Matthew W. Zackoff, MD, MEd
- Director, Critical Care Fellowship Program
- Co-Lead Digital Simulation, Center for Simulation and Research
- Attending Physician, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
- Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
- matthew.zackoff@cchmc.org
- Board Certified
About
Biography
I am an intensivist with fellowship training in critical care medicine. I’m also a researcher who draws on my degrees in biomedical engineering and medical education — and formal training in improvement science methodologies — to investigate the use of novel technologies in physician training and patient care.
Providing the best possible care to patients requires timely and accurate recognition of clinical conditions. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to ensure that frontline healthcare providers are clinically competent and work in systems that support their efforts.
To that end, my research focuses on the use of novel technology to improve patient outcomes. I study how virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence technologies can enhance physician training, improve performance assessment and optimize healthcare delivery. I’m also interested in applying these technologies to boost the recognition and timely management of pediatric clinical decompensation.
In 2019, I was named Fellow Teacher of the Year by the Cincinnati Children's Pediatric Residency Program. This award is given annually to a clinical fellow who has shown dedication in their roles as a physician, teacher and role model.
Because I’m passionate about my clinical and research activities, I’m always interested in collaborations — within and outside of Cincinnati Children's — to explore new ideas or broaden interventions.
BS: Washington University in St. Louis School of Engineering and Applied Science, St. Louis, MO, 2008.
MD: Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, 2012.
Residency: Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, 2015.
Chief Residency: Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, 2016.
MEd: University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 2018.
Fellowship: Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, 2019.
Interests
Pediatric critical care medicine
Services and Specialties
Interests
Education research; education scholarship; simulation
Research Areas
Publications
A Randomized Trial of Virtual Reality Training to Improve Firearm Safety Counseling Skills. Academic Pediatrics. 2025; 25:102560.
Tolerability and Acceptability of Autonomous Immersive Virtual Reality Incorporating Digital Twin Technology for Mass Training in Healthcare. Simulation in Healthcare: Journal of the society for simulation in healthcare. 2024; 19:e99-e116.
Sustainability of a PICU Situation Awareness Intervention: A Qualitative Study. Pediatric Quality and Safety. 2024; 9:e757.
Paediatric resident identification of cardiac emergencies. Cardiology in the Young. 2024; 34:1732-1737.
Impact of a relocation to a new critical care building on pediatric safety events. Journal of hospital medicine (Online). 2024; 19:589-595.
Virtual Reality to Inform and Facilitate Trainee Assessment. Academic Pediatrics. 2024; 24:716-718.
Caregivers’ and Community Members’ Perspectives on Firearm Safety Screening and Counseling During Pediatric Primary Care Visits. 2024; 12:200099.
Usability Testing of Situation Awareness Clinical Decision Support in the Intensive Care Unit. Applied Clinical Informatics - ACI. 2024; 15:327-334.
Experience informed procedural skills training. The Clinical Teacher. 2024; 21:e13719.
Impact of Virtual Reality Simulation on New Nurses' Assessment of Pediatric Respiratory Distress. American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. 2024; 33:115-124.
From the Blog
Nurses Learn to Identify Respiratory Distress With VR
Matthew W. Zackoff, MD, MEd3/7/2024
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