New Jersey
Swetha Balaji, MD is the Chief Resident for Research in the Department of Internal Medicine at St. Mary’s General Hospital, affiliated with the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine in New Jersey. Dr. Balaji’s clinical and academic interests focus on pulmonary and critical care medicine, with particular attention to inflammation-driven cardio-pulmonary complications in sepsis, racial and socioeconomic disparities in critical illness outcomes, and autoimmune-related pulmonary disease.
She has led multiple institutional quality improvement initiatives across the St. Clare’s Health and St. Mary’s hospital systems, focusing on optimizing clinical communication, telemetry use, and sepsis management protocols. Dr. Balaji has conducted retrospective cohort studies examining the comparative nephrotoxicity of antibiotic regimens in septic shock and the epidemiology of pneumonia-associated pleural effusions in young adults.
Dr. Balaji’s research is being presented for the first time at the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) Annual Congress, marking her debut at a national critical care conference. She is also actively engaged in mentoring resident-led research projects and promoting collaborative multicenter studies within her institution.
Her long-term goal is to pursue a career in academic pulmonary and critical care medicine, integrating patient-centered research with clinical innovation to improve outcomes in sepsis and respiratory failure.
ICU Admission Predictors in Adults Aged 20-50 With Pneumonia-Associated Pleural Effusion/Empyema
Monday, March 23, 2026
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM Central Time
Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose.
