Vikhyat S. Bebarta, MD

Member-at-Large

University of Colorado

I’m running for the AACEM Executive Committee because our specialty is standing at a defining crossroads. The next decade of academic emergency medicine will be shaped by how effectively we lead in innovation, data, and collaboration for all of healthcare.

As a Professor and Endowed Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado and Founding Director of the CU Center for COMBAT Research, I’ve had the privilege to help build teams that drive discovery, translate science into care, and grow leaders across the nation. Through these roles and others, I’ve seen what’s possible when research, education, and clinical operations move in unison—when we align urgency with vision.

My experience as a clinician, investigator, and senior military officer has taught me that leadership is about service and execution. I’ve helped expand programs that integrate AI, informatics, and data science to improve efficiency, research performance, and patient outcomes. I’ve led initiatives that strengthen operational readiness, train the next generation of innovators, and connect academic and military medicine to accelerate progress. I have served on the RRC and ACGME, helping shape national standards for academic training. I’ve authored 260+ manuscripts, led 30+ federally funded grants, worked with NASEM, and mentored 100+ faculty and trainees who now lead across the country.

On the AACEM Executive Committee, I aim to help connect departments, modernize infrastructure, guide federal policy, recruit innovators to our field, and build leaders prepared for the challenges ahead. Together, we can position AACEM as the national engine for collaboration and excellence and a model for other healthcare specialties.

My vision is for AACEM to lead with urgency, unity, and measurable impact on communities and families - to turn innovation into action, translate research into care, and build a future defined by purpose, progress, and partnership.

Gregory J. Fermann, MD

Member-at-Large

University of Cincinnati

Gregory J. Fermann, MD is the Richard C. Levy Endowed Chair and Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Cincinnati. He completed his undergraduate degree at St. Louis University, medical degree at University of Cincinnati and Emergency Medicine at Maricopa Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ.
Dr. Fermann's expertise is in risk stratification in Afib, ACS and VTE. He served as PI of the University of Cincinnati SIREN Hub and serves on the AHA sponsored CHANGE AFIB program and the QUANTUM AF study. He has been recognized for his contributions to research and clinical practice, including the ACEP Best of Research Forum Award, the Ohio ACEP Emergency Physician Leadership Award and received the Timothy Freeman Award for Sustained Excellence from UC Health.

He serves on the SAEM Finance, Workforce, and Operations and Administration Committees and AACEM where he serves on the Innovations Committee.

As a board candidate for AACEM, I will do the heavy lifting required to support this organization. From committee work to strategic planning, advancing the mission of AACEM requires the time, effort and commitment to advancing the academic mission of our great specialty. I will bring a balanced approach to leadership. The missions of service, education and discovery require constant attention. Similarly, AACEM must to balance its attention to these missions. While training modifications may be front of mind, extramural funding and boarding pressures are ever present for our medical centers and our faculty. As a junior chair at AACEM, I am committed to listening how it can foster fellowship and mentorship among its members. As my friend and mentor Richard C. Levy said to me when I secured this position, the first thing that suffers when we become Chair is that the list of mentees grows while the list of mentors shrinks. AACEM changes that.

Prashant V. Mahajan, MD, MPH, MBA

Member-at-Large

University of Michigan

Dr. Mahajan is the William G. Barsan Collegiate Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. He is a tenured professor of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics, as well as the founding chair of the Emergency Medicine Research and Education Network for Global Experts (E.M.E.R.G.E.), a global network comprising 20 academic emergency departments across more than 15 countries (www.emergenetwork.org). Additionally, he has served as the past chair of the Section of Emergency Medicine for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

As a pediatric health services and outcomes researcher, Dr. Mahajan has received continuous federal funding (from NIH, AHRQ, and NSF) for the past 25 years, totaling over $25 million. He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles. His research interests encompass infectious diseases (specifically the evaluation and management of febrile infants), inflammation (including asthma and sepsis), and the development of clinically meaningful decision rules for assessing febrile infants. His patient safety research emphasizes diagnostic excellence by evaluating how clinicians make diagnostic decisions in challenging emergency department settings. He leads the Research and Education in Acute Care using Advanced Technology (REACT) program and has created the first web-based augmented reality platform for training emergency providers and facilitating real-time telemedicine. Furthermore, he serves as the co-director of the Fellowship of the Academic College of Emergency Experts in India in Pediatric Emergency Medicine, working for the past 25 years to advance the practice of pediatric emergency medicine in India.

Dr. Mahajan is the father of two daughters, Arushi (26 years) and Aditi (24 years). His wife, Jayashree, is a pediatrician working in the emergency department at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit. His extracurricular interests include tennis, long-distance road cycling, and hiking.

Rahul Sharma, MD, MBA

Member-at-Large

NewYork-Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medicine

I currently serve as the Barbara and Stephen Friedman Endowed Professor and Chair of Emergency Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medicine, and as a professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences. In 2018, I led the promotion of Emergency Medicine to full academic departmental status. Since then, we've seen transformative growth in education, clinical care, and research—rising from unranked in 2019 to a top 10 NIH-funded department by 2025. I developed a first-of-its kind GME Foundational Telemedicine Course, and established multiple fellowships, including our new innovation fellowship.

Since 2016, I’ve been deeply committed to AACEM, contributing through leadership roles including the Innovations Workgroup (current co-chair) and the Leader Development Workgroup. AACEM is a vital platform for collaboration, mentorship, and strategic advancement, and it would be an honor to serve on the Executive Committee and help to shape the future of our specialty through thoughtful, collaborative leadership.

My academic and research interests focus on leveraging technology to improve emergency care delivery. I am the Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Virtual Care at Weill Cornell, which trains clinicians across the NewYork-Presbyterian (NYP) enterprise and hosts one of the nation’s first academic virtual care conferences and research forums. I’ve launched multiple ED-based digital platforms and presently serve on the NYP Hospital at Home Executive Steering Committee. My work has been published in JAMA and NEJM Catalyst and I have received funding from both the NIH and AAMC.

I also serve as Vice Chair of the New York State Board for Medicine and have held multiple institutional leadership roles including serving on the NYP and Weill Cornell Medicine Boards. I have served as NYP Medical Board President, Chair of the Finance Committee at Weill Cornell and as a member of the Physician Organization Executive Committee.

Thank you for your consideration.

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 Executive Committee. For the past seven years, I have served as Chair of Emergency Medicine at Denver Health and significantly participated in our Academy. I currently co-direct the SAEM/AACEM Emerging Leaders Development (eLEAD) Program and lead the AACEM Leadership Development Working Group.

My background 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 has helped me develop the skills needed to advance that work. Locally, I have served as Program Director, Director of Education, Assistant then Associate Dean of UME, Vice Chair of Academic Affairs, and an appointed member on our 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. I continue to serve as an ABEM oral examiner and a member of ABEM’s Key Advanced Practice Committee.

AACEM is a remarkable community with a profound commitment to supporting and developing our academic departments and specialty. We are unique in the power of our collective voice, and we must use that voice to influence the issues that matter most to our learners, faculty, and departments. Learners must feel drawn to an inclusive and vibrant specialty; faculty need wellness, safety, and developmental resources; and departments must have the tools necessary to address challenges and meaningfully serve their communities.

If elected, I would focus on strengthening our internal developmental opportunities and amplifying our external impact. These two aims are linked: growing our members strengthens our collective voice.

David W. Wright, MD

Member-at-Large

Emory University School of Medicine

As Chair of Emergency Medicine at Emory University, I have dedicated my career to strengthening the foundation of our specialty through scholarship, innovation, and the creation of systems that connect academic vision to real-world impact. My focus has been on developing sustainable, patient-centered models of care that improve access, quality, and equity, while empowering faculty and trainees to thrive as scholars and leaders.

Emergency Medicine now stands at an inflection point. We face existential threats—from workforce instability and financial pressure to the erosion of our research pipeline and academic foundation. Without a strong, coordinated commitment to research and innovation, we risk losing the very identity that distinguishes us as an academic discipline. Yet, these challenges also create extraordinary opportunities to reimagine how we deliver and study emergency care.

We must invest in building the next generation of physician-scientists, expand collaboration across departments, and leverage data, digital health, and AI to transform both patient outcomes and our scientific reach. Our departments must not simply adapt to disruption—they must define it through scholarship, discovery, and leadership.

Within AACEM, I have contributed to the Leadership Development and Research Workgroups, helping to advance cross-institutional collaboration and faculty development. If elected, I will work to strengthen our collective academic voice, accelerate innovation, and secure a sustainable research infrastructure that ensures Emergency Medicine’s relevance and influence for decades to come.

Our future depends on vision, unity, and courage—the willingness to confront challenges directly and to lead with purpose, scholarship, and conviction.