Christian D. Cain, MD

Dr. Cain’s research program focuses on enhancing outcomes and promoting equity in acute care surgery and trauma. His work integrates health services research, implementation science, and mixed-methods approaches to identify and address disparities across the continuum of emergency surgical care.

A key area of focus is understanding how structural and interpersonal factors influence patient-provider communication in trauma settings, particularly among survivors of violent injury. 

Dr. Cain also serves as a Co-Investigator for a national collaboration that aims to establish standardized outcome measures for liver trauma research, thereby improving comparability and reproducibility across studies.

Collectively, Dr. Cain’s scholarship aims to bridge communication, data, and policy to promote family-centered, equitable, and evidence-based surgical care for all patients.

Dr. Christian D. Cain is a board-certified general surgeon with subspecialty certification in surgical critical care and advanced training in acute care surgery. His clinical practice spans the full spectrum of emergency general surgery, trauma, and surgical critical care at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center and the University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center.

Dr. Cain’s expertise includes management of complex trauma, sepsis, and critical illness, as well as advanced techniques in resuscitation, damage control surgery, and perioperative optimization. He is particularly focused on multidisciplinary coordination of care for critically injured patients and those requiring high-acuity surgical intervention.

Honors and Awards

• 2025 – AAST Leadership Academy Member Awardee

• 2024 – AAS–SUS JUMPStart Awardee (Association for Academic Surgery Foundation and Society of University Surgeons Foundation)

• 2019 – University of Maryland Medical Center “Great Stories” Honoree

• 2017 – Patient Care Award, Stamford Hospital Department of Surgery

• 2014 – Patient Care Award, Stamford Hospital Department of Surgery

• 2012 – Gold Humanism in Medicine Fellow, University of Illinois College of Medicine

• 2012 – Chancellor’s Leadership Award, University of Illinois College of Medicine

• 2010–2011 – Van Doren Academic Scholarship, University of Illinois College of Medicine

• 2009–2010 – G&M Hartley Academic Scholarship, University of Illinois College of Medicine

• 2008–2009 – Adelmann Academic Scholarship, University of Illinois College of Medicine

• 2009 – Hispanic Center of Excellence Research Fellow

Professional Society Memberships

• Fellow, American College of Surgeons (FACS)

• Member, Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST)

• Member, American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST)

• Member, Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS)

• Member, Association for Academic Surgery (AAS)

• Member, Association for Surgical Education (ASE)

• Member, American College of Surgeons Resident and Associate Society

Active Grants
None at this time.

Previous Grants

• 09/15/2019 – 09/14/2024 – Subrecipient Principal Investigator (PI: Richard Albert, MD)
  Title: Sigh Ventilation to Reduce the Incidence and/or Severity of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
  Sponsor: U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command

National Service

• 2025–present – Member, Leadership Committee, Association for Academic Surgery (AAS)

• 2024–present – Member, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST)

• 2024–present – Chair, Mentorship Subcommittee, AAST DEI Committee

• 2024 – Contributor, Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) 11th Edition Topic Development, American College of Surgeons

• 2011–2012 – Associate Regional Director, Region II, Student National Medical Association (SNMA)

• 2010–2011 – Regional Community Service Liaison, Student National Medical Association

Local Service

• 2023–2024 – Member, Maryland State Commission on Trauma Funding (Appointed by Governor Wes Moore)

• 2021–present – Member, Surgical Services Optimization Committee, University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center

• 2021–present – Member, Perioperative Business Management Committee, University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center

• 2021–present – Member, Surgical Informatics – Acute Care Surgery, University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center

• 2019–present – Member, ICU and Quality Improvement Committees, R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center

• 2018–2019 – Member, Shock Trauma Research Committee, R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center

Teaching and Educational Roles
Dr. Cain is deeply engaged in surgical education at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He delivers multiple recurring lectures for medical students, residents, and fellows on topics including pancreatitis, sepsis, volume management, acute abdomen, acute care surgical emergencies, and critical care nutrition. Dr. Cain also developed and leads curriculum modules on Implicit Bias: Why Thinking Matters and Diversity in Surgery, reinforcing his commitment to inclusive education and culturally competent care.

Mentorship
Dr. Cain has mentored over a dozen medical students and residents who have gone on to competitive residency and fellowship programs across the country, including in general surgery, surgical critical care, plastic surgery, oncology, and internal medicine. He is known for fostering professional growth, integrity, and excellence among future surgeons.

Editorial and Peer Review

• Institutional Review Board (IRB) Committee Member and Reviewer, Shock Trauma Center

• Reviewer for trauma and acute care surgery–related manuscripts and abstracts

Invited Lectures and Grand Rounds

• “A Seat in the OR: Building an Inclusive Perioperative Team for Better Patient Outcomes,” University of Maryland Medical Center, 2025

• “Who’s Got Next?: Why Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in Medicine Benefits Us All,” University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center, 2022

• “Damage Control Laparotomy: Not Quite an Open and Closed Case,” Waterbury Hospital, 2020

• “Acute Kidney Injury: Do We Know What We Mean?” and “Tube Feed or Not Tube Feed: Challenges in Intensive Care Nutrition,” R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, 2018

Conference Presentations and Leadership

• Session Moderator, Trauma and Critical Care, Association for Academic Surgery, 2025

• Presenter, Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma, 2021

• Presenter, American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress, 2020

• Presenter, Western Surgical Association, 2020

Book Chapters

• Gas Gangrene of the Extremity, in Current Surgical Therapy, 13th Edition

• Spinal Cord Injury, in Textbook of Critical Care

Dr. Cain’s research employs advanced quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, emphasizing clinical data analysis and multi-institutional collaboration. His technical expertise includes:

• Statistical programming and data management (Stata, R, SPSS)

• Epidemiologic and outcomes analysis

• Delphi methodology for consensus building

• Mixed-methods study design (qualitative interviewing, thematic analysis)

• Clinical trial coordination and trauma registry data abstraction

• Critical care procedures including resuscitation, airway management, and hemodynamic monitoring

His approach integrates population-level data analytics with patient-centered qualitative methods to improve equity and quality in trauma and acute care surgery.