Leaping, Lugging, and Lasting: Emergency Medicine Leadership Emerging From the Pandemic (Faculty Development Committee Sponsored)

Luan Lawson, MD

Senior Associate Dean, Medical Education and Student Affairs

Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine

Luan Lawson, MD, is the Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education and Student Affairs, and a professor of emergency medicine (EM), at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. She has extensive experience in undergraduate medical education, with a particular focus on curriculum development, assessment, and team-based training. Previously, as Principal Investigator of the AMA Accelerating Change in Education grant at East Carolina University, Dr. Lawson led the development and implementation of key health systems science initiatives, including the Teachers of Quality Academy faculty development program, a health system transformation and leadership distinction track, and a longitudinal curriculum.

Dr. Lawson has contributed nationally to medical education through her service on the USMLE Step # CCS Committee, National Board of Medical Examiners' EM Advanced Clinical Exam task force, and as a past president of the Clerkship Directors in Emergency Medicine (CDEM).

Ralph J. Riviello, MD, MS

Leigh A. Patterson, MD, MAED

Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University

Dr. Leigh Patterson in the Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Brody School of Medicine and the Chief of Emergency Service Line for the ECU Health System. Dr. Patterson completed her residency at Louisiana State University in New Orleans and her fellowship in EM Ultrasound at Drexel College of Medicine. She completed her MAEd with a focus in Adult Education at East Carolina University and served as the Residency Director for Emergency Medicine.. She has worked in UME as a course director and as Chair of the Brody Executive Curriculum Committee. Following her time as Residency Director, Dr. Patterson served as the Associate Dean for Faculty Development. In this role, she also served as an Interim Chair for the Department of Pathology at ECU. She regularly mentors faculty on career planning and developing teaching skills. Dr. Patterson continues to enjoy a busy shift in the ED with residents and students. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter and is an avid knitter.

Cassandra Kim Bradby, MD

President

Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University

I am a proud graduate of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN. From there, the match brought me to SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, NY, where I served as the chief resident of education. Since 2014, I have served as assistant professor of emergency medicine at Vidant Medical Center and East Carolina University and now serve as the residency program director after four years in the role of associate program director. I have been involved with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts throughout my seven years in North Carolina, as the vice chair for diversity and inclusion for my department, as well as the chair of the vice chairs for diversity and inclusion for East Carolina University (ECU) Brody School of Medicine. I also serve as the faculty advisor for the ECU chapter of the Student Medical Association and the chair of the GME Committee for Diversity and Inclusion at Vidant Medical Center. Through SAEM, I have been involved with the Membership Committee, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, the Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine (AWAEM), and the Academy for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Medicine (ADIEM) as a member-at-large, faculty advisor for the Social Media Committee, and the current secretary-treasurer. I hope to continue to work with the ADIEM Executive Committee going forward to continue our momentum in creating education across emergency medicine on DEI and collaborating with other organizations."

Dr. Cassandra Bradby is an EM physician and Assistant Professor at Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. As a graduate of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN, she has dedicated her career to improving diversity and inclusion in medicine through mentoring and education. After finishing up as the Education Chief Resident at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, NY, Dr. Bradby headed back south to Greenville, NC where she now serves as the Residency Program Director and Vice Chair for Diversity and Inclusion for the Department of Emergency Medicine at Vidant Medical Center.

Amy H. Kaji, MD, PhD

SAEM Immediate Past President / SAEMF Member-at-Large

Los Angeles County-Harbor-UCLA Medical Center

Amy H. Kaji, MD PhD is vice-chair of academic affairs in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. After graduating from Harvard University, Dr. Kaji attended Thomas Jefferson Medical School. Prior to "seeing the light," Dr. Kaji performed two years of a categorical general surgery residency at the University of Chicago. She then performed her emergency medicine internship, residency, and research/disaster medicine fellowship at Harbor-UCLA. Under the mentorship of Dr. Roger Lewis, Dr. Kaji completed a doctorate in epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health during her fellowship.

Since her fellowship, Dr. Kaji has been active in SAEM. She has previously served as Membership Committee chair, a Research sub-committee chair, as well as on the Nominating committee, and the steering committee of the Science of Surge and Simulation consensus conferences, prior to joining the SAEM Board of Directors. Dr. Kaji enjoys combining her interest in statistical methodology, emergency medicine, and writing through editorial activities – she is a methodological/statistical editor for Annals of Emergency Medicine and JAMA Surgery, as well as an editor for the 9th edition of the Rosen's Emergency Medicine textbook.