AEUS Candidate Statements
President-Elect Candidates
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Petra Duran-Gehring, MD
President-Elect
University of Florida- Jacksonville
My name is Petra Duran-Gehring and I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Florida in Jacksonville, where I started the Emergency Ultrasound Program in 2008 as the sole ultrasound faculty member. Since that time I have expanded the program to house an accredited Advanced Emergency Medicine Ultrasonography (AEMUS) fellowship and to win ultrasound program management awards from the ACEP Clinical Ultrasound Accreditation Program. I am active in the Emergency Ultrasound community, currently serving as AEUS Secretary and as a member of the Society of Clinical Ultrasound Fellowships (SCUF) Board of Directors. I have been the Assistant Course Director for the ACEP AEMUS FPD Review Course, Executive Director of the ACEP Emergency Ultrasound Management Course, a speaking coach for the 2022 SCUF national conference, a Planning Committee Member of the Probing the Literature: ACEP/SAEM National Ultrasound Journal Club and was a Round 2 Station Lead for SonoGames 2022. I was awarded the AEUS scholarship to the inaugural SAEM Advanced Research Methodology Evaluation and Design (ARMED) in Medical Education program, which I completed earlier this year. I have a passion for medical education, as evidenced by numerous teaching awards and my current research focuses on the utility of virtual ultrasound education for image acquisition. It is with this experience that I run for the position of President-Elect of AEUS and hope to accomplish the following objectives:1. I want to improve visualization of and expand on the educational resources that we currently have in AEUS: the Narrated Lectures Series, Probing the Literature Ultrasound Journal Club, SonoGallery: Ultrasound Stock Photos, and scholarships for medical students and innovative ultrasound projects.
2. I want to expand the number of AEUS member submissions to the SAEM annual meeting as didactics and workshops. I have heard some really great ultrasound speakers and ideas in other venues that could benefit the AEUS community, as so many of you are doing great work! I would like to create a process for nomination and mentoring so that we can get more of our community’s didactics accepted.
3. Lastly, I would like to expand AEUS membership to include those of our community who have left academic medicine and are community ultrasound directors. This outreach project would inform our graduating AEMUS fellows and identify the resources and educational content needed by our community-based colleagues. This would also provide useful information for future educational initiatives and provide future educational research content.
Thank you for your consideration and I hope to continue to serve the AEUS community as your next President-Elect.
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Kristin Dwyer, MD
President-Elect
Brown University
My name is Kristin Dwyer, and I currently work as the Brown Emergency Medicine Ultrasound fellowship and division director. I am writing to accept my nomination for AEUS president-elect. I aim to highlight my qualifications through my contribution to POCUS at the institutional and national level. After residency, I completed a two-year ultrasound fellowship at Brigham & Women’s hospital while earning an MPH from Harvard. I then transitioned to core faculty at Brown University, where as the ultrasound fellowship director I have worked to reinvigorate the fellowship through developing a curriculum which is tailored to a range of specialties and learners with different career goals. I have trained numerous fellows in this time, ranging from EM to IM to PEM to non-clinical fellows, and I obtained a three-year EUFAC accreditation for Brown. After taking over the fellowship, I was subsequently promoted to division director where I have managed to grow the division to ten faculty-expanding our PEM group and adding both POCUS education and research directors. In addition, I started a new POCUS course and curriculum at the medical school, mentored multiple residents on POCUS quality improvement projects, redesigned the clinical POCUS workflow, updated coding and billing processes, revised our credentialing policies, and overhauled the division POCUS policies. I believe these institutional/administrative changes demonstrate my collaborative nature and track record to make process changes. In addition, I have led and published research studies with the goal to advance our field, and I have been recognized for this work through multiple SAEMMY nominations and awards. I am currently the PI for multiple research projects which continue to advance and innovate the field of POCUS including POCUS sex and gender and social EM projects.I have had the opportunity to serve our community through national leadership serving as AEUS secretary (lead: AEUS stock photo image project), ACEP subcommittee co-chair, and SCUF treasurer. I find serving our national community to be extremely enjoyable and rewarding. I hope that my experience and contribution to POCUS education, research, administration, and national leadership make me a qualified candidate and deserving of your vote for AEUS president-elect.
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Hamid Shokoohi, MD, MPH
President-Elect
Massachusetts General Hospital
It is with great excitement and gratitude to be nominated for the position of SAEM- AEUS President-Elect to serve in 2023. I am deeply honored and committed to the Academy, its mission, and our ultrasound friends and members. With solid academy leadership and successful collaboration with other entities, our profession is well known for the highest professional fulfillment and solid instructional programs for ultrasound fellows and residents.Our profession confronts many challenges ahead. One major challenge is the need for more NIH grants to help our ultrasound researcher to launch cutting-edge projects. We anticipate an expansion of Ultrasound fellowship programs in part due to the recent accreditation plans that attract more fellows with the potential to expand multi-institutional projects nationwide. In addition, our profession continues to confront instructional and legislative challenges to include clinical sonographers from other subspecialties, including PEM, IM, and Critical Care programs in the accreditation and FDP programs.There are no easy solutions for these issues, but to the role of president, I bring a background of leadership and extensive experience in Academic Clinical Ultrasound. I have served the Academy throughout my career as a member of several committees, being involved in Sonogames in different roles, and currently chair of the Professional Development task force. In the past 15 years, I have served as the ultrasound fellowship director at GW, MGH, and Mass General Brigham. I have published more than 140 peer-reviewed articles and presented numerous abstracts and didactics at SAEM and ACEP. I have received several awards, including the Academy Faculty of the Year for Research in 2013 and 2019, the Distinguished Service Award in 2019, the Most Prolific Researcher in 2020, and the Faculty of the Year for Ultrasound Education in 2022.As the Academy president, I plan to dedicate my time to developing highly academic directions for the future of our profession. I will work alongside the talented Academy staff to uprise the academic excellence in our profession with the highest level of personal and professional satisfaction.
Secretary Candidates
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Youyou Duanmu, MD, MPH
Secretary
Stanford University
My name is Youyou Duanmu, Assistant Professor and co-Director of the ultrasound fellowship at the Stanford University Department of Emergency Medicine. After attending medical school at the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons and emergency medicine residency at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, I completed an ultrasound fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital while obtaining an MPH at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.In my 10 years as an SAEM member, I have had the pleasure of presenting 13 abstracts and didactics at the national conferences. I have been an active member of the Academy of Emergency Ultrasound for the past 7 years, including attending Academy meetings, volunteering for Sonogames and have been honored to receive an SAEMF AEUS research grant and win two SAEMMIES.I am running for Secretary of AEUS with the hope of contributing to its mission to grow point-of-care ultrasound education, research, and mentorship nationwide. I have experience with leading the Promotion and Branding strategic planning team within my department, which included marketing upcoming conferences, selecting content for the annual newsletter, and coordinating the use of email, PowerPoint and Zoom templates. Over the past two years, I have also led two subcommittee objectives within the SAEM Research Committee, which has equipped me to coordinate busy emergency physician schedules to meet project deadlines and create collaboration across institutions.If elected, I hope to amplify awareness of the current endeavors of our academy, including available grants, awards, learning series and panels. I would also love to enhance our engagement with ultrasound enthusiasts across all levels of training, including medical students, residents, fellows, and junior faculty, to grow the next generation of ultrasound champions. As the AEMUS focused practice designation certification and EUFAC fellowship accreditation raise the standing of our specialty, I hope to work with national organizations to demystify and facilitate these processes for our members. I am organized, detail-oriented, and above all passionate about supporting the field of emergency ultrasound and all those who love it. Thank you for your consideration. -
Maya Lin, MD
Secretary
NYU Department of Emergency Medicine
Dr. Lin is the Ultrasound Division Director and Ultrasound Fellowship Director at the NYU Department of Emergency Medicine. She attended medical school at St. George's University, followed by emergency medicine residency at NYP-Brooklyn Methodist and ultrasound fellowship at Northshore University Hospital. She is passionate about fellow education, ultrasound guided nerve blocks, and women in medicine. She grew up as an expat in Tokyo, Taipei, and Shanghai, and has graduated over 52 ultrasound fellows. Her hobbies include backpack traveling, pilates, foodie, electronica, and organic gardening and composting.
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Laura Oh, MD
Secretary
Emory University
I am an Associate Professor at Emory University interested in running for the position of Secretary of AEUS. I completed US fellowship training at Carolinas Medical Center with Tony Weekes and Vivek Tayal and hold an ABEM Focused Practice Designation in Advanced EM US.
My previous US leadership experience includes directorship of a vertically-integrated medical school US curriculum at Loyola and directorship of residency emergency ultrasound at Emory. Since 2016, I have led an US negotiations workshop at the ACEP Emergency US Management Course teaching future ultrasound leaders how to negotiate for more time, money, and resources. I have also advocated for higher US residency training standards through work on national committees such as ABEM’s EM Model Taskforce. My US research interests include contrast-enhanced ultrasound in blunt abdominal trauma; I am the PI of a DoD-funded trial. As an active member of SAEM and the AEUS community, my prior involvement within the organization includes research mentorship for the AEUS SAEMF Grant Development program, station lead/moderator for Sonogames, and membership on SAEM Program and Education committees.
I am committed to supporting the growth of AEUS by cultivating an inclusive environment that values every member’s voice and input as we work together to build on the solid foundation created by previous leaders of the Academy. I enjoy connecting people to each other and hope to serve as a catalyst, lowering the activation energy for collaboration on innovative projects in US education, admin, and research. Thank you for your consideration. I would be honored to serve you in this role.
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Michael Secko MD, FACEP, AEMUS-FPD
Secretary
Stony Brook University Hospital
I completed my medical school (2004) and residency training at SUNY Downstate/Kings County Hospital (2008). I finished my ultrasound fellowship under leadership of Dr. Michael Stone in 2009. I was the ultrasound division and fellowship director at Kings County/SUNY Downstate from 2012-2016. Since 2016, I am the Ultrasound Division, and Advanced EM Ultrasound Fellowship Director at Stony Brook University Hospital, where I was instrumental in developing and maintaining a successful ultrasound division and EUFAC accredited Advanced EM fellowship. I have lectured and taught multiple POCUS courses and workshops at the Institutional, local, regional, national, and international level. I have multiple publications in prestigious Emergency medicine journals.
I am looking to bring my vast years of experience to SAEM AEUS and serve our POCUS community. I am running for the secretary position where I can leverage my strong organizational aptitude to implement projects, and use my effective communication skills to liaise between different executive committee positions/ responsibilities and our members. If elected as secretary, my top priorities would be to work with webmaster to update SAEM/AUES website so that it becomes the go-to place for our members to find information and resources, as well as helping to recruit more engaged members to our group.
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Aalap Shah, MD
Secretary
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC)
I feel the role of AEUS is to create a cohort of academicians who will benefit from collaboration, knowledge and resource sharing, and mentorship within the academy. The core focus of the academy and executive committee has been and should continue to be to provide these opportunities at a high quality standard, while expanding the impact of the emergency ultrasound community within EM and the house of medicine in general. Going forward it will be important to increase the engagement and elevation of new members - and offer opportunities to them for leadership and professional development, as they will help shape the future of the organization. Similarly, there should be a focus on DEI and ensuring the organization’s makeup as well as its products are representative of the community as a whole. Additionally, as the EUS and POCUS landscape continues to expand, it will be important for AEUS to evolve its methods of dissemination and engagement with its members -such as via social media/virtual media as well as by expanding its reach of involvement with other national organizations in order to maintain the goal of being the premier organization for academic emergency ultrasound.If elected, I hope to assist in carrying out the tripartite mission of the AEUS, and elevating the research, education and professional development opportunities for members. AEUS provides incredible resources to its community, and would benefit from increasing its membership involvement to allow for even greater sharing of resources and expertise. I hope to increase member recruitment and engagement of current members via subcommittee expansion, allowing AEUS to not only widen its footprint and offerings but also offer networking, experience, professional development and recognition to junior members. I hope to increase collaboration with societies with EM as well as beyond, with the aim of maintaining our goal of being the premier organization for emergency ultrasound. Finally, I would like to curate and pool member created research and education resources with the aim of decreasing the redundancy of these efforts by our membership. My hope is that by building on the efforts of one another, rather than operating individually, we can channel the energy of our cohort into further expanding our field.The people in this community have played a large role in shaping my choices to pursue a career in academic emergency ultrasound. I have benefited greatly from the academy’s resources in helping to build my knowledge as well as guide my work. It has been so important to me to belong to a group of like minded and driven individuals working together with a common goal. I would be honored to represent AEUS and give back to the community.
Education Officer Candidate

Education Officer
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
I am running for the AEUS Education Officer position with the goal of furthering the educational resources available to the AEUS community. The Executive Committee has done an admirable job serving the Academy and our community and my efforts would further build on the work of the EC. Specifically I would like the opportunity to expand the Narrated Lecture Series by seeking contributions from academy members, establish a mechanism of review, and develop a system to provide CME for NLS lectures. I would work to establish an ultrasound question bank for members derived from contributions from the community, peer-reviewed for accuracy, and accompanied by explanations to provide an alternative method of education. This would address a growing need for learners and be an opportunity for scholarly activity and contribution to the community by its members. Lastly, I would lead efforts to develop administrative, quality, and educational tools for members to encourage dissemination and uptake of best-practices, mechanisms of improvement, and novel educational tools throughout the community.