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Biography

David J. Barton, MD, MS, FACEP, FAWM is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at 91ÖÆƬ³§. ÌýDr. Barton serves as a Core Faculty member for the emergency medicine residency, Assistant Research Director to help oversee resident research, and works clinically as an emergency medicine physician at Bethesda Hospital East and Delray Medical Center.

Dr. Barton is a physician-scientist focused on identifying blood-based biomarkers and imaging biomarkers of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and concussion, with the goal to advance understanding of TBI pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment. Dr. Barton’s research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, and Emergency Medicine Foundation. He has presented his research nationally and internationally.

Dr. Barton completed undergraduate studies at Georgetown University, where he became interested in medicine and brain injury research while earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Science. Dr. Barton returned to his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to train at the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned his Doctor of Medicine degree, completed his residency in emergency medicine, and completed an emergency medicine research fellowship.

Dr. Barton is board certified in emergency medicine, and he has additional sub-specialty interests and experience in wilderness medicine and prehospital emergency medical services. He is a member of the American College of Emergency Physicians, the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, the National Neurotrauma Society, and the Wilderness Medical Society.

Education

• 2022: M.S. Clinical Research, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
• 2020-2022: Fellow and T32 Postdoctoral Scholar, Emergency Medicine Research, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
• 2017-2020: Resident, Emergency Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA
• 2017: M.D. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
• 2013: B.S. Human Science (honors with distinction), Georgetown University, Washington, DC

Work History

91ÖÆƬ³§

• 2026-present: Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine
• 2026-present: Assistant Research Director, Emergency Medicine Residency
• 2026-present: Core Faculty, Emergency Medicine Residency

Prior Employment

• 2022-2026: Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
• 2019-2026: Attending Physician, UPMC Emergency Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA

Scholarly Activity

Research Interest

• Traumatic brain injury (TBI) pathophysiology
• TBI biomarker discovery, translation, and validation
• Blood-brain barrier dysfunction in brain injury
• Neurological emergency resuscitation
• Prognostication of brain injured patients
• Emergency medical services (EMS)
• Improvised medical care in wilderness and outdoor settings

Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications

• Barton DJ, Kumar RG, Schuster AA, Juengst SB, Oh BM, Wagner AK. Acute cortisol profile associations with cognitive impairment after severe TBI. Neurorehabil Neural Repair. 2021; 35(12):1088-99. doi: 10.1177/15459683211048771. PMID: 34689657. PMCID: PMC8688285.
• Barton DJ, Coppler PJ, Talia NT, Charalambides A, Stancil B, Puccio AM, Okonkwo DO, Callaway CW, Guyette FX, Elmer J. Prehospital electroencephalography to detect traumatic brain injury during helicopter transport: a pilot observational cohort study. Prehosp Emerg Care. 2024; 28(2):405-12. doi: 10.1080/10903127.2023.2185333. PMID: 36857200. PMCID: PMC10497709.
• Wang KKW*, Barton DJ*, McQuillan LE, Kobeissy F, Cai G, Xu H, Yang Z, Trifilio E, Williamson JB, Rubenstein R, Robertson CS, Wagner AK. Parallel CSF and serum temporal profile assessment of axonal injury biomarkers NF-L and pNF-H: associations with patient outcome in moderate-severe traumatic brain injury. J Neurotrauma. 2024;41(13-14):1609-27. doi: 10.1089/neu.2023.0449. PMID: 38588256. PMCID: PMC11564845.
• Puccio EA, Brown JB, Callaway CW, Frisch AN, Okonkwo DO, Barton DJ. External evaluation of Brain Injury Guideline (BIG) low risk criteria for traumatic brain injury. Am J Emerg Med. 2024; 86:104-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2024.10.013. PMID: 39418684.
• Trifilio E, Bottari S, McQuillan LE, Barton DJ, Lamb DG, Robertson C, Rubenstein R, Wang K, Wagner A, Williamson J. Temporal profile of serum neurofilament light (NF-L) and heavy (pNF-H) level associations with 6-month cognitive performance in patients with moderate-severe traumatic brain injury. J Head Trauma Rehabil. 2024;39(6):E470-80. doi: 10.1097/HTR.0000000000000932. PMID:Ìý38758056. PMCID: PMC11534502.
• Pulcini CD, Barton DJ, Cassara M, Davis JJ, DeMasi SC, Durant EJ, Garg N, Greineder C, McMillian M, Paxton JH, Puskarich MA, Vogel JA, Wong AH, Sharp WW. Assessment of an organizational effort to increase emergency medicine faculty on National Institutes of Health study sections. Acad Emerg Med. 2024;31(12):1280-2. doi: 10.1111/acem.14993. PMID: 39056157.
• Ostrowski SJ, Scanlon MP, Barton DJ, Lynch MJ, Trautman WJ. Severe Outcomes in Suspected Pediatric Delta-8-THC Exposures. J Med Toxicol. 2025; 21:89-92. doi: 10.1007/s13181-024-01055-4. PMID: 39718684. PMCID: PMC11707218.
• Guyette FX, Chaudhary P, Vincent L, Kelly E, Brubaker D, Neal MD, Brown JB, Rixe J, Barton DJ, Yates A, Wisniewski SR, Sperry JL. A randomized controlled trial of sublingual sufentanil in early management of pain in trauma. Anesth Analg. 2025; 141(1):172-80. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000007384. PMID:Ìý39919020.
• Barton DJ, Fan EK, Gober IG, Awan N, Kumar RG, Carlson JC, Frankel MR, Wright DW, Wagner AK. Traumatic brain injury severity measured by clinical, radiographic, and blood biomarker measures is associated with non-neurological organ dysfunction: a secondary analysis of ProTECT III and Bio-ProTECT. J Neurotrauma 2025; 42(21-22):1947-1958. doi: 10.1177/08977151251362234. PMID:Ìý40779423.

Professional Affiliations

• Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians
• Fellow of the Wilderness Medical Society
• Member of Society of Academic Emergency Medicine
• Member of the National Neurotrauma Society

Clinical Activity

Hospital Appointments

• 2026-present: Delray Medical Center, Delray Beach, FL
• 2026-present: Bethesda Hospital East, Boynton Beach, FL

Board Certifications

• Emergency Medicine, American Board of Emergency Medicine