William J Meurer, MD, MS

William J. Meurer, MD, MS is a tenured Professor of Emergency Medicine and Neurology at the University of Michigan and a practicing emergency physician with fellowship training in stroke and cerebrovascular disease. His research program focuses on improving outcomes after acute neurologic injury through rigorously designed, multicenter clinical trials that target early pathophysiology and care delivery in high-stakes emergency and critical care settings.

Dr. Meurer is an internationally recognized leader in post–cardiac arrest brain injury research and currently serves as Principal Investigator or Multiple Principal Investigator for the adult and pediatric ICECAP trials, large adaptive trials evaluating the optimal duration of targeted temperature management after cardiac arrest. These studies span approximately 100 sites across North America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, and exemplify his expertise in leading complex, international trials of physiology-based interventions.

Across his career, Dr. Meurer has combined clinical insight with methodological innovation to accelerate the evaluation of promising therapies in emergency neurology. His work has helped shape contemporary practice in post–cardiac arrest care, acute ischemic stroke, and the evaluation of dizziness and vertigo in the emergency department. He has also played a central role in advancing adaptive and Bayesian trial designs through national initiatives such as ADAPT-IT and the NIH-funded SIREN and NeuroNEXT networks.

In addition to his academic roles at Michigan, Dr. Meurer serves as a Medical and Statistical Scientist with Berry Consultants and as an Honorary Partner in the School of Medicine, Medical Sciences & Nutrition at the University of Aberdeen. He is a Fellow of the Society for Clinical Trials and a recipient of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Mid-Career Investigator Award.

- Post–cardiac arrest brain injury and global hypoxic-ischemic injury, with emphasis on targeted temperature management, cerebral perfusion, and early neurocritical care interventions.
- Physiology-informed, precision neuroprotection, including individualized blood pressure and perfusion targets guided by cerebral autoregulation and near-infrared spectroscopy.
- Adaptive, Bayesian, and innovative clinical trial designs to improve efficiency, ethical balance, and translation of therapies in emergency and critical care research.
- Acute ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack, including secondary prevention, systems of care, and treatment optimization in the emergency setting.
- Emergency department evaluation of dizziness and vertigo, including evidence-based diagnostic strategies, implementation science, and reduction of unnecessary imaging.
- Multicenter trial networks and research infrastructure, including leadership within NIH-funded consortia such as SIREN, NeuroNEXT, and MICHR.
- Health equity and care delivery interventions in emergency medicine, including ED-initiated interventions for hypertension and other chronic disease risk factors.