotto, S., Massimini, M. & Edlow, B.L.: An ethical framework to assess covert consciousness. Lancet Neurology 24: 195-196, 2025.

b5 Fischer, D: Oxygen targets after cardiac arrest: Is there anything we can do? CHEST 168(5): 1076-1078, 2025.

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26 Last updated: 05/06/2026
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