People

Lauren K. Stewart, MD, MS

Trustees of Indiana University

"Targeting Metabolic Syndrome from the Emergency Department through Mixed-Methods"

Dr. Stewart is an assistant professor of emergency medicine and physician-scientist at Indiana University School of Medicine. She completed both her medical school training and her emergency medicine residency at Indiana University. Following residency, Dr. Stewart joined the faculty, where she has since completed a master’s degree in clinical research and a graduate certificate in innovation and implementation science. Her research focuses on the role of obesity and the related metabolic syndrome in venous thromboembolism, specifically its impact on outcomes affecting patient quality of life. As the recipient of the SAEMF Large Project Grant, Dr. Stewart will pilot a multifaceted intervention aimed at targeting metabolic syndrome risk factors from the emergency department setting.

Evangelia Murray, MD

Denver Health

"Comprehensive Emergency Department-based Social Needs Screening"

Dr. Murray is a clinical research fellow in the department of emergency medicine at Denver Health and the University of Colorado. After completion of her bachelor’s degree at Tufts University, she received her medical degree at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. Dr. Murray completed her emergency medicine residency at Denver Health. She will complete her Clinical Research Fellowship at Denver Health and Master of Public Health at the Colorado School of Public Health in the Spring of 2024. She will use the SAEMF Research Training Grant to evaluate the implementation of an ED-based digital self-administered social needs screening tool workflow that optimizes opportunity for screening, reduces bias, and ultimately allows staff to focus on interventions for those in need.

Nicholas Harrison, MD

Ashleigh Omorogbe, MD

PGY3

George Washington University Hospital

Ashleigh Omorogbe is a PGY3 emergency medicine resident at George Washington University Hospital. She received a BS in biological sciences and a BA in health administration policy at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and then spent a year working in Baltimore conducting violence prevention research and helping develop programs to serve Baltimore city youth. She completed her medical education at Indiana University, where she served as president of the Indiana State Medical Association, Medical Student Section.

Onyeka Otugo, MD, MPH, MPA

Attending Physician

Brigham and Women's Hospital

Dr. Onyeka Otugo completed a Health Policy Research and Translation fellowship in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where she currently serves as faculty. Additionally, she holds a Master of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a Master of Public Health from Northwestern University. Her journey into emergency medicine was driven by her interests in policy and medicine, recognizing it as an avenue to advocate for underrepresented populations within our healthcare system. Throughout her career, Dr. Otugo has dedicated herself to dismantling barriers in healthcare access.

In addition, Dr. Otugo is also about addressing obstacles in medical education through teaching and mentorship. She piloted "Lift and Elevate," aimed at providing mentorship to junior Black women physicians and equipping them with skill development trainings such as negotiations. Her commitment to equity and education is further evidenced by her contributions to publications such as the New England Journal of Medicine, Stat News, USA Today, New York Times, Lancet, and BMJ, where she sheds light on the systemic disparities present in both healthcare and medical education.

Nancy Jacobson, MD

Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals

Nancy Jacobson received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2009 and her Doctor of Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2014. She went on to complete an emergency medicine residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin, graduating in 2017. She splits her clinical practice between Froedtert Hospital and the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center. She is committed to improving patient quality safety and experience in the Department of Emergency Medicine, as well as being dedicated to resident education and wellbeing. Since 2017, she has served as the faculty co-chair of the Medical College of Wisconsin Emergency Medicine Resident Wellness Committee, and has published on workplace motivators and operational factors supporting physician wellness. She currently serves and the Medical College of Wisconsin System Director for Quality, Safety, and Experience; a Froedtert Hospital Emergency Department Medical Director, and a course co-director for the Medical College of Wisconsin Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Pathway. She is Department of Emergency Medicine Core Faculty and involved in resident teaching. Her research interests include patient safety, diagnostic error, system of care, quality improvement, physician wellness, and qualitative research.

Martin Huecker, MD

Associate Professor & Research Director, Department of Emergency Medicine

University of Louisville

Dr. Martin Huecker, MD, is co-editor in chief of the free, open access Journal of Wellness. He is an Associate Professor and the Research Director and Wellness Director in the Emergency Medicine department at the University of Louisville. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha honor societies. Dr. Huecker graduated from U of L's EM residency program (Chief Resident) in 2011. He works full-time seeing patients and teaching residents in the emergency department. His diverse research interests include substance use, accidental hypothermia, and healthcare professional wellness. Dr. Huecker is also a Certified Lifestyle Medicine Physician (DipABLM). He loves books, trail runs, dogs, and coffee. His wife is an OB/GYN and they have 4 children with cool names.

Susan Wojcik, PhD, ATC

Associate Professor & Director of Research, Department of Emergency Medicine

SUNY Upstate Medical University

Dr. Susan Wojcik is an Associate Professor in the Emergency Medicine Department at SUNY Upstate Medical University with over 23 years of emergency medicine research and education experience. She holds a PhD in Health Sciences from Trident University, a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Kentucky, a Bachelor of Science in Ceramic Engineering from Alfred University, and was a certified athletic trainer for 32 years. As the Director of Research since 2017, she provides oversight, leadership, and mentorship in all aspects of research and scholarly activities for the department. Dr. Wojcik is also the director of many educational programs including a fellow research seminar series, the residency research requirement, and a medical student research elective. When she is not conducting research and teaching, Dr. Wojcik enjoys doing home improvement projects and horseback riding and puzzles.

Megan Rybarczyk, MD, MPH, FACEP

University of Pennsylvania

Megan Rybarczyk, MD, MPH, FACEP is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and is the Global Emergency Medicine Fellowship Director. Her experiences in the field of Global Health have involved clinical work, research, and/or education all over the world in countries such as Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, India, Pakistan, South Africa, and Uganda. Her research and academic interests are currently focused on EM education and training and emergency care systems development, particularly in low resource settings. 

Rmaah Memon, MD

Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency (MGH and BWH)

Rmaah Memon obtained both her undergraduate and medical degree through the Six-Year BA/MD Program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and is a PGY-4 at the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency Program at MGH/BWH. Her interests include emergency medicine capacity building and curriculum development in low- and middle-income countries, and she has worked on capacity building projects in Pakistan and Iraq during residency. Her prior work has also focused on improving access to refugee care through the implementation of health screening fairs. She has an interest in digital education and telehealth, and is currently leading a telemedicine initiative in Pakistan, primarily aiming to connect physicians in larger urban areas in Pakistan to patients who live in more rural areas. 

Megan Rybarczyk, MD, MPH, FACEP

PGEM Program Director; GEMFC Past-Chair

University of Pennsylvania

Megan Rybarczyk, MD is from Muncie, Indiana and graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a major in the Biological Sciences and a minor in Anthropology. She received her medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed her residency training in emergency medicine at Boston Medical Center, serving her final year as a chief resident. She completed the Global Emergency Medicine Fellowship at the Harvard/Brigham and Women's Hospital Program, with a focus on education/curriculum development, EM program development, and emergency care systems development. Her experiences in the field of global health have involved clinical work, research, and/or education all over the world, and her research and academic interests are currently focused on EM education and training, particularly in low resource settings. She is currently the Academic Lead for the Certification Program in Emergency Medicine (CPEM) running in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Now at Penn, she is the Global EM Fellowship Director, and she is working to develop Global EM programming within the Department of Emergency Medicine and across the institution.

She has been an active member of GEMA for many years and she most recently served on the GEMA Global Engagement Committee, the WHO/ICRC BEC Course Workshop Task Force, the Fellowship Committee, and the GEMA Global EM Resources Handout Task Force. She has also been on the Business Meeting Planning Committee in the past. Additionally, she has served as Secretary to the Global Emergency Medicine Fellowship Consortium (GEMFC) for the last two years. Finally, she is also a member of AWAEM.

Rmaah Memon

Fellow (2024-2026

Rmaah Memon,MD obtained both her undergraduate and medical degree through the Six-Year BA/MD Program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and completed her residency training at the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency at MGH/BWH. Her interests include emergency medicine capacity building and curriculum development in low- and middle-income countries, and she has worked on capacity building projects in Pakistan and Iraq during residency. Her prior work has also focused on improving access to refugee care through the implementation of health screening fairs. She has an interest in digital education and telehealth, and is currently leading a telemedicine initiative in Pakistan, primarily aiming to connect physicians in larger urban areas in Pakistan to patients who live in more rural areas. Through this project, she plans to create the first open-source educational curriculum for urgent care telemedicine for a global audience.

David Wright, MD

Member-at-Large

Emory University School of Medicine

Dr. Wright, a tenured Professor and Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, boasts a distinguished career that intertwines education, innovation, and clinical excellence. As the director of both the Center for Innovation and Discovery in the Acute and Emergent Sciences (IDEAS) and the Emergency Neurosciences Clinical Laboratory, Dr. Wright's expertise is at the forefront of acute neurological conditions research. His leadership in significant clinical trials, such as ProTECT III, and his role in networks like SIREN and Georgia StrokeNet, highlight his substantial clinical trial experience. He also brings inventive prowess, with patents to his name, and collaborative skills through adjunct faculty roles across prestigious institutions like the Georgia Institute of Technology.

With over three decades of involvement in the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM), Dr. Wright has contributed extensively to various committees and editorial boards, underscoring his dedication to the field. His candidacy for the SAEM Foundation Board of Trustees is driven by a desire to leverage his extensive network, fundraising capabilities, and a fervent belief in the vital role of academic emergency medicine. Dr. Wright seeks to guide and support the next generation of emergency medicine professionals, aiming to enhance innovation, education, and patient care within the discipline.

Stephen J. Wolf, MD

Member-at-Large

Denver Health Medical Center

It would be an honor to represent you as a Member-at-Large on the AACEM Board of Directors. For the past 5 years, I have served as Director of Service for Emergency Medicine at Denver Health while being significantly involved in our Academy. Currently, I have the honor of co-directing our SAEM/AACEM Emerging Leaders Development (eLEAD) Program and leading our AACEM Leadership Development Working Group.

My background is one that prioritizes service and commitment to our patients, learners, providers, and specialty. I am passionate about developing and aligning effective individuals, teams, and communities, to multiply their impact and achieve outcomes. Each of my past and current roles have helped me to develop my own skills to this end. In addition to those mentioned above, I have served locally as a Program Director, Director of Education, Assistant then Associate Dean of UME, Vice Chair of Academic Affairs, and an appointed member on our hospital board’s finance and academic committees. Nationally, I have served as an ACEP state chapter president, chair of CORD’s Academy for Scholarship, and Chair of ACEP’s Clinical Policy Committee. Additionally, I continue to serve as an ABEM oral certification examiner and a member of ABEM’s Key Advanced Practice Committee.

As each of you know, AACEM is a remarkable community with profound commitment to supporting and developing, not only our academic departments, but also our specialty as a whole. We are unique in the power of our voice; AND we must use that voice to have influence and impact in the areas that matter most to our learners, faculty, and departments, particularly as they shape the future of Emergency Medicine. Our learners must feel drawn to an inclusive and vibrant specialty; our faculty must have wellness, safety, and developmental opportunities; and our departments must be equipped with the resources needed to address challenges and have significant impact both within our institutions and communities.

If elected, I would apply my passion and skills to continue the incredible work our Academy has been doing to date, with particular focus on strengthening our internal developmental opportunities and amplifying our external impact, using our collective influence. I see these two areas as closely related as growing our members will strengthen our voice.

Again, it would be an honor to serve our Academy in the role of Member-at-Large on the BOD.

Ralph Riviello, MD, MS

Member-at-Large

UT Health San Antonio

I have had over 26 years of academic emergency medicine experience. After graduating from Hahnemann University SOM, I completed my EM residency at Allegheny General Hospital in 1997 and served as Chief Resident in my final year of residency. I received a Master's Degree in Clinical Forensic Medicine in 2006, and have applied that experience in building my academic niche. During my career, I have held various roles in several spheres including, Director of Clinical Research, Associate Program Director, Vice Chair of Clinical Operations, and now Chair of Emergency Medicine. My experience as Chair as been in both the community academic and university settings. I am currently the Chair of EM at UT Health San Antonio. I have been a long-standing member of SAEM and AACEM. I currently serve on the AACEM Leader Development Workgroup and DEI Workgroup. I did complete the Chair Development Program and found it invaluable in the transition to Chair, and feel it is one of the most important aspects of what AACEM does. Though I have not served in an SAEM leadership role, I am Past-President and former board member of the Pennsylvania ACEP chapter, and have been a ACEP Section Leader. I am running for office as I feel that giving back to our organizations and my colleagues is an important role. I have benefited from the mentorship, wisdom, and counsel of many past and current members of this organization, that I feel it is my time to pay it forward and help shape the future of the organization. I hope to continue the good work AACEM has done and to move us even further. For me, priorities include increasing DEI across the specialty, especially in the face of hostile state environments and enhancing leader development through the CDP and our newest, eLEAD program. Creating, building, and sustaining a leader pipeline is so crucial for our organization and specialty, that is why I feel the eLEAD program is so important for the continued success of EM. As Chairs, with our various experiences and backgrounds, I think we are crucial in analyzing and responding to what happened in the last match and developing a comprehensive plan, with our other EM organizations, to analyze it, temporize it, and prevent it from ever happening again. Also, with the many other threats to and attacks on Academic EM, I feel the organization needs to be nimble and facile at responding to them, and arming chairs with the tools to help advance their departments at their own institutions. Additionally, my experience on community-based, Board of Directors, and leadership roles in these agencies will provide me a unique perspective in serving in this role.

Andra L. Blomkalns, MD, MBA

Member-at-Large

Stanford University School of Medicine

Ambrose H. Wong, MD, MSEd, MHS

SAEM Nominating Committee Member

Yale School of Medicine

My name is Ambrose Wong, MD, MSEd, MHS, and I am an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and an academic physician-scientist at Yale School of Medicine. I have been active with SAEM and have been involved in leadership positions consecutively since senior year of residency in 2014. I was on the executive board for the SAEM’s Simulation Academy for the past seven years, including President for 2022-23. My focus has been to support national simulation-based research collaborations, which has led to multiple academy-based publications on topics ranging from virtual mentoring to assessment of models for procedural competency training. I was the recipient of the inaugural Simulation Academy Change Agent Award in 2021, which recognizes transformational leadership in the service of SAEM and the Simulation Academy. I also serve on the SAEM Research Committee, focusing on increasing the pipeline for career development awards in academic emergency medicine and chairing the objective for submitting high-quality research didactics during the Annual Meeting.

My research focuses on teamwork, patient safety, behavioral health, and healthcare disparities. As the Research Director and Fellowship Director at Yale Center for Medical Simulation, I use healthcare simulation technology to improve teamwork and patient safety. I am the recipient of a career development (K23) award from the National Institute of Mental Health to use informatics for preventing symptoms of psychomotor agitation in patients with behavioral crises. I also received an R21 exploratory research award from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to address disproportionate use of physical restraints on historically marginalized populations in the emergency department. This year, I received approval for funding from PCORI for a $6.9 million, five-year broad pragmatic study to implement peer support enhanced behavioral crisis response teams in the emergency department.

I attended Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. I obtained my Emergency Medicine residency training at NYU & Bellevue Hospitals Center in New York City, serving as chief resident physician in my final year. I subsequently completed a medical simulation fellowship at NYU School of Medicine & New York Simulation Center for the Health Sciences. I received a Master of Science in Health Professions Education at Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions and a Master of Health Sciences from Yale School of Medicine.

I am honored to be considered for a position on the SAEM Nominating Committee. As an elected member of the Nominating Committee, I hope to help ensure that candidates from a wide spectrum of expertise and interests across the society are represented in candidates running for leadership positions. This is especially important for groups with smaller memberships or are otherwise underrepresented within SAEM. In addition, I will aim to objectively represent the broad interests of general membership when assisting in selecting nominees for the Board and elected positions of standing committees.

Leon D. Sanchez, MD, MPH

SAEM Nominating Committee Member

Brigham & Womens Hospital/Harvard Medical School

I am currently the Chief of Emergency Medicine at the MGB Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital. Prior to that I was the Vice Chair for Network Operations at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. I am an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School with expertise in the field of Emergency Medicine Operations.  I have  over 20 years of healthcare administration experience. Areas of recent focus include operational improvement, patient flow and throughput optimization, queuing, and schedule optimization.

I am interested in continuing my leadership and service contributions to SAEM. I have been a member of several SAEM committees and currently serve as the Chair of the operations committee. I have also contributed to didactic presentations at SAEM and strive to develop and mentor more junior faculty. If elected I hope to help advance the SAEM mission and help develop the future leaders of Emergency Medicine.

Angela Jarman, MD, MPH

SAEM Nominating Committee Member

University of California, Davis

I am a fellowship-trained physician-scientist (University of California, Davis) who strongly supports the mission of SAEM as the premier professional organization for academic emergency physicians. My commitment to SAEM began in 2013, as a resident at the University of Utah and since that time I have maintained an active role within the organization. I recently completed a three-year term as the Chair of the 260-member Sex & Gender Interest Group (SGIG), and despite the challenges of the COVID years, under my leadership we had some of the most successful years since the group’s inception. In the past year alone, the SGIG has developed and sponsored four well-attended and collaborative didactics at our annual meeting, published five peer-reviewed manuscripts focused on sex and gender-specific topics, and led one of ten subgroups at the 2023 consensus conference on precision emergency medicine. I am committed to an academic career and am currently supported by an NIH funded K12 award (Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health) to study sex differences in pulmonary embolism.

Previously I have held leadership positions within the Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine (AWAEM) and led the 2021 pre-conference workshop. I am an active member of both AWAEM and the Academy for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (ADIEM) and have been a featured speaker on national webinars sponsored by each group. In addition, I have served on numerous SAEM committees through the years, most recently I was selected as a member of the inaugural Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion committee. I am additionally committed to a research career in women’s health.

My extensive SAEM experience has helped me understand the needs of the organization and has given me a front-row seat to observe the traits of highly effective leaders. This insight coupled with my history of building curricula, designing and conducting research studies, and supporting professional development, particularly for underrepresented groups has helped me build a broad professional network that I will deploy to ensure the highest quality of ongoing leadership within SAEM.

Service to SAEM as a member of the nominating committee will allow me to have a significant ongoing impact on the organization and thus the advancement of academic EM. My broad experience across all domains of the SAEM mission makes me an excellent candidate to serve on the nominating committee and I would appreciate your support.

Katherine E. Stewart, MD, MEHP

Fellow

Brown University

I am a fourth-year resident at Brown Emergency Medicine and am currently completing my first year of our two-year Medical Simulation Fellowship at Brown. To further enhance my training in becoming a researcher and educator, I am also a Fellow in the Masters of Education in the Health Professions program through Johns Hopkin’s University. Whether engaging with large, multidisciplinary teams or small groups of medical students, I have always found it very rewarding to create opportunities for learning and reflection through simulation and have continually sought involvement in medical education, research design, and quality improvement during my residency. Additionally, I have led multiple committees locally including our Brown Emergency Medicine Recruitment Committee, Resident Wellness Committee, Pediatric Lifepact Critical Care Ambulance Transport, and Critically Important Peer Support Program (our local network of trained peer supporters for residents, advanced practitioners, and faculty in Emergency Medicine). These experiences have allowed me to develop as a leader, communicator, organizer, and mentor. I am a current member of the Young Physicians Subcommittee and would be honored to expand my role within SAEM Simulation as a Fellow on the Executive Committee. I feel my background in medical education, research, and peer mentorship will allow me to cultivate stronger connections and collaboration between students, residents, and early career physicians invested in simulation across the nation.