Dr. Alkins served as an active-duty U.S. Army physician until 2004 with duty stations at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl Germany and at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda Maryland.
Dr. Alkins is in clinical practice specializing in pulmonary and sleep medicine and is the Medical Director of Internal Medicine for Crouse Medical Practice. He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine and is a Fellow in the American College of Physicians, American College of Chest Physicians, and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
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University at Sea™
5700 4th St. N.
St Petersburg, Florida 33703
Active Faculty
Although we are not a true university and so we have no true "faculty," these excellent professionals have been selected for their expertise, experience and abilities to communicate those accomplishments and many have been with us for many years.
Stephan Alkins, MD, FCCP, FACP, FAASM
Thomas G. Allison, PhD, MPH
He has been practicing in the fields of stress testing, cardiac rehabilitation, preventive cardiology, and sports and exercise cardiology for 41 years, including 31 years at the Mayo Clinic. He is a fellow in the American College of Cardiology, American College of Sports Medicine, and National Lipid Association.
Dr. Allison’s research interests parallel his clinical interests. He is currently principal or co-investigator on a number of studies in the field of exercise testing. He hosts students from all over the world who come to learn exercise testing and cardiovascular exercise physiology.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, Dr. Allison did his undergraduate work at Princeton University and completed a PhD in exercise physiology and an MPH in cardiovascular epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh. An active participant in regional, national, and international cardiovascular conferences, he has given over 250 invited presentations in more than 25 countries around the world -- on all 6 inhabited continents.
Dr. Allison was for many years a successful long-distance runner with 26 marathons to his credit. He qualified for the US Olympic Trial in the marathon in 1980.
Professor Howard Amital, MD MHA
Prof. Amital conducts clinical and basic research and speaks at international Rheumatology conferences such as the EULAR (European League against Rheumatism) and the ACR (American College of Rheumatology). He has authored over 270 scientific peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters and reviews. His papers mainly focus on autoimmunity research primarily in new avenues for the development of therapeutic peptides in RA, roles of vitamin D, use of biological therapy, pain and comorbidities of fibromyalgia and epidemiological studies based on Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) databases.
Sandra L. Argenio, MD
Dr. Argenio has nurtured new generations of doctors, was instrumental in the development of the Family Medicine Residency at Mayo Clinic Florida and served as the program’s first residency director. She has trained and mentored over 150 family medicine residents.
Dr. Argenio served as the President of the Florida Academy of Family Physicians in 2005 and has been active on many committees of the FAFP and the American Academy of Family Physicians.
She has been active in CME program planning at Mayo Clinic and the Florida Academy of Family Physicians, conducting Maintenance of Certification Workshop sessions on multiple topics for over 1,100 participants at FAFP meetings.
Dr. Argenio had a leading role in establishing communication training at Mayo Clinic starting in 2005. She was Chair of the Mayo Clinic Florida Communication Faculty.
She developed coursework for faculty and trainees at Mayo Clinic, including Longitudinal Research in Academic Medicine, Family Medicine Residency, Scottsdale, Arizona; and Team Communication, Strengthening the Cornerstone of Teamwork at Mayo Clinic’s three campuses. She also served on the Florida Governor’s Physician Workforce Advisory Board.
Dr. Argenio was awarded the Exemplary Teacher Award by FAFP in 2000. She also received the Outstanding Florida Family Medicine Education Award by FAFP in 2000, and the Mayo Distinguished Educator Award in 2003. She was listed as one of Jacksonville’s Best Doctors by Jacksonville Magazine from 2000 to 2014. She has published on the topics of presence, reflective listening and communicating effectively with female patients.
In her current work, she has collaborated in designing curricula and delivering programs at multiple hospitals, hospice organizations, and veterans administration and military healthcare organizations.Dr. Argenio is a graduate of Wilkes College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Hahnemann Medical University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She completed her Family Medicine Residency at Geisinger Medical Center in Pennsylvania in 1982. She resides in Ormond Beach, Florida, with her husband Tom Sperrazza and daughter Jessie.
Steven R. Bailey, M.D
Miklosh Bala, MD
Dr. Bala's clinical and research experience in trauma care started in 2001 while he was a second year surgical resident at the Hadassah Medical Center and was first exposed to trauma surgery. Since then trauma surgery has become a major topic of his investigations and a main subspecialty.
During his period of residency in general surgery at Hadassah Medical Center, he took care of and was involved in the management of hundreds of casualties that arrived at our Trauma Center following terrorist attacks. On the basis of his experiences, he helped to first introduce the civilian protocol for the management of mass casualty incidents MCIs and showed his team's high success rate in saving life by fully utilizing the limited resources available in civilian hospitals. He was able to summarize this experience in a number of recently published papers relating to different aspects of MCI management, for the first time assessed in terms of ICU need and blood use during the MCI (Published in Injury and European Journals). He summarized his data from hundreds of victims suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to terrorist attacks in an article published in the Journal of Trauma.
Collection of this data is an ongoing project, for which he works in close collaboration with a psychological group in his hospital. The importance of these studies has been demonstrated in real-time and he have been invited as an expert speaker and guest lecturer to a number of teaching courses and conferences around the world.
Lastly, he is active in National Homeland Security committee for disaster preparedness, where he works on preparedness for earthquake and chemical disaster on hospital and national levels.
Other topics of special interest:
- Trauma surgery and surgical critical care
- Education in surgery and trauma
Shelley Ball, BA (HONS), JD, CERT. HUMAN RIGHTS
She often speaks internationally on the topic of legal issues in complaints, investigations and sexual misconduct, and trains leaders on trauma-informed approaches, as well as bullying and harassment issues. She is a mentor to law students for the Canadian Bar Association, a forensic advisor for Forensic Guardians International Consulting Inc., and member of the Education Planning Committee with the Canadian Network of Agencies for Regulation.
In addition to her JD, Shelley holds a BA in Criminology, (First Class Honours) and a certificate in Human Rights Law for Education Professionals, as well as certification and experience as a restorative justice facilitator.
Allison Batchelor, MD, CMD, FAMWA
She is trained as a Certified Medical Director through the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine and is a Fellow of the American Medical Women's Association
Joseph Beltempo, PhD Psychologist
He is the father of three young adults and married since 1980. Dr. Beltempo received his B.A. in Psychology from McGill University. He earned his Master's (MA, 1979; Ph.D. 1986 and Post-Doctorate, 1990) in Research & Clinical Psychology from Université de Montréal. He is a member of the Order of Psychologists of Quebec since 1979 (Lic. 2675-80).
Jonathan Betlinski, MD
Shagun Bindlish, MD, FACP
Dr. Shagun Bindlish is a board-certified Internal Medicine Physician with advanced fellowship training in diabetes and metabolic disorders. She is board-certified obesity medicine and lifestyle medicine specialist. She is a Chair of the thought leadership committee and board member of the American Diabetes Association. Dr. Bindlish is adjunct faculty at Touro university's diabetes fellowship program. She is a USA ambassador representing DiaBeters non-profit organization in Kenya, Africa. Dr. Bindlish presently working with international organizations conducting educational webinars about diabetes and obesity management. With a passion for community work, she has recently started her youTube channel with a vision to bring awareness among health care professionals and patients. Dr. Bindlish has earned her medical degree from Yerevan State Medical University in Armenia and completed her residency at Lutheran Medical Center in New York.
Dr. Bindlish is practicing currently in Bay Area. She is an author and writes blogs for magazines in Kenya, the USA, and India. Shagun has been actively involved in the California chapter as a fellow of the American College of Physicians and serves as a judge and mentor for multiple educational activities and conferences throughout the year.
Shagun's philosophy of care centers around prevention and education. She is an advocate for her patients and strives to build trusting, friendly relationships with them. She believes in a holistic understanding of all the factors that impact a patient's overall health. Thus, serving the patient as a wellness coach.
Dr. Bindlish is also a writer and contributes her work to journals. She is also an editor of renowned journals like the British Medical Journal, American College of Family Medicine ( ACOFP), American Diabetes Association. To stay healthy and happy, Shagun does yoga and Pilates. She loves to travel and cook international cuisines.
Christopher M. Bland, Pharm.D., FCCP, FIDSA, BCPS
Paul D. Blaylock, MD, JD, FCLM
Nominated Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Tennessee Medical School (2007, 2008), Dr. Blaylock has also served on the Alumni Board of Governors for the University of Tennessee Medical School. Dr. Blaylock has worked on emergency medicine Disaster Teams in Mexico City, Guatemala, Ground Zero in New York City, and Hurricane Katrina disaster sites.
Dr. Blaylock has served as Adjunct Professor of Law at the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark as well as Clinical Instructor of Emergency Medicine at OHSU in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Blaylock worked with Providence Medical Group as Medical Director, Tanasbourne Immediate Care (2005 - 2009).
Robert T. Brodell, MD, FAAD, FRCP(Edin)
Marni Brooks, BSc, MSW, MD, CCFP, FCFP
Upon her return to Canada, she completed a Master of Social Work degree where she spent years of training studying women's health and addiction as field placements. Her interest in addiction continued after she completed her medical degree and family medicine residency at the University of Toronto.
She is now a Fellow in Family Medicine and, until now, has explored working in the areas of family medicine, sleep medicine, addiction medicine and cannabinoid medicine. Dr. Brooks also sat on the OMA Executive of the Section on Addiction Medicine for nearly a decade where she assisted with negotiations with the Ministry of Health on behalf of the members in her section. Most recently, she founded and is the Chair of the OMA Medical Interest Group in Cannabinoid Medicine, the first such group in the country.
Dr. Brooks currently focuses her work in Cannabinoid Medicine, her two main interests. She hopes to help educate her peers, the community and patients, as well as advocate for them, on the benefits of cannabis for a variety of health conditions, either as sole therapy or in conjunction with other treatments. Other experiences in Cannabinoid Medicine include speaking on the Northwinds panel for insurance providers and acting as an expert witness on the safety and medical uses of cannabis in a sentencing hearing.
Monica Broome, MD, FACP, FAACH, FAMWA
Dr. Broome completed a three year fellowship under the Director of Education Development in the Department of Medical Education, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. During her fellowship she completed programs in the Macy Institute for Health Communication Curriculum Development and is certified as a master trainer of the Institute for Healthcare Communication. Her scholarly work includes presentations and workshops nationally for the Association of American Medical Colleges, Society of General Internal Medicine, and Southern Group on Educational Affairs, and internationally for the European Association for Communication in Health Care, the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare, and the International Association of Law and Mental Health with the focus on communication skills training concerning conflict and bullying. She serves on the American College of Physicians Legislative Action Program for Health Care Reform and participated as a Florida delegate for Leadership Day in Washington DC. She servers on the Editorial Board of Medical Encounter, and Chaired the Committee on Communication and Technology for the 2006 American Academy on Communication in Healthcare Annual Research and Teaching Forum. Dr. Broome co-chaired the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare held in the USA in Miami, October 2009.
Dr. Broome, formerly Dr. Harris, is an alumnus of the University Of Miami School Of Medicine. Her specialty is Internal Medicine for which she has received recognition and accolades from colleagues and patients, including a service award from the State of Virginia Department of Disabled American Veterans. She was the Founder and former Medical Director of the Women’s Veterans Comprehensive Health Program, in Hampton Virginia. Dr. Broome was selected as one of the representatives from the state of Florida to participate in a National Summit on Women’s Veterans Health Issues at the White House which resulted in a position paper for Congress.
To continue her interest in promoting women’s health, Dr. Broome served on the Institutes for Women’s Health Education/Academic Training Subcommittee and currently serves on the Women in Academic Medicine at the University Of Miami Miller School Of Medicine. She is a Diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine, a Fellow in the American College of Physicians, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Communication in Healthcare.
Dr. Broome was recently appointed to serve for two years on the Introduction to Clinical Diagnosis Test Committee of the National Board of Medical Examiners, and concurrently for the United States Medical Licensing Examination. USMLE is the sole licensing examination for allopathic physicians in the United States.
Internationally, she was recently awarded Elsevier Journal Reviewer Recognition Outstanding Reviewer Status for their Journal Patient Education and Counseling. Dr. Broome has been appointed to serve as Deputy National Representative of the European Association on Communication in Healthcare. There are only two representatives for each member country. This nomination and appointment has special significance on a personal level as representatives are nominated by the votes of colleagues.
Dr. Broome is the Course Director of the new Bridge Course for the University Of Miami Miller School Of Medicine. This new program facilitates the integration of incoming medical students from International Medical University Malaysia.
Current projects include serving as Educational Director of Candid Conversations, training and e-learning program of the sexual health concerns of women patients; and developing wisdom in medicine by enhancing personal awareness in the aftermath of adverse outcomes. Dr. Broome teaches communication skills updates as faculty of the University at Sea.
New for 2020, Dr. Broome is named the National Co-Chair East Coast for the American Medical Women’s Association Physicians Against the Trafficking of Humans program.
Lisa Brown DNP, MSN, APRN, CNM
Dr. Brown has spent many years as a registered nurse and midwife working with fertility awareness methods, infertility issues, recurrent loss, and restoring reproductive wellness. She is a trained FEMM medical consultant and has working knowledge of the Creighton, SymtoThermal, and Marquette methods of fertility awareness. Dr. Brown has helped many women avoid and achieve pregnancy and addresses fertility issues like PCOS, anovulatory cycles, irregular cycles, recurrent loss, and hormonal imbalance from adolescence through menopause.
In recent years, Dr. Brown has developed a special interest in perinatal mood disorders after seeing this issue daily with limited resources to address it. She recently graduated with a doctorate in nursing practice (DNP) from Bethel University in St. Paul MN. Her focus was on perinatal mood disorders, symptom management, and non-pharmacological interventions to improve mental health in the perinatal population. Dr. Brown sees patients at her practice at Mayo Clinic Health System, Mankato and via telehealth through the Reply Clinic in Cary, North Carolina.
Peter Buch, MD, AGAF, FACP
He is a graduate of Downstate Medical Center (NY) He completed his Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine and his Fellowship in Gastroenterology at Long Island Jewish-Hillside Medical Center (now a division of Northwell Health).
Dr. Buch is an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, and the Frank H Netter school of Medicine/Quinnipiac University.
Dr. Buch has been honored to speak at dozens of national conferences. He looks forward to learning with you!
Ronald R. Butendieck, JR, MD, FACP
Dr. Butendieck is an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and serves as a consultant in the Division of Rheumatology at the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida. He is actively involved in teaching residents and fellows and has received the Top Teacher in Rheumatology Award on multiple occasions. Since 2013, he has presented the topics of Vasculitis and Inflammatory/Non-inflammatory myopathies each year at the Mayo Clinic Internal Medicine Board Review series for senior residents.
He has a special interest in Behçet’s disease and has presented internationally on the topic of Neuro-Behçet’s. He is also the contributing author on the topic of Behçet’s for the National Organization for Rare Disorders. He has presented nationally and internationally on various topics in rheumatology and has authored peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.
In 2017, he was elected as a Fellow in the American College of Physicians. He currently serves on the Mayo International Health Program Selection Committee and the Humanities in Medici
Aaron Buzzard, MD, FACEP
His areas of interest and expertise are in trauma, critical care medicine, and emergency medical service
Kathy L. Cerminara, JD, LLM, JSD
Professor Cerminara teaches Health Policy & Bioethics, Bioethics and Law and Medicine seminars, Mental Health Law, and other health-law-related courses, in addition to Torts, Civil Procedure, and Administrative Law. She also created and was the initial director of the online Master of Science in Health Law program for non-lawyers.
Professor Cerminara has enjoyed nation and international recognition for her scholarship and service. Most recently, she was awarded the 2023 Distinguished Health Law Service Award from the Association of American Law Schools' Law, Medicine & Health Care Section. In 2017, she received a Scholars Award for innovative interprofessional work with the Broward County Mental Health Court. In 2013, she earned an American Health Lawyers Association 2012 Pro Bono Champion award for co-organizational work on Wounds of War: Meeting the Needs of Active-Duty Military & Veterans With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a symposium taking place at NSU law school on February 1, 2013.
Additionally, since 2012, she frequently has been a member of the International Scientific Committee for the International Academy of Law & Mental Health, based in Montreal, Canada. In that position, she has co-organized the stream of therapeutic jurisprudence presentations for four of the Academy's bi-annual Congresses: one in Amsterdam in 2013, one in Vienna in 2015, one in Prague in 2017, and one in Rome in 2019. In recognition of that work, in 2017, the International Society of Therapeutic Jurisprudence awarded her and her co-organizer the first-ever Wexler/Winick Distinguished Service Award in Prague.
Prior to joining the College of Law faculty, Professor Cerminara taught at the University of Miami School of Law and St. Thomas University School of Law, clerked in the Western District of Pennsylvania and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and practiced law with Reed Smith Shaw & McClay in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Professor Cerminara received her J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh and her LL.M. and J.S.D. from Columbia University. She is an affiliate member of the Health Law and Tort Trial and Insurance sections of The Florida Bar, a retired member of the Pennsylvania Bar, and a member of organizations such as the American Bar Association, and the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics.
Ashish Chandra, MBA, PhD
Dr. Chandra is a prolific researcher and has 75 publications in refereed journals, two edited books, ten book chapters, and over 250 publications in conference proceedings. He is an Executive Editor of the journal Hospital Topics (the oldest journal in healthcare administration field - almost 95 years in existence). He has served as the President of FOUR major international academic organizations - the Business and Health Administration Association; the Association of Collegiate Marketing Educators; the MBAA International; and the Federation of Business Disciplines. He has also served as the Program Chair of over a dozen major international conferences, held in U.S., India, Turkey, and U.K. as well as aboard cruise ships in the Caribbean, Alaska, Baltics, and Mediterranean.
Professor Chandra has received numerous awards and recognition related to teaching, research, and service throughout his career, including the 2017 Excellence in Teaching Award by the National Society for Leadership Success; 2015 Outstanding Professor Award given by the University of Houston - Clear Lake Alumni Association; 2012 American College of Healthcare Executives Service Award; 2011 Outstanding Educator Award from the Association of Collegiate Marketing Educators; to name a few. He also has the distinct honor of being the Commencement Speaker at the December 2018 graduation ceremony of the University of Houston – Clear Lake. The URL link to Dr. Chandra’s commencement speech is below. Please cue to minute 32 of the video link in case you just want to see Dr. Chandra’s speech.
URL to speech https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpwOooexSYA&t=2984s
Nicole Harrington Cirino, MD
She was fellowship trained in Reproductive Psychiatry at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine where she also completed her Psychiatry Residency. Reproductive Psychiatry is a specialty area of Psychiatry that focuses exclusively on the treatment of women across the reproductive life cycle. She teaches topics including Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders, Menopause and Mood Disorders, and Female Sexual Medicine to medical students, residents, fellows and practicing clinicians internationally. Besides psychotropic and hormonal interventions she is also skilled in Interpersonal Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Sex Therapy and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy as well as other evidence based behavioral interventions.
Dr. Cirino is also a specialist in Female Sexual Medicine. She is a Certified Sex Therapist through the governing body American Association of Sexual Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT). She is also an International Fellow with the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health (ISSWSH).
Dr. Cirino's research interests involve medical and behavioral therapy interventions for perinatal mental health conditions and female sexual dysfunction. She recently moved to Houston, Texas from Portland, Oregon and is married with three children. Traveling with family and friends and teaching are her greatest passions.
Stephen R. Clum, MD, PhD
After completing his fellowship training, he moved to Springfield Missouri where he joined a multispecialty group. His practice encompassed Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep Medicine including an active pediatric sleep practice. In 2014, he returned to the University South Florida to join the faculty in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine where he served as the associated division director. In this role he was actively involved in expansion of inpatient and outpatient services at Tampa General Hospital and USF. Following the retirement of his mentor, he served as the interim division director until the fall of 2020 when he joined the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System as the Chief of Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine. In his current role as Chief of Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine, he has helped developed a robust pulmonary nodule program, COPD program, and ILD program. At both the University of South Florida and Bay Pines VA, Dr. Clum has been a core faculty involved in the education of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine fellows.
Allan L. Cohn, CPHQ
At Cleveland Clinic Children's, Allan worked closely with Dr. Hupertz to establish overall governance for quality, patient experience, and safety efforts for all Cleveland Clinic pediatric locations.
During his time at Cleveland Clinic Children’s, employee reporting of safety risks increased by 60% with a corresponding 90% decrease in serious safety events, including over ten years without a serious harm medication safety event. They achieved a 40% reduction in central line associated blood stream infections, a 20% reduction in all cause readmissions and a 10-percentage point improvement in physician communication top box performance.
Allan established a Family Engagement team that ensured the voice of the parent and patient was involved in all Cleveland Clinic Children’s strategic initiatives including new facility design, partnering families with newly diagnosed conditions with other families, and creation of Speak Up for Safety – empowering parents and caregivers to “stop the line” any time they have a concern.
Allan received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois in 1979. He is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) and a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt & Champion,
Richard Colgan, MD
Dr. Colgan has been listed in Best Doctors in America, was chosen by the School of Medicine’s student body as its nominee for the Association of American Medical Colleges’ annual humanism award, and was inducted into the school’s Humanism Honor Society as well as Alpha Omega Alpha. In 2008, he was awarded the American Medical Student Association’s Golden Apple clinical faculty teaching award by the University of Maryland School of Medicine class of 2008.
Dr. Colgan is a colonel in the Maryland Defense Force, serving the state of Maryland as a volunteer physician in the 10th Medical Regiment. He is the author of two books: Advice to the Young Physician: On the Art of Medicine and Advice to the Healer: On the Art of Caring, both published by Springer. He was recently selected to direct the Maryland Area Health Education Center, the School of Medicine’s “Mini-Med School” and “Mini-Med School for Kids” programs, providing medical information to members of the local community. He also is the Director of the School of Medicine’s Executive Health Program.
Blaise L Congeni, MD
Dr. Congeni received his medical degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine. He completed his pediatrics residency at the University of Michigan Medical Center and C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, and his pediatric infectious diseases fellowship at Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital
Dr. Congeni is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases. A member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Infectious Diseases Society of America, and American Society of Microbiology, Dr. Congeni has been named in the Best Doctors in America for more than a dozen years. He has been the recipient of numerous faculty awards including Leibelt-Wheeler, 1999, Legendary Service, 2013, Golden Apple Award for teaching excellence 6 times, honorary hooder by the graduating class 4 times, and he was elected Master Teacher at NEOMED, class of 2000.
Dr. Congeni serves as an editorial board member for Infectious Diseases in Clinical Practice, and he is a past editorial board member for Concise Reviews of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. He has authored more than 60 abstracts, book chapters, and peer-reviewed medical journal publications, and he has served as a guest editor of Pediatric Annals.
Joseph A. Congeni, MD
Joseph A. Congeni, M.D. is the Medical Director of the Sports Medicine Center at Akron Children's Hospital as well an Professor of Pediatrics at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED), and Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Sports Medicine at Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine. He developed the Primary Care Pediatrics Sports Medicine Fellowship at Akron Children's Hospital, the first of its kind at a pediatric hospital in the U.S. in (1990). He is a (1980) graduate of the University of Notre Dame; and received his medical degree from NEOMED in (1984). Dr. Congeni is currently a team physician for the University of Akron and Archbishop Hoban High School since (1988).
He has won many awards including: the OHSAA Respect the Game Award (2004-2005), the Ohio Athletic Trainer's Association’s Team Physician of the Year Award (2008), and Ohio Outstanding Team Physician by the Ohio State Medical Association (2008), Best Doctors in Northeast Ohio (2009-2022), the Dr. Carl Krill Award for humanism and excellence in the field of medicine from the Knights of Columbus (2013),Sports & Exercise Medicine Godfather, Cleveland Clinic (aka Warthog Society) (2017), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Thomas Shaffer National Award for significant contributions to the field of sports medicine (2018) and most recently was inducted to the Diocese of Cleveland CYO Hall of Fame in (2019).
He is also a lead author on the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Baseball/Softball Policy Statement issued March 2012. Dr. Congeni’s media events vary from appearing on NBC’s TODAY Show in 2009 to his appearance on a PBS documentary entitled “The Smartest Team” in 2012 and a Sports Illustrated segment in 2014. He also has been appearing on a weekly radio sports medicine segment since 1995. In addition, he does about 10-15 media appearances and 25-35 speaking engagements, locally, regionally, and nationally per year. Joe and his wife Karen have six children.
Shawn K. Conner, MD
Dr. Conner places a strong emphasis on the personal relationships he establishes with his patients, and in 2013 he was voted as "Best of the Best" Primary Care Doctor in Oakland County, Michigan. His office has been recognized as a Patient Centered Medical Home since the program inception. Dr. Conner greatly values education, and teaches medical students from both Wayne State University in Detroit as well as Michigan State University in East Lansing. He also serves as faculty for the American Academy of Family Physicians where he teaches other primary care providers at medical conferences across the country.
Dr. Conner has practice interests in Dermatology, Upper Respiratory, and Preventive Health. He is actively involved in his community, serving on the local Corridor Improvement Authority, and he serves as an assistant coach on an adult soccer team.
Daniel Cox, PhD
Dr. Cox has spent much of his professional career as a National Institutes of Health investigator studying how behavior effects blood glucose among adults with type 1 diabetes and how extreme blood glucose effects behavior. He has published over 250 scientific articles and secured over $25 million of research funding.
In 2010, he experienced unexpected weight loss, blurring of his vision, excessive thirst and frequent urination. One night while returning to bed after a trip to the bathroom, it struck him that he had type 2 diabetes. The next morning this was confirmed when going to his office and measuring his blood glucose. Realizing he would prefer not take medication and he was not optimistic about loosing 6% of his body weight, he personally investigated the benefits of controlling his blood glucose by reducing certain carbohydrates and increasing his physical activity, and confirming the impact of these behavior changes with blood glucose monitoring. After 9 months he lowered his A1c from 10.3 to 5.6. He has been able to keep his A1c below 6.0 for the last 12 years on no medication and with the significant support of his wife, Debbie. Following his initial success, he investigated whether this approach would be similarly effective for others. After 10 years of subsequent research and over $10 million of research grants, he can confidently state that Glucose Everyday Matters (GEM) is a powerful and effective tool for those inclined to follow his approach. He now hopes to step outside of the laboratory and share his findings with others also dealing with type 2 diabetes.
Jessica Crandall-Snyder, RDN, CDE
Jessica is the owner and founder of VitalRD. She caters to the diverse nutritional needs of the community. Jessica has a virtual practice, contracts with numerous doctors' offices (providing them with nutritional services), and develops and manages hospital-based outpatient programs for nutritional counseling services. She is passionate about helping consumers navigate the nutritional maze towards a healthier life in an atmosphere that is comfortable for them and conductive to learning – no matter what the setting or challenges.
As a Registered Dietitian (RDN), Jessica's passion lies in nutritional counseling in weight management, sports nutrition, bariatric education, diabetes prevention and management, cardiac diet modification, oncology nutrition and family nutrition dynamics. She also works with children with special nutritional needs and feeding disorders. Jessica is also a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE), NASM Personal Trainer, and AAFA certified Group Fitness Instructor.
Jessica's accolades include being named 2009 Colorado Dietitian of the Year, served as Colorado Dietetic President-Elect in 2009, and President of Colorado Dietetics Association in 2010. She is a strong supporter of public policy for dietitians and their professional development. She also had the honor to be a National Media Spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics from 2010-2019. She regularly speaks for a variety of media outlets and has been quoted in numerous media outlets including WebMD, Prevention, Shape, Weight Watchers, Men's Fitness, Readers Digest, Martha Stewart Whole Living Magazines, and is frequently engaged as an expert resource regarding nutrition and health for many media outlets.
Mark Cucuzzella, MD FAAFP MHP
Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, Air Force Reserve Lieutenant Colonel (ret), practices at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Martinsburg, West Virginia. As a Professor as West Virginia University School of Medicine , Mark developed and adopted an inpatient protocol for using a low-carb diet for patients with obesity, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes. Practicing what they preach, the hospital eliminated all sugar-sweetened beverages from the hospital. Mark was instrumental in bringing MEDCHEFS to the WVU School of Medicine in 2014 with a focus on understanding insulin resistance. An advocate for evidence based policy and education, Mark is a founding member of The Nutrition Coalition, and The Hypoglycemia Foundation and is a scientific advisor for Diet Doctor.
Mark's current research interests are diabetes remission, the use of continuous glucose monitors, and carbohydrate reduction for severe pediatric obesity. He also leads a clinical group "International Multidisciplinary Diabetes Remission Working Group" who just completed a textbook chapter on medication reduction in Type 2 diabetes adapted from the article Adapting Medication for Type 2 Diabetes to a Low Carbohydrate Diet.
Along with his colleague Dr. Cox , Mark also experienced a health challenge and transformation when he was diagnosed with maturity onset diabetes of youth in 2012 and became an early adopter of continuous glucose monitors and dietary modification for disease remission. He lives in Shepherdstown, West Virginia where he also owns a small community running store and directs running races and camps for youth and adults. His book “Run For Your Life” summarizes the science and the soul of running, nutrition, and physical activity to help you maintain a vigorous life. Visit Mark's site at www.DrMarksdesk.com.
Tara Dall, MD, FNLA
For 3 years Dr. Dall served as Chief Medical Officer of Health Diagnostic Laboratory. As an author and educator on biomarker research focused on the role that insulin resistance plays in diabetes prevention she has expanded the education of physicians to prevent chronic disease. She has a special interest in insulin resistance's role in cardiovascular disease, women's heart disease, Autoimmune disease, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and obesity. She also serves as chief of cardiometabolic education at the non-profit Foundation for Health Improvement and Technology (FHIT).
Known for her passionate delivery of complex medical topics in patient-friendly terms, Dr. Dall is a sought after speaker, traveling the world to present research on advanced biomarkers. She is a also a regular go-to for reporters, appearing on Bloomberg News, CBS Sports, CNN Radio, Reach MD Satellite Radio, and RadioHealth Journal. She was also a regular guest on KTXD-TV's The Broadcast in Dallas, as well as programs on wabcradio.com (Optimal wellness and Forever Young). She continues to practice medicine as a physician founder of AvanceMD Concierge in Richmond, VA which incorporates cutting edge web based technology to the human touch of medicine, providing services to local as well as national and international clients.
Elliot Davidson, MD, FAAFP
He is Professor of Family and Community Medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) and Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (OUHCOM). He serves on many committees and is Co-Chair of the Ethics Committee. He is past Chairman of the Board of Partners Physician Group, the Private Practice of Akron General Health System.
Dr. Davidson is passionate about the prevention of heart disease and has published in and has been a reviewer for the Journal of Clinical Lipidology. He is a leader in test taking preparation and has presented on this topic at many local and national meetings and worked individually with many learners. For the 11 years he was a Family Medicine Program Director from 2008 to 2019 his graduates had a 100% pass rate on their first attempt on the American Board of Family Medicine Certifying Examination. He is actively engaged in teaching many medical and pharmacy students, and family medicine residents. In 2022, he received the Outstanding Family Medicine Faculty Award from OUHCOM and Cleveland Clinic. In 2023, he was presented with the Medical Education Leadership Award from Cleveland Clinic Akron General.
Dr. Davidson graduated from both Kent State University (Summa cum Laude) and NEOMED in 1982 and did his Family Medicine Residency at Akron General Medical Center.
He is married, has four children and one granddaughter (so far).
Dereck DeLeon, MD
Dr. Dereck DeLeon has been a Family Physician with Kaiser Permanente in San Diego, California for the past 22 years and was the Program Director for the Kaiser Permanente Family Medicine Residency Program in San Diego as well as the Southern California Regional Chair for Diversity in Graduate Medical Education Committee.
He was also the Co-Chair of the San Diego Graduate Medical Education Committee and the Chair of the San Diego, Innovation in Quality Education and Transformation Committee at Kaiser Permanente San Diego.
His leadership background also includes being on the Association of Family Medicine Residency Director Education and Program Director Development Committee as well past Chair of the Kaiser Permanente San Diego Continuing Medical Education Committee .He also has completed numerous Fellowships in Leadership, Faculty Development and Curriculum Design and Assessment.
Dr. DeLeon also maintains a busy clinical practice with Kaiser Permanente. He holds the appointment of Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Preventative Medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
One of Dr DeLeon's passions is in developing community programs that seek to expose those from underrepresented backgrounds to the health care profession as well as to educate other healthcare providers around the issues of health inequities in our communities. Dr DeLeon help pioneer the Kaiser Permanente/ San Ysidro High School Summer Urban Fellowship which has helped provide the education/mentoring and role modeling for local high school, college and medical students from underrepresented groups ,who seek careers in medicine .
Dr. DeLeon has been an invited speaker at numerous venues and has presented numerous scholarly work at, the AAFP Annual Scientific Assembly , the AAFP Program Directors Workshop , the University of California San Diego School of Medicine , and the AAMC Minority Student Workshop among others.
Nihar R. Desai, MD, MPH
Kristen Bell DeTienne, MA, PhD
Dr. DeTienne's research has received international recognition. Her research was selected for Best of the American Bar Association, outstanding article of the year by the Association for Business Communication, Best of Conference at the Organizational Behavior Teaching Conference, and Best Paper from the Southwest Academy of Management. She received the Outstanding Paper Award for her article in Competitiveness Review. Professor DeTienne was named a Beckham Scholar at BYU.
Professor DeTienne's research on the health impacts of stress has been published in the Journal of Health and Human Services Administration and in the Journal of Business Ethics and has been cited hundreds of times. Dr. DeTienne's recent research examines mental health in organizations. In 2020 and 2022 her work on managing employees with depression was published by Harvard Business Review. Her work on negotiating with those suffering from mental health problems was published in Harvard's Negotiation Journal. Professor DeTienne enjoys translating best practices in management into practical, hands-on lessons for medical professionals and other practitioners. Dr. DeTienne has consulted to numerous organizations, including Partners Personnel, Cisco, eBay, Discover Card, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Entrada and Zions Bancorp.
Joseph DiDonato III, DDS MBA FAGD
Dr. DiDonato received his DDS from NYU and an MBA from Rochester Institute of Technology. He is a fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry. He is a past president of the New York State Academy of General Dentistry. Dr. DiDonato is an attending and clinical instructor in the Eastman Department of Dentistry at the University of Rochester and maintains a part-time practice performing implant surgery and restoration. Dr DiDonato has studied at the Misch Institute, LVI and the NYU Implant Continuum. Dr DiDonato has been providing independent dental exams for third parties since 2007 and is currently working on a manuscript on the subject. Dr DiDonato is an avid amateur paleontologist and has been fossil hunting in China, North Africa and South America
Michael J. Drescher, MD, FACEP
In 2000 Dr Drescher and his family moved back to Israel where he worked as an attending physician in the ED at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, Israel where he was interim head of the Trauma service and of the ED until 2005. Those were years of unrest in Israel with terrorist attacks happening with relative frequency affecting both work in the ED and life outside.
From 2005 -2010 moved back to Connecticut where he was the Associate Chief of Emergency Medicine at Hartford Hospital and after another move from 2015-2022 was the Chief of EM at Beilinson Hospital, Rabin Medical Center, in Petah Tikvah, Israel.
Dr Drescher has published over 40 peer reviewed articles, with a research interest in emergency radiology, pain control, clinical decision making among other topics.
From 2018-2022 he was the Chairman of the Israel Association for Emergency Medicine and worked on the advancement of the specialty in Israel. He is Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at UCONN school of medicine and visiting Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Tel Aviv University School of Medicine.
David S. Edwards, MD
Mark Eisenberg, MD, MPH, FACC, FAHA
Dr. Eisenberg was born in Rochester, New York. He completed a BA in Chemistry in 1980 at Cornell University, followed by an MD at the University of Rochester. After completing his MD, Dr. Eisenberg did a residency in internal medicine at McGill University, a Master’s of Public Health at Harvard University, a research fellowship in echocardiography and epidemiology and a cardiology fellowship at the University of California in San Francisco. In 1995, Dr. Eisenberg completed an interventional cardiology fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic.
In 2008-2009, Dr. Eisenberg spent a year in Israel as a visiting professor in the Department of Human Metabolism and Nutrition at the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Hebrew University, Hadassah School of Public Health and Community Medicine. During this sabbatical, he also completed an International Master’s of Health Leadership at McGill University.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Eisenberg has published over 300 articles in peer-reviewed journals and participated in multiple collaborative works. In addition, Dr. Eisenberg has authored four books.
Osman El-Labban, MD
His patients can feel how easily he can gain rapport with them, allowing them comfortably to approach him for any health problem, and on how much he cares for their safety. In addition, he has the talent of explaining health problems in a very simple way that helped him to be a popular public speaker and writer of medical articles aiming to educate general public.
He started his career by working in the staff clinic of A.U.B., untili he moved to primary healthcare department of Dubai Health Authority(DHA) to be the first family physician in Dubai in 1986.
In DHA, he could prove himself and attain different posts as doctor in charge for different health centers, member of executive committee of the department and up to co-director of the family medicine residency program In DHA. During these years, he succeeded in different endeavors, which varied from managerial, clinical, to academic, all of which helped him in building his reputation, fame and identity as one of the pioneer family physicians in UAE.
The opportunity came few years ago to move to the private sector, when he joined Al Zahra hospital Dubai where he could achieve further success by establishing the family medicine department in the hospital, allowing him to serve as a role model of the family physician with various potentials in the hospital settings.
He has been chosen among the top 25 family physicians in Dubai & has achieved the first rank leader of the team of the year 2017 at Al Zahra Hospital Dubai.
The future still promises for more challenges …. By employing his accumulated expertise over 30 years, he is still seeking an opportunity to broaden his responsibilities in both clinical & managerial fields of healthcare, where he will be then steer a bigger team of physicians who can provide a higher standard of healthcare and excellence.
Uriel Elchalal MD
Associate Prof. Ob/Gyn Hebrew University, Hadassah School Medicine, Jerusalem since 2009. Head of high risk pregnancy outpatient clinic, Hadassah Ein Kerem medical center.
Head of high risk pregnancy outpatient clinic, Hadassah Ein Kerem medical center. Head of Maccabi women outpatient health center in Jerusalem. Vice Dean&dasg; Student affairs Faculty of Medicine Hadassah Hebrew University. Contributor of over 100 articles to professional journals and author of 3 books in Obstetrics Gynecology and Reproduction (Hebrew).
Pamela Ellsworth, MD
Dr. Ellsworth was awarded an Honorary AOA while on the staff at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center for her teaching skills. She became the first female full time surgeon to become full professor at Brown University and received the resident teaching aware while at Brown University.
She was awarded the Top Doctor Award for 2 years while at UMassMemorial Medical Center. Much of her career has been decidated to education, both in the realm of pediatric and adult urology. The author of over 75 peer reviewed publications, over 50 book chapters and several books geared for the layperson, including 100 Questions and Answers about Prostate Cancer, with a 5th edition soon to be published.
Dr. Ellsworth has educated medical students, residents, peers and patients over the years.
Marshall D. Fagin, DDS Prosthodontist
In 2013 he received the highest honor given by his local Dental Society, the coveted Frank Stone Award, for his many years of contributions to dentistry, dental education and to organized dentistry. While in private practice, he is also a part-time Associate Professor at SUNY’s Dental School in the Post-Grad Prosthodontic Residency Program and was instrumental in starting implant dentistry education there in the late 1980’s.
He has conducted several “Hands-On” courses for dentists on “Anterior Esthetic Makeovers” at the school’s Esthetic Dentistry Education Center and for the University of Florida School of Dentistry’s Mastership Program in Fixed Prosthetics as well as Esthethics and Implant courses for AGD chapters.
Dr. Fagin served as Prosthodontist adviser and presentor for several Implant Study Clubs over the past 26 years. He presents for Dental Laboratories around the country to help dentists get back to the basics so labs can provide them with better outcomes. He was voted by his colleagues to “Best Dentists in America” 2004/2005 and 2013, “Global Who’s Who Man of the Year” in Dental Health 2008, “Top Dentists” 2008/2014/2015/2017/2018 and was elected to faculty membership in the Honorary Dental Society Omicron Kappa Upsilon.
He was awarded Diplomat status in the International Congress of Oral Implantologists in 1994 and is a Fellowship recipient of the International College of Dentists for his contributions to Dentistry. Dr. Fagin also served on faculty for the Misch Implant Institute 1991-1993 (Detroit, Michigan) and 2005-2006 (Rochester, NY).
David B. Feller, MD
He has received several awards for his teaching including Clinical Science Teacher of the year by medical students, Exemplary Teaching Award from the College of Medicine, Teacher of the year by Family Medicine Residents, and Exemplary Teaching Award by the FAFP. His academic interests include integrative medicine and behavioral medicine.
Lisa Ferentz, LCSW-C, DAPA
Kevin Scott Ferentz, MD
Thomas M File Jr., MD, MSc, MACP, FIDSA, FCCP
Dr Thomas File is Chair of the Infectious Disease Division and Co-Director of Antimicrobial Stewardship at Summa Health in Akron, Ohio and Professor of Internal Medicine, Master Teacher, and Chair of the Infectious Disease Section at Northeast Ohio Medical University. After graduating from medical school at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1972, Dr. File received his Master of Science in medical microbiology from Ohio State University in Columbus, in 1977, where he also completed his fellowship in infectious diseases.
Dr File is a past President of the Board of Directors of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and Past President of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID). He is a Master of the American College of Physicians, a fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians, and a member of the American Thoracic Society. He is a past Chairperson of the Standards and Practice Guidelines Committee of the IDSA and served as a member of several guideline panels. He is a past-president of the Infectious Disease Society of Ohio.
Primary research interests that Dr File has pursued include respiratory tract infections, antimicrobial stewardship, immunizations in adults, and evaluation of new antimicrobial agents. A frequent lecturer nationally and internationally, he has published more than 250 articles, abstracts, and textbook chapters, focusing on the diagnosis, etiology, and treatment of infectious diseases, especially on respiratory tract infections and antimicrobial stewardship. He received the Watanakunakorn Clinician Award from the IDSA in 2013 and the John P Utz Leadership award from NFID in May 2017. He authors sections on community-acquired pneumonia, acute bronchitis, and hospital-acquired pneumonia in UpToDate. He is Editor-in-Chief of Infectious Diseases in Clinical Practice.
Gregory Firestone, PhD
Dr. Firestone is a psychologist, mediator, mediation trainer and dispute resolution system consultant and has maintained a private mediation practice since 1984. Gregory Firestone is a practicing 1) Florida Supreme Court certified Appellate, Circuit Court, Dependency, and Family Mediator, 2) Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) Advanced Practitioner, and 3) Diplomate Member of the Florida Academy of Professional Mediator.
Dr. Firestone has lectured and published widely in the field of mediation including a recent article he co-authored on mandatory pre-suit medical malpractice mediation and is co-author of Mediation Works: Make it Work for You, a mediation orientation video produced by the Florida Supreme Court Dispute Resolution Center.
Edward Fisher, PhD, RPh
Dr Fisher was licensed as a pharmacist in Arizona, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania, and has practiced in a variety of clinical settings. He has devised and presented over 100 continuing education seminars and innovative NSF sponsored short courses. He is a past National Secretary of Rho Chi, the only pharmacy honor society, and recipient of the National Rho Chi Advisor of the Year award. His current areas of expertise includes: substances of abuse and addiction, nutrition, and the pharmacotherapy of mental disorders.
Robert Fogerty, MD
Will Frye, PhD, BCB, ABPP
Dr. Frye provides clinical care to patients at JHACH through the interdisciplinary chronic pain clinic, inpatient consultation, outpatient psychology services, and the intensive inpatient Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Rehab Program. He also leads Camp Wellness at JHACH, which is an outpatient half-day pain management program. Dr. Frye has additional areas of clinical specialty including program development and biofeedback.
Boris Garber, DO
He is an attending physician in MetroHealth Medical center, faculty in the EMS fellowship, Fellow of American College of Emergency Physicians, Assistant Professor in Case western Reserve School of medicine, and Medical Director for Cuyahoga County College paramedic program.
Felice L. Gersh, MD
Felice Gersh, M.D. is a multi-award winning physician with dual board certifications in OB-GYN and Integrative Medicine. She is the founder and director of the Integrative Medical Group of Irvine, which provides comprehensive health care for women by combining the best evidence-based therapies from conventional, naturopathic, and holistic medicine.
An active part of the PCOS community, Dr. Gersh works with the PCOS Awareness Association and is a member of the PCOS Challenge’s Medical/Scientific Advisory Board. She speaks at the annual conferences of both non-profit organizations. She is a member of the AE-PCOS Society, and has spoken multiple times at their prestigious academic meetings.
She taught obstetrics and gynecology at Keck USC School of Medicine for 12 years as an Assistant Clinical Professor, where she received the highly coveted Outstanding Volunteer Clinical Faculty Award. She now serves as an Affiliate Faculty Member at the Fellowship in Integrative Medicine, through the University of Arizona School of Medicine, where she lectures and regularly grades the case presentations written by the Fellowship students for their final exams. She has had many scientific articles published in prestigious medical journals, and most recently had an article chosen to be featured in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Additionally, she is a sought after medical forensic expert and has worked on numerous high profile legal cases.
Felice Gersh, M.D. is the bestselling author of PCOS SOS and the PCOS SOS Fertility Fast Track and her newest book, Menopause: 50 Things You Need to Know, is now available on Amazon. She is a prolific lecturer, nationally and internationally, and has been featured in several films and documentary series, including The Real Skinny on Fat with Montel Williams and Fasting with Valter Longo, Ph.D. Dr. Gersh is regularly featured on podcasts and health summits, and has a popular health show on Instagram Live.
Hayley B. Gershengorn, MD, FCCM, ATSF
She is Editor in Chief for CHEST Critical Care, serves on the planning committee for Critical Care for the American Thoracic Society, and is Past-Chair of the Internal Medicine Section for the Society of Critical Care Medicine.
Jonathan Glauser, MD, FACEP, MBA
He has been active in the education of medical students and resident training for over three decades, and is currently on the full-time faculty of the residency program in Emergency Medicine at MetroHealth Medical Center/ Cleveland Clinic.
He serves on the editorial advisory board of three publications in the field of emergency care, and is section editor in Infectious Disease for the journal Current Emergency and Hospital Medicine Reports. He lives with his wife in the greater Cleveland area.
Sam Goldstein, Ph.D., M.A.
Developmental Neuropsychologist with specialty in all areas of child developmental and psychiatric disorders, genetics, resilience/protective factors, and brain injury.
Kencee Graves, MD, FACP
Marna Rayl Greenberg, DO, MPH
Elizabeth Grill, PsyD
Dr. Grill is experienced as a health psychologist and medical researcher. Dr. Grill sits on several professional boards and is an editorial reviewer for peer reviewed journals.
She is the author of numerous articles and book chapters, has lectured worldwide to patient and medical audiences and has participated in media interviews.
Dr. Katherine Hanser, DMD
Amy B. Harris, MSN, RN, OCNS-C
As a Rheumatology Nurse Coordinator for the past 9 years, Amy expanded her expertise in the field of rheumatology. She is an active member of the Rheumatology Nurses Society (RNS).
Amy has earned distinction as a sought-after presenter on a variety of topics related to the care of patients with orthopaedic and rheumatologic conditions. She has shared her insights nationally at conferences co-sponsored by NAON and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. She has also presented orthopaedic certification exam review courses around the country. Amy is well known for her energized teaching style and ability to provide practical information and interesting case studies to health care providers from varied disciplines.
George D. Harris, MD, MS
Dr. Harris has lectured at national, state, and local meetings since 1997 on various topics in sports medicine, exercise testing, diabetes, women's health topics and cardiovascular disease.
He was active at the state and national level for the specialty of family medicine. He served on multiple committees for the Florida Academy of Family Physicians (FAFP), before serving two terms on their Board of Directors and the officer level, becoming President of FAFP in 2000. He was the first recipient of the FAFP Young Leader Award. He also served on the Missouri Board of Family Physicians during his time in Missouri.
He was awarded an honorary member of the Mortar Board National Honor Society in 2012. He was named to "Kansas City Super Doctors" for 2007- 2013. He was listed in the Consumers' Research Council of America "Guide to America's Top Family Doctors" for 2006.
Dr. Harris was appointed to the Society of Teachers for Family Medicine (STFM) National Clerkship Curriculum Editorial Board and served for four years. He is a member of the National Board of Medical Examiners Family Medicine Task Force and is an AMSSM Fellowship In-training Item Exam Writer.
He was a member of The Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry (ACTPCMD) of the Health Resources and Services Administration; appointed by Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services. Dr. Harris was appointed by previous Florida governor, Jeb Bush to the State of Florida Medicaid Pharmacy and Therapeutics Commission.
Dr. Harris holds the position of Fellow, in both the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine. He is a member of the South Carolina Academy of Family Physicians.
Jeffrey Hindin, DDS
Jeffrey Hindin, DDS has developed an FDA cleared system of instrumentation to monitor Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Nervous System balance and add a new level of understanding and care for patients with airway disorders in the medical or dental office. The HindexRV® system produces objective data on the physiological effects of altered jaw position, tooth positioning and other dental procedures.
Katherine A. Hochman, MD, FHM
Katherine serves on national and local committees on quality and patient safety. Her most recent research has focused on maximizing hospital operational efficiency. Katherine's interests include creating a culture of safety, enhancing teamwork and leadership.
Vera Hupertz, MD
Vera stayed on as Staff Physician at Rainbow Babies and Hospital and achieved the level of Associate Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University. She was made Medical Director of the Pediatric Liver Transplant Team, and was co-director of the Residency Training Program at RB&C. In addition to the above, I developed a residency curriculum for Chronic Care to be used at Health Hill Hospital (now Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital for Rehabilitation).
She became a staff physician at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in July of 2000 and currently has a joint appointment with the Department of Transplant Surgery. She is Medical Director of Pediatric Liver Transplantation. She is Vice Chair of Quality Improvement for the Children's Hospital and Pediatric Institute at Cleveland Clinic. Current interests are liver disease (especially neonatal disease) and liver transplantation, as well as inflammatory bowel diseases
Kim Hutchinson, EdD, MS, MSN, BSN, PMHCNS-BC, CARN
Dr. Hutchinson has collaborated in writing the Review and Resource Manual – Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing (5th ed) resource and a chapter on Geriatric Mental Health for the Nursing Knowledge Center arm of the American Nurses Credentialing Center. This work incorporates knowledge derived from role delineation studies to develop additional accompanying materials: (1) case studies; (2) questions, answers and rationales; (3) workbooks; (4) face-to-face 2-day live reviews; and (4) learning module redesign to online audio-visual modules, all purposed to lead to successful attainment of board certification (BC) in psychiatric mental health nursing.
Dr. Hutchinson is an officer in NC American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) membership activities, and national APNA activities. With APNA, Dr. Hutchinson is a facilitator for the Suicide Assessment and Prevention certification course, the Recovery to Practice modules, and co-developed the Transitions to Practice online education module set.
Dr. Hutchinson has worked in nursing since 1976 in roles as clinician, university faculty, researcher, expert, author, test item developer (for NCLEX-RN and ANCC), consultant, and speaker. Recognition and awards have been earned from colleagues across local, national, and international practice regions.
BSN: 1977
MSN: 1980
EdD: 1996
MS: 2003
Mark H. Hyman, MD, FACP, FIAIME, FACOEM
Dr. Hyman had served for 30 years as an Associate Professor on the clinical faculty at the University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA). He pursued medical school, internship, residency and fellowship at UCLA. Dr. Hyman is a highly sought-after lecturer, including being the keynote speaker for annual State level meetings. He has authored various medical-legal and internal medicine topics. He has served as editor for the Internal Medicine section of the Medical Disability Advisor, Fifth and Seventh Editions. Much of his work can be found in prestigious peer-reviewed journals including the Annals of Internal Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Archives of Neurology, the American Family Physician, and the Journal of Occupational Environmental Medicine. Dr. Hyman is a chapter author and editor for numerous American Medical Association (AMA) books including:
- A Physician’s Guide to Return to Work
- Guides to Disease and Injury Causation
- Guides to Functional Capacity Evaluations
- Guides Transition Book
- Guides to Navigating Disability Benefit Systems
- Guides 6th edition and accompanying Internal Medicine Workbook Over the years, Dr. Hyman has been a member of the AMA, American College of Physicians and the American College of Environmental and Occupational Medicine. His FACP designation acknowledges that he is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and has served on the organization’s Governor’s Advisory Council. His FAIME designation recognizes that he is a Fellow of the International Academy of Independent Medical Examiners. He is past chair of the National Board of Directors for IAIME. Dr. Hyman has testified before the United States Congress as a national expert on disability issues.
Dr. Hyman has received acclaim for his contributions to the medical world. In 2009, WebMD selected Dr. Hyman for its annual &@8220;Health Heroes&@8221; award. In addition, the City of Los Angeles recognized his involvement with the LA Police Department related to developing police arrest procedures.
Khelda Jabbar, MD, MPH, CPE, CCD
Prior to joining Charles River, Dr. Jabbar was the Chief of the Internal Medicine Department at South Shore Medical Center/ South Shore Health System. In addition to that role she led the development of the bone health program and the accreditation of the program with the International Society of Clinical Densitometry.
She was an assistant clinical professor at Boston University for 6 years and developed primary care tracks for women’s health within Boston Medical Center and served as the interim medical director for the Women’s Health Group.
Professionally she has formal training in preventive medicine and family medicine, a women’s health fellowship and a master’s in public health and is a certified clinical bone densitometrist.
In addition to her leadership roles she remains a practicing physician with a focus on improving access to patients while delivering quality care.
Outside of work, she spends her time in antique stores and in horseback riding barns.
Jeremy Jackson, MD
He was named Academic All-American in 1997 and 1998 and was the Southeastern Conference male scholar-athlete of the year award in 1998. Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1998, he was later traded to the New York Mets where he finished his minor league career. He moved back to Mississippi and enrolled at University of Mississippi School of Medicine in 2002
After completing an Internal Medicine Residency, he served an additional year as Chief Resident of Internal medicine before completing a dermatology residency at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.
Dr. Jackson has served on the faculty since 2013. His subspecialty interests are hospitalist dermatology, complex medical dermatology, and cutaneous lymphoma. He serves a Director of Clinics in the Department of Dermatology.
Julia C. Jenkins, MD, FAAFP
Dr. Jenkins' clinical interests include lifestyle and obesity medicine, lipidology and cardiovascular disease, telemedicine, leadership development, advocacy, and ophthalmology. She currently works in academics for the USF-MPM Family Medicine Residency program in Clearwater, FL - employed by the BayCare Health System. She currently leads the Continuing Professional Development (or CME) Committee for the Florida Academy of Family Physicians.
Jerry G. Ninia, MD, RVT
He received his medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine and continued his post graduate training at Nassau County Medical Center. For over 30 years, he has maintained two separate private practices in both OB/GYN and Phlebology. He has lectured internationally on the topic of women's health and venous disease and has authored 3 text book chapters and over 25 articles in peer reviewed journals. He is the clerkship director for NYITCOM medical students rotating through St. Charles hospital department of OBGYN with administrative, didactic and clinical teaching responsibilities.
A Fellow of the American College of OB/GYN's, Surgeons and Phlebologists, he is board certified in OB/GYN as well as Phlebology and was instrumental in the creation of the nationally administered Phlebology board certification exam. He is certified by the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography as a Registered Vascular Technologist. He has served as a member of the American College of Phlebology Board of Directors and the Phlebology Foundation Board. He has served on the Catholic Health Services of Long Island Board of Trustees and helped create initiatives to improve patient safety in Labor and Delivery. His efforts resulted in St. Charles hospital earning the Healthcare Association of New York State Pinnacle Award for quality and patient safety along with his earning the prestigious Theodore Roosevelt award given to those individuals who provide outstanding voluntary contributions and leadership at Long Island hospitals.
Warren F. Jesek, DDS, MAGD
He graduated from Millikin University with a B.A. in biology and chemistry in 1974. He completed graduate studies in anatomy at the University of Nebraska before attending Loyola University Dental School where he received his dental degree in 1979. He has maintained a private general practice in Decatur, Illinois since 1979. Unique to the area, his practice houses a crown and bridge laboratory with three technicians focusing on using CAD/CAM milling technology to produce metal-free inlays, crowns and bridges Dr. Jesek continued his dental training at The Pankey Institute for Advanced Education beginning in 1986 and is a current member of the L.D. Pankey Dental Foundation. He became a teaching assistant in their TMJ dissection course in 1997.
Dr. Jesek is also the founder of Jesek Seminars: Promoting and Teaching Excellence in Dentistry. He has presented at national meetings for the Academy of General Dentistry, the American Equilibration Society, the American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pain Management. His articles have been published in Dentistry Today, Dental Economics, the Pankeygram, and the American Equilibration Society's Contact.
Jeffrey M. Kagan, MD
Michael Alan Kahn, DDS
He maintained a university-based consultative oral medicine/oral pathology clinical practice and conducted intramural and extramural funded basic and clinical research. He is past-president and emeritus fellow of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology as well as past-president and emeritus diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology.
Colin G. Kaide, MD, FACEP, FAAEM, UHM
His academic interests include: Medical education, Rapid-Sequence Intubation and the Advanced Management of the Difficult Airway, Hematological and Oncological Disorders, Anticoagulation and its Reversal, Procedural Sedation, Hyperbaric Medicine and Chronic Wound Care. He was honored as "Teacher of the Year" for the Department of Emergency Medicine (2008) and has received both the OSU College of Medicine Excellence in Teaching Award (2004) and Outstanding Teaching Award (2008). He is core faculty in the Emergency Medicine residency program at OSU.
One of his outside interests is martial arts. He has participated in the combative arts since 1978 and holds a 3rd-degree black belt in Goshin Jitsu. He has been a teacher of self-defense since high school and has developed a specialized course for EMS providers and healthcare professionals. He has also been a principal developer and Chief Medical Editor for a medical software company that produces a computer-based electronic medical record product that creates computerized ED and inpatient discharge instructions, prescriptions, and work excuses with over 800 hospitals using the software and instructions.
John R. Kalmar, DMD, PhD
Dr. Kalmar is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology (ABOMP) and a member of the Editorial Board of
Eileen L. Kalmar, Ph.D.
Dr. Kalmar has served as the Director for Anatomy Dental Education at Ohio State as well as Director of the University’s Body Donation Program. Over the years, her excellence in teaching has led to numerous awards, including the Distinguished Educator Award in the College of Medicine for 2022-2023.
Daniel B. Kessler, MD, FAAP
Prior to his recent retirement from clinical practice he was the Medical Director of the Children's Developmental Center at Southwest Human Development where he established a transdisciplinary evaluation program for young children with complex developmental and behavioral problems.
He also ran his private practice in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Daniel B. Kessler MD and Associates. Danny received his MD degree at New York University School of Medicine and completed his Internship and Residency Training both at NYU-Bellevue in New York and at Children's Hospital Boston where he did both an Ambulatory Pediatric Residency and completed fellowship training in Family Violence and then in Child Development with noted "baby doctor" T. Berry Brazelton MD.
From 1983 to 1990 Danny was the Director of the Division of Child Development and Behavior and the Carl C. Icahn Program for the Prevention of Child Abuse at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in NYC. In addition to his abiding interest in babies and the earliest relationships, Danny applied his expertise and experience in the evaluation of children with autistic spectrum disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and related co-morbidities, problems of learning and emotional adjustment, feeding and self-regulation.
In 1999 Danny coedited with his colleague Peter Dawson MD the book Failure to Thrive and Pediatric Undernutrition: A Transdisciplinary Approach with the expressed purpose of ending the use of the pejorative “Failure to Thrive” label. Recently Danny has been working with a distinguished multidisciplinary group through the organization “Feeding Matters” to revise our understanding of Pediatric Feeding Disorders.
In 2013 Danny was honored by the Phoenix Business Journal as it’s Health Care Hero in the Physician category. He has also been selected on numerous occasions as a Best Doc by Phoenix Magazine and Best Doctors of America. In 2018 he became a consultant to the Autism Center of Excellence at Touchstone Behavioral Services in Phoenix, Arizona and he continues to provide consultation in developmental and behavioral pediatrics in legal and educational settings when asked to do so.
Daniel H. Kett, MD
Dr. Kett completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine followed by a fellowship in Critical Care Medicine at Jackson Memorial Hospital. He is the recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award by the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine/Jackson Memorial Hospital Internal Medicine Residency Program.
Dr. Kett has strong clinical and research interests in severe ICU related infections, including invasive candidiasis and healthcare associated pneumonia,and infection control practices in the ICU.
Dr. Kett is an investigator for the Mycoses Study Group, a large multidisciplinary group of researchers with a primary focus on studying serious infections, and is active in several projects related to fungal infections in critically ill patients.
Results of his research have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Annals of Internal Medicine, Lancet Infectious Diseases, Critical Care Medicine, Chest, and the Journal of Intensive Care Medicine. Additionally, Dr. Kett has presented at numerous scientific meetings and has been an invited lecturer at national and international conferences.
Dana E. King, MD, MS
Throughout his career he has been a clinical researcher and educator with several areas of emphasis including lung disease, cardiovascular risk reduction, and clinical epidemiology. He was co-founder of the WV Practice-Based Research Network and is a senior leader in the WV Clinical Translational Science Institute. He has been a leader of the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) since early in his career and currently is an officer on the Executive Board. He has been a national speaker for the American Academy of Family Physicians on lung disease and other topics.
Dr. King has published over 100 peer-reviewed research publications and his work has been recognized with a Distinguished Paper at NAPCRG and has been a finalist for paper of the year at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. He enjoys time with family and is an avid road bike cyclist. Dr. King is an experienced lecturer and maintains an active clinical practice.
Sreenivas Koka, DDS, MS, PhD, MBA
Dr. Sreenivas Koka received DDS and MS (prosthodontics) degrees from The University of Michigan. He joined the University of Nebraska faculty in 1992, became a Diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics in 1995, and received his PhD in Oral Biology from the University of Nebraska in 1999. While at the University of Nebraska, Dr. Koka received the Outstanding Teacher Award on numerous occasions and was the inaugural Merritt C. Pedersen Professor of Dentistry. He joined the Staff of Mayo Clinic in 2004 and is former Consultant, former Professor of Dentistry and former Chairman of the Department of Dental Specialties in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. Koka received an MBA from MIT's Sloan School of Management in 2013 and moved to Zurich, Switzerland to be Executive Director of the Foundation for Oral Rehabilitation. Dr. Koka moved back to the US in 2014 to focus on patient care and student education and open Koka Dental Clinic, a private practice focused on implant and removable prosthodontics in San Diego. In 2021, Dr. Koka was appointed as Dean and Professor of Dentistry at the University of Mississippi Medical Center's School of Dentistry.
Dr. Koka is a Fellow and Past-President of the Academy of Prosthodontics, a Fellow of the American College of Dentists, a member of the American Dental Association, co-President of the International College of Prosthodontists, and is Chair of MIT's Sloan School of Management Alumni Board. Dr. Koka has published over 100 journal articles and book chapters and lectures extensively nationally and internationally; he has presented before audiences at a variety of best-in-class organizations including Mayo Clinic, MIT and Apple Inc. Dr. Koka has been a reviewer for NIH grants and been a principal investigator on grants funded by NIH and industry sources. In addition, Dr. Koka is the co-founder of the Future Leaders in Prosthodontics (FLIP) and Shaping the Future of Implant Dentistry (SHIFT) leadership workshop series.
David S. Kountz, MD, MBA, FACP
A board-certified internist, Dr. Kountz has had progressive responsibilities in academic medicine as Associate Professor of Medicine at Temple University School of Medicine and Professor of Medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Dr. Kountz's research interests include hypertension treatment and guidelines in underserved populations, health literacy, pipeline programs and leadership development. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, editorials and abstracts, and is a frequent speaker within and outside of his health network on a variety of topics in primary care.
Richard J. Kramer, MD
He has 25 years of experience in the private practice of Gastroenterology. Despite a full career in private practice, Dr. Kramer joined the voluntary teaching staff in the Division of Gastroenterology at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and Stanford Medical Center in 1978, to help educate house staff and fight tirelessly as a patient advocate for the underserved. Then in 2003, he made the decision to leave his private practice to work full time at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center because education was so important to him. He formally retired in 2015, but decided to return part-time seeing patients and educating house staff in 2016.
Dr. Kramer is a Fellow of the American Gastroenterology Association and belongs to the American Association of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and American Society of Gastroenterological Endoscopy (ASGE). He is also a dedicated member of the Santa Clara County Medical Association and was an Alternate Delegate to the California Medical Association for two years.
Sreenivas Koka, DDS, MS, PhD, MBA
Dr. Sreenivas Koka received DDS and MS (prosthodontics) degrees from The University of Michigan. He joined the University of Nebraska faculty in 1992, became a Diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics in 1995, and received his PhD in Oral Biology from the University of Nebraska in 1999. While at the University of Nebraska, Dr. Koka received the Outstanding Teacher Award on numerous occasions and was the inaugural Merritt C. Pedersen Professor of Dentistry. He joined the Staff of Mayo Clinic in 2004 and is former Consultant, former Professor of Dentistry and former Chairman of the Department of Dental Specialties in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. Koka received an MBA from MIT's Sloan School of Management in 2013 and moved to Zurich, Switzerland to be Executive Director of the Foundation for Oral Rehabilitation. Dr. Koka moved back to the US in 2014 to focus on patient care and student education and open Koka Dental Clinic, a private practice focused on implant and removable prosthodontics in San Diego. In 2021, Dr. Koka was appointed as Dean and Professor of Dentistry at the University of Mississippi Medical Center's School of Dentistry.
Dr. Koka is a Fellow and Past-President of the Academy of Prosthodontics, a Fellow of the American College of Dentists, a member of the American Dental Association, co-President of the International College of Prosthodontists, and is Chair of MIT's Sloan School of Management Alumni Board. Dr. Koka has published over 100 journal articles and book chapters and lectures extensively nationally and internationally; he has presented before audiences at a variety of best-in-class organizations including Mayo Clinic, MIT and Apple Inc. Dr. Koka has been a reviewer for NIH grants and been a principal investigator on grants funded by NIH and industry sources. In addition, Dr. Koka is the co-founder of the Future Leaders in Prosthodontics (FLIP) and Shaping the Future of Implant Dentistry (SHIFT) leadership workshop series.
David S. Kountz, MD, MBA, FACP
A board-certified internist, Dr. Kountz has had progressive responsibilities in academic medicine as Associate Professor of Medicine at Temple University School of Medicine and Professor of Medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Dr. Kountz's research interests include hypertension treatment and guidelines in underserved populations, health literacy, pipeline programs and leadership development. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, editorials and abstracts, and is a frequent speaker within and outside of his health network on a variety of topics in primary care.
Richard J. Kramer, MD
He has 25 years of experience in the private practice of Gastroenterology. Despite a full career in private practice, Dr. Kramer joined the voluntary teaching staff in the Division of Gastroenterology at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and Stanford Medical Center in 1978, to help educate house staff and fight tirelessly as a patient advocate for the underserved. Then in 2003, he made the decision to leave his private practice to work full time at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center because education was so important to him. He formally retired in 2015, but decided to return part-time seeing patients and educating house staff in 2016.
Dr. Kramer is a Fellow of the American Gastroenterology Association and belongs to the American Association of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and American Society of Gastroenterological Endoscopy (ASGE). He is also a dedicated member of the Santa Clara County Medical Association and was an Alternate Delegate to the California Medical Association for two years.
Merrill A. Krolick, DO, FACC, FACP
Dr. Krolick has been a previous chairperson and director of the Pinellas chapter of the American Heart Association. He currently serves as co-director of the cardiology fellowship program at HCA Largo Medical Center and is director of the interventional cardiology fellowship. He directs the cardiac cath lab at HCA Largo Medical Center.
Dr. Krolick is triple board certified in Internal medicine, cardiology and interventional cardiology. He has written numerous articles including being published in The New England Journal of Medicine, and writing recent chapters in cardiovascular textbooks. He is an associate professor in cardiology at the University of South Florida, and at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Dr. Krolick has served as clinical investigator on numerous drug and clinical device trials including drug coated balloons for treatment of peripheral vascular disease and the original drug coated stent trials for coronary artery disease He practices noninvasive cardiology and interventional cardiology. His special interest is in peripheral vascular disease. He is recognized as both a national and local leader in endovascular interventions. He is currently on advisory panels for Bard Peripheral Vascular, CSI, Access Closure and St. Jude Medical. He has spoken at major vascular meetings including AMP and The Veins.
His peripheral interests included endovascular aortic aneurysm treatment and treatment of CLI (critical limb ischemia), Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), venous treatment, and treatment of symptomatic claudication.
He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, American College of Physicians and Society of Cardiac Angiography and Interventionalists.
Paul G. Lee, MD, MPH
Since 2003, he has been the Medical Director of the Hospitalist Program. Since 2013, he has been the Medical Director for International Services at New York Presbyterian Hospital/CUMC. He has been the Head Team Internist for the New York Yankees since 2003 and for the new MLS soccer team, New York City Football Club, since 2015.
Claudia J. Lee, MD, BS Pharmacy, RPh, FACP
Dr. Lee is a clinical instructor for the Jacobs School of Medicine and is board certified in internal medicine. She has been a member of the American College of Physicians and the American Geriatrics Society for many years.
She enjoys teaching students from many disciplines, including medical students, pharmacy students, and physician assistant students. Her being a preceptor for the pharmacy residency program at the Buffalo Psychiatric Center has resulted in multiple original research papers.
Dr. Lee has extensive experience working on a geriatric unit and enjoys taking care of challenging patients with psychiatric diagnoses, dementia, delirium, and a history of frequent falls. She is often a guest on community TV and radio shows in Western New York.
In her spare time, she enjoys giving historical tours.
Paul Lewis, MD, FAAFP, CPE, CPHIMSS, ABPM- CI
He then returned to his native Florida as one of six members of the inaugural class of the USF-MPM Family Medicine Residency program in 1998, serving as Chief Resident from 2000-2001. Dr. Lewis joined the faculty after graduation and held the position of Medical Director from 2007 until 2012. During his tenure as Medical Director he led the Turley Family Health Center team in achieving NCQA certification as a Level 3 Patient Centered Medical Home. This recognition in 2011 was the 1st Residency Practice Site in the State of Florida to achieve certification. He was also one of the lead Physician Informaticists in the Baycare Health System during the implementation of its inpatient electronic medical record and chaired the Internal Medicine and Critical Care Committees. Additionally, he received the Certified Physician Executive designation in 2013 from the American College of Physician Executives
He has a passion for clinical medicine and has for several years in a row been listed in the Best Doctors in America database as elected by his peers. His clinical interests include informatics, inpatient medicine, geriatrics and dermatology.
In his spare time, he enjoys camping and spending time with his wife and two young daughters. He loves water sports, scuba diving and the local beaches.
Gil Lichtshein, MD, FAPA
He also is also a TMS and Esketamine practitioner. TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) is a non-pharmacological, non-invasive form of neuromodulation which uses highly focused, MRI-strength alternating magnetic pulses to target the brain in those areas where under-activity or dysfunction is linked to depression or other neuropsychiatric disorders. Esketamine is the only FDA-approved nasal spray for treatment resistant depression and is an NMDA receptor antagonist that is believed to work differently by acting on a pathway in the brain that affects glutamate.
He also in on faculty at the Florida Atlantic University Charles E Schmidt College of Medicine and teaches a Foundation of Medicine course to first and second year medical students which teaches students the skills in performing history and physical exam on patients.
Karen J. MacKinnon, BS, RPh
Professor MacKinnon has practiced in institutional and community pharmacy practice settings throughout her career. Professor MacKinnon is currently engaged with local and state immunization grants to support pharmacists’ role in optimizing and expanding immunization access in Wisconsin.
George E. MacKinnon III, PhD, MS, RPh, FASHP
Dr. MacKinnon received both his BS (Pharmacy) and MS (Hospital Pharmacy) from University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy. He completed two-years of post-graduate clinical pharmacy residency training at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, earning his PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Loyola University Chicago.
Over the past 30 years he has held academic appointments in medicine and pharmacy engaging in clinical practice, research, teaching, and academic administration. His previous appointments include Founding Dean of Pharmacy & Vice Provost for Health Sciences at Roosevelt University Chicago, Vice President of Academic Affairs with the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, and Director of Global Health Economics & Outcomes Research of Abbott Laboratories, in Chicago.
Dr. MacKinnon has engaged in significant curricular pharmacy innovation (e.g., accelerated graduation and non- traditional pathways, integrated curricula, and interprofessional education) and post-graduate training development. He taught one of the first required courses in health economics and outcomes assessment and is Editor of the textbook, Understanding Health Outcomes and Pharmacoeconomic. His research interests align in expanding pharmacist care models (e.g., primary care, pharmacogenomics, immunizations).
C. Scott Mahan, MD
Frank B. Marsalisi, MD, FACOG
After completing his Obstetrics and Gynecology residency as Chief resident at the University of South Florida, he went on to fulfill his four-year commitment with the National Health Service Corp as Director of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Ruskin Migrant and Community Health Center in Ruskin, Florida. While at Ruskin, he was made a Clinical Assistant Professor of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of South Florida and received the U.S. Public Health Service Regional Health Administrator's Award.
Throughout his residency training and postgraduate career, Dr. Marsalisi has been the recipient of many prestigious university and national teaching awards, including the University of South Florida's Distinguished Professor Award and the John Turlich Medical Student Teaching Award, the Council on Resident Education in Ob/Gyn National Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching, and many Bayfront Health Teaching Faculty of the Year awards.
He has been honored as being one of the "Top Obstetricians and Gynecologists in America" by the Consumer Research Council of America, and in 2017 he was recognized by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd to be among the"Leading Physicians of the World".
He is a medical community leader serving on the Board of his county medical association and is a delegate to the Florida Medical Association. He has been a speaker on women's health issues for the University at Sea since 2012.
Daniel R. Martin, MD, MBA, FACEP, FAAEM
Dr. Martin received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Indiana University School of Medicine and recently received an Executive MBA from Fisher School of Business. He completed his Internal Medicine Residency at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and then completed an Emergency Medicine Residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin serving as Chief Resident during his final year.
His clinical interests include the treatment of infectious diseases in the emergency department, cognitive errors, leadership and patient education and satisfaction. His research interests are the ED treatment of infections, such as pneumonia and respiratory infections, medical education research and patient experience.
Dr. Martin is an active member of national organizations such as the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors, The American Academy of Emergency Medicine and the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) where he is an Ohio ACEP Counselor and an Ohio ACEP Board member. He has lectured as a Visiting Professor both regionally and nationally on topics such as Respiratory Infections, Case Studies of Infectious Emergencies, Recognizing and Reducing Cognitive Errors in Medicine, Applying Leadership Literature to Emergency Medicine and Patient Experience.
Dale A. Matthews, MD, FACP
Raun David Melmed, MD, FAAP
Dr. Melmed is on faculty at Arizona State University in Phoenix, the University of Arizona in Tucson and Creighton Medical School. He earned his medical degree at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and completed fellowship training at Children's Hospital Medical Center in Boston, where he was an Instructor at Harvard Medical School. He is a member of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He is board certified in both Pediatrics and Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.
He has set up nationally recognized physician training programs for the early identification of infants and toddlers with developmental and behavioral concerns and has authored programs geared toward screening for autism spectrum disorders.
Dr. Melmed is an investigator of novel psychopharmacological agents and digital therapeutic devices for the treatment of ADHD, autism, Fragile X and related disorders. He studies include the identification of biomarkers in ASD as well as the development of diagnostic tools for developmental disorders.
He is the author of the ST4 Mindfulness Series for Children including Marvin's Monster Diary ‐ ADHD Attacks, Timmy's Monster Diary: Screen Time Attacks! (But I Rock it Big Time), Harriet's Monster Diary ‐ Awfully Anxious (But I Squish it Big Time), Marvin's Monster Diary 2 (+ Lyssa): ADHD Emotion Explosion (But I Triumph, Big Time), Marvin's Monster Diary 3: Trouble with Friends (But I Get By, Big Time!) and Marvin's Monster Diary 4: Neighborhood Bully (But We Stand Up, Big Time).
He is also the author of books for families including Autism: Early Intervention; Autism and the Extended Family; and Autism Parent Handbook: Beginning with the End Goal in Mind.
Samuel Menahem, MB, BS, MD, MEd (Melb), MPM (Mon), FRACP, FACC, FCSANZ
He has held Consultant appointments at the Royal Children's Hospital both as a Physician and Cardiologist, and at Monash Medical Centre as a Consultant Paediatrician and Paediatric Cardiologist. He has previously headed the General Paediatric Unit and the Paediatric Cardiology Unit and was Foundation Co-Director of the Foetal Cardiac Unit at the latter institution. He continues to hold consultant appointments as a Paediatrician and Cardiologist.
Professor Menahem has an illustrious academic career. He graduated as top of his year from the University of Melbourne and subsequently successfully completed 4 research degrees. He gained his specialist qualification to the Royal Australasian College of Physicians after completing his residency. His Membership was subsequently elevated to a Fellowship of that College. He also is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand.
He continues to teach and mentor students and graduates. He has also been a Visiting Professor and/or Examiner to institutions overseas and has presented and lectured at National and International Meetings. He continues to be active especially in clinical research and has an extensive publication list.
Professor Menahem now spends most of his time in private consultant practice and continues to conduct teaching clinics in rural Victoria. Many of his patients have stayed with him since infancy into adult life including a number of women with congenital heart disease who he has successfully cared for during their pregnancies. His utilizes a holistic approach in all his consultations.
Andrew D. Michaels, MD, MAS, FACC, FAHA
Jennifer Mitzman, MD, FACEP
In addition, she has a faculty appointment in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Emergency Medicine at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. There she has an opportunity to work with residents from a variety of disciplines including Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics and Family Medicine as well as fellows in Pediatric Emergency Medicine.
Dr. Mitzman completed her medical education at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. She went on to complete residency in Emergency Medicine at Case Western University Hospitals in Cleveland. There she discovered passions for pediatric patients and education. After residency, she elected to complete a fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center - Brenner Children's Hospital. Following her training she returned to Ohio and joined The Ohio State University faculty.
She enjoys free time with her husband and young children.
Elizabeth Moberg-Wolff, MD
Her medical practice includes both children and adults with diagnosis such as cerebral palsy, brain injury, stroke, spinal cord injury, neuromuscular and genetic disorders. Spasticity management with botulinum toxins and intrathecal baclofen are areas of expertise. Travel, gardening and cooking for her family of 5 are her spare time activities.
Caroline M. Molins, MD MSMEd FACEP FAAEM
As for her residency, she stayed in Puerto Rico and attended University of Puerto Rico Emergency Medicine Residency, in Carolina, Puerto Rico. Upon graduation in 2010, she moved to Orlando Florida, where she joined a group that serves AdventHealth East Orlando. Shortly after beginning at AdventHealth, she became the Curriculum Director at the AdventHealth Emergency Medicine Residency.
Recently in May 2019, she completed her master’s in medical education from Lake Erie College of Medicine. She is an enthusiastic tennis fan, as a local player and enjoys being a spectator at the Miami Open and US Open Championships.
Daniel Montero, MD,FAAFP, CAQ Sports Medicine
Dr. Montero first practiced both sports medicine and primary care in his native Virginia before returning to Mayo Clinic Florida. He has worked with athletes of all ages and skill levels, including amateurs and professionals; college and Olympic.
Dr. Montero currently serves as a Consultant in both the Department of Orthopedics and Family Medicine and works in the Department of Orthopedics at Mayo Clinic Florida.
He serves as co-chair for the Communication in Healthcare Faculty group and will serve as President of Officers and Councilors at Mayo Clinic Florida in 2019.
P. Patrick Mularoni, MD, FAAP, FACEP, CAQ SM
Dr. Mularoni is a Pediatrician who splits his clinical time between Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Pediatric Sports Medicine. He is a graduate of the Lyman Briggs College at Michigan State University and the American University of the Caribbean.
Dr. Mularoni completed his Pediatric Residency at St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit, Michigan. His first Fellowship was in Pediatric Emergency Medicine through Emory University in Atlanta. Dr. Mularoni has been practicing Pediatric Emergency Medicine at All Childrens Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine since 2007. He completed his second fellowship in Primary Care Sports Medicine through Bayfront Health in 2014.
While at Emory University, Dr. Mularoni completed research on procedural pain reduction in the emergency setting and was awarded the American Academy of Pediatrics Willis Wingert award for best fellow research. He has continued conducting research at All Childrens looking at best practice for procedural sedation in reduction of Pediatric forearm fractures and his current research interests include concussion management, diagnosis and prognosis in patients with mild traumatic brain injuries and predictors of overuse injuries in youth athletics. He is the founder and medical director of the Primary Care Sports Medicine division at All Childrens Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine. He also serves as the chairman of the Medical Emergency Committee at All Children's Hospital. He has worked with Sarasota, Hillsborough and Pinellas County school systems to create a uniform return to learning protocol following concussion.
Dr. Mularoni authored the article on pediatric athlete concussion diagnosis and management for Family Practice Essentials. He has also written articles geared towards Physicians and the families of athletes highlighting the risks associated with early specialization and the overuse injuries this practice creates. Dr. Mularoni lectures locally and internationally on Pediatric Emergency and Sports related topics and is a regular contributor to Fox television's Good Day show.
Dr. Mularoni lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with his wife Kim who is also a Pediatrician and their three young children. During free time he enjoys travel, watching Michigan State sports, skiing, and competing in triathlon, running and stand-up paddle board races.
Tim Munzing, MD, FAAFP
Dr. Munzing is a leading national expert on appropriate (legal vs. illegal) Opioid and Controlled Substance Prescribing, recently receiving a major national Medical Director’s Award by the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association. He has served as a medical expert reviewer for the DEA, FBI, and Medical Board of California for 15 years, having reviewed over 200 cases (100+ criminal) in over sixteen states across the United States.
Dr. Munzing published a peer reviewed article entitled “Guide to Appropriate Opioid Prescribing for Noncancer Pain" in May 2017 in the Permanente Journal, which is now being used nationally by physicians, law enforcement, and prosecutors. Dr. Munzing has lectured on the subject to thousands of physicians and healthcare providers, law enforcement (DEA, FBI, other state and federal law enforcement), and prosecutors across the United States.
Kim Murphy, MS, APRN-CNP, WHNP-BC, RNC-OB, RNC-MNN, C-EFM
She currently fills the role of staff nurse and charge nurse at The Ohio State University, a large Level 3 academic medical center along with being a women's health NP in private practice. She also is the lead provider in public health for prenatal care and sexual health services in a Title X agency.
She has been a leader in education while making multiple speaking presentations on a variety of topics related to obstetrics and women's health. She recently spoke at the national AWHONN conference in 2019. She is a designated instructor for fetal monitoring through AWHONN. She also participates in legal review of malpractice cases.
Clinton Allen Musil, Jr., MD
He completed a triple board residency and fellowship at the University of Kentucky and is board certified in general pediatrics, child-adolescent psychiatry, and adult psychiatry. He has worked as an emergency room pediatrician and medical director of both in and out patient child psychiatric services. He currently works as a child psychiatrist and medical director for Frontier Health in Johnson City, TN.
He is also a part time assistant clinical professor at East Tennessee State University and Lincoln Memorial University in both the departments of pediatrics and psychiatry. He has been appointed by TN Governor Haslam for participation on the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners. His expertise is in ADHD issues, mood disorders, and autistic disorders.
Mohanram Narayanan, MD, FACP, FNKF, FASN, FRCP(C)
Director, Division of Nephrology & Hypertension
Chief, Section of Clinical Transplantation
Dr. Narayanan received his medical degree at Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, India, and completed residencies in Internal Medicine at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, India and at Cook County Hospital, Chicago, Illinois. He completed clinical fellowships in Nephrology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago, Illinois, and at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Texas. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Nephrology, and Geriatric Medicine and is a Certified Specialist in Hypertension by the American Society of Hypertension.
Dr. Narayanan is a Professor of Medicine at the Texas A&M Health Science Center-College of Medicine and Baylor Scott & White Healthcare in Temple, Texas, where he serves as Director, Division of Nephrology-Hypertension and Medical Director of the Abdominal Transplant Program.
A fellow of the National Kidney Foundation, the American Society of Nephrology, the American College of Physicians and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Dr. Narayanan&apos's clinical practice focuses on all aspects of Nephrology as well as kidney and pancreas transplantation.
A frequent lecturer, presenter, and author, Dr. Narayanan's work has been published in several peer reviewed journals including the American Journal of Kidney Disease, American Journal of Transplantation, Annals of Emergency Medicine, Hemodialysis International, Investigative Radiology, and Journal of the American Society of Nephrology , among many others. He is also the Principal Investigator for several industry sponsored clinical trials. Dr. Narayanan serves on the editorial board of the journal Advances in Chronic Kidney Disease and is a reviewer for the American Journal of Transplantation .
Barry Nathanson, BA, MD, MHCM, FRCPC, FACP
Dr. Nathanson has served in a variety of administrative roles: Medical Director of the inpatient Palliative Care Unit; founding Director the Heart Function Program; President of the Medical Staff Association; Chair of the Clinical Quality and Resource Utilization Committee; and Medical Director of Acute Medicine Programs. Dr. Nathanson helped found the Clinical Resource Utilization Management Program and he founded the Southlake Hospitalist Program.
Dr. Nathanson has served on two Ontario provincial health policy task forces on hospital resource utilization. From Jan 2020 to mid-2022, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Nathanson served at Southlake as Medical Director of the Intensive Care Unit and he founded the physician-led Critical Care Outreach Program, he served as Chief of Staff at Stevenson Memorial Hospital in Alliston, Ontario, and he served on local, regional, and provincial pandemic policy advisory panels.
Dr. Nathanson’s many personal interests include travelling, especially on his 2022 Indian Springfield, together with his wife, Genny, all over Ontario, Canada, the US, and beyond!
Cassandra R. Nelson, MS, PhD
Since graduating with her PhD in 2014, Nelson has worked at 3 universities and taught all kinds of courses, ranging from introductory biology to comparative vertebrate anatomy. At Rutgers, Nelson teaches Systems Physiology to over 800 students per academic year. In addition to teaching, Nelson mentors learning assistants, guides undergraduate students through their senior research theses, and serves on several committees. Nelson recently received financial support for an interdisciplinary research fellowship, where she will work with 3 undergraduate students to explore the relationship between microplastics and human cells and tissues.
As a teaching professor, Nelson loves the Rutgers student body and feels truly privileged to spend her time as a faculty member focused on student education and growth. Outside of teaching and mentoring undergraduate students, Dr. Nelson is a wife and mom of 3 kids, and enjoys running, strength training, listening to podcasts, baking, and coaching her kids’ sports teams. Nelson is a former division 1 track and field and cross-country athlete and loves to talk about all things running related.
Rajendra Kumar Pandey
Professor Pandey has served in various administrative positions including Vice Chancellor, Amity University Raipur; Vice Chancellor, IMS Unison University, Dehradun; President NIIT University, Neemrana; Founder Vice Chancellor, ITM University Gwalior; Director, University Institute of Technology, Director, Institute of Physics and Electronics: Director, University Computer Centre; Director, Research and Development etc.
Professor Pandey has played leading role as an Institution builder. He has developed several new academic programs at Amity University Chhattisgarh, IMS Unison University, Dehradun; NIIT University Neemrana; ITM University, Gwalior and Bhopal University, Bhopal. Prof. Pandey successfully proposed and implemented several Corporate sponsored programs at the MBA and B Tech level as well as programs on data science, business analytics and cyber security, M Tech Programs in Nanotechnology, materials science, computer science, electronics etc.
Professor Pandey has been a distinguished researcher and academician. His research work has been extensively cited with a SCI index of over 2100. He has authored one book for Marcel Dekker, USA, edited a proceeding for Elsevier, USA, one proceedings for Materials Today USA, published one review, over 110 original research papers in international journals of repute, and presented more than 200 papers in National and International Conferences as invited/keynote speaker in India and abroad.
Professor Pandey’s research has received international recognition. He has been invited as Visiting Professor, Senior JSPS Fellow, UNESCO-ICTP visiting Scientist, Course Director and invited Speaker to several Universities and organizations in Japan, U.S.A., Italy, Singapore, Malaysia etc.
Prof Pandey is the recipient of the prestigious Platinum Jubilee Lecture Award during the 94th Session of the Indian Science Congress, at Annamalai Nagar, January 3-7, 2007. He was elected as the President of the Materials Science Section, Indian Science Congress, 2005-06. Prof. Pandey is a Fellow of the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers, India.
Prof Pandey has supervised 26 doctoral students, completed 18 research projects as principal investigator. He has also been the coordinator of the prestigious Special Assistance program, the COSIST program, and two Innovative Programs in Nanotechnology and Electronics funded by the UGC, New Delhi. Prof Pandey is a member of the expert panel for the Technology Angel Programme of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, New Delhi. He has also served as Consultant to several Industries.
Herdley O. Paolini, Ph.D., L.P
She has been engaged by several health systems for consultations, including the Mayo Health System, Wisconsin; Centura Health, Colorado; Loma Linda Medical Center, California; St. Helena Health System, California; Tampa General Hospital, Florida; Baylor, Scott & White, Texas; Orlando Health, Florida; Wentworth-Douglas Hospital & Concord Hospital, New Hampshire; Nemours Pediatric Hospital, Florida & Delaware, Spectrum Lakeland, Michigan, Summa Health, Ohio, Akron Children's Hospital, Ohio.
Dr. Paolini is a licensed psychologist, teacher, and author of Inside the Mind of a Physician, published in 2009 by the Florida Hospital Press. She also has authored numerous articles and academic papers and is lead author of Healers in Need of Healing cannot Heal, recently published by Medscape, a multi-specialty online journal serving physicians and other medical professionals.
She earned her doctorate from Western Michigan University, and she has 30 + years of experience influencing change through coaching, psychotherapy, CME curriculum, leadership development, and creative programing at both the individual and organizational levels.
Deepak Patel, MD, FAAFP, FACSM
He has authored, mentored, and served as section editor for several publications and textbooks on sports medicine topics. Dr. Patel has been honored with multiple teaching awards and speaking invitations. He has presented on sports medicine topics at the annual AAFP Scientific Assembly (now FMX) and numerous other CME events at national and regional levels. With his passion for teaching and his combination of family and sports medicine experience, he's uniquely able to deliver effective presentations to a primary care audience.
Wayne L. Peters, MD
In 1986, Dr. Peters returned to Colorado to assume positions as Medical Director/Partner of HealthMark LLC, a private preventative medicine clinic and as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He transitioned to Senior Medical Physician at HealthMark/OnPoint Medical Group on January 1, 2018. He is currently a Senior Participating Provider with Executive Health Exams/Life Extension Institute.
Jack Piermatti, DMD, FACP
Dr. Piermatti is a Diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics, and the American Board of Oral Implantology/Implant Dentistry for which he has served as President as well as Board Examiner. He is an Assistant Professor of Post-Graduate Prosthodontics at Rutgers University School of Dental Medicine where he is Director of the Dental Implant Maxicourse.
Dr. Piermatti has surgically placed more than 17,500 dental implants over his 37 year career, and is a nationally featured speaker on the subject of implant surgery and implant prosthodontics.
Louise Pilote, MD
Dr. Pilote received her MDCM from McGill University. She then obtained an MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health and a PhD in Epidemiology at the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Pilote's research focus includes cardiovascular epidemiology, outcomes research, and health services research. She is the principal investigator for the GENESIS: an intercapacity enhancement team on gender and sex determinants of cardiovascular diseases funded by the Canadian Institute of Health research and the Heart and Stroke Foundation as well other studies related to access to care for patients with heart disease, and pharmacoepidemiology studies of cardiac medications. She has published over 200 manuscripts.
Veronica Piziak, MD, PhD, FACP
Dr. Piziak is presently the Emeritus Chief of Endocrinology, Director of the Diabetes section and Director of the Endocrinology Fellowship program at Baylor Scott and White in Temple Texas. She is a Professor of Medicine at Texas A&M University and a fellow of the American College of physicians.
Jay M. Portnoy, MD
Dr. Jay Portnoy is an allergist in the Division of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and he is the Medical Director of Telemedicine at Children's Mercy-Kansas City and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. He received his medical degree at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine and he did his pediatric residency at the Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City and his Allergy fellowship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Following that he returned to Children's Mercy Hospital.
Dr. Portnoy has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals involving asthma disease management, environmental control and mold allergy. More recently he has been involved in use of Telemedicine to deliver patient care and in evidence-based medicine. He founded the UMKC School of Medicine allergy program and directed it from 1997-2006.
Dr. Portnoy served as President of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology in 2008 and he currently serves on numerous committees both of the American College and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. He also is Chair of MOC for the American Board of Allergy and Immunology and he serves on the FDA advisory panel for allergenic extracts.
Dr. Portnoy lives in Overland Park Kansas with his wife and 2 cats. Fortunately, neither are cat-allergic.
Jai Radhakrishnan, MD, MS
He is a fellow of the American Society of Nephrology and National Kidney Foundation. His commitment to medical education and patient care is exemplified by his numerous teaching awards and his inclusion in the Who's Who among America's Teachers & Educators, America's Best Doctors and Castle Connolly's Top Doctor.
Cheryl Randolph, RN, MSN, CCRN, CEN, CPEN, TCRN, FNP-BC, FAEN
Shakaib (Shak) Rehman, MD, SCH, FACP, FAACH
He received his MD from University of Punjab, Pakistan with Gold Medals in Physiology, Forensic Medicine and Pathology. He did his Internal Medicine Residency at Nassau University Medical Center/SUNY @Stony Brook, New York and General Internal Medicine/Medical Education Fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC. He then graduated from the Senior Executive Fellowship (SEF) Program from the Harvard University, Boston.A
He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Hypertension
and Clinical Informatics. He is also a Fellow of American College of Physicians (ACP) and American Academy on Communication in Healthcare. American Society of Hypertension designated him a Clinical Specialist in Hypertension. He is a certified Mentor for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Dr. Rehman is a well-recognized expert in "Healthcare Communication", "Balancing Work and Life" and "Hypertension". He has taught courses/workshops around the country as well as in many countries outside the USA. He was invited to give the Commencement Address on the graduation ceremony of Medical University of South Carolina class of 2013.
He have received numerous awards including Department of Veterans Affair Excellence in Medical Education Award, Best Doctors in America ® award, David E. Rogers Teaching Award from Society of General Internal Medicine twice, Medical University of South Carolina Best Teacher Award, American College of Physicians (ACP) Young Physician Award, ACP James A. McFarland Award in Excellence in Teaching and Humanism, ACP Laureate Award, ACP Arizona Chapter Leader of the Year Award and Outstanding IMG award. He has been inducted in the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Medical Honor Society. He has been inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. He has received the Department of Veterans Affairs Gerald Schmitz Award, ICARE Award and Certificate in Recognition for important contributions to VA's education mission.
He has served as the President of the Society of General Internal Medicine, Mountain West Region and Vice- President of the Academy on Communications in Healthcare (ACH). He was also the Conference Chair for the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare (ICCH) in 2007. He is currently the Chair of ACP
Arizona Chapter’s Public Policy committee. He was the founding member of ACP Council of Young Physicians (CYP) and was also the Chair of ACP-SC Chapter CYP, Chair of ACP-SC Chapter Health and Public Policy Committee (HPPC). He has been a member of the scientific committees for annual sessions of SGIM, AACH, SMA, ACP (South Carolina and Arizona chapters) as well as ACP national Public Policy Committee for the last many years.
Dr. Rehman has participated in many landmark research trials such as ACCORD, SPRINT, ACCOMPLISH, ONTARGET, PROMINENT etc. He has published hundreds of articles and book chapters. He is reviewer for many scientific journals such as Annals of Internal Medicine, Journal of General Internal Medicine, and American Journal of Hypertension etc. He is the Associate Editor of Medical Encounter and was the editor of Journal Scan. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and five children, hiking and meditating.
Eugenia P. Roberts DDS
Bradley S. Roberts DDS
George P. Rodgers, MD, MACC
Dr. Rodgers received his medical education at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. He completed his fellowship training in cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. He began his cardiology practice in Austin in 1989. Dr. Rodgers has been very active in the American College of Cardiology over the last 25 years. He has served as the Chair of the Board of Governors, the Board of Trustees and as Co-chair Leadership Council of the Cardiovascular Team.
He has also served on a number of other committees and writing groups within the College He received the Distinguished Fellow of the American College of Cardiology Award in 2017. This year he was awarded Master of the American College of Cardiology.
Carlos R. Rodriguez, MD, FAAFP, CAQSM
Dr. Rodriguez received his B.A. in Biology from Harvard University in 1989. He completed his medical degree at the Rosalind Franklin University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School in North Chicago, IL in 1993. Following medical school Dr. Rodriguez completed a General Surgery Internship at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, VA. He then joined the United States Navy where he served as General Medical Officer from 1994 to 1997. After completing his active duty commitment he remained in the United States Naval Reserve until 2002 when he was Honorably Discharged.
Dr. Rodriguez completed the Family Medicine Residency Program at The Medical Center of Central Georgia/Mercer University School of Medicine in 2001 where he served as Chief Resident during his final year and received the Resident Teacher Award. Subsequently, he completed a fellowship in Sports Medicine at Bayfront Medical Center. After finishing the fellowship program, Dr. Rodriguez remained in the Tampa Bay area in private practice and later joined Community Health Centers of Pinellas where he served as Director of the Family Medicine Department before becoming fellowship director.
Dr. Rodriguez has served as a team physician for many of our local sports. These activities include the Tampa Bay Rays, Eckerd College and University of South Florida sports, St. Anthony's Triathlon, St. Petersburg Parrots (Hockey), Seminole High School, Indian Rocks Christian School, St. Petersburg Pelicans (Rugby) and the Tampa Bay Storm. He provided medical care to the United States Women's Gymnastics team in 2018 and the Tachi Palace World Strongest Man competition in 2019. He is also a licensed professional ringside physician and provides medical coverage for professional boxing and mixed martial arts in Florida.
Dr. Rodriguez has published sports medicine articles in FP Essentials, Florida Family Physician and ACSMs Health and Fitness Journals. He is a former editorial member of the AAFP's FP Essentials. He is faculty for University at Sea providing sports and family medicine CME courses.
Dr. Rodriguez is a diplomate of the American Board of Family Medicine and holds a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Sports Medicine. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, a member of the Florida Academy of Family Physicians, the American Medical Society of Sports Medicine, the Pinellas County Medical Association, and the Association of Ringside Physicians.
I. Leslie Rubin, MD
As a Developmental Pediatrician, he has provided care for children and adults with developmental disabilities for decades, and in 2016 published the 3rd edition of his text: Health Care for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Across the Lifespan, (Springer Switzerland).
As an Environmental Pediatrician, he started a program in 2004 called: Break the Cycle of Children’s Environmental Health Disparities, to raise awareness of children’s environmental health disparities and cultivate future leaders. This program, now in its 15th year, has resulted in the publication of more than 100 student papers in 10 international journal supplements and 10 Books with Nova, publishers in their Public Health Series.
He is actively involved in a number of local, national and international organization and has received a several awards for his work.
Dania Rumbak, MD
Attending Physician, Halifax Medical Center
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Department of Pediatrics
Florida State University School of Medicine
Dania Rumbak is a pediatrician, pediatric intensivist and healthcare entrepreneur. She received her BA from the University of Florida and her MD from the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine and is Board-Certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Critical Care.
She is currently an Attending Physician in Pediatric Urgent Care at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Florida and serves as Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Florida State University School of Medicine. She has previously worked at Columbia University Medical Center, New York University Medical Center, and the Children's Hospital at Montefiore, where she received all her medical training (residency and fellowship.) She has published multiple works in medical journals. She was also co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of a healthcare startup called Baby Doctor. She lives in Ormond Beach, Florida with her husband and two children.
C. Joy Sachs, MD, MPH
For the last 23 years she has served as a chairwoman of the UCLA Intimate Partner Violence Committee. She serves as the voluntary medical director for a comprehensive forensic sexual assault examination program which provides over 1200 emergent sexual assault examinations to adults and children living in Southern California each year.
Dr. Sachs also a full time practicing academic emergency physician in the UCLA Emergency Department with an interest in physician well-being. She serves on the UCLA physician Health and Wellness committee and as the faculty advisor for the UCLA/OV Emergency Residency Wellness Committee. She has lectured nationally and internationally about intimate partner violence, sexual assault, provider well-being and other emergency medicine topics.
Tracy G. Sanson MD, FACEP, CEO
Dr. Sanson has served in several and varied leadership positions with the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM), the Council of Residency Directors (CORD), and the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). She is a member of the ACEP Speaker's Bureau and the 911 network. She has been a member of the ACEP faculty for many years, including the ACEP Teaching Fellowship and the Emergency Department Directors Academy.
Dr. Sanson completed her medical degree and residency training at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has held director positions in the US Air Force, the University of South Florida and TeamHealth during the past 20 years. Dr. Sanson heads her own consulting firm, specializing in leadership training.
Joseph J. Shatzel, MD
Khalid H. Sheikh, MD, MBA, FACC, FNLA, FASE
His clinical interests include preventative cardiology, cardiac imaging, and global cardiac health and wellness. He was voted by the Consumer council of America as one of America’s top cardiologists. Dr. Sheikh speaks at national and international forums about a variety of topics related to his clinical research, cardiovascular diseases and cardiac wellness. He has served as the principal investigator in over 100 national and international clinical trials. He has authored over 150 scientific abstracts, peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters and reviews. He is the author of the critically acclaimed heart wellness book, “Don’t Let Your Heart Attack.”
Karl Gregory Sieg, MD, FAPA, MRO
He is also a board-certified Medical Review Officer. Serving as Medical Director of Behavioral Health, Dr. Sieg has over 35 years of experience in practice having worked in a variety of settings including outpatient, community mental health & managed care as well as private, public & state psychiatric hospitals and addiction treatment programs. He has authored numerous scientific articles and also had past involvement in clinical psychopharmacology research.
Dr. Sieg maintains memberships with the American Psychiatric Association, the Florida Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Psychiatry & the Law, and the American Medical Association. He currently practices and resides in the Orlando, Florida metropolitan area.
Mervyn Singer, MB, BS, MD, FRCP(Lon), FRCP(Edin), FFICM
He is Director of the Bloomsbury Institute of Intensive Care Medicine and runs a research group totaling 15 people performing bench-to-bedside research. Specific interests include sepsis and multi-organ failure, tissue oxygenation, infection, novel diagnostics and monitoring. Funding comes from the Wellcome Trust, UK Medical Research Council, European Union, and UK National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) among others. He has published widely, with multiple papers in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet and JAMA. Apart from the above-mentioned esophageal Doppler monitor, he has developed a novel tissue PO2 monitor (gauging the adequacy of tissue perfusion) entering clinical trials in 2016, and a novel drug inducing a 'suspended animation' state intended for ischaemia-reperfusion injury that is scheduled to go into man also in 2016. He is also the clinical lead investigator of studies on novel diagnostics for sepsis and infection, and the first intensivist to be appointed a Senior Investigator by the NIHR.
He lectures widely and has delivered four plenary lectures at the annual Congresses of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine and the US Society of Critical Care Medicine. He has authored/edited several textbooks including the Oxford Textbook of Critical Care and the Oxford Handbook of Critical Care. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of Intensive Care Medicine Experimental (ICMx), co-chair of the new Sepsis Redefinitions Task Force, Council Member of the International Sepsis Forum, Critical Care Theme Lead of the NIHR Health Informatics Collaborative, and does 13 clinical on-call weeks per annum in the ICU.
Michael Snyder, MD, FACS, FASMBS
Dr. Snyder is an international leader in the field of bariatric surgery. As of September 2020, he has performed over 10,000 primary and revisional bariatric procedures. His program is the most comprehensive and highest volume program in the region. He regularly treats patients from all over the US and when appropriate, from other countries. He lectures regularly on obesity and bariatric surgery both for non-surgeon medical professionals and to his surgical peers at AMBS and SAGES.
Timothy Spruill, MA, EdD
Charles L. Sprung MD, JD, MCCM, FCCP
Professor Sprung has been active in research particularly studying sepsis, septic shock and ethical issues for more than 35 years. He was a member of the ACCP/SCCM consensus conference on definitions of sepsis in 1991 and a member of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines from 2002 to the most recent guidelines in 2021.
He has participated in many sepsis studies including those of encephalopathy and treatments with corticosteroids, monoclonal antibodies to endotoxin and tumor necrosis factor, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, antithrombin III, tissue factor pathway inhibitor, human activated protein C and recombinant platelet-activating factor. He has also served as a member of Clinical Evaluation and Data Safety and Monitoring Committees for many phase III, multicenter sepsis trials. Professor Sprung coordinated the prospective, multicenter European trial of corticosteroids in septic shock, Corticus. He was the Coordinator of several multi-center studies in ethics including End of Life Decision Making and Procedures in European Intensive Care Units - ETHICUS, Systematic Study of General Ethical Principles Involved in End of Life Decisions for Patients in European Intensive Care Units - ETHICATT, Triage Decision Making for the Elderly in European Intensive Care units - ELDICUS and Worldwide Consensus for End of Life Decisions - Welpicus.
The Hadassah General ICU has treated more terror victims than any other ICU in the world. In addition, Professor Sprung served as the Chairman of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine Ethics Section Task Force for ICU Triage for Disasters and Pandemic Influenza which produced recommendations for the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic and he was a member of the recent American College of Chest Physicians Task Force for Mass Critical Care during a Disaster which also published recommendations. More recently, he was the first author of a paper written by an international group of triage experts on a new algorithm for triaging patients to the ICU during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic and the Chairman of the Medical Subcommittee that developed the National policy of the State of Israeli for Triage Decisions for Severely Ill Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Professor Sprung has been or continues to be a member of several international committees of medical organizations, world health organizations and governmental agencies. He has published extensively on all of the above and multiple ICU areas with more than 350 original articles and 50 book chapters. He received the 2011 ESICM Medal for outstanding contributions to both ESICM and to the development of Intensive Care Medicine worldwide and the Roger C. Bone Advances in End-of-Life Care Award from the CHEST Foundation of the American College of Chest Physicians in October 2013. He was the 2015 Bonei Zion Prize Recipient for Science & Medicine- an award recognizing outstanding Anglo Olim who encapsulate the spirit of modern-day Zionism by contributing in a significant way towards the State of Israel.
Kevin T. Stephan, MD, FACP
Prior to this, he served as Chief of Medical Specialties and Chief of Infectious Disease for St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth, MN, where he was voted top doctor in Infectious Disease by Duluth Superior Magazine, and won top recognition for patient care ranking in the top 10% nationally with a 5-star rating of Infectious Disease physicians over multiple years as assessed by PRC research.
Dr. Stephan had a 23-year career in the United States military, serving in multiple roles as a physician, researcher, and educator, including running the HIV program for the United States Air Force in San Antonio, TX. He deployed after 9/11/2001 and also participated in humanitarian operations and relief in Africa and Central America.
Stephen P. Stone, MD, FAAD
Dr. Stone graduated from Tufts University, and received his medical training at New York University School of Medicine. After serving with the U.S. Navy, he completed a residency in dermatology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. Stone then moved to Springfield, Illinois where he maintained a private practice for more than two decades before moving to his current university position.
He has received numerous honors and citations throughout his distinguished career including Honorary Membership in the AAD, selection for" Best Doctors in America", "Who's Who in Medicine and Health Care" and "Who's Who in America'. He is past Editor-in-Chief of Dialogues in Dermatology, the AAD's monthly audio journal and served as the 67th president of the Academy from March 2006 through February 2007.
His interests in dermatology include psoriasis and other inflammatory skin diseases, acne, occupational dermatology, and skin cancer. He has been involved as an investigator or subinvestigator in more than 40 clinical studies, more than half involving treatment of psoriasis.
Dr. Stone has given more than 220 lectures and Grand Rounds presentations outside of his university, including such international venues as Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an and Guangzhou, China, the Icelandic Dermatology Association, in Reykjavik, Iceland, the Congresso da Sociedade Brasileira Dermatologia, Curitiba and Salvador, Brazil, the Philippine Dermatological Society Annual Meeting in Manila, Republic of the Philippines, the Canadian Dermatological Association, Dermatrends III in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Hong Kong, the International Congress of Dermatology, in Prague, Czech Republic, and the World Congress of Dermatology in Vancouver BC, Canada, Kalambakas, Greece, and Taupo, New Zealand.
William B. Stroube, PhD
Dr. Stroube maintains an active research program and has authored and co-authored over 60 publications in peer reviewed journals and conference proceedings. His research and teaching interests include international health care issues, medical ethics, and health care marketing and strategy. He is past president of the Division of Biology and Medicine of the American Nuclear Society, and past president of the international Business and Health Administration Association.
He has extensive international experience leading student groups through several health care systems. He has taught over twenty-five summer classes in various formats in England, Hungary, Slovakia, and China. Dr. Stroube has served as Adjunct Professor at IMS Union University in Dehradun, India, and is a Visiting Fellow at the University of Nottingham, UK.
He holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Murray State University, an MBA in finance from the University of Maryland, and a PhD in analytical and nuclear chemistry from the University of Kentucky.
Sherry K. Sussman, MD
Dr. Sherry Sussman is Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology at the Reinassance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University where she obtained her medical degree as well as her subspecialty training. She is double-boarded in both Internal Medicine and Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism. She is the former Section Chief of the Division of Endocrinology at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital and St. Charles Hospital, both located in Port Jefferson, New York.
Dr. Sussman is a member of the American Diabetes Association and its Interest Group on Clinical Endocrinology, Health Care Delivery and Public Health. She is also an active member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.
In 2004, the degree of Fellow, American College of Endocrinology (FACE) was conferred upon Dr. Sussman. In 2012, she received the Endocrine Certification in Neck Ultrasound (ECNU), which is a professional certification in the field of neck ultrasonography for physicians who perform consultations and diagnostic evaluations for thyroid and parathyroid disorders through both diagnostic ultrasound and ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (UGFNA). Sherry maintains a busy private practice in Smithtown, New York.
Michael J. Tan, MD, FACP, FIDSA
Dr. Tan is board certified in infectious disease and internal medicine. He obtained his medical degree from the Northeastern Universities College of Medicine (now NEOMED) and completed his residency training at Summa Health System. He then completed a fellowship in Infectious Disease at the University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.
Dr. Tan is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (ACP) and Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). He is Regent for the American College of Physicians and immediate past-Governor for the Ohio Chapter of the ACP.
Dr. Tan’s primary research interests include participation in multi-centered controlled trials of new and novel treatments for Clostridium difficile infection, skin and soft tissue infection, and pneumonia. He is co-editor of Tan JS, File TM Jr., Salata RA, Tan MJ (eds.) Expert Guide to Infectious Diseases, 2nd edition (2008, ACP Press) and Rosenthal KS and Tan MJ (eds.) Rapid Review Microbiology and Immunology 3rd edition (2010, Mosby). Dr. Tan is listed in Best Doctors in America (2010 to present).
Michelle Tarbox, MD
During her senior year in residency, Michelle successfully applied for a Women's Dermatologic Society Mentorship Grant and traveled to Sydney, Australia to study dermoscopy with Scott Menzies at the Sydney Melanoma Diagnostic Institute. She completed a dermatopathology fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic following successful completion of her residency.
She then served as an assistant professor of dermatology and dermatopathology for three years at St. Louis University in Missouri where she was recognized as the Teacher of the Year for her department in 2012.
In 2013, she returned to Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center where she currently serves as an Assistant Professor in the departments of Dermatology and Dermatopathology and as the Assistant Dean for Medical Student Affairs. She was awarded the Dean's Clinical Teaching Award in 2016 and has been recognized on the Healthgrades Honor Roll, as a Compassionate Doctor, On Time Physician, Patient's Choice, and as one of America's Top Honored Professionals, Top 5% by the American Registry.
Dr. Tarbox has lectured for the AAD, the Brazilian Dermatologic Society, The European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, and the American Society of Dermatopathologists on topics ranging from dermoscopy to cosmetic dermatology, to infectious diseases, maintenance of certification, patient satisfaction, and dermatopathology.
John H. Tucker, DMD, DICOI, DABDSM
Dr. Tucker is passionate about educating the dental profession in treatment of the CPAP intolerant Obstructive Sleep Apnea patient. He has presented approximately 1700 hours of continuing education on treating the CPAP intolerant patient with Oral Appliance Therapy nationally and internationally over the past six years. Dr. Tucker has also published numerous articles regarding Oral Appliance Therapy for OSA patients that are unable to tolerate PAP therapy.
Stacey Van Gelderen DNP, MS, RNC-MNN, PHN
Dr. Van Gelderen offers workshops and consultations for maternal-newborn care, nursing education, family practice, and simulation. In recent years, Dr. Van Gelderen has had special interest areas of supporting high-risk, low-occurrence obstetrical emergencies such as hypertension in pregnancy, post-partum hemorrhage, cardiac conditions during pregnancy, and infertility.
Dr. Van Gelderen is the primary author of the Van Gelderen Family Care Rubric (VGFCR) (2019, 2016) which is an evidence-based validated tool that helps healthcare professionals develop family assessment and communication skills. This tool is recognized by the renowned International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning and awarded the 2018-2019 articles of influence by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare. This instrument is being utilized by healthcare staff and educators in twelve countries across the globe.
Valerie R. Vestal, MSN, PMHNP-BC
She received both her undergraduate and graduate degree in Nursing from Winston-Salem State University. She also holds a Post Master in Psychiatric Family Nurse Practitioner from the University of South Alabama School of Nursing. She is also a Lieutenant in the United States Navy Reserve and has deployed to both Kuwait and Germany.
She is passionate about uplifting patients who have a negative self-image and have defined themselves by their illness. She has most recently expressed this through her work as a contributing author in the book Goodness Abounds.
David Weiland, Jr., MD
Dr. Weiland was Medical Director of Suncoast Hospice, where he oversaw quality, community outreach and developed inpatient hospice units and hospital-based palliative care teams. In addition, Dr. Weiland has served as Family Practice Faculty for the University of South Florida. He was board certified in Internal Medicine as well as Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
Dr. Weiland has served on numerous community boards including current Chairman of the Pinellas EMS Advisory Committee and the Pinellas County Commission Pill Mill Task Force dealing with illicit pain medication prescribing. He was the past president of the Pinellas County Medical Association and continues to take an active role in PCMA and FMA activities.
He lectures and presents clinical presentations nationally for the AAFP, including a diverse array of palliative and primary care topics including The Physiological Benefits of Humor, Medical Ethics, Depression, Alzheimer's Disease, Palliative Pain Management, Quality and Patient safety issues as well as conducts workshops on patient-centered communication to enhance the patient care experience.
David Glenn Weismiller, MD, ScM, FAAFP
A Professor of Family Medicine at the new medical school of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he provides full-scope care that includes inpatient and maternity care. A proponent of "reflection in practice" and "learner-centered instruction," he is recognized nationally for his work in continuing medical education and faculty development.
Having taught board review programs for the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) for more than 20 years, he is the founding and current chair of the AAFP Family Medicine Board Review Express™, as well as the AAFP's annual Family Medicine Update course.
He is a frequent presenter at AAFP Family Medicine Experience (FMX) and teaches American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) Knowledge Self-Assessments throughout the country. Dr. Weismiller is the author of numerous publications on issues related to women's and children's health, and he is an advocate for empowering individuals to make sound health care choices.
He is the father of three amazing daughters. He and his partner Brian make their home in Las Vegas.
Michael J. Wilsey, Jr., MD, FAAP
Dr. Wilsey is the Past-President of the Hillsborough County Pediatric Society as well as the former Florida Region V Representative of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). He has served on the Endoscopy and Procedures Committee and the Clinical Practice Committee for the North American Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN), and is a member of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE). Dr. Wilsey has been recognized and has won teaching awards for outstanding medical education, and is the clerkship coordinator and core faculty member for pediatric residents at both USF and JHACH residency programs. His current clinical and research interests include advanced therapeutic endoscopy (including ERCP), clinical and nutritional outcomes of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostostomy (PEG) placement in children, as well as hepatobiliary and eosinophilic disorders. He has published on a wide variety of pediatric gastroenterology and endoscopy topics.
Dr. Wilsey lives in Tampa, Florida with his beautiful wife and three teenage children. He enjoys reading, running, swimming, watching college and professional sports, and spending quality time with friends and family.
J. Stuart Wolf, Jr., MD, FACS
Dr. Wolf has served on the Boards of Directors of the Michigan Urologic Society, the Endourological Society, the Society of Academic Urologists and the Texas Urological Society. He chaired the American Urological Association (AUA) Practice Guidelines Committee and was the inaugural chair of the AUA Science & Quality Council. At the University of Michigan, Dr. Wolf received the Silver Cystoscope Award for Urology Residency Teaching Excellence three times (1999, 2002 and 2005). He was appointed the inaugural David A. Bloom Professor of Urology in 2006. The Department of Urology awarded him the Faculty Service Award in 2011 and the Outstanding Achievement Award in 2012. He was inducted into the League of Educational Excellence of the University of Michigan Medical School in 2015, and that year he also received the inaugural Program Director's Award from the Endourological Society and was the Malcolm Coptcoat Lecturer for The British Association of Urologic Surgeons. In 2010, Dr. Wolf was elected to the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons. In 2018, he started a 6-year term as a Trustee of the American Board of Urology; in 2022 he assumed the role of President-Elect and will become President in 2023. Dr. Wolf received a Distinguished Service Award from the AUA in 2019.
An author of over 325 peer-reviewed articles and videos, and over 175 invited publications, Dr. Wolf has served on the editorial boards of 12 journals. His scholarly work has been recognized by awards and/or research grants from the American Foundation for Urologic Disease, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Endourological Society, the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, and the AUA and 2 of its Sections.
Jeannette Marie Wolfe, MD
Besides emergency medicine, her passion is understanding ways in which biological sex and gender influence wellness and disease as cutting edge research definitively shows that men and women often have different responses to the same illness, trauma, toxins and therapies.
Dr Wolfe's personal mission is to increase awareness of this information and to use it to improve medical care of both men and women. She is a national lecturer and writer and has recently started a podcast called- Sex and Why: : exploring how biological sex and gender influence our brain, body and behavior.
George Yung-hsing Wu, MD, PhD
He has been a pioneer of targeted delivery of biological substances including genes, and mitochondria specifically to hepatocytes. He has received an American Gastroenterological Association/Industry Research Scholar Award, American Liver Foundation Research Prize, AGA-Gastroenterology Research Group Young Scientist Award, was elected a Fellow of the AGA, and the American Association for the Study of liver Diseases.
He was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation, Association of American Physicians, the National Academy of Inventors, and was a Fulbright Specialist. He has published more than 160 articles, edited 13 books and is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical and Translational Hepatology, and senior associate editor of the Journal of Digestive Diseases.
Laura A. Young, MD, PhD
Laura A. Young, MD is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Nutritional Sciences at Michigan State University, Dr. Young and her MD/PhD from the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dr. Young completed her residency at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and her clinical fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a member of several professional organizations including American Diabetes Association and Endocrine Society. Dr. Young specializes in the care of patients with diabetes.
She enjoys working closely with patients to help them realize and achieve both their short and long-term health goals. Her research program focuses on a wide breadth of areas in diabetes, but Dr. Young has a special interest in the use of technology in diabetes. A common thread throughout much of Dr. Young's research is the use of novel behavioral approaches to improve the care of patients with diabetes.
The overarching goal of her clinical and research efforts is to help patients with diabetes live happier, healthier lives. In addition to her clinical work and research, Dr. Young spends a significant amount of her time at UNC working with trainees. In addition to mentoring medical students and residents, she is he Endocrinology Fellowship Program Director. In her free time, Dr. Young enjoys taking long walks, cooking, gardening, and spending time with family and friends.
Laraine T. Zappert, PhD
Currently, she teaches a course on Sexual Violence and Recovery, and supervises the clinical work of residents in the Department of Psychiatry. In addition to her clinical, teaching and research responsibilities, Dr. Zappert has served as the Director of Stanford University's Sexual Harassment Policy Office since its inception in 1993. She also founded and led the Women’s Group Program at Stanford’s Graduate Schools of Business and Law for over 20 years. In 2001, Dr. Zappert initiated the (WISE) Women in Science and Engineering Program for women graduate and post-doctoral students in the Schools of Engineering, Science and Medicine at Stanford, and more recently, extended that program (WISSH) to graduate and post-doctoral women in Humanities and Social Sciences at Stanford.
Dr. Zappert's clinical work and research has focused on the areas of women's mental health, work and wellness. She is the senior author of the 1985 landmark study “In the Pipeline”, as well as the 2002 study, “Priming the Pipeline” both of which examined the stresses confronting women in science and engineering at Stanford. Her book, Getting It Right: How Working Mother’s Successfully Take Up the Challenge of Life, Work and Family has been nationally recognized as an authoritative resource for professional women and their families.
Most recently, Dr. Zappert was the senior author on an article (in press) on The Impact of a Support Group Intervention for Women in STEM. In 2017, she was awarded a Faculty Fellowship at the Clayman Institute for Gender Research.