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University at Sea
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Charitable Giving

Thanks to you, we are able to provide material to support these and other charities doing on-the-ground, humanitarian work.

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.

Alice D. Domar, PhD

Alice D. Domar, PhD
Alice D. Domar, PhD is a pioneer in the application of mind/body medicine to women's health issues. She not only established the first Mind/Body Center for Women's Health, but also conducts ongoing ground-breaking research in the field. Her research focuses on the relationship between stress and different women's health conditions, and creating innovative programs to help women decrease physical and psychological symptoms.

Dr. Domar received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Health Psychology from Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Ferkauf School of Professional Psychology of Yeshiva University. Her post-doctoral training was at Beth Israel Hospital, Deaconess Hospital, and Children’s Hospital, all in Boston.

She has conducted research on infertility, breast cancer, menopausal symptoms, ovarian cancer, pregnancy, and premenstrual syndrome. Dr. Domar has earned an international reputation as one of the country's top women's health experts.

She is currently the Executive Director of the Domar Centers for Mind/Body Health, and the Director of Mind/Body Services at Boston IVF. She is an associate professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology, part-time, at Harvard Medical School, and a senior staff psychologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.She is also the Chief Compassion Officer at Inception.

Dr. Domar has compiled an impressive list of accomplishments as a best-selling author, media authority and sought-after public speaker. She is the author of numerous books, including the national best seller “Self-Nurture”, and is on the advisory board for Parents Magazine. She was on the Board of Experts for ShareCare.com and was a columnist for Redbook and Health magazines. She was also a featured expert for LLuminari and on the online social health network BeWell.com. She served on the board of Resolve for ten years.

Three of her books have been finalists for the Books for a Better Life Award. She was also the Series Editor for a series of mind/body books by Harvard Medical Publications/Simon and Schuster. She is the narrator of the DVD’s “Stress and Relaxation Explained” and “Infertility Explained”, both of which won silver Telly Awards. Dr. Domar has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, Dateline NBC, CNN, PBS, and the CBS and NBC Evening News, to name a few. She presents lectures and conducts workshops throughout the US and around the world and went on tour with Oprah in the spring of 2004 and 2005 with the LLuminari team. Dr. Domar was named to the prestigious list of 15 “Women to Watch in 2004” by Lifetime TV. Her seventh book, “Finding Calm for the Expectant Mom” came out in 2016.

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.

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.

Steven R. Bailey, M.D

Steven R. Bailey, M.D
Dr. Steven Bailey is the Chairman of Internal Medicine at LSU Health Shreveport and the Malcolm Feist Chair of Interventional Cardiology. He is a Tenured and Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Radiology and previous Chief of the Janey and Dolph Briscoe Jr. Division of Cardiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas. Dr. Bailey received his medical degree from the University of Oregon Health Science Center at Portland and did his medicine residency and cardiology fellowship at Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado. He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine with subspecialty board certification in both Cardiovascular Disease and Interventional Cardiology. Dr. Bailey's clinical focus is in Adult Congenital/Structural and Valvular heart disease in addition to Coronary Atherosclerotic Disease. His research laboratory is involved in investigating the effects of NOX subtypes in promoting cardiovascular disease and Pulmonary Endothelial cell prothrombic response to Covid 19 viral infection. He has translational research in the field of nanotechnologies and nanosensors and holds several patents in these fields. He was the Program Director for Interventional Cardiology at UTHSCSA from 1999 to 2019. Dr. Bailey chaired the UTHSCSA Promotion and Tenure committee. Dr. Bailey is a Past President of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) and is currently the Editor in Chief of Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions. He is a Master Fellow of SCAI, a Master Fellow of ACP, a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, and a Fellow of the American Heart Association. He is a member of the Association of the Professors of Medicine, Association of University Cardiologists, the Association of Cardiology Professors, as well as the International Andreas Greuntizig Society.

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

Joseph Beltempo, PhD Psychologist

Joseph Beltempo, PhD Psychologist
Dr. Joseph Beltempo, Ph.D. Psychologist Since 1984 he was Lecturer in the Psychology Department of Concordia University (in Montreal) teaching in a wide spectrum of clinical and research areas. His clinical training was in Cognitive and Gestalt psychology at the University of Montreal. His approach takes into account the holistic (systemic) ways reflecting Native cultural perspectives together with contemporary clinical psychology. From 1982 to 2012, Dr. Beltempo, senior clinical psychologist, worked for Kahnawake Shakotiia'takenhas Community Services, a Mohawk Community. For two years he was the Coordinator for the Kahnawake Outreach Project, which was established to deal with the after-effects of the 1990 Mohawk Crisis. His clinical work has largely focused on addiction, mental health, dual diagnosis, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and various methods of clinical intervention. He is highly trained in assessments and interventions of FASD and has received extensive training in diagnostics. He is Clinical Site Supervisor for Doctoral Interns in Psychology at Concordia University and McGill University. He is an Expert Witness and Consultant for Youth Courts of Quebec involving First Nations peoples.
He is the father of three young adults and married since 1980. Dr. Beltempo received his B.A. in Psychology from McGill University. He earned his Master's (MA, 1979; Ph.D. 1986 and Post-Doctorate, 1990) in Research & Clinical Psychology from Université de Montréal. He is a member of the Order of Psychologists of Quebec since 1979 (Lic. 2675-80).

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.

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 Mankato Clinic with a perinatal mood disorders specialization 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 Mankato Clinic, Mankato and via telehealth through the Reply Fertility in Cary, North Carolina.

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

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.

Allan L. Cohn, CPHQ

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.

Daniel Cox, PhD

Dr. Cox has spent much of his professional career as a National Institutes of Health investigator studying how behavior effects blood glucose among adults with type 1 diabetes and how extreme blood glucose effects behavior. He has published over 250 scientific articles and secured over $25 million of research funding.

In 2010, he experienced unexpected weight loss, blurring of his vision, excessive thirst and frequent urination. One night while returning to bed after a trip to the bathroom, it struck him that he had type 2 diabetes. The next morning this was confirmed when going to his office and measuring his blood glucose. Realizing he would prefer not take medication and he was not optimistic about loosing 6% of his body weight, he personally investigated the benefits of controlling his blood glucose by reducing certain carbohydrates and increasing his physical activity, and confirming the impact of these behavior changes with blood glucose monitoring. After 9 months he lowered his A1c from 10.3 to 5.6. He has been able to keep his A1c below 6.0 for the last 12 years on no medication and with the significant support of his wife, Debbie. Following his initial success, he investigated whether this approach would be similarly effective for others. After 10 years of subsequent research and over $10 million of research grants, he can confidently state that Glucose Everyday Matters (GEM) is a powerful and effective tool for those inclined to follow his approach. He now hopes to step outside of the laboratory and share his findings with others also dealing with type 2 diabetes.

Jessica Crandall-Snyder, RDN, CDE

Jessica 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.

Mark Cucuzzella, MD FAAFP MHP

Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, Air Force Reserve Lieutenant Colonel (ret), practices at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Martinsburg, West Virginia. As a Professor as West Virginia University School of Medicine , Mark developed and adopted an inpatient protocol for using a low-carb diet for patients with obesity, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes. Practicing what they preach, the hospital eliminated all sugar-sweetened beverages from the hospital. Mark was instrumental in bringing MEDCHEFS to the WVU School of Medicine in 2014 with a focus on understanding insulin resistance. An advocate for evidence based policy and education, Mark is a founding member of The Nutrition Coalition, and The Hypoglycemia Foundation and is a scientific advisor for Diet Doctor.

Mark's current research interests are diabetes remission, the use of continuous glucose monitors, and carbohydrate reduction for severe pediatric obesity. He also leads a clinical group "International Multidisciplinary Diabetes Remission Working Group" who just completed a textbook chapter on medication reduction in Type 2 diabetes adapted from the article Adapting Medication for Type 2 Diabetes to a Low Carbohydrate Diet.

Along with his colleague Dr. Cox , Mark also experienced a health challenge and transformation when he was diagnosed with maturity onset diabetes of youth in 2012 and became an early adopter of continuous glucose monitors and dietary modification for disease remission. He lives in Shepherdstown, West Virginia where he also owns a small community running store and directs running races and camps for youth and adults. His book “Run For Your Life” summarizes the science and the soul of running, nutrition, and physical activity to help you maintain a vigorous life. Visit Mark's site at www.DrMarksdesk.com.

Tara Dall, MD, FNLA

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.

Elliot Davidson, MD, FAAFP

Elliot Davidson, MD, FAAFP
Dr. Elliot Davidson is the Medical Director of the Center for Family Medicine (CFM) at Cleveland Clinic Akron General in Akron, Ohio.

He is Professor of Family and Community Medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) and Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (OUHCOM). He serves on many committees and is Co-Chair of the Ethics Committee. He is past Chairman of the Board of Partners Physician Group, the Private Practice of Akron General Health System.

Dr. Davidson is passionate about the prevention of heart disease and has published in and has been a reviewer for the Journal of Clinical Lipidology. He is a leader in test taking preparation and has presented on this topic at many local and national meetings and worked individually with many learners. For the 11 years he was a Family Medicine Program Director from 2008 to 2019 his graduates had a 100% pass rate on their first attempt on the American Board of Family Medicine Certifying Examination. He is actively engaged in teaching many medical and pharmacy students, and family medicine residents. In 2022, he received the Outstanding Family Medicine Faculty Award from OUHCOM and Cleveland Clinic. In 2023, he was presented with the Medical Education Leadership Award from Cleveland Clinic Akron General.

Dr. Davidson graduated from both Kent State University (Summa cum Laude) and NEOMED in 1982 and did his Family Medicine Residency at Akron General Medical Center.

He is married, has four children and one granddaughter (so far).

Dereck DeLeon, MD

Dereck DeLeon, MD

Dr. Dereck DeLeon has been a Family Physician with Kaiser Permanente in San Diego, California for the past 22 years and was the Program Director for the Kaiser Permanente Family Medicine Residency Program in San Diego as well as the Southern California Regional Chair for Diversity in Graduate Medical Education Committee. 

He was also the Co-Chair of the San Diego Graduate Medical Education Committee and the Chair of the San Diego, Innovation in Quality Education and Transformation Committee at Kaiser Permanente San Diego.

His leadership background also includes being on the Association of Family Medicine Residency Director Education and Program Director Development Committee as well past Chair of the Kaiser Permanente San Diego Continuing Medical Education Committee .He also has completed numerous Fellowships in Leadership, Faculty Development and Curriculum Design and Assessment.

Dr. DeLeon also maintains a busy clinical practice with Kaiser Permanente. He holds the appointment of Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Preventative Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. 

One of Dr DeLeon's passions is in developing community programs that seek to expose those from underrepresented backgrounds to the health care profession as well as to educate other healthcare providers around the issues of health inequities in our communities. Dr DeLeon help pioneer the Kaiser Permanente/ San Ysidro High School Summer Urban Fellowship which has helped provide the education/mentoring and role modeling for local high school, college and medical students from underrepresented groups ,who seek careers in medicine .

Dr. DeLeon has been an invited speaker at numerous venues and has presented numerous scholarly work at, the AAFP Annual Scientific Assembly , the AAFP Program Directors Workshop , the University of California San Diego School of Medicine , and the AAMC Minority Student Workshop among others. 

Nihar R. Desai, MD, MPH

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.

Mark Eisenberg, MD, MPH, FACC, FAHA

Mark Eisenberg, MD, MPH, FACC, FAHA
Dr. Eisenberg is a James McGill Professor of Medicine at McGill University and a Staff Cardiologist at the Jewish General Hospital. He is an Associate Member of the McGill Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health. In addition to his clinical responsibilities, Dr. Eisenberg is Director of the McGill MD-PhD Program, as well as Director of the Cardiovascular Health Services Research Group of the Jewish General Hospital and a Senior Investigator at the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Community Studies.

Dr. Eisenberg was born in Rochester, New York. He completed a BA in Chemistry in 1980 at Cornell University, followed by an MD at the University of Rochester. After completing his MD, Dr. Eisenberg did a residency in internal medicine at McGill University, a Master’s of Public Health at Harvard University, a research fellowship in echocardiography and epidemiology and a cardiology fellowship at the University of California in San Francisco. In 1995, Dr. Eisenberg completed an interventional cardiology fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic.

In 2008-2009, Dr. Eisenberg spent a year in Israel as a visiting professor in the Department of Human Metabolism and Nutrition at the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Hebrew University, Hadassah School of Public Health and Community Medicine. During this sabbatical, he also completed an International Master’s of Health Leadership at McGill University.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Eisenberg has published over 300 articles in peer-reviewed journals and participated in multiple collaborative works. In addition, Dr. Eisenberg has authored four books.

Osman El-Labban, MD

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.

Marshall D. Fagin, DDS Prosthodontist

Marshall D. Fagin, DDS Prosthodontist
Dr. Marshall Fagin is a Prosthodontist and as an international lecturer and educator for over 35 years, he frequently updates his colleagues on the most recent advances in his specialty, including cosmetic and implant dentistry and on complex major crown and bridge cases.

In 2013 he received the highest honor given by his local Dental Society, the coveted Frank Stone Award, for his many years of contributions to dentistry, dental education and to organized dentistry. While in private practice, he is also a part-time Associate Professor at SUNY’s Dental School in the Post-Grad Prosthodontic Residency Program and was instrumental in starting implant dentistry education there in the late 1980’s.

He has conducted several “Hands-On” courses for dentists on “Anterior Esthetic Makeovers” at the school’s Esthetic Dentistry Education Center and for the University of Florida School of Dentistry’s Mastership Program in Fixed Prosthetics as well as Esthethics and Implant courses for AGD chapters.

Dr. Fagin served as Prosthodontist adviser and presentor for several Implant Study Clubs over the past 26 years. He presents for Dental Laboratories around the country to help dentists get back to the basics so labs can provide them with better outcomes.  He was voted by his colleagues to “Best Dentists in America” 2004/2005 and 2013, “Global Who’s Who Man of the Year” in Dental Health 2008, “Top Dentists” 2008/2014/2015/2017/2018 and was elected to faculty membership in the Honorary Dental Society Omicron Kappa Upsilon.

He was awarded Diplomat status in the International Congress of Oral Implantologists in 1994 and is a Fellowship recipient of the International College of Dentists for his contributions to Dentistry.  Dr. Fagin also served on faculty for the Misch Implant Institute 1991-1993 (Detroit, Michigan) and 2005-2006 (Rochester, NY).

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.

Thomas M File Jr., MD, MSc, MACP, FIDSA, FCCP

Thomas M File Jr., MD, MSc, MACP, FIDSA, FCCP
Thomas M File Jr., MD MSc MACP FIDSA FCCP

Dr Thomas File is Chair of the Infectious Disease Division and Co-Director of Antimicrobial Stewardship at Summa Health in Akron, Ohio and Professor of Internal Medicine, Master Teacher, and Chair of the Infectious Disease Section at Northeast Ohio Medical University. After graduating from medical school at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1972, Dr. File received his Master of Science in medical microbiology from Ohio State University in Columbus, in 1977, where he also completed his fellowship in infectious diseases.

Dr File is a past President of the Board of Directors of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and Past President of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID). He is a Master of the American College of Physicians, a fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians, and a member of the American Thoracic Society. He is a past Chairperson of the Standards and Practice Guidelines Committee of the IDSA and served as a member of several guideline panels. He is a past-president of the Infectious Disease Society of Ohio.

Primary research interests that Dr File has pursued include respiratory tract infections, antimicrobial stewardship, immunizations in adults, and evaluation of new antimicrobial agents. A frequent lecturer nationally and internationally, he has published more than 250 articles, abstracts, and textbook chapters, focusing on the diagnosis, etiology, and treatment of infectious diseases, especially on respiratory tract infections and antimicrobial stewardship. He received the Watanakunakorn Clinician Award from the IDSA in 2013 and the John P Utz Leadership award from NFID in May 2017. He authors sections on community-acquired pneumonia, acute bronchitis, and hospital-acquired pneumonia in UpToDate. He is Editor-in-Chief of Infectious Diseases in Clinical Practice.

Edward Fisher, PhD, RPh

Edward Fisher, PhD, RPh
Dr. Edward Fisher received his BA in Biology and PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and his BS in Pharmacy at Temple University College of Pharmacy. He has been granted tenure at four different universities. His first academic position was at Southwestern Oklahoma State University College of Pharmacy where he was promoted to Associate Professor. Subsequently, he went on to help start up three new colleges of pharmacy, Midwestern University-Glendale College of Pharmacy as Professor and Inaugural Department Chair of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The Daniel K Inouye College of Pharmacy, University of Hawaii at Hilo, as Professor and Associate Dean. He also served as the Director of the MS in Clinical Psychopharmacology program. His most current position was Professor and Dean, College of Pharmacy, Marshall B. Ketchum University Dr. Fisher retired from Marshall B. Ketchum University on January 1, 2023, and was awarded Dean Emeritus status by the Board of Trustees on December 15, 2022.

Dr Fisher was licensed as a pharmacist in Arizona, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania, and has practiced in a variety of clinical settings. He has devised and presented over 100 continuing education seminars and innovative NSF sponsored short courses. He is a past National Secretary of Rho Chi, the only pharmacy honor society, and recipient of the National Rho Chi Advisor of the Year award. His current areas of expertise includes: substances of abuse and addiction, nutrition, and the pharmacotherapy of mental disorders.

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.

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.

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.

George D. Harris, MD, MS

George D. Harris, MD, MS
Dr. Harris received his Doctorate of Medicine from the University Of Mississippi School Of Medicine in 1982 and completed a three-year residency in the Department of Family Medicine through the University of Florida and Jacksonville Health Education Program in 1985. He was in solo medical practice for 12 years prior to entering academic medicine from 1997-2019. From 2020 -2022, he returned to general medical practice in Gastonia, North Carolina prior to transitioning to volunteer medical services at Shelter Health Services in Charlotte, NC for victims of domestic violence, children and the homeless.

Dr. Harris has lectured at national, state, and local meetings since 1997 on various topics in sports medicine, exercise testing, diabetes, women's health topics and cardiovascular disease.

He was active at the state and national level for the specialty of family medicine. He served on multiple committees for the Florida Academy of Family Physicians (FAFP), before serving two terms on their Board of Directors and the officer level, becoming President of FAFP in 2000. He was the first recipient of the FAFP Young Leader Award. He also served on the Missouri Board of Family Physicians during his time in Missouri.

He was awarded an honorary member of the Mortar Board National Honor Society in 2012. He was named to "Kansas City Super Doctors" for 2007- 2013. He was listed in the Consumers' Research Council of America "Guide to America's Top Family Doctors" for 2006.

Dr. Harris was appointed to the Society of Teachers for Family Medicine (STFM) National Clerkship Curriculum Editorial Board and served for four years. He is a member of the National Board of Medical Examiners Family Medicine Task Force and is an AMSSM Fellowship In-training Item Exam Writer.

He was a member of The Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry (ACTPCMD) of the Health Resources and Services Administration; appointed by Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services. Dr. Harris was appointed by previous Florida governor, Jeb Bush to the State of Florida Medicaid Pharmacy and Therapeutics Commission.

Dr. Harris holds the position of Fellow, in both the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine. He is a member of the South Carolina Academy of Family Physicians.

George L. Higgins III, MD, FACEP

George L. Higgins III, MD, FACEP
George L. Higgins III, MD graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine, is board certified in both Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine, is a Fellow in the American College of Emergency Physicians, and currently holds the rank of Professor Emeritus in Emergency Medicine at Maine Medical Center, an academic medical center located in Portland, Maine. For many years, he chaired MMC’s Department of Emergency Medicine, where he was privileged to advance the academic mission of the department and to be involved with the establishment of a successful resident training program in Emergency Medicine. His career path also provided him with attractive administrative opportunities, initially as the Associate Vice President of Performance Improvement and then as the Chief Medical Officer and Vice President for Medical Affairs for the institution. Eventually he returned to his true passion of caring for patients; teaching residents, APPs and medical students about the exciting field of Emergency Medicine; and overseeing scholarly productivity as Director of Research. More recently he provided clinical services to small, rural, Critical Access hospitals, an experience he found challenging, meaningful and professionally rewarding. As a result, he now serves as Director of Rural Education for BlueWater Health and has developed an elective in Rural/Remote Acute Care and Emergency Medicine at three clinical sites in New England for medical students, residents, and APPs.

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.

Maria Jefferson, LPC

Maria Jefferson, LPC
Maria Jefferson, a CT Licensed Professional Counselor and founder of Purpose Path Counseling Services, LLC, and The Purpose Project, is a beacon of hope and empowerment for BIPOC communities. She stands out as a Speaker, Consultant, Workshop Facilitator, and a Workplace Wellness Coach, specializing in the treatment and advocacy of trauma and mental health. Maria's dedication to addressing the needs of underserved communities stems from her rich educational background, holding a Bachelor’s in Business Management, Human Resources Management Certificate, and a Master of Science in Human Services with a focus on Forensic Mental Health Counseling. Her expertise is broad, encompassing EMDR, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Gottman Method Couples Therapy, and Career and Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling, with a special focus on treating adults with PTSD from complex traumatic experiences. Maria's work extends to military/veterans and their spouses, drawing from her personal journey as the wife of an Army Combat Theatre Veteran to provide unparalleled support and empathy.

Beyond her therapeutic endeavors, Maria has made significant contributions for over 20 years as a trained Spanish interpreter/translator, enhancing accessibility for Limited English Proficient individuals. Her roots as the first American-born daughter of Chilean political refugees have imbued her with resilience and a deep commitment to community empowerment.

Through The Purpose Project, Maria leverages her personal and professional experiences to inspire self-exploration and overcome barriers to healthy relationships in both personal and professional realms. Her story is one of overcoming adversity, professional excellence, and unwavering dedication to uplifting others.

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.

Jeffrey M. Kagan, MD

Jeffrey M. Kagan, MD
Dr. Kagan earned two Bachelors' Degrees: Biology, and Health Sciences, a Masters' Degree in Physiology, and his M.D. degree. Prior to medical school he was a Certified Physician Assistant. He completed his residency in Primary Care Internal Medicine. He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and previously held a second board certification in Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine. He is also a Certified Medical Director (CMD) for Long Term Care by The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care (PALTC formerly known as AMDA). Dr. Kagan is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Frank H. Netter School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University. He currently teaches medical, physician assistant, nurse practitioner students and internal medicine residents. Dr. Kagan is frequently called upon by his peers regarding the Business Aspects and Practice Management of Medicine, and is a member of the Editorial Board of Medical Economics. He has done consulting for attorneys, insurance companies, as well as pharmaceutical and wealth management companies. In addition to his busy private primary care practice, Dr. Kagan is currently the medical director of a skilled nursing facility, some group homes, and previously a home health agency and a hospice agency. He was previously a Professional Director with HAVEN, an agency that advocates and monitors impaired health professionals. He has served as an Expert Witness for both plaintiff and defendant sides of malpractice cases. His special interests include: Diving Medicine, Business Aspects of Practice, Medical Legal Cases, Risk Management, Medical Trivia and Impaired Health Professionals. His hobbies include: Bicycling, Boating, Scuba diving, Golf and Skiing.

Colin G. Kaide, MD, FACEP, FAAEM, UHM

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Paul G. Lee, MD, MPH

Paul G. Lee, MD, MPH
Dr. Lee graduated from Mount Sinai Medical School and trained at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center for internship and residency. After serving as a Chief Medical Resident, he joined the Section of Hospital Medicine in the Department of Medicine at Columbia University. Since 2002, he has served as an Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program.

Since 2003, he has been the Medical Director of the Hospitalist Program. Since 2013, he has been the Medical Director for International Services at New York Presbyterian Hospital/CUMC. He has been the Head Team Internist for the New York Yankees since 2003 and for the new MLS soccer team, New York City Football Club, since 2015.

Frank Lee, MD FACEP

Frank Lee, MD FACEP
Dr. Frank Lee completed his emergency medicine residency at S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo. Having been one of the founding members of the Exigence Group, he helped grow this local physician led organization into a multidisciplinary national organization. He became director of St Joseph Hospital Emergency Department in Buffalo from 2001-2011. During his tenure, he helped implement the first full complement ED EMR in WNY and was key in the design of a new emergency department (the ER won a health care design award) and made significant strides in improving processes to achieve best practice guidelines. In addition, Dr. Lee became the Vice President of Exigence from 2004-2012, travelling to different parts of the country lending his administrative expertise to struggling EDs. From 2012-2014, Dr. Lee became the Regional Medical Director of TeamHealth Northeast and not only helped expand their geographic footprint but improved upon design and flow processes in his territory. Today, Dr. Lee is a Special Administrative Consultant and Residency Education Outreach Consultant for TeamHealth where he is able to focus on his passion - education. In addition, Dr. Lee is a content creator sharing his perspective on how healthcare professionals see things differently than the general population. You can catch his episodes by searching "ExtremeLEE Frank" on all the major social media platforms.

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. Gil Lichtshein is Board Certified in General and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and is a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. His clinical practice in Boca Raton, FL specializes in a variety of disorders including mood disorders, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), Autism Spectrum Disorders and attention deficit disorders (ADD/ADHD). He also performs forensic evaluations which involves psychiatry and the law.

He also is also a TMS and Esketamine practitioner. TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) is a non-pharmacological, non-invasive form of neuromodulation which uses highly focused, MRI-strength alternating magnetic pulses to target the brain in those areas where under-activity or dysfunction is linked to depression or other neuropsychiatric disorders. Esketamine is the only FDA-approved nasal spray for treatment resistant depression and is an NMDA receptor antagonist that is believed to work differently by acting on a pathway in the brain that affects glutamate.

He also in on faculty at the Florida Atlantic University Charles E Schmidt College of Medicine and teaches a Foundation of Medicine course to first and second year medical students which teaches students the skills in performing history and physical exam on patients.

Irene Lee Lines, LCSW, LIMHP, CCTP

Irene Lee Lines, LCSW, LIMHP, CCTP
Irene Lee Lines completed her master’s in clinical social work at the University of Nebraska. She currently provides tele-therapy for adolescents and adults at Envision Counseling Center. With over twenty-two years of experience providing clinical counseling in various settings and ten years working as a Military Family Life Counselor worldwide, she has developed several successful innovative programs for families and individuals dealing with severe emotional disturbances. As a certified clinical trauma professional, she passionately applies a variety of therapeutic interventions to help our clients achieve their mental health goals, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, strength-based solution-focused therapy, NLP neuro-linguistic programming, EFT emotional freedom tapping on meridians, writing narrative journals, visualization, and EMDR eye movement desensitization and reprocessing psychotherapies. Notably, in 2011 while working in a Residential Treatment Center for adolescents who experienced trauma, she created ICAR: Integrated Calm Assertive Response, an innovative protocol of various traditional and alternative therapies to calm anxiety in the body, rewire the brain to calm aggressive behaviors. In 2019, Ms. Lines presented I-CAR at the International Conference on Mental and Behavioral Health in Tokyo, Japan, and the International Conference in Clinical Counseling and Psychology. Irene’s dedication to improving mental health practices has been recognized both nationally and internationally, and her tireless efforts have made a positive impact on the lives of those she serves.

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

C. Scott Mahan, MD
Dr. Charles "Scott" Mahan is an infectious disease doctor certified in tropical medicine. He is active in teaching medical students, medical residents, and staff clinicians. He is a clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at both the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine. He currently works in Asheville NC, previously having done clinical work and research in Ghana, Zambia, and Uganda. He continues to go on regular medical missions in the developing world. Dr. Mahan is co-author of the popular book Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple and author of Are you Afraid of Snakes? A doctor's exploration of Alternative Medicine. Areas of interest include clinical tropical medicine, tuberculosis, and HIV. He is happily married and the father of three boys: Connor, David, and Thayer.

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 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.

Raun David Melmed, MD, FAAP

Raun David Melmed, MD, FAAP
Raun D. Melmed, MD, FAAP Bio Raun Melmed, MD, FAAP, a developmental and behavioral pediatrician, is director of the Melmed Center in Scottsdale, Arizona and co-founder and medical director of the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center.
Dr. Melmed is on faculty at Arizona State University in Phoenix, the University of Arizona in Tucson and Creighton Medical School. He earned his medical degree at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and completed fellowship training at Children's Hospital Medical Center in Boston, where he was an Instructor at Harvard Medical School. He is a member of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He is board certified in both Pediatrics and Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.
He has set up nationally recognized physician training programs for the early identification of infants and toddlers with developmental and behavioral concerns and has authored programs geared toward screening for autism spectrum disorders.
Dr. Melmed is an investigator of novel psychopharmacological agents and digital therapeutic devices for the treatment of ADHD, autism, Fragile X and related disorders. He studies include the identification of biomarkers in ASD as well as the development of diagnostic tools for developmental disorders.
He is the author of the ST4 Mindfulness Series for Children including Marvin's Monster Diary ‐ ADHD Attacks, Timmy's Monster Diary: Screen Time Attacks! (But I Rock it Big Time), Harriet's Monster Diary ‐ Awfully Anxious (But I Squish it Big Time), Marvin's Monster Diary 2 (+ Lyssa): ADHD Emotion Explosion (But I Triumph, Big Time), Marvin's Monster Diary 3: Trouble with Friends (But I Get By, Big Time!) and Marvin's Monster Diary 4: Neighborhood Bully (But We Stand Up, Big Time).
He is also the author of books for families including Autism: Early Intervention; Autism and the Extended Family; and Autism Parent Handbook: Beginning with the End Goal in Mind.

Francis R. Mencl, MD, MS, FACEP, FAAEM, FAEMS

Francis R. Mencl, MD, MS, FACEP, FAAEM, FAEMS
Dr. Mencl has been practicing and teaching emergency medicine and prehospital care for almost 30 years. A graduate of Case Western Reserve (BA), Cleveland State (MS), and NEOMED (MD), He completed his residency in EM at Akron City Hospital (Summa Health System) where he stayed on as faculty, eventually becoming the system EMS Medical Director and a Professor of Emergency Medicine at NEOMED. In this leadership position, he assisted the hospital in acquiring and maintaining a variety of certifications and accreditations including level 1 trauma center, STEMI and chest pain, as well as stroke center. In his EMS capacity he served as medical director to the paramedic training program, started and ran an EMS fellowship and an EMS medical student rotation.

Currently Dr. Mencl is working for Penn State in Hershey Pennsylvania where he is responsible for the hospital-based ambulance and critical care service (Life Lion) which includes 2 helicopters. He is the EMS fellowship Director and a teaching attending in the EM residency there.

Dr. Mencl’s passions include teaching and research and he is a veteran of a number of University at Sea cruise conferences. He lectures nationally and internationally, and is on the editorial board of Prehospital Emergency Care. He has translated research into practice using some of his published work to develop best practices for his EMS agencies and helped Summa’s STEMI program achieve significant savings in time-to-intervention. From 2004-2006, Dr. Mencl took a sabbatical to serve as the program director of a new EM residency at the OLVG hospital in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, thus gaining additional insight into different health care systems. He also participates regularly in the Rally Rejviz an international EMS/Ambulance competition held in the Czech Republic that attracts participants from around the world.

Andrew D. Michaels, MD, MAS, FACC, FAHA

Andrew D. Michaels, MD, MAS, FACC, FAHA
Dr. Michaels completed his undergraduate degree in History & Science at Harvard University. He then completed his medical degree, internship, cardiology fellowship, and interventional cardiology fellowship at University of California-San Francisco (UCSF). He then worked 6 years as Co-Director of the UCSF Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, followed by 4 years as the University of Utah Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory. After spending the next 12 years as a full-time interventional cardiologist in community practice, he has transitioned to part-time locums tenens as an interventional cardiologist based in Michigan.

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

Erin D. Michos, MD, MHS, FACC, FAHA, FASE, FASPC
Erin D. Michos, MD is an Associate Professor in the Division of Cardiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, with joint appointment in Epidemiology at the School of Public Health. She is the Director of Women’s Cardiovascular Health Research and the Associate Director of Preventive Cardiology at Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Michos is an internationally known expert in Preventive Cardiology and Women’s Health, having authored >650 publications and 11 book chapters. Her clinical and research is focused on (1) Women’s Cardiovascular Health; (2) Lipids and Lipid management; (3) Cardiometabolic diseases (4) Coronary artery calcium, inflammation, and other biomarkers of cardiovascular risk.

She is the co-Editor-in-Chief for the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology and an Associate Editor for Circulation. She is Co-Director of the IMPACT Center (Improving Participation Among Diverse Populations in Cardiovascular Clinical Trials) at Johns Hopkins, funded by the American Heart Association (AHA). She is a co-investigator in several NIH-funded studies including the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities cohorts. She is the Training Director for four AHA Strategic Focused Research Networks. She has mentored over 60 individuals and the recipient of 2 mentoring awards.

Dr. Michos completed medical school at Northwestern University, Internal Medicine residency and Cardiology fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and a Master of Health Science degree at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

Jennifer Mitzman, MD, FACEP

Jennifer Mitzman, MD, FACEP
Dr. Mitzman is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. She is also involved in resident and student education serving as a core faculty member and the director of the 3rd year medical student selective. She has an interest in simulation and has developed a Pediatric Emergency Medicine resident simulation curriculum.

In addition, she has a faculty appointment in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Emergency Medicine at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. There she has an opportunity to work with residents from a variety of disciplines including Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics and Family Medicine as well as fellows in Pediatric Emergency Medicine.

Dr. Mitzman completed her medical education at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. She went on to complete residency in Emergency Medicine at Case Western University Hospitals in Cleveland. There she discovered passions for pediatric patients and education. After residency, she elected to complete a fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center - Brenner Children's Hospital. Following her training she returned to Ohio and joined The Ohio State University faculty.

She enjoys free time with her husband and young children.

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.

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
Dr. Nathanson graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine where he also completed his internal medicine training. He began practising internal medicine and critical care medicine in 1995 at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, Ontario. In 2010 he completed a Master of Science degree in Health Care Management at the Harvard Graduate School of Public Health.

Dr. Nathanson has served in a variety of administrative roles: Medical Director of the inpatient Palliative Care Unit; founding Director the Heart Function Program; President of the Medical Staff Association; Chair of the Clinical Quality and Resource Utilization Committee; and Medical Director of Acute Medicine Programs. Dr. Nathanson helped found the Clinical Resource Utilization Management Program and he founded the Southlake Hospitalist Program.

Dr. Nathanson has served on two Ontario provincial health policy task forces on hospital resource utilization. From Jan 2020 to mid-2022, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Nathanson served at Southlake as Medical Director of the Intensive Care Unit and he founded the physician-led Critical Care Outreach Program, he served as Chief of Staff at Stevenson Memorial Hospital in Alliston, Ontario, and he served on local, regional, and provincial pandemic policy advisory panels.

Dr. Nathanson’s many personal interests include travelling, especially on his 2022 Indian Springfield, together with his wife, Genny, all over Ontario, Canada, the US, and beyond!

Cassandra R. Nelson, MS, PhD

Cassandra R. Nelson, MS, PhD
Dr. Cassie Nelson is an assistant teaching professor in the Division of Life Sciences and in the Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience at Rutgers University. Dr. Nelson received her undergraduate degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in physiological sciences. She went on to earn a master’s degree in Cellular and Integrative Physiology from the Indiana University School of Medicine and received her Ph.D. in Biology from Marquette University, where her dissertation explored the cellular mechanisms of skeletal muscle fatigue.
Since graduating with her PhD in 2014, Nelson has worked at 3 universities and taught all kinds of courses, ranging from introductory biology to comparative vertebrate anatomy. At Rutgers, Nelson teaches Systems Physiology to over 800 students per academic year. In addition to teaching, Nelson mentors learning assistants, guides undergraduate students through their senior research theses, and serves on several committees. Nelson recently received financial support for an interdisciplinary research fellowship, where she will work with 3 undergraduate students to explore the relationship between microplastics and human cells and tissues.
As a teaching professor, Nelson loves the Rutgers student body and feels truly privileged to spend her time as a faculty member focused on student education and growth. Outside of teaching and mentoring undergraduate students, Dr. Nelson is a wife and mom of 3 kids, and enjoys running, strength training, listening to podcasts, baking, and coaching her kids’ sports teams. Nelson is a former division 1 track and field and cross-country athlete and loves to talk about all things running related.

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.

Brian Pearlman, MD, FACP, FAASLD, AAHIVS

Brian Pearlman, MD, FACP,  FAASLD, AAHIVS
Brian Pearlman, MD is the Medical Director for Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center's Center for Hepatitis C in Atlanta, Georgia, and is Professor of Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia and Professor of Medicine at Emory School of Medicine. He completed his medical degree at the University of Miami and post-graduate training at both the University of Texas, Southwestern and Baylor University Medical Center.

Dr. Pearlman is Fellow for the American College of Physicians, and Fellow for the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease as well as certified by the American Academy of HIV Medicine. He is also a member of the American Gastroenterological Association. He had sat on the Board of Directors for The American Liver Foundation, Southeast Chapter.

Dr. Pearlman is widely published in leading journals such as The Lancet, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, The Lancet Infectious Disease, Clinical Infectious Diseases and the American Journal of Medicine. He is active in both patient care and in teaching physicians. He has been the recipient of numerous teaching awards and is an active investigator in multiple liver-related clinical trials, some of which are in collaboration with the CDC's Division of Viral Hepatitis.

Jack Piermatti, DMD, FACP

Jack Piermatti, DMD, FACP
Dr. Jack Piermatti is a private practitioner limited to prosthodontics and implant dentistry in South Jersey. He is a Board-Certified Prosthodontist, having completed a general practice residency at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center of New Jersey, implantology training at Brookdale Hospital and New York University College of Dentistry, and his post-graduate training in prosthodontics at UMDNJ-New Jersey Dental School. 

Dr. Piermatti is a Diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics, and the American Board of Oral Implantology/Implant Dentistry for which he has served as President as well as Board Examiner. He is an Assistant Professor of Post-Graduate Prosthodontics at Rutgers University School of Dental Medicine where he is Director of the Dental Implant Maxicourse.

Dr. Piermatti has surgically placed more than 17,500 dental implants over his 37 year career, and is a nationally featured speaker on the subject of implant surgery and implant prosthodontics.

Louise Pilote, MD

Louise Pilote, MD
Dr. Louise Pilote is a Professor of Medicine at McGill University and the Director of the Division of General Internal Medicine at McGill University. She holds a James McGill Chair and a research scholarship from the Fonds de Recherche en Santé du Quebec. She is a practicing Internist and epidemiologist at the Montreal General Hospital.

Dr. Pilote received her MDCM from McGill University. She then obtained an MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health and a PhD in Epidemiology at the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Pilote's research focus includes cardiovascular epidemiology, outcomes research, and health services research. She is the principal investigator for the GENESIS: an intercapacity enhancement team on gender and sex determinants of cardiovascular diseases funded by the Canadian Institute of Health research and the Heart and Stroke Foundation as well other studies related to access to care for patients with heart disease, and pharmacoepidemiology studies of cardiac medications. She has published over 200 manuscripts.

Veronica Piziak, MD, PhD, FACP

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.

Jay M. Portnoy, MD

Jay  M. Portnoy, MD

Dr. Jay Portnoy is an allergist in the Division of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and he is the Medical Director of Telemedicine at Children's Mercy-Kansas City and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. He received his medical degree at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine and he did his pediatric residency at the Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City and his Allergy fellowship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Following that he returned to Children's Mercy Hospital.

Dr. Portnoy has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals involving asthma disease management, environmental control and mold allergy. More recently he has been involved in use of Telemedicine to deliver patient care and in evidence-based medicine. He founded the UMKC School of Medicine allergy program and directed it from 1997-2006.

Dr. Portnoy served as President of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology in 2008 and he currently serves on numerous committees both of the American College and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. He also is Chair of MOC for the American Board of Allergy and Immunology and he serves on the FDA advisory panel for allergenic extracts.

Dr. Portnoy lives in Overland Park Kansas with his wife and 2 cats. Fortunately, neither are cat-allergic.

Jai Radhakrishnan, MD, MS

Jai Radhakrishnan, MD, MS
Dr. Radhakrishnan is Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. He is the Director of Clinical Services of the Nephrology Division. His clinical and research interests are the in the therapy of chronic kidney disease (including glomerular diseases and lupus kidney disease) and intensive care nephrology.

He is a fellow of the American Society of Nephrology and National Kidney Foundation. His commitment to medical education and patient care is exemplified by his numerous teaching awards and his inclusion in the Who's Who among America's Teachers & Educators, America's Best Doctors and Castle Connolly's Top Doctor.

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

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.

Eugenia P. Roberts DDS

Eugenia P. Roberts DDS
Dr Eugenia has been in the dental field for over 50 years. A graduate of the University of Detroit School of Dentistry, she practiced both in public health and general practice with her husband, Dr Brad Roberts for over 38 years in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dr Eugenia taught at the University of Cincinnati School of Dental Hygiene. She is an associate clinical professor and clinical care faculty at Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine, Arizona and had been course director in Oral Pathology. She has published extensively and lectures in pathology, oral medicine, and polypharmacy.

Bradley S. Roberts DDS

Bradley S. Roberts DDS
Dr Brad met Dr Eugenia when they both attended the University of Detroit Dental School. After 38 years as a renowned clinician in aesthetic and restorative dentistry, Dr Brad joined Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine in Glendale Arizona, where he is an associate clinical professor. Dr Brad has lectured and published in practice management and oral diseases. He has been course director in practice management and anesthesia. He lectures in oral medicine, nitrous oxide, practice management, and implantology.

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.

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.

I. Leslie Rubin, MD

I. Leslie Rubin, MD
I Leslie Rubin MD is Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Morehouse School of Medicine, Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine, Co-director of the Southeast Pediatric Environmental Health Unit at Emory University, Medical Director of The Rubin Center for Autism and Developmental Pediatrics, and Founder of Break the Cycle of Health Disparities Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia.

As a Developmental Pediatrician, he has provided care for children and adults with developmental disabilities for decades, and in 2016 published the 3rd edition of his text: Health Care for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Across the Lifespan, (Springer Switzerland).

As an Environmental Pediatrician, he started a program in 2004 called: Break the Cycle of Children’s Environmental Health Disparities, to raise awareness of children’s environmental health disparities and cultivate future leaders. This program, now in its 15th year, has resulted in the publication of more than 100 student papers in 10 international journal supplements and 10 Books with Nova, publishers in their Public Health Series.

He is actively involved in a number of local, national and international organization and has received a several awards for his work.

Dania Rumbak, MD

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.

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.

Khalid H. Sheikh, MD, MBA, FACC, FNLA, FASE

Khalid H. Sheikh, MD, MBA, FACC, FNLA, FASE
Dr. Sheikh is a consulting cardiologist, practicing on the Space Coast of Florida. He serves as Director of the Health First Institute for Cardiovascular Wellness and Disease Prevention. He is engaged in clinical practice, as well as research and teaching. His academic appointments include Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Duke University Global Health Institute, as well Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Central Florida.

His clinical interests include preventative cardiology, cardiac imaging, and global cardiac health and wellness. He was voted by the Consumer council of America as one of America’s top cardiologists. Dr. Sheikh speaks at national and international forums about a variety of topics related to his clinical research, cardiovascular diseases and cardiac wellness. He has served as the principal investigator in over 100 national and international clinical trials. He has authored over 150 scientific abstracts, peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters and reviews. He is the author of the critically acclaimed heart wellness book, “Don’t Let Your Heart Attack.”

Karl Gregory Sieg, MD, FAPA, MRO

Karl Gregory Sieg, MD, FAPA, MRO
Dr. Sieg received his medical degree and completed his residencies at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Kansas City, Kansas. He is currently board certified in Addiction Psychiatry, Adult Psychiatry, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Geriatric Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry.

He is also a board-certified Medical Review Officer. Serving as Medical Director of Behavioral Health, Dr. Sieg has over 35 years of experience in practice having worked in a variety of settings including outpatient, community mental health & managed care as well as private, public & state psychiatric hospitals and addiction treatment programs. He has authored numerous scientific articles and also had past involvement in clinical psychopharmacology research.

Dr. Sieg maintains memberships with the American Psychiatric Association, the Florida Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Psychiatry & the Law, and the American Medical Association. He currently practices and resides in the Orlando, Florida metropolitan area.

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.

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.

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 Vice President, nodSpecialists, 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.

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).

Michelle Tarbox, MD

Michelle Tarbox, MD
Dr. Tarbox earned her medical degree at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine where she graduated at the top of her class and was recognized for her outstanding surgical skills with the Francis C. Jackson Award for Excellence in Surgery. Dr. Tarbox then completed her internship and dermatology residency at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic in Ohio where she was recognized for her patient care and dedication to teaching. 

During her senior year in residency, Michelle successfully applied for a Women's Dermatologic Society Mentorship Grant and traveled to Sydney, Australia to study dermoscopy with Scott Menzies at the Sydney Melanoma Diagnostic Institute. She completed a dermatopathology fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic following successful completion of her residency.

She then served as an assistant professor of dermatology and dermatopathology for three years at St. Louis University in Missouri where she was recognized as the Teacher of the Year for her department in 2012. 

In 2013, she returned to Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center where she currently serves as an Assistant Professor in the departments of Dermatology and Dermatopathology and as the Assistant Dean for Medical Student Affairs. She was awarded the Dean's Clinical Teaching Award in 2016 and has been recognized on the Healthgrades Honor Roll, as a Compassionate Doctor, On Time Physician, Patient's Choice, and as one of America's Top Honored Professionals, Top 5% by the American Registry. 

Dr. Tarbox has lectured for the AAD, the Brazilian Dermatologic Society, The European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, and the American Society of Dermatopathologists on topics ranging from dermoscopy to cosmetic dermatology, to infectious diseases, maintenance of certification, patient satisfaction, and dermatopathology.

Ronny S. Taschner, DDS

Ronny S. Taschner, DDS
Dr. Ronny Taschner attended Temple University and Penn State University for undergraduate and pre-dental studies.
He received his D.D.S. degree from Temple University School of Dentistry in 1973 and in 1975 he completed his certification program in periodontics at Temple University as well.
After serving 2 years as Chief of Periodontitis in the United States Air Force, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, from 1973 to 1975, he entered private practice in Fort Myers FL, where he has been in practice for over 40 years.
Dr. Taschner has been a member of various dental associations and societies, including the American Dental Association, American Academy of Periodontics, Florida Dental Association, West Coast Dental Association, Florida Society of Periodontics and Southwest Florida Dental Society and has been actively involved in organizing, participating in and running many Study Clubs including Spear and ITI Study Clubs since 1988.
Dr. Taschner has lectured to local and state dental societies over the 50 years of his practice. In addition, he has been invited to speak to the post-graduate periodontal residents at Harvard University on several occasions.
He has contributed to the textbook Clinical Cases in Periodontics where he co-authored the chapter on connective tissue grafts.

Davis Thomas, BDS, DDS, MSD, MSc Med, MSc

Davis Thomas, BDS, DDS, MSD, MSc Med, MSc
Dr. Davis Thomas completed his Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) from India. He received his Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) and one year of Advanced Education in General Dentistry from NYU. While in private practice, he then went on to further his education in the following twenty years to include multiple master’s degrees including orofacial pain (MSD from Rutgers University), headache pain management (MSc from University of Edinburgh), and sleep medicine (MSc Med from University of Sydney). As an assoc. clinical professor (14 years), Dr. Thomas now continues his research in Pain Management at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine and Eastman Dental Center, Rochester, New York. The experience and education Dr. Thomas has acquired over the years has allowed him to lecture extensively all around the world. He has been a commissioned officer in the United Sates Army since 2001. He also has multiple faculty appointments in national and international hospitals and universities. Currently, he is the director for OFP/TMD/Sleep medicine courses for Roseman University/Smile USA Academy.

Dr. Terri Tilford

Dr. Terri Tilford
Dr. Terri Tilford is accomplished Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and is currently serving as an Associate Teaching Professor and Clinical Coordinator at North Carolina Student University and owner of her counseling practice, Renewed Vision Personal and Career Counseling Consulting, PLLC. Previously, Dr. Tilford served as the Director of Counseling Services at Winston-Salem State University from November 2019-January 2022. She also has over 30 years of counseling experiences which include K-12 counseling and consulting, college counseling, advising and career counseling, and teaching. She has provided mental health services addressing many mental health topics for a variety of age groups and culturally diverse clients with a primary focus on strengths and developing resilience.

Dr. Tilford is passionate about self-care and well-being. She specifically targets serving the caregivers of T1D community and women. Several years ago, she launched her Walk and Talk & Sip & Chat curriculum which allows individuals to focus on self-care and well-being while engaging in the outdoor environment with a partner within a group. In addition, she successfully integrates AI in her private practice and creates valuable classroom AI-based assignments for her graduate counseling students.

She is the mother of five children, Chaslyn, also a counselor, Kevin, her son-in-law, Jasmine, Jayla and Charles. She is married to a loving husband, Sebastian Jones.

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.

Valerie R. Vestal, MSN, PMHNP-BC

Valerie R. Vestal, MSN, PMHNP-BC
Valerie is a Board Certified Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. Her nursing career has yielded a variety of experiences extending from Cardiac Critical Care, Nursing Informatics, and Adjunct Clinical Instructor. She has found her home in Psychiatry.

She received both her undergraduate and graduate degree in Nursing from Winston-Salem State University. She also holds a Post Master in Psychiatric Family Nurse Practitioner from the University of South Alabama School of Nursing. She is also a Lieutenant in the United States Navy Reserve and has deployed to both Kuwait and Germany.

She is passionate about uplifting patients who have a negative self-image and have defined themselves by their illness. She has most recently expressed this through her work as a contributing author in the book Goodness Abounds.

Cecilia Low Wang, MD, FACP, FACE

Cecilia Low Wang, MD, FACP, FACE
Cecilia Low Wang (pronounced “lowwong”), MD is an endocrinologist and Professor of Medicine at University of Colorado, Clinician-Scientist at CPC Clinical Research, and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology. She earned her medical degree at the University of Rochester and did her residency and chief residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Utah. She completed her fellowship in Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Diabetes at the University of Colorado (CU). Dr. Low Wang is Chairperson of the FDA Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee. She is the principal investigator for continuous glucose monitoring trials in the inpatient setting, and remote continuous monitoring to facilitate a dietary intervention in rural Colorado. She is a member of the Academy of Medical Educators and founding Program Director for the primary care Diabetes Fellowship Program at CU. Dr. Low Wang also directs the Glucose Management Team at the University of Colorado Hospital. She has served on a number of committees for the Endocrine Society and currently chairs the Nominating Committee. She is past chair of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology Disease State Network in Diabetes and was on the Task Force for the 2023 Update of the AACE Consensus Statement Comprehensive Type 2 Diabetes Management Algorithm. She serves on the Lifestyle Diabetes Committee of the Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health for the American Heart Association. She co-founded and is on the Executive Board of the American College of Diabetology which developed the first board certification exam for Diabetology, to be held December 2023. She is passionate about medical education and diabetes care, and does bedside teaching, as well as workshops and lectures locally, regionally, and nationally to clinicians and trainees at all levels.

David Weiland, Jr., MD

David Weiland, Jr., MD
Dr. David Weiland is Board Certified in Internal Medicine & currently works with Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care. He is also working as the Director of Palliative Care at Advent Hospital in North Pinellas County. He has significant administrative and quality experience as Chief Medical Officer at HCA/Largo Medical Center for 5 years. He also served as the VPMA of Bayfront Medical Center for four years.
Dr. Weiland was Medical Director of Suncoast Hospice, where he oversaw quality, community outreach and developed inpatient hospice units and hospital-based palliative care teams. In addition, Dr. Weiland has served as Family Practice Faculty for the University of South Florida. He was board certified in Internal Medicine as well as Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
Dr. Weiland has served on numerous community boards including current Chairman of the Pinellas EMS Advisory Committee and the Pinellas County Commission Pill Mill Task Force dealing with illicit pain medication prescribing. He was the past president of the Pinellas County Medical Association and continues to take an active role in PCMA and FMA activities.
He lectures and presents clinical presentations nationally for the AAFP, including a diverse array of palliative and primary care topics including The Physiological Benefits of Humor, Medical Ethics, Depression, Alzheimer's Disease, Palliative Pain Management, Quality and Patient safety issues as well as conducts workshops on patient-centered communication to enhance the patient care experience.

David Glenn Weismiller, MD, ScM, FAAFP

David Glenn Weismiller, MD, ScM, FAAFP
Dr. Weismiller is a graduate of Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He completed his residency at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center in Charlottesville and a fellowship in Maternal-Child Health and graduate degree in Epidemiology at Brown University School of Medicine, Providence.

A Professor of Family Medicine at the new medical school of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he provides full-scope care that includes inpatient and maternity care. A proponent of "reflection in practice" and "learner-centered instruction," he is recognized nationally for his work in continuing medical education and faculty development.

Having taught board review programs for the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) for more than 20 years, he is the founding and current chair of the AAFP Family Medicine Board Review Express, as well as the AAFP's annual Family Medicine Update course.

He is a frequent presenter at AAFP Family Medicine Experience (FMX) and teaches American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) Knowledge Self-Assessments throughout the country. Dr. Weismiller is the author of numerous publications on issues related to women's and children's health, and he is an advocate for empowering individuals to make sound health care choices.

He is the father of three amazing daughters. He and his partner Brian make their home in Las Vegas.

Nakeshia N. Williams, PhD, LCMHC

Nakeshia N. Williams, PhD, LCMHC
An experienced and inclusive servant-leader in higher education with a proven track record of improving student retention and success, Dr. Nakeshia Williams has worked over two decades as an administrator, researcher, professor, and mental health practitioner in higher education, PK-12 educator, and in local communities. As an interdisciplinary scholar, her research has centered on PK-20 equity, teacher preparation, urban education, higher education, diversity and inclusion in PK-20 education.

She uses her experience to establish and implement best practices to enhance communication, bridge build between and among different groups, and effectively design a holistic blueprint for engaging, retaining, and thriving of diverse students as globally conscious, socially responsible, and civically engaged leaders. As a growth-minded, culturally responsive servant-leader, she cultivates a transformative experience by remaining student-centered, faculty- and staff-focused, while using authentic, meaningful, and engaged leadership to grow strong organizations via continual improvement process, data empowerment, and strategic change visioning and planning.

Her experience and focus on higher education administration is related to student success and retention; student affairs and engagement; diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging; accreditation and institutional reporting and review; academic program revision; comprehensive operational efficiency and effectiveness; and grant-writing. A systems thinker and thought leader in higher education, she is a solution-focused, results-oriented leader that assumed various leadership roles in higher education administration.

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.

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.