Rollin J. (Terry) Fairbanks, MD, MS
Center Director

Terry Fairbanks is the Center Director and Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Georgetown University. He also maintains academic appointments as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University at Buffalo and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Rochester. Dr. Fairbanks is a patient safety/Human Factors Engineering researcher, board certified emergency physician, and former paramedic and EMS Medical Director. He serves as an attending physician in the Washington Hospital Center Emergency Department.

Dr. Fairbanks holds an advanced degree in human factors engineering/industrial systems engineering from Virginia Tech and uses this background to apply safety engineering techniques and research methodology to medical systems. He has received funding for patient safety-related research from the NIH, AHRQ, and several foundations including the Emergency Medicine Patient Safety Foundation (EMPSF) through the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. He is currently funded by an NIH K08 Research Career Development Award from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and BioEngineering.

Dr. Fairbanks is a 2008 graduate of the HRET Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship, and serves on national patient safety committees and advisory groups. He regularly presents his research and delivers lectures at national and international meetings. Dr. Fairbanks has published over 70 journal articles, book chapters, and proceedings papers in the human factors engineering and medical literature.