People

Florian Schmitzberger, MD, MS

Member-at-Large

University of Michigan

Dr. Schmitzberger is a clinical instructor at the University of Michigan. He has a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Computation as well as a Master of Science in Bioinformatics from Stanford University. He completed his medical studies at the Charité University in Berlin where he also received his scientific doctorate. He is an emergency medicine physician at the University of Michigan and a fellow for resuscitation science and is principle investigator in multiple studies. He holds a fellowship of the academy of wilderness medicine. He served in the Austrian Military as a medic and is the associate medical director for the Genesee county Sheriff’s department paramedic division, serving Flint, Michigan. He has extensive experience in international medicine, having been active as team leader, medic and physician in numerous conflict regions (Burmese civil war, Syrian conflict, Afghanistan war, Venezuelan crisis, Ukraine war) as well as in medical civic actions in other regions.

Sonya Naganathan, MD, MPH

Assistant Professor & IT Chair

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Christine Ramdin, PhD

Faculty

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

Christine Ramdin, PhD, is a faculty member at the Instructor level at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Department of Emergency Medicine. She has a PhD in Biomedical Informatics, and has research interests in Addiction Medicine, Medical Toxicology, Pain Medicine, and Stroke. She has published several studies using big data sources such as NHAMCS, HCUP, and NSSATs, and has worked with the NSDUH and TEDs dataset, along with several other local and national datasets. She has experience in conducting big data analyses and utilizing several different types of statistical methods.

Kevin McGurk, MD

Assistant Professor

Medical College of Wisconsin

Dr. McGurk is an assistant professor in the emergency medicine department at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Prior to pursuing medicine, he worked as an elementary school teacher in the D.C. public school system. He received his medical degree from the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and completed his residency at Cook County Health, where he also served as chief resident. Dr. McGurk's professional interests include medical education, retrospective research, and medical humanities. He is the M3 EM clerkship director and the 2023 recipient of the Joseph C. Carin Excellence in Teaching Award.

Michael Makutonin

Medical Student

George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences

Michael Makutonin is a fourth-year medical student at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He has been involved in dataset and data science research throughout his medical school career, starting multi-institution collaborations by drawing on skills he learned as a software engineer and data science bootcamp instructor. Mr. Makutonin's nascent research career has earned him recognition in the field, including research awards and plenaries at national conferences. Mr. Makutonin is passionate about the potential of data science research to inform and solve impactful problems, and continues to mentor others in the field as an officer in the EMRA research committee and a principal investigator at the George Washington University Healing Clinic, among other roles.

Julianna J. Jung, MD , MEd

Director of Medical Student Education/Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

 

Jeremy Brown, MD

Director of Emergency Care Research

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Marquita S. Norman, MD, MBA

Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine

UT Southwestern Medical Center

 

DaMarcus Bayman, MD

Medical Director

Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital

DaMarcus Baymon is from Houston, TX, and went to the University of Texas-Austin for his undergraduate education. He graduated with a B.S. in Neurobiology. For medical school, he attended the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX. In 2021, he completed his four-year EM residency at the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Program Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. DaMarcus graduated from Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine and is the current medical director for the BWH ED. His research focus is on improving ED operations and equity within the ED care space. Within the Office of IDEaS, he serves as the co-chair of the social justice division. He has also served as ED Trauma Lead, Associate Director of Quality Assurance, and ED liaison for the infectious disease department. 

J. Jeremy Thomas, MD, MBA

Member-at-Large

University of Louisville

My educational background includes a BS in Biology from Cumberland College, MD from the University of South Alabama. Internship in Internal Medicine at the University of South Alabama. Residency in Emergency Medicine at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Fellowship in Cardiovascular Emergencies at the University of Virginia. And my Physicians Executive Master’s Degree in Business Administration (PEMBA) from Auburn University.

My career qualifications include 13 years on Core Faculty at UAB Dept. of Emergency Medicine with multiple leadership roles during my time there, including Associate Residency Director, Director of Observation Medicine, System Emergency Department Medical Director, Executive Vice chair of Emergency Medicine and Associate CMO over Sepsis and Emergency Services for the health system. In January of 2020, I joined the University of Louisville Department of Emergency Medicine as Endowed Chair and Chief of Service for Emergency Medicine. In this role, I also serve of the Board of Directors for the University Hospital and the Board of Directors for UofL Physician practice, in addition to multiple other committees across the school of medicine and the health system.

I have been an active member of SAEM for much of my career. My most recent activity is in the AACEM committees (community 2020-22, and DEI – 2022-Present).

I am interested in joining the Executive Committee for AACEM because in my 4 years as chair, I have seen the impact that AACEM can have on the training and the practice of Emergency Medicine nationally and internationally. The focus on the training programs in EM and the quality of our residency programs, the wellbeing of our physicians and residents, and the sustainability of the practice of emergency medicine are at the heart of this group and are the parts of my career that I am most passionate about.

If elected, one of my focuses would be to increase collaboration and connectivity between the academic chairs of EM. The chair position can be a lonely job, but I would like to look at setting up small regional groups of academic chairs that would be interested in meeting (virtual or in person) quarterly or more frequently, to discuss issues in more detail that just the list serve emails, to share resources and build stronger relationships. I also hope to learn from the tremendous leaders in EM that are already serving on the Executive Committee, so that I can hopefully adequately fill their shoes in the future.

Rahul Sharma, MD, MBA

Member-at-Large

New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center

I serve as the Barbara and Stephen Friedman Endowed Professor and Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medicine. I oversee the operational and administrative activities of four NYP-Weill Cornell EDs (Brooklyn, Queens, Weill Cornell, Lower Manhattan), which see approximately 400,000 patient visits per year and which host three separate ACGME EM Residency programs.  I also serve as the Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Virtual Care at Weill Cornell Medicine, Chief of EMS for the NYP Enterprise,  Chair of the Finance Committee for the Weill Cornell Medicine Physician Organization and serve on the Board of Fellows for Weill Cornell Medicine. Additionally, I was the past president of the New York Presbyterian Hospital Medical Board. Prior to becoming Chair, I was Chief of the Division of Emergency Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and led its promotion to full departmental status in 2018. I have been a longstanding member of SAEM and have actively participated in AACEM since becoming Chief in 2016.  Most recently, I served as a member of the AACEM Leader Development Workgroup where I contributed to the development of the Emerging Leader Development program (eLEAD) offered by AACEM. I have received two national teaching awards from ACEP and EMRA, the Modern Healthcare Top 25 Innovator in the Healthcare Industry Award, and the ACEP National Innovative Change in Practice Management Award. I am also an elected life member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

My academic and research interests focus on the development and use of technological innovation to improve the quality of emergency care and its delivery.  Accordingly, I have   launched several ED based digital health platforms that transformed healthcare delivery, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.  I believe we can advance our specialty by becoming leaders in providing emergency care outside of the hospital environment by utilizing technology, including telemedicine, remote patient monitoring and artificial intelligence. Emergency Medicine providers are uniquely positioned to do this and to also advance the research and education opportunities within this care delivery model. I also founded the Center for Virtual Care at Weill Cornell Medicine in 2019.  The mission of the Center is to transform healthcare delivery through telemedicine, with a focus on patient quality and outcomes. It provides robust training and simulation to all clinicians active in the virtual care space, including all GME trainees across the New York Presbyterian Hospital enterprise and other hospital systems. I also developed our annual Virtual Healthcare Conference and Research Forum, one of the first telemedicine research forums established in the nation.  

I believe wellness is a priority, particularly in light of the challenges faced by our specialty. Our physician led wellness program has been recognized nationally, including at the National Academy of Medicine and, most recently, at the 2023 SAEM Annual Meeting. I also co-chair the Weill Cornell Medicine Physician Organization Physician Wellness Workgroup which is tasked with providing  impactful recommendations to senior leadership at our institution.  Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts have had similar success with investment in opportunities for faculty, residents and students and the establishment of our diversifiED committee. Furthermore, we have devoted a significant part of our research in both global health and telemedicine to the study of health disparities that plague women and underrepresented groups.  I would hope to build on the significant progress AACEM has achieved in the areas of wellness and DEI. 

My work with AACEM and my interactions with my Chair colleagues have been instrumental in my growth as a chair. It is an invaluable resource and network which provides countless opportunities to collaborate with my chair colleagues, participate in national dialogues, and offer and engage in mentorship. It has also helped me to further realize my goals in education and research. 

It would be an honor to serve on the AACEM Executive Committee and I believe, if given the opportunity, I would make immediate and meaningful contributions to this esteemed group. I would enthusiastically bring my experience and expertise in academic Emergency Medicine to AACEM and, if elected, I will support and work with other members of the Executive Committee and the organization to launch initiatives focused on the recruitment, development, and retention of faculty, residents and medical students. I will also work to strengthen our national network and to develop a pipeline of future emergency care researchers and academic and clinical faculty.

Ralph Riviello, MD, MS

Chair, Emergency Medicine

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.

Lauren Black, MD, MPH

Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine

University of Florida College of Medicine

Kiley Graim, PhD

Assistant Professor, Computer and Information Science and Engineering

University of Florida

Nathan Shapiro, MD

Vice Chair of Emergency Medicine Research and Professor of Emergency Medicine

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School

 

 

Amanda Irish, MD, MPH

Amanda is a second year EM resident who successfully matched at UConn. She is from a working-class city in Iowa and went to the University of Iowa for her undergraduate and graduate studies before going on to attend medical school at OHSU in Portland, OR. She is also a USMC veteran and was the first in her family to graduate from college. As a non-traditional, lower SES applicant, with mediocre board scores and grades, she faced an uphill battle herself during application season. She enjoys working with students who face struggles leading up to their match.

Stephen Korn, MD

Full Professor

University of Connecticut-Storrs

Dr. Korn came to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) as Director of the Office of Training, Career Development, and Workforce Diversity (now the Office of Training and Workforce Development) in January 2006. He received his PhD in Pharmacology from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, and received postdoctoral training at NIH (as a PRAT Fellow of NIGMS) and at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology (with financial support from NRSA postdoctoral fellowships). He then spent 15 years on the faculty of the University of Connecticut at Storrs, where he was a Full Professor. His area of scientific specialty is the molecular basis of ion channel gating and permeation, but he has also conducted electrophysiological and imaging research on calcium and pH transport/buffering, and synaptic transmission in the hippocampal slice. At NINDS, Dr. Korn oversees all training and research education programs that do not specifically target the goal of diversifying the workforce, including all mechanisms that support both individuals and institutional programs, as well as the LRP program and Landis Award program. Recently, Dr. Korn and his office have launched a major effort through the training programs intended to improve the rigor of scientific research done by both trainees and established investigators. 

Rohini Haar, MD, MPH

Assistant Adjunct Professor, Epidemiology

University of California-Berkeley School of Public Health

Dr. Rohini Haar is an emergency medicine physician and faculty in the Epidemiology division at the University of California-Berkeley School of Public Health. She also serves as a board member at the Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley and medical advisor at Physicians for Human Rights. Dr. Haar's research interests include studying the health impacts of torture, violations of free speech and assembly, and conflict. She leads studies on the impact of violence against health in humanitarian settings, the health impacts of crowd control weapons, and the social, economic, and health consequences of climate-related crises in California.

Jon Roper,

Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Fellowship Director Global Health Fellowship

Loma Linda University

Jon Roper is the current Fellowship Director of the Global Emergency Medicine Fellowship at Loma Linda University. He completed his Global Emergency Medicine residency at Loma Linda University.  

Besh Barcega