Lauren R. Sorce, PhD, RN, CPNP-AC/PC, FAAN, FCCM, is the senior scientist in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine and Associate Director for Nursing Research in the Department of Nursing at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, where she also practices as a pediatric critical care nurse practitioner. She is an assistant professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She trained as a pediatric clinical nurse specialist at Loyola University, followed by a post-masters pediatric nurse practitioner certificate and PhD from Rush University. 

Dr. Sorce’s key contribution to critical care has been her extensive leadership as an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN). Starting her career as an APRN in the PICU early in the evolution of the role provided her many opportunities. She was instrumental in the exploration of the first acute care pediatric nurse practitioner (ACPNP) certification examination as well as the development of the first national certifying examination for the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board. Dr. Sorce also served as the vice-president of nursing on the board of directors of the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies. She has served in leadership roles on numerous local and international committees as well as participating on editorial boards. 

Dr. Sorce has served the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) in many capacities since joining in 1998. Prior to her role on Council, Dr. Sorce was recognized with numerous Presidential Citations, the Norma J. Shoemaker Research Grant, and the Norma J. Shoemaker Award for Nursing Excellence. In addition to nine years on the SCCM Council, she has been a member of the Congress Program Planning Committee and cochaired the 2015 Congress. She chaired the SCCM Strategic Planning Committee, Finance Committee, and Norma J. Shoemaker Research Grant Committee and served as the 2019 editor of SCCM’s newsmagazine, Critical Connections. Dr. Sorce has been funded to study corneal abrasions and has worked on numerous research teams to study post-intensive care syndrome, stress hydrocortisone in pediatric septic shock, prone positioning in pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome, and criteria for convening family conferences in the PICU.