800.422.0711
727.526.1571
Cruise Conference Planning For Your Association
Join our mailing list

OUR OFFICE HOURS
Mon-Fri 8:30am-6:00pm EST
Sat 10:00am-2:00pm EST

Continuing Education, Inc.
University at Sea™
5700 4th St. N.
St Petersburg, Florida 33703
Contact Us
Casa - Stand up to silence www.casa-stpete.org/donate
Support Doctors Without Borders

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.

Louis Verardo, MD

A native of Long-Island New York, Dr. Verardo is a 1978 graduate of the University of Bologna, Italy, and a 1981 graduate of the Family Practice Residency Program at Glen Cove Hospital on Long Island. He worked for several years in solo rural practice in Rhode Island, where he participated in and published original research in Lyme disease. He taught residents affiliated with Brown University’s School of Medicine, and he created a new elective rotation in Community Medicine for that institution. In the fall of 1985, he returned to Glen Cove and worked for 11 years as Associate Director of his former program.

In 1996, he took a new position as Medical Director of the Dolan Center, in Huntington, New York, a facility for the uninsured and underinsured in that community. In 2006, he was appointed Assistant Medical Director for Ambulatory Geriatrics at the Parker Jewish Institute’s Diagnostic and Treatment Center. In 2008, he returned to private practice in the South Shore area of Long Island, where he remained until joining the full-time faculty at Stony Brook medical school in late 2009. He then engaged in clinical practice, as well as teaching medical and dental students, and until July of 2016, he had also served as an Assistant Director of Stony Brook’s Family Medicine Residency Program. Although Dr. Verardo retired from active clinical practice on November 30, 2019, he remains a member of the faculty for the medical school course called Medicine in Contemporary Society, as well as serving as a facilitator for the Transition to Clinical Care course in 2020.

Throughout his career, Dr. Verardo has maintained an active teaching presence as a community faculty for several other institutions, including Long Island University (CW Post campus), Adelphi University, Molloy College, Touro College School of Health Sciences, and the former North Shore-Long IslandJewish Health System, now known as Northwell Health.

In addition to his work in Lyme disease, he has published work in familial alcoholism and on maintaining skills in neonatal resuscitation, and he has participated in practice-based research with a variety of national groups, including the Ambulatory Sentinel Practice Network (ASPN). He is involved with the Suffolk chapter of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians (NYSAFP), serving as a county delegate, and he has reviewed program content for several organizations, including the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM), the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM), the American Geriatrics Society (AGS), and the Primary Care Network (PCN), a national CME program for generalist clinicians based in Springfield, Missouri .

Karen E. Adams, MD, FACOG*, NCMP**

Karen E. Adams, MD, FACOG*, NCMP**
Karen Adams MD, FACOG, NCMP has spent more than 30 years taking good care of women and teaching others to do the same. She is Professor Emeritus of Obstetrics and Gynecology (OBGYN) at Oregon Health and Science University, where she led the Women Over 40 Clinic for 20 years. She will be starting a new role as Professor of OBGYN at Stanford University in July 2023, where she has been recruited to create and lead a new program in Menopause and Healthy Aging.

She is a North American Menopause Society Certified Menopause Practitioner and serves on the Education Committee of the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health. She is the course director for the Oregon ECHO Program in Menopause, a state-wide educational program on menopause for primary care providers which will soon expand to the entire West Coast.

Dr. Adams has received numerous awards for teaching during her career, including the Faculty Mentor Award and the Faculty Gold Humanism Award from OHSU graduating medical school classes, and the 2017 Mentor of the Year Award from the American College of OBGYN. She has lectured to medical audiences locally, nationally, and internationally and reaches lay audiences through podcasts, media appearances, and a January 2020 TEDx talk entitled 'Sleep, Sex, and Menopausal Zest" that now has over 100,000 views on YouTube.com/watch. She teaches in a way that is accessible, evidence-based, and clinically relevant, providing content that leads to concrete changes in the way medical participants practice menopause care.

Stephan Alkins, MD, FCCP, FACP, FAASM

Stephan Alkins, MD, FCCP, FACP, FAASM
Dr. Alkins received his BA degree from Dickinson College in 1989 and his medical degree from the State University of New York Health Science Center at Syracuse in 1993. He completed his internship and residency in lntenal Medicine at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. in 1996. He completed his fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 1999.
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.

Thomas G. Allison, PhD, MPH

Thomas G. Allison, PhD, MPH
Dr. Thomas G. Allison is a consultant in the Department of Cardiovascular Diseases and Cardiovascular Surgery and Professor of Medicine in the Mayo School of Medical and Science. His clinical responsibilities include stress testing, primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, cardiac rehabilitation, and sports cardiology. He is Director of the Cardiopulmonary Exercise Laboratories and Director of the Sports Cardiology Clinic, and Course Co-Director of the external CME course Focus on Prevention. The Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing Laboratory at Mayo Clinic performs the highest volume and complexity of cardiopulmonary tests in the world.

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.

Farouq Alzurba, MD

Farouq Alzurba, MD
Dr Farouq Alzurba is an alumnus of King Edward Medical College. He is a Family Medicine Consultant, a fellow of Aesthetic Anti-aging Medicine certified by the American Academy of anti-Aging Medicine and an Advisor on Quality Management and International Accreditation. Dr Farouq has 45 years of clinical and administrative experience in the public sector in Palestine, Bahrain, and Dubai. His last post in DHA, Dubai was the Director of Quality & Organisational Excellence. In addition to that, he was the Medical Director of a medical centre in the private section in Bahrain since 2015, mainly responsible for the overall management of the clinic in addition to responsibilities related to seeing patients. Moreover, he has a vast academic experience as he served as a trainer and lecturer in the Family Practice Residency Program (FPRP) at the College of Health Sciences, Arabian Gulf University (AGU) in Bahrain and Dubai Medical College in UAE.

Dr Zurba’s special clinical interest lies is in diabetes and wellness promotion; whereas his administrative interest is in Leadership, Total Quality Management (TQM) and Healthcare Facility Accreditation. Dr Zurba has a profound experience in Government Excellence Programs, Organisational Self-Assessment and Individual Performance Plans. He served as a senior advisor and consultant in United States Air Force Academy in Colorado for Multi Media Centre for 4 years during the period from 2001 to 2004.

Dr Zurba’s interest in primary health care has been further explored and strengthened by his research in minor surgery, psychiatry and notably into diabetes. Back in 1985 he established the Update Primary Health Care Journal in Bahrain and acted as the Chief Editor during the period from 1985 to 2005. His efforts and contributions have been recognised by being appointed as the Chairman of the Arab Group for the Study of Diabetes and its Editorial Board. Further he was a referee in WHO East Mediterranean Journal EMRO during 1980 to 2005. Last but not least Dr Zurba published numerous papers, internationally, and booklets, locally, on various medical topics and awareness.

Dr Zurba obtained his M.B.B.S. in 1974 from King Edward Medical College, Lahore, Punjab University. He got certified as Family Physician by the American University of Beirut in 1984 and later on as Fellow in Aesthetic Anti-Aging Medicine in 2015. Dr Zurba is a big fan of technology and design applications for photography and web designs (www.zurba.com). Dr Zurba is married and has 3 sons and 7 grandchildren.

Sandra L. Argenio, MD

Sandra L. Argenio, MD
Dr. Sandra Argenio served as a Consultant in the Department of Family Medicine at Mayo Clinic Florida and Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at Mayo Medical School. She joined Mayo Clinic in 1992 and continues as an Emeritus member of the Family Medicine Department.

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.

Miklosh Bala, MD

Miklosh Bala, MD
Dr. Bala Miklosh is a Director of Trauma and Acute care Surgery Unit and senior surgeon of Department of General Surgery of Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, Israel. Residency in General Surgery in Hadassah Medical Center. Fellowship in Trauma and Surgical Critical Care in Baltimore, MD. Active member of EAST, AAST and ESTES. Currently work as a leading surgeon in Acute Care Surgery and Trauma and chief consultant for surgery in ICU. Member of trauma committee of Israeli Trauma Association. 

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

Sheller Ball, BA (HONS), JD, CERT. HUMAN RIGHTS

Allison Batchelor, MD, CMD, FAMWA

Allison Batchelor, MD, CMD, FAMWA
Allison J. Batchelor, MD, CMD, FAMWA is a fellowship-trained geriatrician with more than 30 years of clinical experience in the primary care of older people. Presently, she works as an attending physician at Marietta Memorial Hospital Athens Department of Primary Care in Athens, Ohio providing geriatric primary care. In addition, she serves as an Associate Professor of Geriatric Medicine at Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine teaching medical students and residents for over 17 years in addition to prior academic appointments.

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

Shagun Bindlish, MD, FACP

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.

Paul D. Blaylock, MD, JD, FCLM

Paul D. Blaylock, MD, JD, FCLM
Dr. Blaylock is a past ACLM Board Member, lecturer and winner of the Jefferson Cup and President's Award. Past Board Certified in Emergency Medicine and Legal Medicine, Dr. Blaylock has worked in Emergency Medicine Level I/II Trauma Center for 31 years in Portland, Oregon. He has also worked as a Defense Trial Attorney for 25 years.

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)

Robert T. Brodell, MD, FAAD, FRCP(Edin)
Robert T. Brodell, MD is tenured Professor and Chair of the Department of Pathology, Past Founding Chair of the Department of Dermatology, and Billy S Guyton MD Distinguished Professor at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. A graduate of Washington and Jefferson College ('75) and the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry ('79), he completed dermatology and dermatopathology training at Barnes Hospital (Washington University in St Louis). He was in solo private practice for 27 years in Warren, Ohio. Dr Bob has performed 1,895 lectures, directed 49 symposia, and has 420 publications, 42 book chapters, 43 poster presentations, and has written three books: The Diagnosis and Treatment of Warts: An Evidence Based Approach (2003); Tips and Tricks in Procedural Dermatology (2019); and, Dermatology in Rural Settings -- Organizational, Clinical, and Socioeconomic Perspectives.

Marni Brooks, BSc, MSW, MD, CCFP, FCFP

Marni Brooks, BSc, MSW, MD, CCFP, FCFP
Dr. Marni Brooks began her education at McGill university where she completed her Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in psychology and focused her thesis in the area of pediatric pain. She was then sponsored by a physician in Sydney, Australia to assist in his pediatric pain research. 

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

Monica Broome, MD, FACP, FAACH, FAMWA
Dr. Monica Broome is the Director of the new Communication Skills Program for University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Her interest is in the neuroscience of communication specifically physician patient communication. The scope of this program includes the undergraduate, graduate, and faculty development levels.

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

Lisa Brown DNP, MSN, APRN, CNM
Lisa Brown DNP, APRN, CNM is a full scope certified nurse-midwife for Mayo Clinic Health System with a perinatal mood disorders certification and trained by the FEMM Research Institute for Restorative Reproductive Medicine. She works with women of all ages and stages of life via telehealth and face to face visits. Dr. Brown has over 25 years of nursing experience, mostly in obstetrics, and graduated with a master's degree in midwifery in 2018 and a doctorate degree in 2022.

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

Peter Buch, MD, AGAF, FACP
Dr. Peter Buch is a clinical gastroenterologist with 37 years of teaching experience. Teaching is his passion and his style is case based, practical, interactive and fun.

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

Ronald R. Butendieck, JR, MD, FACP
Dr. Butendieck received his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida and his Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of Florida College of Medicine. He completed clinical residency and fellowship training in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology at the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida.

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

Aaron Buzzard, MD, FACEP
Dr. Buzzard is a decorated veteran and served numerous deployments to Iraq as a flight surgeon and emergency physician. He was an EMT and combat medic before becoming a physician in the US Army. Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, Bryan-College Station Campus, Bryan, TX Regional EMS Medical Director for numerous EMS agencies and aircraft. Dr. Buzzard, who is Board Certified in both Emergency Medicine and EMS Medical Direction, is an emergency physician at the CHI St. Joseph emergency trauma center in Bryan, Texas. The facility is a level II trauma center, and the largest hospital in the region.
His areas of interest and expertise are in trauma, critical care medicine, and emergency medical service

Kathy L. Cerminara, JD, LLM, JSD

Kathy L. Cerminara, JD, LLM, JSD
Professor Kathy Cerminara bridges the medical and legal professions with her work on patients' rights in the end-of-life decision-making arena. She co-authors the nationally known treatise, The Right to Die: The Law of End-of-Life Decision making, and is a reviewer for several medical and medical-legal journals. Her scholarship most recently has focused on the intersection between end-of-life care, palliative care, and health care coverage policy. At the Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law, she is a full professor. She is also an affiliate faculty member at NSU's Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine.

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

Ashish Chandra, MBA, PhD
Professor Ashish Chandra is a Professor of Healthcare Administration, College of Business at the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL), Houston, Texas, USA where he also served as the Department Chair for over four years at UHCL. All together Dr. Chandra has over 20 years of university level teaching experience in the U.S. He is a well-recognized healthcare administration academician internationally and serves on the academic advisory board of several educational institutions in Turkey and India. He has also provided over a dozen Management Development Program, Faculty Development Programs, and professional consulting services to several healthcare and business organizations in the United States, India, Turkey, and aboard cruise ships. He actively served on the board of directors of several professional and community organizations in the United States. Over the past four years he has served as the Course Director and Speaker of five Continuing Education Programs for health professionals.

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

Frances M. Christian, LCSW

Frances M. Christian, LCSW

Nicole Harrington Cirino, MD

Nicole Harrington Cirino, MD
Dr. Nicole Cirino is a Reproductive Psychiatrist (Board Certified MD physician) and Senior Faculty member in both the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and in the Department of Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine/ Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, Texas. She the Division Director of the Division of Reproductive Psychiatry, which is one of the leading programs in the field nationally and is housed within the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Texas Childrens Medical Center in the Women's Pavillion.

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

Stephen R. Clum, MD, PhD

Dr. Clum earned his PhD in biochemistry at the University of Kansas. His PhD studies involve characterization of the dengue virus type II serine protease. After completing his PhD, he then pursued his medical degree at the University of Kansas. Following completion of his medical school training, he completed a combined residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at University of South Florida. He remained at University of South Florida for fellowship training in Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine.

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

Allan has a proven track record of developing and implementing processes designed to improve performance, increase efficiency, ensure regulatory compliance, reduce cost, and increase customer satisfaction in a wide range of industries and functional areas including: Healthcare, Call Center Operations, Information Technology, Research & Development, Purchasing, Manufacturing and Government Affairs.
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

Richard Colgan, MD
Dr. Colgan’s career has been marked by a number of significant leadership initiatives and awards for teaching excellence, many coinciding with his 20-year tenure at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. As a professor of family and community medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, he also serves as executive vice chairman. Dr. Colgan has served as lead investigator on many research projects, including the Medical Student Experience with Primary Care Physicians, the Patient Centered Medical Home, and Care for the Underserved in Maryland, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration. He has authored more than eighty publications.

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

Blaise L Congeni, MD
Blaise L. Congeni, MD, is Professor of Pediatrics and of Medical Microbiology at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED.) He also serves as Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Attending Physician at Akron Children’s Hospital in Akron, Ohio.

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, 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

Shawn K. Conner, MD
Dr. Shawn K. Conner is a private practice Family Physician in the northern suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. He completed medical school at Wayne State University in Detroit and attended residency at Genesys Regional Medical Center near Flint, Michigan. He started a solo Family Medicine practice from scratch in the area where he grew up, and has been in practice there for almost 20 years. 

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.

Jessica Crandall-Snyder, RDN, CDE

Jessica Crandall-Snyder, RDN, CDE
Jessica Crandall Snyder earned her Bachelor's degree at Colorado State University and completed her postgraduate work in Oneonta, New York, with rotations at Rose Medical Center. She is accredited by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

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.

J. David Cunningham, Jr., MD, FACS

J. David Cunningham, Jr., MD, FACS
David Cunningham MD completed his medical training at Thomas Jefferson University as well as an Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery residency in 1984. He was in private practice in suburban Philadelphia and was an academic instructor in Otolaryngology with both the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jefferson until moving to North Carolina in 2001. He is presently practicing at UNC Ear Nose and Throat, associated with University of North Carolina since March of 2018 and is an associate Professor of Otolaryngology with Campbell University Medical College since 2014. He is board certified in Otolaryngology in 1984 and with subspecialty Sleep Medicine in 2008.

Tara Dall, MD, FNLA

Tara Dall, MD, FNLA
In 2008, Dr. Dall formed the Early Detection Center for heart disease and diabetes near Madison, Wisconsin and served as a clinical associate professor for the Medical College of Wisconsin. Two years later, she brought her fight against heart disease to the web, co-founding Lecturepad.org and FHITtv.org, web platforms that advance clinical understanding and application of advanced lipid and biomarker testing. 

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.

Dereck DeLeon, MD

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. 

Tammie Lee Demler, PharmD, BS Pharm, MBA, RPh, BCGP, BCPP

Tammie Lee Demler, PharmD, BS Pharm, MBA, RPh, BCGP, BCPP

 Tammie Lee Demler received her Doctor of Pharmacy, Master of Business Administration, and Bachelor of Science degrees at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo. 

Dr  Demler is a dually Board-Certified Specialist in both Psychiatric and Geriatric Pharmacy and is currently the Director of Pharmacy Services and Pharmacy residency training at the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) at the Buffalo Psychiatric Center. 

She holds numerous academic appointments, including Clinical Associate Professor for SUNY Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Clinical Assistant Professor at SUNY School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, D'Youville College School of Pharmacy, University of Florida School of Pharmacy, and Clinical Instructor for the Erie County Community College Pharmacy Technician Certification Program.

She  collaborates with both the National Association of the Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) and the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties (BPS) to develop board examinations that establish the minimum competencies expected for new practitioners for practice in an ever changing clinical environment. Prior to embarking on her academic and institutional career, Dr. Demler's clinical practice focused on ambulatory care in community pharmacy.

Dr. Demler has authored and co-authored numerous original research articles and expert reviews for print media. She is a regular contributor to U.S. Pharmacist and reviewer for Pharmacist's Letter. 

Prior to launching Pharmacotherapeutics for Advanced Nursing Practice, Dr. Demler authored a chapter on insomnia in the American College of Clinical Pharmacy's (ACCP's) Ambulatory Care Self-Assessment. She also has provided expert pharmacotherapeutic consultation for other books such as the Side Effects of Drugs: Annual Volume 36 and Clinical Consult to Psychiatric Nursing for Advanced Practice . She has presented medication continuing education programs internationally and nationally, and is an Academic Educator for the New York State Medicaid Prescriber Education program sponsored by the New York Department of Health. 

Dr. Demler served as President of both the Pharmacists Society of the State of New York and the Pharmacists Association of Western New York. Dr. Demler is also a local media personality, hosting her own weekly TV talk show as well as a weekly community affairs radio segment. She has won a number of prestigious national, state, and local awards acknowledging both her professional and community-based contributions.

Nihar R. Desai, MD, MPH

Nihar R. Desai, MD, MPH
Nihar R. Desai, MD, MPH is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Associate Chief of the Section of Cardiovascular Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine, an Investigator at the Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, and Medical Director for Value Innovation at the Yale New Haven Health System Heart and Vascular Center. His interests focus on cardiovascular health services and comparative effectiveness research, examining patterns of care, identifying opportunities to improve clinical outcomes, and evaluating the impact of novel care delivery systems on cost and quality. In addition, he serves as a clinical consultant on the CMS acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and coronary artery bypass graft surgery readmission and mortality measures. He graduated with highest honors from Lehigh University before completing an internship in the Clinton White House. He then attended the University of Connecticut School of Medicine where he received his Doctorate in Medicine and the Harvard School of Public Health where he received his Master’s in Public Health. Dr. Desai completed his residency training in Internal Medicine as well as his clinical fellowship in Cardiovascular Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He then completed a research fellowship at the TIMI Study Group with Dr. Eugene Braunwald. His scholarly work has been published in New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, Circulation, and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Kristen Bell DeTienne, MA, PhD

Kristen Bell DeTienne, MA, PhD
Dr. Kristen DeTienne is a tenured Professor at Brigham Young University. She earned her doctorate from the University of Southern California. Professor DeTienne has published over 100 articles and books in management and business. In 2020 she was named the Outstanding Professor and in 2017 she received the teaching excellence award at her school. Kristen has been a Visiting Professor in Germany and in Poland.
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.

Michael J. Drescher MD FACEP

Visiting Professor, Division of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University
Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Chief, Department of Emergency Medicine, Beilinson Hospital, Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikvah, Israel
Attending Emergency Physician Midstate Medical Center Meridan CT
Attending Emergency Physician Bradley Memorial Hospital Southington CT
Attending Emergency Physician and Core Faculty. Department of Emergency Medicine. Hartford Hospital.

David S. Edwards, MD

David S. Edwards, MD
From self-publishing a 100 page Emergency Medicine book during residency to pioneering novel simulation strategies using gaming engines and telemedicine, Dr. Edwards has made his career around medical education. The recipient of multiple teaching awards, he continues to look for ways to make learning medicine fun and efficient. After working a decade at a top teaching hospital in Miami where he directed resident education as the Associate Program director, directed med student education as the Clerkship Director, and started and ran the simulation program for the entire hospital as Medical Simulation Director, he now brings his enthusiasm to the Florida Athletic Commission where - when he is not competing himself - you can find him ringside taking care of the professional fighters and training new doctors in this niche field.

Duane C. Eichler, PhD

Duane C. Eichler, PhD
Duane C. Eichler, Ph.D. is currently a Distinguished University Professor Emeritus in the Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine at the University of SouthFlorida. When he retired in June, 2012, Dr. Eichler was Professor and Vice Chair of Molecular Medicine, he held two joint appointments; one as Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes, and the other as Professor in the School of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences. He was also the Basic Science Director of the Signature Interdisciplinary Program in Cardiovascular Research at USF Health.

He received his undergraduate training at San Jose State University in Chemistry with a concentration in Biochemistry, and graduated with Great Distinction. He received his Ph.D. from UCLA in Biological Chemistry followed by postdoctoral training at Stanford University, School of Medicine. In June, 1977, he joined the Department of Biochemistry (renamed Molecular Medicine), in the College of Medicine at the University of South Florida.

Dr. Eichler is still active providing invited talks and consultations, and currently chair’s The Villages Community Advisory Council with oversight of cooperative university related clinical research activities.

Mark Eisenberg, MD, MPH, FACC, FAHA

Mark Eisenberg, MD, MPH, FACC, FAHA
Dr. Eisenberg is a James McGill Professor of Medicine at McGill University. His responsibilities include teaching medical students, residents and fellows. Moreover, he is a Staff Cardiologist at the Jewish General Hospital, where he is an active Interventional Cardiologist who also performs stress tests, sees patients in clinic, and rounds on the cardiology consultation service. Furthermore, Dr Eisenberg is the Director of the McGill MD-PhD Program, and an Associate Member of the McGill Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. In addition to his clinical responsibilities, he is the Director of the Cardiovascular Health Services Research Group at the hospital and a Senior Investigator at the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology.

Dr. Eisenberg completed his MD at the University of Rochester. He then did a residency in Internal Medicine at McGill University, and a Masters of Public Health at Harvard University. Afterwards, he completed a research fellowship in Echocardiography and Epidemiology at the University of California in San Francisco, where he also completed a cardiology fellowship. Dr. Eisenberg did an interventional fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic. He obtained a Masters of Management in International Health Leadership from McGill University in 2010.

Over the course of his career, Dr Eisenberg has published over 300 articles in peer-reviewed journals and participated in several collaborative works. In 2010, he published a book entitled “The Physician Scientist's Career Guide.” He has subsequently published three other books (“Cardiology Board Review and Self-Assessment: A Companion Guide to Hurst’s the Heart” in 2018, “Case Studies in Interventional Cardiology” in 2019, and “The Essential MD-PhD Guide” in 2021). His research interests include primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, health services and outcomes research, smoking cessation, the metabolic syndrome, clinical trials, and meta-analyses. He is also interested in related, broader prevention and public health issues affecting the North American population, such as obesity and patient exposure to radiation from medical therapeutic and diagnostic procedures. Over the years, Dr Eisenberg has received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, and the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec.

Osman El-Labban, MD

Osman El-Labban, MD
Dr. Osman’s  interest in medicine started early in his life and developed with days till his graduation as family physician from American University of Beirut (A.U. B.) in 1985, which allowed him to reflect this interest through outmost caring & commitments to his patients.

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.

Pamela Ellsworth, MD

Pamela Ellsworth, MD
Dr. Pamela Ellsworth graduated Summa Cum Laude from Boston College. She completed her medical school at University of Massachusetts Medical School, her urology residency at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and her pediatric urology fellowship at University of Florida Gainesville/Nemours Jacksonville. 

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. 

Carol Lynn Esposito, Ed.D., JD, MS, RN-BC, NPD

Corey Evans, MD, MPH

Corey Evans, MD, MPH
Dr. Evans has been a family physician and educator for forty years. After six years in a rural family practice in South Carolina, he moved to Florida to begin teaching , as an Associate Director in the Florida Hospital Family Practice Program in Orlando. He also was picked as the team physician for the Orlando Magic. In 1994 he accepted a position of Director of the Bayfront Medical Center's Family Practice Program in St. Petersburg. In 2001 he returned to private practice and also became the Director of Medical Education at St. Anthony's Hospital. He was also asked to be a physician for the Tampa Bay Rays Team, and these positions continued for the next 20 years. He is board certified in Family Medicine, Sports Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, and Palliative Care.
Originally from San Clemente, California, Dr. Evans attended Occidental College in LA, then St. Louis Medical School in Missouri, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. His family practice residency was at University of Missouri, Columbia where he was a Chief Resident. Dr. Evans tries to play the guitar poorly, and loves water sports. He teaches extensively at the national FP meetings with a special interest in exercise testing.

David B. Feller, MD

David B. Feller, MD
Dr. Feller received all of his medical training (medical school and residency) in Gainesville at the University of Florida, College of Medicine. He did clinical practice for 5 years and then joined the faculty of the Family Medicine Residency Program. He is currently the Vice Chair for Clinical Operations and director of behavioral medicine.

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

Lisa Ferentz, LCSW-C, DAPA
Lisa is a recognized expert in the strengths-based, de-pathologized treatment of trauma and has been in private practice for over 39 years. She presents workshops and keynote addresses nationally and internationally, and is a clinical consultant to practitioners and mental health agencies in the United States, Canada, the UK and Ireland. She has been an Adjunct Faculty member at several Universities, and is the Founder of "The Ferentz Institute," now in its sixteenth year of providing continuing education to mental health professionals and graduating several thousand clinicians from her two Certificate Programs in Advanced Trauma Treatment. In 2009 she was voted the "Social Worker of Year" by the Maryland Society for Clinical Social Work. Lisa is the author of "Treating Self-Destructive Behaviors in Traumatized Clients: A Clinician's Guide," now in its second edition, "Letting Go of Self-Destructive Behaviors: A Workbook of Hope and Healing," and "Finding Your Ruby Slippers: Transformative Life Lessons From the Therapist's Couch." Lisa also hosted a weekly radio talk show, writes blogs and articles for websites on trauma, attachment, self-destructive behaviors, and self-care, teaches on many webinars, and is a contributor to Psychologytoday.com. You can follow Lisa's work on her website, theferentzinstitute.com, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Kevin Scott Ferentz, MD

Kevin Scott Ferentz, MD
In 2012 Dr. Ferentz retired as an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine after 25 years on the faculty. During those years he served as the Director of Student and Employee Health, the Director of Clinical Operations for the department, and as Residency Director for 12 years. He went on to serve as the Chief Medical Officer for Baltimore Medical System, Inc. – the largest group of Federally Qualified Health Centers in Maryland, responsible for approximately 60 clinicians serving in six medical centers and eight school based health centers, caring for 45,000 patients and providing 155,000 visits per year. He then worked as the Medical Director of the Randallstown office of Chase Brexton Health Care. He is currently the Chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC) and the Lead Physician for the GBMC Health Partners Primary Care offices at Owings Mills. Dr. Ferentz is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Maryland and continues to educate medical students on a regular basis. Dr. Ferentz has authored more than three dozen articles and book chapters concerning issues in Family Medicine. His academic work centered on Smoking Cessation, and the recognition and treatment of Depression in primary care. He received more than two dozen teaching awards, including two national awards: the Exemplary Teaching Award from the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Outstanding Program Director Award from the Association of Family Practice Residency Directors. He was named one of the Best Family Physicians by Baltimore Magazine in 1997, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2010, 2017, 2018, and 2020. The Ladies Home Journal named him one of the best Family Physicians in America in 2002. He was named to Best Doctors in America in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2013. He appears in Who's Who in America in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2011. Dr. Ferentz provides continuing medical education lectures for several national CME providers. Dr. Ferentz is a past-President of the Maryland Academy of Family Physicians and served on several committees and commissions for the American Academy of Family Physicians. He has done hundreds of media spots on TV and for eight years he was the regular host of Sunday Rounds, the largest medical call-in show on public radio, heard nationwide, and around the world on the Armed Forces Radio Network and the Internet.

Gregory Firestone, PhD

Gregory Firestone, PhD
Gregory Firestone served on standing alternative dispute resolution committees of the Florida Supreme Court for more than two decades (including seven years as Vice Chair of the Court's Alternative Dispute Resolution Rules and Policy Committee) and as Official Observer (on behalf of the Association for Conflict Resolution and the Academy of Family Mediators) to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws Uniform Mediation Act Drafting Committee.
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.

Robert Fogerty, MD

Robert Fogerty, MD
After receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Boston College, Robert L. Fogerty received his MD and MPH degrees from Northwestern University and completed training in Internal Medicine at Yale New Haven Hospital. In 2011, he joined the Yale faculty as a founding member of the Academic Hospitalist Program. His academic interests include safety and quality of care in the inpatient setting and cost-effective care. Publications include the Journal of Hospital Medicine, JAMA Internal Medicine, and The New England Journal of Medicine. He is also the co-founder & Past-President of the Society of Hospital Medicine Connecticut Chapter, faculty in the High Value Practice Academic Alliance (HVPAA) training programs, and a founding member of the Hospital Capacity Management Consortium. In his current role as Senior Medical Director, Clinical Leadership, Dr. Fogerty reports to the Chief Medical Officer and works with medical directors from multiple clinical disciplines in clinical operations, professional development, corporate compliance, and other areas.

Will Frye, PhD, BCB, ABPP

Will Frye, PhD, BCB, ABPP is a Pediatric Psychologist at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital (JHACH) who specializes in evidence-based treatment of youth with chronic pain and complex medical conditions. He has an Assistant Professor, part time, faculty appointment at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Frye earned his doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Auburn University. He completed a pre-doctoral internship in pediatric psychology at Children’s Mercy Hospital and a postdoctoral fellowship in chronic pain at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Dr. Frye’s research interests include the experience of patients living with chronic illness, parental impact on pain response, pain catastrophizing, and improving access to care

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.

Rebecca Levy-Gantt, DO

Rebecca Levy-Gantt, DO
Dr. Rebecca Levy-Gantt is a Board Certified ObGyn and a certified menopause practitioner who has been practicing for the last 10 years in Napa, California. She is originally from New York City, where she grew up and went to medical school at the NY College of Osteopathic Medicine, graduating in 1992.

She practiced on Long Island for 11 years before moving to Napa. Her special interests are menopause management, including hormones and alternative management strategies, as well as vaginal and vulvar pain syndromes.

She owns a solo private practice which has been growing for the past 5 years, teaches medical students from Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, and spends her free time teaching, traveling, running and writing.

Boris Garber, DO

Boris Garber, DO
After completing an Emergency Medicine Residency in Stony Brook Medical center in Stony Brook NY, he worked in community Emergency medicine in central Illinois for three years, then was hired to Metrohealth Medical center in 2005.

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 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

Hayley B. Gershengorn, MD, FCCM, ATSF
Dr. Gershengorn is an Associate Professor and Interim Vice Chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine.

She received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed a residency in Internal Medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Cornell and a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia.

She is Associate Editor for Critical Care of the Annals of the American Thoracic Society, serves on the program committee for Critical Care for the American Thoracic Society, and is Chair-Elect of the Internal Medicine Section for the Society of Critical Care Medicine.

Terri Getman, JD*, CLU, ChFC, RICP, AEP (Distinguished)

Terri Getman, JD*, CLU, ChFC, RICP, AEP (Distinguished)

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

Kencee Graves, MD, FACP
Dr. Kencee Graves is an Associate Professor within the Division of General Internal Medicine and the Department of Internal Medicine at University of Utah Health, and serves as the University's Chief Medical Officer for Inpatient Health. Her clinical practice areas are Hospital Medicine and Palliative Medicine. She enjoys caring for hospitalized patients with a variety of medical problems and working on programs to improve the care of hospitalized patients and to streamline work for clinical teams. Dr. Graves received her MD from the University of Utah in 2010, completed a residency in Internal Medicine in 2013, and served as a Chief Medical Resident. She completed a fellowship in Hospice & Palliative Medicine in 2019. Her passions are improving health care and communication for all patients, as well as supporting and sponsoring physicians in leadership.

Marna Rayl Greenberg, DO, MPH

Marna Rayl Greenberg, DO, MPH
Marna Rayl Greenberg, DO, MPH, is one of the LVHN Campus SELECT Collegia Advisors. She is the Vice-Chair of the Department of Emergency and Hospital Medicine, Research at Lehigh Valley Health Network and Professor, USF Morsani College of Medicine. She completed her Master&@39;s at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She has research and publication experience related to the prevention of alcohol and tobacco abuse and resolving gender differences in education and care provided in the Emergency Department. In 2022 she was the Chair of the American College of Emergency Physicians Research Forum. In 2014 she co-chaired the Academic Emergency Medicine Consensus Conference that put forth the national research agenda on Gender Specific Research in Emergency Medicine. She is a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians and a member of the American Osteopathic Association. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors such as completing her certification as a physician executive (2011), receiving the Leonard Tao Humanism Award from the Barness Behnke Chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society (2021), LVHN Medical Staff Research Award (2019), receiving the USF Theodore/Venette Ashounes-Ashford Distinguished Scholar Award (2019), receiving nomination and induction into the Robert A. Good Honor Society (2020) and the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society (2018), receiving the American College of Emergency Physicians recognition award for longevity in Emergency Medicine (2014), receiving the Academy of Women in Academic Emergency Medicine Momentum Award (2014), receiving the Unsung Hero award from the American Osteopathic Association (2014) , receiving the Soroptimist International Ruby Award (2010) for Women Helping Women; the Pennsylvania American College of Emergency Physicians 2005 Emergency Physician of the Year Award; the Physician Service Star Award (2004) for ER Preventive Health Initiatives; and Koop Community Service Award (2000). She is the mother of 4 adult children and enjoys swimming, reading and travel.

Elizabeth Grill, PsyD

Elizabeth Grill, PsyD
Dr. Elizabeth Grill is Director of Psychological Services and Associate Professor of Psychology at The Center for Reproductive Medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. She is also an Assistant Attending Psychologist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

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.

Omoronike Hamilton, LPC, NBCC

Omoronike Hamilton, LPC, NBCC
Omoronike Hamilton is co-founder of Heart and Soul Psychotherapy LLC. She was the clinical director of an intensive outpatient program for those with addiction disorders and co-occurring mental health issues in Washington DC for over 10 years. She is a licensed professional counselor with over 30 years of experience serving people in both the public and private health care sector. Ms. Hamilton has worked in Behavioral health settings (both inpatient and outpatient) here in the United States and in the United Kingdom. Over the years, she has been afforded the opportunity to cultivate a culture and treatment philosophy that is trauma informed and capable of recognizing the need for integrated treatment and a wide range of treatment modalities. Ms. Hamilton has developed and implemented co-occurring competency training for clinicians and presented at National conferences on various integrated behavioral health care topics to include trauma. She has utilized and trained clinical staff to use a variety of creative modalities to include dream work in both individual and group therapy. As a therapist in private practice, she continues to navigate pathways for people to access behavioral health care services that meets them where they are.

Jim Hancock, PA-C, M.P.H

Amy B. Harris, MSN, RN, OCNS-C

Amy B. Harris, MSN, RN, OCNS-C
Amy B. Harris, MSN, APN, OCNS-C, spent 30 years working in a variety of orthopaedic settings to include level one trauma hospital in-patient units, ambulatory care settings, a rehabilitation hospital, operating rooms, and in out-patient pediatric orthopaedics and rheumatology. Amy’s roles within these settings have included those of staff nurse, nurse manager, and clinical nurse specialist. She has demonstrated her expertise holding certification as an Orthopaedic Clinical Nurse Specialist. Her commitment to the National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses (NAON) is evident through her participation as a national congress speaker. She is on the test committee for the Orthopaedic Nursing Certification Board (ONCB) and has served as an item-writer for the ONCB’s certification exams. Amy served on NAON’s education committee, and she was co-chair of NAON’s first full day APN conference.

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.

Stephen E. Helms, MD, FAAD

Stephen E. Helms, MD, FAAD
Dr. Helms arrived at the University of Mississippi in 2013 with 35 years of private practice experience in Warren, Ohio. He graduated from The Ohio State University College of Medicine and completed his dermatology residency at the University of Pittsburgh.

In addition to teaching medical students and dermatology residents at Northeastern Ohio Medical University and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, he frequently taught at regional and national venues. His dermatology subspecialty interest is in occupational dermatology and contact dermatitis.

Dr. Helms has 62 scientific publications and is a reviewer for several journals. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology and Cutis. He has participated as an investigator or sub-investigator in scores of clinical trials.

Steve enjoys fishing, reading, watching classic movies, and especially, traveling with his wife, two children and their families.

Jeffrey Hindin, DDS

Jeffrey Hindin, DDS
Dr.Hindin practices general dentistry with an emphasis on the treatment of craniofacial pain, TMD and sleep disorders incorporates biofeedback modalities into patient care. He is conducting clinical research into the relationship between performance, splint therapy, physiological function and heart rate variability. Dr. Hindin is a co-author of the Proof of Concept Study of an Oral Orthotic to Reduce Tic severity in Chronic Tic Disorder and Tourette Syndrome recently published. Dr. Hindin has published articles on the use of heart rate variability in dentistry and use of biofeedback modalities. Dr. Hindin has lectured internationally on TMD, sleep, restorative dentistry, airway and the use of Heart rate variability. He is a founding board member of the American Academy of Physiological Medicine and Dentistry and the Foundation of Airway Health. Dr. Hindin has served on the Faculty, New York University College of Dentistry, Linhart Continuing Dental Education Program, Dental Sleep Medicine Continuum.
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 A. Hochman, MD, FHM
Katherine A. Hochman is currently the Associate Chair for Quality and the Assistant Chief of Medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City as well as a practicing hospitalist. She is the founder and former Director of the NYU Hospital Medicine program, which grew from 1 to 35 hospitalists under her leadership. 

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 Hupertz, MD
Dr. Hupertz was a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY (1974-1978) and received her BS in Biology. She attended the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY and graduated in 1982 with MD. Internship and residency was completed at Rainbow Babies & Children's (RB&C) Hospital, Cleveland, OH by 1985 and Pediatric Gi and Hepatology fellowship by 1988. She maintains 3 board certifications which include: Pediatrics, Pediatric Gastroenterology, and Pediatric Transplant Hepatology. 

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

Kim Hutchinson, EdD, MS, MSN, BSN, PMHCNS-BC, CARN
Dr. Kim Hutchinson is a hospital-based advance practice psychiatric mental health clinical nurse specialist and faculty consultant for the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Credentialed as a Certified Addictions Registered Nurse (CARN) currently seeking waiver training for buprenorphine prescription privileges. Credentialed to diagnose, assess, and treat persons with substance use disorders under the Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist membership for the state of North Carolina. Professional work involves assurances that healthcare systems interface and integrate unique behavioral and substance use health needs of consumers across the lifespan. Adoption of evidence-based practices are the promoted standard.

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

Mark H. Hyman, MD, FACP, FIAIME, FACOEM
Dr. Hyman is an internist with more than 30 years of experience and head of HymanHealth, which is located on the Westside of Los Angeles, California. A nationally recognized disability expert, Dr. Hyman provides medical-legal evaluations spanning the continuum of internal medicine for a wide variety of legal and insurance organizations. He has evaluated hundreds of workers’ compensation patients around the country, from NFL players to everyday workers, providing credible and thorough diagnoses, depositions and documentation, often using the state-of-science technology found in his office.

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.

Jeremy Jackson, MD

Jeremy Jackson, MD
Originally from Meridian, MS, Dr. Jackson attended Missis­sippi State University where he was a four-year letterman in baseball with the Bulldogs and lead MSU to back-to-back College World Series in 1997 and 1998.

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.

Paul Jaskoviak, DC, Dipl Med Ac, FIMA, DCRC, DACAN, CCSP, FICC

Philicia Jefferson, PhD, LPC

Philicia Jefferson, PhD, LPC
Dr. Jefferson holds a doctorate degree in counselor education from George Mason University. She is also a doctorate candidate at Logos University of Florida where she is completing the requirements for the Doctor of Ministry in Theological Studies. As a licensed clinical mental health counselor, she specializes in the effects of trauma on healthy development and relationships. She is also a Board Certified Forensic Mental Health Evaluator and holds the rank of Associate Professor at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary where she provides instruction in the preparation of Christian counselors. She is also the Founder of the National Christian Counselor Institute in Virginia where she welcomes individuals to engage in intensive weekends of training and collaboration.
Dr. Jefferson’s daughter, Charnita Allen, is a systems engineer and her late son Richard, was a career marine. She is married to Mr. Nathaniel Jones, a retired Federal Government Data Analyst.

Jerry G. Ninia, MD, RVT

Jerry G. Ninia, MD, RVT
Dr. Ninia is the Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson, NY and a Clinical Associate Professor of OB/GYN at Stony Brook University School of Medicine.

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

Warren F. Jesek, DDS, MAGD
Dr Jesek presents a fresh, common sense approach to the world of general dentistry. His passion will excite, motivate and inspire, as well as challenge dentists to be the best that they can become. The true strength of what Dr Jesek has to offer dentists is his message of comprehensive care for the entire family and a method to deliver excellence with consistency.

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.

Michael Alan Kahn, DDS

Michael Alan Kahn, DDS
Michael A. Kahn, DDS, is an emeritus professor and former chairman of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Oral Medicine, and Craniofacial Pain at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Professor at Tufts School of Medicine, and laboratory director of Tufts Oral Pathology Services.

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

Colin Kaide is professor of Emergency Medicine at the Wexner Medical Center at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. As a native of Chicago, Illinois, he completed Undergraduate Studies and Medical School at the University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign. He completed a residency in Emergency Medicine at the Ohio State University (1993-1996). After residency, he served as the assistant director of the emergency department in Lima, Ohio for 3 years while serving as part-time faculty at OSU. In 2000 he joined the department at OSU as a full-time faculty member. He is board-certified in Emergency Medicine and Hyperbaric Medicine. In addition to emergency medicine and hyperbarics, he completed advanced training in wound care and is certified by the Council for Medical Education and Testing. He does wound care at the Ohio State Comprehensive Wound Center.

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.

Jennifer Katzenstein, PhD, ABPP-CN

Jennifer Katzenstein, PhD, ABPP-CN
Jennifer M. Katzenstein, PhD, ABPP-CN is a board-certified pediatric neuropsychologist, Co-Director of Center for Behavioral Health, Director of Psychology, Neuropsychology, and Social Work at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She received her PhD from Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis in clinical psychology and completed her internship year and 2-year post-doctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology at Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine. She then served as assistant professor of clinical neurology at Indiana University School of Medicine and pediatric neuropsychologist at Riley Hospital for Children. She is the 2020 winner of the Service and Professionalism Award at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and a national and international speaker on topics ranging from mental health of children to physician wellbeing.

Joel M. Kaufman, MD, FAAN

Joel M. Kaufman, MD, FAAN
Dr. Joel M. Kaufman is Clinical Professor of Neurology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and a member of the Department of Neurology at Rhode Island Hospital, where he is the Medical Director of the Neurology Resident Teaching Clinic. 

Dr. Kaufman graduated from Boston University, majoring in mathematics, and from Boston University School of Medicine. He completed his medical internship at Presbyterian Hospital at Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco (now California Pacific Medical Center) and his Neurology residency at Boston City Hospital (now Boston Medical Center). He then joined Fallon Clinic (now Reliant Medical Group) in Worcester, Massachusetts. From 1988 through 1996 he was Medical Director of Fallon Community Health Plan. From 1997 to early 2014 he was Executive Director of the Lifespan/Physicians Professional Services Organization.

Dr. Kaufman is a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and active with the Academy, currently chairing the Payment Alternatives Team. He is also serving or has served on many other professional boards and committees.

Dr. Kaufman's interests include physician advocacy, quality improvement in medical practice, provide-payer interaction, and clinical teaching.

Daniel B. Kessler, MD, FAAP

Daniel B. Kessler, MD, FAAP
Dr. Kessler is a board certified Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrician with over 35 years of clinical experience. For 21 years he was the Director of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at the Children's Health Center of St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center.

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

Daniel H. Kett, MD
Daniel H. Kett, MD, is the Associate Chief Medical Officer for Critical Care at University of Miami Hospital and a Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami in Miami, Florida. He earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Florida and his medical degree at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

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

Dana E. King, MD, MS
Dr. King is a board certified family physician who has served as Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at West Virginia University since 2012. Prior to that he was Vice Chair of Family Medicine and Director of Research at Medical University of South Carolina, and previously, was on the faculty of the East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine. 

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

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.

Chris J. Kottenstette, PA-C, CPE

Chris J. Kottenstette, PA-C, CPE
Chris started in patient care as an Athletic Trainer in high school and college, and then moved to emergency services as a paramedic for 17 years. This lead him to his training at the University of Utah Physician Assistant Program where proper pain treatment was initially instilled in him by one of the pioneers of pain management and Palliative Care Art Lipman, PharmD and others. Since completing PA school he has worked in Family Practice, Orthopedic Surgery, Emergency Medicine, and since 2001 in the field of Pain Medicine. During this time he has been a consultant and speaker for many national companies and provided expert medical testimony in several cases involving pain management issues. He has spent 2 years traveling and teaching Pain Management at a national level as a Medical Science Liaison in the Pain Field and has had the opportunity to learn from a variety of nationally known experts.
Chris has been active in the PA community at a national level since 1998 when he was elected to the Student Academy Board as Director-at-Large; is a Past-President of the Colorado Academy of Physician Assistants; and in 2003 he founded the PAs in Pain Medicine Special Interest Group of the American Academy of Physician Assistants and is their current President.
Chris has been appointed to the Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, helped form the American Society for Pain Educators as one of the initial members of the Board of Advisors, and is directly involved at a national level in many pain and addiction related issues. Chris was an invited member of the AAPM & APS guidelines for the management of Chronic Non-Cancer Pain and has participated in the creation of both state and national pain guidelines.
In addition to being a clinical PA in a spine surgery and interventional pain practice, he is also the President of Abuse Tech, LLC which provides engineered solutions for abuse deterrence and clinically focused education in abuse prevention, mitigation, and compliance in the field of pain medicine.

David S. Kountz, MD, MBA, FACP

David S. Kountz, MD, MBA, FACP
Dr. David S. Kountz is a Professor of Medicine for the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine and Co-Chief Academic Officer for Hackensack Meridian Health. He earned his AB at Princeton, MD at SUNY/Buffalo School of Medicine, and MBA at Georgian Court University in Lakewood, NJ. He completed training in Internal Medicine at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia. 

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

Richard J. Kramer, MD
Dr. Kramer is a retired Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine in the Department of Gastroenterology at Stanford University and Associate Chief of Gastroenterology at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose CA., which is a safety net and teaching hospital that serves as one of the Stanford teaching sites.

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.

Chris J. Kottenstette, PA-C, CPE

Chris J. Kottenstette, PA-C, CPE
Chris started in patient care as an Athletic Trainer in high school and college, and then moved to emergency services as a paramedic for 17 years. This lead him to his training at the University of Utah Physician Assistant Program where proper pain treatment was initially instilled in him by one of the pioneers of pain management and Palliative Care Art Lipman, PharmD and others. Since completing PA school he has worked in Family Practice, Orthopedic Surgery, Emergency Medicine, and since 2001 in the field of Pain Medicine. During this time he has been a consultant and speaker for many national companies and provided expert medical testimony in several cases involving pain management issues. He has spent 2 years traveling and teaching Pain Management at a national level as a Medical Science Liaison in the Pain Field and has had the opportunity to learn from a variety of nationally known experts.
Chris has been active in the PA community at a national level since 1998 when he was elected to the Student Academy Board as Director-at-Large; is a Past-President of the Colorado Academy of Physician Assistants; and in 2003 he founded the PAs in Pain Medicine Special Interest Group of the American Academy of Physician Assistants and is their current President.
Chris has been appointed to the Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, helped form the American Society for Pain Educators as one of the initial members of the Board of Advisors, and is directly involved at a national level in many pain and addiction related issues. Chris was an invited member of the AAPM & APS guidelines for the management of Chronic Non-Cancer Pain and has participated in the creation of both state and national pain guidelines.
In addition to being a clinical PA in a spine surgery and interventional pain practice, he is also the President of Abuse Tech, LLC which provides engineered solutions for abuse deterrence and clinically focused education in abuse prevention, mitigation, and compliance in the field of pain medicine.

David S. Kountz, MD, MBA, FACP

David S. Kountz, MD, MBA, FACP
Dr. David S. Kountz is a Professor of Medicine for the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine and Co-Chief Academic Officer for Hackensack Meridian Health. He earned his AB at Princeton, MD at SUNY/Buffalo School of Medicine, and MBA at Georgian Court University in Lakewood, NJ. He completed training in Internal Medicine at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia. 

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

Richard J. Kramer, MD
Dr. Kramer is a retired Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine in the Department of Gastroenterology at Stanford University and Associate Chief of Gastroenterology at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose CA., which is a safety net and teaching hospital that serves as one of the Stanford teaching sites.

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

Merrill A. Krolick, DO, FACC, FACP
Dr. Krolick has been in clinical practice since 1992. Initially he practiced at Fairfax Hospital in Fairfax, Va. Currently he is practicing at The Heart Institute at Largo. He is an attending cardiologist at HCA Largo Medical Center, Morton Plant Hospital and HCA Indian Rocks Hospital.

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.

William E. Lawson, MD, FACCP, FACC, FSCAI

Dr. William Lawson graduated from Rutgers Medical School in 1977. Dr. Lawson has been at SUNY, Stony Brook since 1980, where he is currently Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology. At Stony Brook he has acted as Chief of Cardiology, Director of Echocardiography, Non-Invasive, Invasive, and Preventive Cardiology. He is currently Director of Cardiac Outomes Research and Preventive Cardiology. Dr. Lawson is a practicing interventional cardiologist and Director of the Interventional Cardiology fellowship program at Stony Brook.

Dr. Lawson is ABIM certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease, Interventional Cardiology, Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology and is a Fellow of the ACC, ACCP, SCAI, ACA. He has broad expertise and interest in the field of cardiovascular disease and is actively involved in the teaching and mentoring of physicians and allied health care professionals at SUNY, Stony Brook.

Claudia J. Lee, MD, BS Pharmacy, RPh, FACP

Claudia J. Lee, MD, BS Pharmacy, RPh, FACP
Dr. Claudia J. Lee graduated Summa Cum Laude from St. John’s University’s pharmacy program and completed her medical school training at the State University of New York at Buffalo. After finishing her internal medicine residency in Buffalo, she worked in private practice for several years before being appointed to be a medical specialist at the New York State Office of Mental Health at the Buffalo Psychiatric Center. While at the Buffalo Psychiatric Center, she has been involved in multiple medical committees, including the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, for which she is currently the chairperson, the Falls Committee, and the Antimicrobial Committee.

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.

Yael Leitner, MD

Prof. Yael Leitner MD, is a General Pediatrician & a senior Pediatric Neurologist. She serves as the director of the Child Development Center, Marot Autism Clinic , and pediatric ADHD clinic, and the chief Neurologist of Marot Center for Autism, at the Sourasky Medical Center, affiliated with the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel- Aviv University.

She is a Clinical Professor in pediatrics, the organizer of the Continuous Medical Education course in Developmental Neurology and the secretary of the Israeli Child Development Society, and an elected member of the Israeli ADHD society council.

She has authored more than 60 publications and clinical research studies.

Her research work and interest centers around risk factors in Developmental Disabilities, prematurity, Intrauterine Growth Retardation, Autism and minor fetal MRI abnormalities & their impact on neurocognitive outcome.

She was the organizer of the continuous education course in Pediatric Neurology in the School of Occupational Therapy at the Tel-AVIV University,and is regularly involved in the teaching and supervision of several Community Child Development Units.

Paul Lewis, MD, FAAFP, CPE, CPHIMSS, ABPM- CI

Paul Lewis, MD, FAAFP, CPE, CPHIMSS, ABPM- CI
After medical school Dr. Lewis joined the U.S. Air Force, completed a transitional internship and spent the next four years at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, where he worked in Aviation Medicine as a Flight Surgeon. He had many positive experiences, ranging from medical care of the pilots and their families to traveling the globe in support of military operations to flying in F-16 fighters.
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

Gil Lichtshein, MD, FAPA
Dr. Lichtshein specializes in a variety of disorders including mood disorders, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive com-pulsive disorder (OCD), panic attacks, and attention deficit disorders (ADD/ADHD).

Disclosure: Dr. Lichtshein has NO financial arrangements with any corporate organization that might have an interest in the subject being presented.

Tracey B. Long, PhD, APRN-BC, RN, MS, MSN, CDE, CNE, CHUC, COI, CCRN

Karen J. MacKinnon, BS, RPh

Karen J. MacKinnon, BS, RPh
In her role at MCW, Professor MacKinnon is responsible for developing corporate partnerships, activities and services that support the creation of new pharmacy practice models. Professor MacKinnon has over 25 years of experience in teaching and has assisted in the establishment of three previous academic pharmacy programs, having served in the roles of Director of Experiential Education and Director of Professional Laboratories.

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

George E. MacKinnon III, PhD, MS, RPh, FASHP
Dr. George E. MacKinnon III began responsibilities as Founding Dean of the School of Pharmacy at the Medical College of Wisconsin October 1, 2015. His primary academic appointment is as Professor of Pharmacy Administration with secondary appointments within the School of Medicine in the Institute for Health and Equity (Division of Population Health Improvement), Department of Family and Community Medicine and the Genomic Sciences and Precision Medicine Center.

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

Brian Markoff, MD

Brian Markoff, MD
Dr. Markoff is currently the Chief of Hospital Medicine at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital and an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. His interests include Quality Improvement and High-Value Care. He was an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley where he received an AB (with distinction) in Biology.

He received his MD from the University of California, San Francisco and went on to residency and chief residency in Internal Medicine at the University of California, Davis. After his chief year, Dr. Markoff helped start the hospitalist group at the UC Davis Medical Center. He went to the Mount Sinai Medical Center in 2002 and served as the Associate Chief, Division of Hospital Medicine and the Associate Program Director for Quality, Internal Medicine Residency program until May 2016 when he took his current position.

Frank B. Marsalisi, MD, FACOG

Frank B. Marsalisi, MD, FACOG
Dr. Frank Marsalisi is the Director of Gynecology  at the Bayfront OB/Gyn Residency Program , Bayfront Health St. Petersburg -Orlando Health Inc.. Originally from New York, he preceded his medical degree from Michigan State University with two years of research with publication in Hypersensitivity Diseases at USV Pharmaceutical and the Upjohn Company. 

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

Daniel R. Martin, MD, MBA, FACEP, FAAEM
Daniel R. Martin is a Professor of Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. He is the Program Director of the Emergency Medicine Internal Medicine Residency Program and the Vice Chair of Education for the Department of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Martin served as the Program Director for the Emergency Medicine Categorical Program at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center from 1990 to 2010. 

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

Dale A. Matthews, MD, FACP
Dale A. Matthews, MD, FACP recently retired from a 40-year career of practicing and teaching primary care general internal medicine. He has served on the faculties of Yale University, the University of Connecticut, and Georgetown University and has lectured at over 30 medical schools. He gives lectures on primary care general internal medicine, the doctor-patient relationship, and the psychological and spiritual dimensions of medicine, including the role of religion, faith, and prayer in clinical care. He is the author of The Faith Factor: Proof of the Healing Power of Prayer (Viking, 1998), a four-volume research work (The Faith Factor: An Annotated Bibliography of Clinical Research on Spiritual Subjects), three documentaries, and over 65 peer-reviewed scientific articles, book chapters, and other publications. Dr. Matthews is a graduate of Princeton (AB, cum laude, Romance Languages, 1976) and Duke University School of Medicine (1980). His internship and residency in internal medicine took place at the University of Connecticut (1980-3) and he completed the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar Program and Fellowship in Clinical Epidemiology at Yale (1983-5). In 1989, he was named the George Morris Piersol Teaching and Research Scholar of the American College of Physicians. He has received many awards for his compassionate patient care, including Washingtonian Magazine Top Doctor recognition. He has appeared on numerous television shows, including the Oprah Winfrey Show, Larry King Live, and Good Morning America. He lives in McLean, Virginia with his wife, Demetra, a certified public accountant. He has two adult children and three grandchildren. He enjoys family and church activities, Bible study and teaching, golf, baseball, piano, singing, songwriting, ballroom dancing, travel, and photography.

Nicole D. Melendez, MD, FACR

Nicole D. Melendez, MD, FACR
Nicole D Melendez, MD graduated from St Matthews University, completed her Internal Medicine residency at the University of Missouri- Columbia and her Rheumatology fellowship at Louisiana State University. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology. She has been practicing Rheumatology in the Tampa Bay area since 2011.

She has a very active practice and is also involved in clinical research.  She's been voluntary faculty at the University of South Florida in the Department of Rheumatology since 2015, and she has a personal interest in nutrition and diet and its impact on rheumatologic disease states.

Abdul Memon, PA-C, DMSc, CAQ EM

Samuel Menahem, MB, BS, MD, MEd (Melb), MPM (Mon), FRACP, FACC, FCSANZ

Samuel Menahem, MB, BS, MD, MEd (Melb), MPM (Mon), FRACP, FACC, FCSANZ
Professor Samuel Menahem from Melbourne, Australia is a Consultant Paediatrician with extensive experience in General Paediatrics and Neonatology. In addition he has researched and published widely on the interface of Child Psychiatry and Paediatrics and has trained as a Child Psychotherapist. He has a subspecialty of Paediatric Cardiology extending from the foetus to the adult with congenital heart disease.

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

Andrew D. Michaels, MD, MAS, FACC, FAHA
Dr. Andrew Michaels received his undergraduate degree in History & Science from Harvard University. He then completed his medical degree, internship, residency, general cardiology fellowship, and interventional cardiology fellowship at the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF).

He stayed at UCSF for 6 years as an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Co-Director of the Cardiac Cath Lab. He was then recruited to the University of Utah as a tenured Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Cardiac Cath Lab. He then transitioned to a community-based interventional cardiology practice at St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka, CA for 8 years. Since 2018, he has worked in Boise and Nampa, Idaho for the Saint Alphonsus Medical Group.

He is the Co-Director of the Cardiac Cath Lab and Medical Director of Cardiology in Nampa. He has over 100 publications, and has had clinical research grants from the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, and the National Institutes of Health.

Erin D. Michos, MD, MHS, FACC, FAHA, FASE, FASPC

Erin D. Michos, MD, MHS, FACC, FAHA, FASE, FASPC

Karen Hughes Miller, PhD, MEd

Karen Hughes Miller, PhD, MEd
Karen Hughes Miller, PhD, is recently retired as Associate Professor in the University of Louisville School of Medicine (U of L SOM) Office of Graduate Medical Education where her focus was on medical education research and curriculum planning. She oversaw the graduate non-clinical curriculum, and served on the U of L SOM Faculty Development Committee and QI and Patient Safety committees. 

Dr. Miller has more than 50 publications and presentations. She has taught adult education, curriculum design, and assessment courses and workshops to undergraduate and graduate students, medical residents and fellows, and faculty. She is also experienced in teaching task analysis to educators and physicians. 
Dr. Miller's undergraduate degrees in journalism (with a minor in commercial art) and her master's degree in instructional technology are useful today in creating new teaching and learning materials and platforms. One of her several research agendas is teaching and assessment of very bright learners, and she is currently completing a book chapter on this topic for NOVA publishers.

Dr. Miller is Immediate Past Chair of the Association of American of Medical Colleges (AAMC) Southern Group on Education Affairs (SGEA), and the Immediate Past Chair of the AAMC Research in Medical Education (RIME) program selection committee.
 

Charles S. Mills, MD, FACP, FAAHPM, HMDBC

Charles S. Mills, MD, FACP, FAAHPM, HMDBC
Dr Mills is a board certified internist and palliative care specialist with over 35 years of medical experience and practice. He practiced for many years both clinically and with administrative positions at the former Fallon Clinic/Fallon Community Health System. It was here that he built a strong interest in and knowledge of the impact of health care systems and economics on the delivery of care. In these various rolls, he became a strong advocate for physician education to assist the evolution of the care models necessary for success in the developing health care market.

Dr Mills's extensive work in geriatrics in his clinical practice led to his growth in palliative and hospice medicine. Taking on a medical directorship at a local hospice, he gained practical knowledge of this field and went on to complete additional study in this area leading to his successful completion of board certification in 2008. 

He is a zealous proponent of interactive learning processes and enjoys leading/mentoring invigorated medical education forums. He has lectured and taught broadly at both a community/ lay level, medical school level , residency/fellow level and at attending level of audience

Elizabeth Moberg-Wolff, MD

Elizabeth Moberg-Wolff, MD
Elizabeth Moberg-Wolff MD graduated from the University of Wisconsin Medical School and completed a residency and fellowship in the field of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) . She holds board certification in PM&R, with subspecialty certification in Brain Injury Medicine and Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine. She is an active leader in the American Academy of PM&R, served as a Peds PM&R fellowship director and current medical student mentor, and enjoys educating therapists and primary care physicians about disabling medical conditions.

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.

Darryl Moch, MEd

Darryl Moch, MEd
Darryl Moch is the founder of Innergy, Incorporated, a nonprofit community empowerment and faith-based organization working to eradicate poverty on all levels to improve quality of life for individuals, families, and communities. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre, Dance, and Psychology (Clinical Counseling); a Master of Education degree in Counseling; and a Master of Fine Arts in Theater from Alfred University. Darryl! is completing his doctorate in Organizational Leadership with a concentration in Transformational Leadership. His passion and work is centered and rooted in social change, social justice, and equality for all people. Moch is a social entrepreneur, inspirational and motivational life coach, mental health specialist and master trainer. He currently provides consulting services and training in Mental Health in DC and MD and for nonprofits organizations providing DEI(B), Administrative, Leadership, Program, Community Engagement, and Development consulting. He has created and provides CARF accredited training and is a train-the-trainer on many DC Behavioral Health supported training.

Caroline M. Molins, MD MSMEd FACEP FAAEM

Caroline M. Molins, MD MSMEd FACEP FAAEM
Caroline is a native Floridian, who was born in Miami, Florida. She attended Florida International University, where earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. She went to Puerto Rico for medical school, specifically Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine and graduated in June of 2007.

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

Daniel Montero, MD,FAAFP, CAQ Sports Medicine
Dr. Montero graduated from the University of Virginia in 1993 and Eastern Virginia Medical School in 1998. He completed his Family Medicine residency at Mayo Clinic Florida, followed by a Sports Medicine Fellowship at the Ohio State University.

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.

Angele Moss-Baker, LPC, LMFT, MAC, SAP

Angele Moss-Baker, LPC, LMFT, MAC, SAP
Angele Moss-Baker is an advocate and ambassador for the ethical implementation of evidence-based practices and outcomes of integrated treatment for co-occurring disorders. She is sole proprietor of Comprehensive Addiction & Psychological Services LLC, located in the District of Columbia. Angele specializes in providing comprehensive integrated treatment for individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, clinical consultation to behavioral health practitioners and ancillary practitioners, and facilitation of CE trainings/workshops and scholarly presentations at local, national, and international professional conferences. Although Angele enjoys providing technical assistance and clinical consultation to behavioral health organizations and facilitating workshops for behavioral health practitioners, she also enjoys cooking, traveling, and spending time with her family.

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

Tim Munzing, MD, FAAFP
Dr. Timothy Munzing has been a family physician with Kaiser Permanente in Orange County, California for the past 33-1/2 years, over 30 years as the founding Program Director of the KP-OC Family Medicine Residency Program. Dr. Munzing serves on the national ACGME Family Medicine Review Committee, responsible for the accreditation of over 600 Family Medicine residency programs. He has had a clinical practice for over three decades and has taught hundreds of Family Medicine residents and thousands of medical students. Dr. Munzing was the recipient of the 2017 National Family Medicine Outstanding Residency Program Director of the Year Award and the 2017 California Academy of Family Physicians Hero of Family Medicine Award. He holds the appointment of full Clinical Professor at the University of California, Irvine College of Medicine and Professor at the developing Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine, opening Summer 2020.

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.

Joseph G. Murphy, MD, MBA, FRCPI, FACC, FESC

Consultant Cardiologist, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine
Chair, Section of Scientific Publication, Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation
Director Mayo Clinic Scientific Press
 

Dr. Murphy is Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota. He is Director of the Cardiology Invasive Specialist program at the Mayo School of Health Sciences. Dr Murphy is the Director of the Mayo Clinic Scientific Press and Chair of the Section of Scientific Publication at the Mayo Clinic. He is also Chair of the Mayo Foundation Publications Committee.

Dr. Murphy graduated from University College Cork in Ireland, where he also completed a Medical and Surgical Internship in the Professional Department at the University College Cork Hospital. He was Senior House Officer in Rotation in General Medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland Medical School at St. Laurence's Hospital, Dublin Teaching Hospital. He was Tutor/Registrar in General Medicine at the Medical School, University of Dublin, Trinity College at the Dublin Teaching Hospital. Dr. Murphy was Senior House Officer and Registrar in Cardiology and General Medicine at Mater Misericordiae Hospital at Dublin Teaching Hospital. He completed a research fellowship at Brigham and Women's Hospital at Harvard Medical School and fellowships in Clinical and Invasive Cardiology at the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Murphy completed a Doctorate in Medicine in Cardiology by Thesis at the National University of Ireland.

Kim Murphy, MS, APRN-CNP, WHNP-BC, RNC-OB, RNC-MNN, C-EFM

Kim Murphy, MS, APRN-CNP, WHNP-BC, RNC-OB, RNC-MNN, C-EFM
Kim Murphy has over 36 years of nursing experience including 32 years in labor and delivery and 16 years as a women's health nurse practitioner.

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

Clinton Allen Musil, Jr., MD
Allen Musil has been practicing child, adolescent, and adult psychiatry for over 20 years. His education includes an undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University, a stint at Dallas Theological Seminary, and medical school at Quillen College of Medicine in Tennessee.

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)

Mohanram Narayanan, MD, FACP, FNKF, FASN, FRCP(C)
Professor of Medicine, Texas A&M HSC COM
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

Barry Nathanson, BA, MD, MHCM, FRCPC, FACP
In 1982, Dr. Nathanson earned a BA (English Lit.) from Yeshiva University in New York City and he graduated in 1990 from the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine where he also completed his internal medicine training in 1995. In 2010 Dr. Nathanson completed a Master of Science degree in Health Care Management at the Harvard University Graduate School of Public Health and in 2011 he earned a certificate in Health Law from Osgoode Hall Law School.

In 1995, he began practising internal medicine and critical care medicine at York County Hospital in Newmarket which, in 2000, became Southlake Regional Health Centre. Early on, Dr. Nathanson served as Medical Director of the inpatient Palliative Care Unit. He later founded the Southlake Heart Function Program. He was president of the Southlake Medical Staff Association for four years. He then helped develop Southlake’s Clinical Resource Utilization Management Program. From 2008 to 2017 he was Southlake’s Physician Leader (Medical Director), for Acute Medicine Programs. During that time Dr. Nathanson helped modernize Southlake inpatient services by founding and developing Southlake’s Hospital Medicine Program. In 2017 Dr. Nathanson completed a two-year term as co-chair of Southlake’s Quality, Utilization and Resource Management Committee. In 2018 Dr. Nathanson began an additional 5-year term as Medical Director of Critical Care Services at Southlake where he has helped introduce Southlake’s Physician-Led Critical Care Outreach Team.

In 2008, Dr. Nathanson founded Southlake’s Post Graduate Education Program for senior Internal Medicine residents. The principle focus of this month-long rotation is easing and facilitating residents’ transition into independent community practice, optimizing the likelihood of a long and rewarding career in the challenging environment of Ontario health services.

Dr. Nathanson has served as Chief of Staff at Stevenson Memorial Hospital since 2016 with a principle focus of modernizing physician culture and supporting the community goal of a long-overdue redevelopment of the physical hospital and its clinical service offerings.

Dr. Nathanson has served on 3 provincial task forces, the ER/ALC Advisory Committee and the ALC Action Team. More recently he served in an advisory capacity in support of the Ministry of Health and Long term Care working group aimed at reducing hallway medicine in Ontario.

Dr. Nathanson’s additional professional interests include Medical Bioethics and Health Law, Health Policy and Health Economics including the impact of different payor systems on clinical systems design and on clinical decision making, the role of Physician Leadership and Engagement in driving system change toward improved clinical safety, efficiency and effectiveness, and physician health and wellness. Dr. Nathanson lectures widely on these topics and on a variety of additional clinical and health services related topics.

Dr. Nathanson’s many personal interests include travelling. He second favorite hobby is lecturing to international medical audiences on cruise ships. Above all, he especially enjoys riding his 2014 Indian Chief Classic, together with his wife, Genny, all over Ontario, Canada, the US, and beyond.

Rajendra Kumar Pandey

Rajendra Kumar Pandey
Prof. Pandey has more than 43 years of teaching and research experience including over 30 years of administrative experience in higher education.

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

Herdley O. Paolini, Ph.D., L.P
Herdley O. Paolini, Ph.D., L.P., gained national attention by creating the first-of-its-kind holistic physician integrative wellness program designed to counteract physician burnout and foster physician resiliency, well-being, and leadership development to support the patient-care mission of the Advent Health care organization. She subsequently left Advent Health after 12 years as director of Physician Support Services to share the program she created there with medical staffs and health systems across the nation. She is the Founder and President of The Institute for Physician Integration.
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

Deepak Patel, MD, FAAFP, FACSM
Dr. Patel practices family and sports medicine at Yorkville Primary Care and Sports Medicine in Yorkville, IL and is the Medical Director for Rush Copley Sports Medicine in Aurora, IL. He is also Director of Sports Medicine for Rush Copley Family Medicine Residency and Assistant Professor at Rush Medical College in Chicago. 

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

Wayne L. Peters, MD
Dr. Wayne L. Peters is a native of Rapid City, South Dakota. He received his BA from Saint Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota (1969) and his MD from the University of Colorado (1973). He received his internal medicine training at the University of Florida, Jacksonville and was Chief of the General Internal Medicine Division at that institution from 1976 to 1982.

From 1982 to 1984 he served as a Henry J. Kaiser Fellow in General Internal Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Following his fellowship, he remained at the Massachusetts General Hospital as Director of the Lipid Consultation Service. He also taught in the Department of Preventive Medicine at Harvard Medical School under the direction of Dr. Alexander Leaf, who was involved in marine-oil research for over 25 years.

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.

Veronica Piziak, MD, PhD, FACP

Veronica Piziak, MD, PhD, FACP
Dr. Piziak received her undergraduate degrees and her PhD from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and her medical degree from University Kentucky in Lexington. She completed her internal medicine residency at Akron general Medical Center in Akron Ohio and her fellowship training in endocrinology metabolism at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio. 

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.

M. Anthony Pogrel, DDS, MD, and Professor

M. Anthony Pogrel, DDS, MD, and Professor
Tony Pogrel received his dental degree in 1967 from Liverpool University in England and his medical degree from Aberdeen University in Scotland in 1974. He then received further general surgery training and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery training in Great Britain, Holland and Miami, Florida. In 1979, he was appointed consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon in Peterborough and Cambridge in England and since 1983, has been on the full-time faculty of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. He is a former chairman of the department and is currently a professor and Associate Dean. Dr. Pogrel holds both medical and dental licenses in California and is board certified in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. 

He is a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, the American College of Surgeons, American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, the International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, the International and American Associations of Dental Research and the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons. Dr. Pogrel has more than 200 publications in the literature on a variety of topics and is a frequent presenter at specialty meetings nationally and internationally.

Gregory L. Psaltis, DDS

Gregory L. Psaltis, DDS
Dr. Greg Psaltis has been a pediatric dentist for 43 years, most of which have been in private practice in Olympia, Washington. His varied career has included 23 years as a speaker, both nationally and internationally.

He is currently involved with two volunteer clinics in Mexico that he developed. Each provides comprehensive care for the indigent and medically compromised children of the Los Cabos and Zihuatanejo areas. He has published in several dental journals and was given the Gordon Christensen Speaker Award for excellence in professional presentations. 

Mary Ellen Psaltis, Bachelor in Philosophy, BPh

Mary Ellen Psaltis, Bachelor in Philosophy, BPh
Mary Ellen's professional writing about food and lifestyles has spanned over thirty years. Her interactions with chefs, farmers, and restaurateurs led to greater involvement in nutrition education and teaching. 

Mary Ellen speaks nationally on creating optimal nutrition and making thoughtful life choices. Her local classes focus on supporting people along their healthful life journeys. She accompanies Greg on their Mexican mission trips as a dental assistant.

Michele Quattlebaum, Esq., JD
*DC - Not Licensed

Cheryl Randolph, RN, MSN, CCRN, CEN, CPEN, TCRN, FNP-BC, FAEN

Cheryl Randolph, RN, MSN, CCRN, CEN, CPEN, TCRN, FNP-BC, FAEN
Cheryl has been practicing critical care nursing for the past 34 years in ED, PICU, ICU & PACU. She is a popular speaker with the wonderful ability to make complex subjects easy to understand. She is currently working as an ED RN in San Francisco and an independent legal nurse consultant.

Shakaib (Shak) Rehman, MD, SCH, FACP, FAACH

Shakaib (Shak) Rehman, MD, SCH, FACP, FAACH
Dr. Rehman is the Associate Chief of Staff for Education at the Phoenix VA Healthcare Systems. He is also the Professor of Informatics/ Interim Chair & Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix (UACOM-P). He is also currently serving as the Chair of UACOM-P Admissions Committee and Graduate Medical Education.

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.

George P. Rodgers, MD, MACC

George P. Rodgers, MD, MACC
Dr. Rodgers is an Associate Professor of Medicine and the Associate Chief of Cardiology for Education at The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School. He led the development of the cardiovascular curriculum for the new medical school. Dr. Rodgers teaches medical students, residents and cardiology fellows on a regular basis. Beyond medical education, he has a particular interest in prevention the early detection of heart disease, team-based care and innovative value based care for the safety net population.

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.

Carla Rodgers, MD

Carla Rodgers, MD
Dr. Rodgers has been a practicing physician for over 40 years. She graduated from Rush Medical College, in Chicago, and completed two residencies, one in anesthesiology and one in psychiatry. She was previously the psychiatric consultant for the Jefferson University Pain Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the director for sexual offender treatment at Norristown State Hospital in Pennsylvania. She is board certified in general psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, and forensic psychiatry. The last is the interface between psychiatric practice and the law.

Dr. Rodgers was on the full-time faculty at Jefferson Medical College, doing teaching and clinical research for 5 years. She subsequently opened her own private practice, with an emphasis on patient care, consultation, and forensic practice. She is currently a Clinical Professor at Cooper Medical School in New Jersey, and teaches the required forensic psychiatry block for residents. When not working, she enjoys reading and watching British mysteries, taking long walks with her husband and rescue dog, and volunteering on her township's Senior Citizens' Advisory Council.

Carlos R. Rodriguez, MD, FAAFP, CAQSM

Carlos R. Rodriguez, MD, FAAFP, CAQSM
Dr. Carlos R.Rodriguez, MD, FAAFP Dr. Rodriguez is the Director of Family and Internal Medicine at EVARA Health Systems in Clearwater, FL. and the Program Director of the Nova Southeastern University Khiram Patel College of Medicine Family Medicine Residency at Evara Health. He is the former Program Director of the Sports Medicine Fellowship and Assistant Director to the Family Residency Program at Bayfront Health Saint Petersburg. He served as Assistant Medical Director of the sports medicine program at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital.

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.

Domingo Rodriguez-Cue, MD

Domingo Rodriguez-Cue, MD
Dr. Domingo Rodriguez-Cue was born in Havana, Cuba. Inspired by his father, who was also a physician, he went to Medical School at San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic. He did general surgery at Morristown Memorial Hospital in NJ and subsequently transferred to East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. He completed a rural residency program and then a faculty development fellowship. Dr. Cue was featured in Peter Jennings's world news tonight American Agenda program on Telemedicine use in rural practice. He recently authored a chapter titled “Sleep Diagnosis: Polysomnography and Home Sleep Apnea Testing” in Dental Sleep Medicine A Clinical Guide, Springer, 2022

He trained students and residents with ECU for 4 years, and then went into private practice in Williamston, NC. He was chief of staff for 7 years and practiced holistic family medicine, including ICU, ER, OBGYN and newborn care. With a strong focus on diet and exercise, he felt he needed to focus on the third pillar of health, which is sleep. He underwent his sleep training at Atlanta Sleep School at Northside Hospital. He became board certified in Sleep Medicine in 2009. He is the medical director of SleepWorks in Raleigh North Carolina, and practices at 5 locations throughout the state.

His sleep practice is 40 % pediatrics with a focus on movement disorders, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, circadian rhythm disorders and insomnia.

He interprets Level I polysomnograms and also Level II-IV home based tests. Along with prescribing CPAP therapy, Dr. Cue also works closely with dentists who provide oral appliances for sleep apnea patients. He is a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, CHEST physicians, AAFP and the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine. He specializes in non-pharmacologic approaches to insomnia and movement disorders.

Dania Rumbak, MD

Dania Rumbak, MD
Dania Rumbak, M.D.
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

C. Joy Sachs, MD, MPH
Dr. Carolyn Joy Sachs graduated from the honors program in medical education at Northwestern University in 1990 and then went on to completed an emergency medicine residency and research fellowship at the UCLA Emergency Medicine Center where she has stayed on ever since and currently serves in the rank of Clinical Professor step III. Her career research interests have centered on violence against women and she has authored many peer reviewed publications and book chapters on sexual assault and intimate partner violence.

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.
 

Frances M. Sahebzamani (Rankin), PhD, ARNP, FAANP

Frances M. Sahebzamani (Rankin), PhD, ARNP, FAANP
Dr. Sahebzamani is an Adult Nurse Practitioner, and joined H. Lee Moffitt's Team Member Medical Clinic in June of 2014 to develop and manage the Healthy Weight and Cardiovascular Risk Reduction program for team members with metabolic dysregulation, overweight, and obesity. 

Prior to joining the H. Lee Moffitt Team, Dr. Sahebzamani was an Assistant Professor in the USF Colleges of Nursing and Medicine, Division of Family Medicine. 

From 2006-2013, she was the director of the Advanced Nursing Practice Doctorate (DNP) Program in the College of Nursing and in 2002 co-developed and co-directed the USF Prediabetes Treatment Center within the Department of Family Medicine. 
During this time, she served as the Assistant Director of Research for the Department of Family Medicine. 

Dr. Sahebzamani is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. Her practice expertise is in primary care, metabolic dysregulation and preventive cardiology. She speaks nationally on the topics of diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular risk factors.

In addition to her lectures, Dr. Sahebzamani has participated in developing national educational initiatives on the topics of obesity and diabetes to enhance knowledge and clinical outcomes for physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants. 

She recently served as the lead author on the American Association of Nurse Practitioners White Paper on the Management of Obesity. Her program of research includes the topics of obesity, insulin resistance and metabolic dysregulation, and cardiovascular risk reduction in primary care settings.

Tracy G. Sanson MD, FACEP, CEO

Tracy G. Sanson MD, FACEP, CEO
Dr. Sanson is an Emergency Physician with more than 20 years of experience in emergency medicine education, emergency department management, and leadership. She is a consultant and educator on Leadership development and Medical education, TracySansonMD, LLC and Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine @ University of Central Florida (UCF), College of Medicine.

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

Joseph J. Shatzel, MD
My research focus is centered on the design of novel strategies to improve patients suffering from thrombotic disorders. My three areas of interest are in the utility of inhibitors of the contact activation pathway of blood coagulation to prevent medical device-related thrombosis, the prevention of blood clotting in patients with sepsis, and the resolution and prevention of post thrombotic syndrome.

Bruce D. Shephard, MD, FACOG

Bruce D. Shephard, MD, FACOG
Dr. Shephard is Affiliate Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa, Florida. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California, Berkeley, attended medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, and completed his Ob-Gyn residency at the University of Miami, Florida.

A former McCain Fellow at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and principal author of “The Complete Guide to Women's Health,” Dr. Shephard is a frequent speaker and writer on women's health issues. A previous president of the Hillsborough County Medical Association, he currently serves as president of the HCMA Foundation. Dr. Shephard serves on HMO medical advisory boards for Wellcare and AVMed health plans and as a medical case reviewer for both the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Agency for Health Care Administration, Florida. A 2009 selectee of the Marquis' Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare, he received the Albert N. Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.

Mervyn Singer, MB, BS, MD, FRCP(Lon), FRCP(Edin), FFICM

Mervyn Singer, MB, BS, MD, FRCP(Lon), FRCP(Edin), FFICM
Mervyn Singer is Professor of Intensive Care Medicine at University College London, UK. He trained in medicine at St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College, London and then undertook subsequent junior doctor posts in hospitals around the London area. He performed his doctorate research thesis developing a novel hemodynamic monitoring tool using esophageal Doppler ultrasonography; the subsequent technology (CardioQ) is now used in >30 countries worldwide. He then began formal critical care training in an academic rotation at University College London in 1989 and was appointed Professor in 2001. 

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.

Benn E. Smith, MD, FAAN, FANA

Benn E. Smith, MD, FAAN, FANA

Michael Snyder, MD, FACS, FASMBS

Michael Snyder, MD, FACS, FASMBS
Dr. Snyder received his medical degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine and completed an internship and residency at Oregon Health Sciences University at Portland, Oregon. He is board certified in General Surgery by the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Snyder is an active member of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and is Medical Director of the Bariatric Surgery Center at Rose Medical Center in Denver.

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.

Lucille Contreras Sollazzo, MSN, RN-BC, NPD

Timothy Spruill, MA, EdD

Timothy Spruill, MA, EdD
Timothy Spruill earned his M.A. in Counseling Psychology (George Mason University, 1977). After 4 years teaching undergraduate psychology, he worked in a private psychiatric hospital while pursuing his EdD. In Counselor Education & Counseling Psychology (Western Michigan University, 1992). Following three years as a rehabilitation psychologist, he was appointed Associate Professor in Counseling Psychology at Andrews University. In 1998 he became the first Behavioral Medicine faculty at Florida Hospital’s Osteopathic Family Medicine residency and in 2007 became the first psychologist nationally to join an Emergency Medicine residency faculty. He has clinical appointments at three Florida Medical schools and nine scholarly publications. Since joining the medical staff in 2002, he has examined close to 4000 suicidal patients to assess their imminent risk of self-harm. Drawing on this expertise, he began conducting day-long training seminars on the ethical assessment and treatment of suicidal patients for mental health professionals in 2010. Since that time, he has presented in 100 cities in 37 states. Motivated by his belief that the future of counseling involves integrating services into primary care, in August of 2014, he created an internship program embedded in the Primary Care residency clinic for UCF graduate students in the Mental Health Counseling Marriage, Couple and Family Therapy Master's Degree Program.

Charles L. Sprung MD, JD, MCCM, FCCP

Charles L. Sprung MD, JD, MCCM, FCCP
Professor Charles Sprung is the Director Emeritus of the General Intensive Care Unit in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem, Israel where he has worked for the last 33 years. He was previously the Director of the Section of Critical Care Medicine in the Department of Medicine at the VA Medical Center and the University of Miami for 13 years. He graduated the University of Miami School of Law in 1988. Professor Sprung was the Chairman of the Committee on Ethics Section of the US Society of Critical Care Medicine and of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) for many years.

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

Kevin T. Stephan, MD, FACP
Dr. Stephan is a board-certified Infectious Disease physician with many years of clinical experience.  He currently serves as Director of Strategy and Planning for eInfectionMD, a telemedicine-based Infectious Disease practice headquartered in Phoenix, AZ where he sees patients live and via virtual video visits throughout the western United States.

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

Stephen P. Stone, MD, FAAD
Dr. Stephen P. Stone is professor and Director of Clinical Research in the Division of Dermatology at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, Illinois.
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

William B. Stroube, PhD
Bill Stroube is Professor of Health Services Administration at the University of Evansville. Before joining the UE faculty in 1998, he spent twelve years in management positions in the pharmaceutical industry, and eight years at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Washington, D.C.

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.

Juanee Surprise, DC, NMD, DCBCN

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.

Ty Talcott, DC

Michael J. Tan, MD, FACP, FIDSA

Michael J. Tan, MD, FACP, FIDSA
Michael J. Tan, MD is Professor of Internal Medicine at Northeastern Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) in Rootstown, Ohio. At NEOMED, he is co-course director of the Infection and Immunity Course and Vice-Chair of the Infectious Disease Section of the Principles of Medicine Course.  Dr. Tan is Lead Physician for Summa Health Medical Group-Infectious Disease at Summa Health in Akron, Ohio where he is also Clinical Physician, Infectious Diseases and HIV as well as Medical Director for the Summa Health Clinical Research Center.

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).

Amy Tirpak, DC

Gina Touch, Ph.D.

Jennifer Trujillo, PharmD, FCCP, BCPS, CDCES, BC-ADM

Jennifer Trujillo, PharmD, FCCP, BCPS, CDCES, BC-ADM

John H. Tucker, DMD, DICOI, DABDSM

John H. Tucker, DMD, DICOI, DABDSM
John H. Tucker has maintained a private practice in Erie, Pennsylvania since 1982. He is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Tucker has a special interest in the treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea. As a Diplomate of The American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM), he is exceptionally qualified to manage this serious problem with Oral Appliance Therapy. Dr. Tucker was named one of the Best Sleep Doctors in 2012 & 2013 by the Sleep Review Journals for Sleep Specialists. He has been actively treating patients in the Tri-State Erie area for the past ten years. Dr. Tucker works directly with sleep physicians and sleep centers to ensure that his patients receive the most positive treatment outcome possible. He founded Erie Dental Sleep Therapy, LLC in 2007. Erie Dental Sleep Therapy, LLC became the eighth AADSM Accredited facility in June of 2012. Erie Dental Sleep Therapy, LLC was also named one of the Best Sleep Facilities in 2012 by the Sleep Review Journals for Sleep Specialists.

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

Stacey Van Gelderen DNP, MS, RNC-MNN, PHN
Dr. Van Gelderen is a full professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN, USA who has focused her career on supporting perinatal women, and neonates, and building family-focused caring practices. For over 24 years, she has supported clients in obstetrics, neonates, women's health, and those with family care needs.

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.

Suzanne L. Walker, LCMHC

Suzanne L. Walker, LCMHC
Suzanne L. Walker, LCMHC holds a M.S. and C.A.S from the University at Albany (NY) in Counseling Psychology. She has specialized in trauma, addiction and co-occurring disorders, and retired from the Dept. of Army working with active duty military both stateside and overseas. Her experience in behavioral healthcare provision and management ranges from private practice clinics, county, state, and federal public government sectors. She is currently providing part-time Telehealth services.
Having served in both clinical provider, supervisor, and clinical director positions for over 38 years, Suzanne valued how to systems and multidisciplinary teams on a macro and micro levels enhance clinical processes and growth. Adapting to multiple military relocations, Suzanne’s breadth of work experience helped augment her knowledge and appreciation for all aspects of the clinical mental health counseling profession. Aside from practice, Suzanne has volunteered as committee chair and leadership positions in state and national counseling organizations with an ardent focus on advocacy for the profession and licensure as a standard requisite for clinical mental health counseling practice and the profession. Suzanne has been pleased to present on clinical counseling best practices working with the military and veteran populations, nonprofit strategic planning, and counselor advocacy. In retirement, Suzanne also enjoys travel, history, art, and going on adventures and exploring nature with her West Highland Terrier, Hamilton Barclay.

Nilda Maria Williams, MD, MS, CLC

Nilda Maria Williams, MD, MS, CLC

Michael J. Wilsey, Jr., MD, FAAP

Michael J. Wilsey, Jr., MD, FAAP
Dr. Wilsey is Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and former Associate Program Director of the Pediatric Residency Training Program at the University of South Florida (USF) Morsani College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics in Tampa, Florida. He graduated from the University of Miami School of Medicine and completed residency training in Pediatrics and fellowship training in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition at Texas Children's Hospital and the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He currently serves as the Vice Chief of the medical staff and the Vice-chairman of the Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital (JHACH) in St. Petersburg, Florida.

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

J. Stuart Wolf, Jr., MD, FACS
After receiving his M.D. from Northwestern University, Dr. Wolf completed Urology residency at UCSF and then an Endourology / Laparoscopy Fellowship with Ralph Clayman. He joined the University of Michigan in 1996, and over the ensuing 20 years he served as the Director of the Division of Endourology, the Director of the Endourology / Laparoscopy Fellowship, and the Associate Urology Department Chair for Surgical Services. In 2016 he joined the Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care at Dell Medical School of the University of Texas at Austin, where he serves as the Associate Chair for Clinical Integration and Operations, Executive Associate Chair, and Chief of the Division of Surgical Specialties.

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

Jeannette Marie Wolfe, MD
Dr. Jeannette Wolfe is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School/Baystate Campus. She has spent her entire attending career working and teaching in one of the busiest emergency departments in the Northeast.

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.

Ameigh Worley, MD, MMS, FACOG

Ameigh Worley, MD, MMS, FACOG
Dr. Worley is a Board Certified OB/GYN serving women of all ages. A highly skilled and compassionate physician, Dr. Worley has extensive training in high risk obstetrics, minimally invasive gynecologic surgery, and infertility.

Dr. Worley’s outstanding credentials include her medical degree from the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa where she had a scholarly concentration in research. She then went on to complete an internship at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta and residency training at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Prior to medical school, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with Honors and completed a Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medical Program at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. She then continued on to earn a Master’s of Medical Sciences degree at Boston University School of Medicine in Massachusetts.

Following her residency training in 2014, Dr. Worley joined Wake Forest University as an Assistant Professor for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In 2016, she returned to her Central Florida roots where she currently works as an OB/GYN Hospitalist at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach and in a small boutique-style private practice (Alliance Obstetrics & Gynecology) in Winter Park. In 2018, Dr. Worley received certification from the American Board of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as a Focused Practice Designation in Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology.

Dr. Worley’s commitment to helping women extends beyond the hospital and clinic. She has extensive experience in resident and medical student education, is involved in simulation training and quality improvement initiatives at various locations, and is a dedicated researcher. Additionally, as an experienced lecturer, Dr. Worley is frequently called to educate other medical professionals and the public. She is also an avid volunteer in her community, proving that her compassion and skills extend far beyond the exam room.

Dr. Worley is certified by the American Board of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as well as the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine. She is licensed to practice in Florida and North Carolina.

George Yung-hsing Wu, MD, PhD

George Yung-hsing Wu, MD, PhD
Dr. George Y. Wu is a Professor of Medicine, Chief of the Hepatology Section, and holds the Herman Lopata Chair in Hepatitis Research at the University of Connecticut Health Center.

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.

Laraine T. Zappert, PhD

Laraine T. Zappert, PhD
Dr. Zappert is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine. As a faculty member at the Center for Neuroscience in Women’s Health at Stanford, Dr. Zappert was instrumental in developing and directing the first Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program in Women’s Health. Previously, Dr. Zappert had served as Director of Clinical Training at Vaden Student Health Services at Stanford.

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.