SAEM Executive Committee
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Michelle D. Lall, MD, MHSPresident
Emory University School of Medicine
Dr. Lall, a board-certified emergency medicine physician, is a professor at Emory University, where she has been on faculty since 2013. She served as associate residency director for seven years and currently holds the position of inaugural vice chair of diversity, equity, and inclusion for Emory Emergency Medicine. Dr. Lall previously served as the inaugural director of wellbeing, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and as the medical education fellowship director.
Before joining Emory, Dr. Lall was an assistant professor at Wayne State University, starting in 2008. There, she also served as assistant residency director at the Sinai-Grace/Wayne State University Emergency Medicine Residency Program and as the medical student clerkship site director at Sinai-Grace/Wayne State University beginning in 2009. Dr. Lall earned her medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine and completed both her residency and chief residency at Emory University.
Dr. Lall is passionate about medical education and focuses on physician wellbeing, as well as the negative impact of bias on equity and inclusion in medicine. She is particularly interested in gender differences in burnout and workplace mistreatment among emergency physicians. She serves as the inaugural chair of the All-Emergency Medicine Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force, a national workgroup addressing bias and disparities in academic emergency medicine.
Dr. Lall is a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians and is a member of several professional organizations, including the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM), where she continues to serve on the executive committee of the board of directors, the Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine (AWAEM), where she is a past president, the American Association of Women Emergency Physicians, and the Georgia College of Emergency Physicians. She is also a member of the Delta Omega Honor Society.
Throughout her career, Dr. Lall has received multiple honors, including being named faculty teacher of the year twice at Sinai-Grace/Wayne State University and faculty advocate of the year twice at Emory University. In 2020, she was recognized as one of the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association 25 Under 45 Influencers in Emergency Medicine. Dr. Lall has also received the AWAEM Momentum Award and Mid-Career Award. In 2023, she was selected for the prestigious Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM®) program, an intensive one-year fellowship aimed at expanding the national pool of qualified women candidates for leadership in academic medicine.
Dr. Lall is dedicated to caring for underserved populations in safety-net hospitals, educating and training the next generation of emergency physicians, and serving the academic emergency medicine community.
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Jody A. Vogel, MD, MSc, MSWPresident-Elect
Stanford University
Dr. Vogel is an associate professor and the inaugural vice chair for academic affairs in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Stanford University.
She earned a Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan and a Doctor of Medicine from Wayne State University School of Medicine. She completed her emergency medicine residency and a clinical research fellowship at Denver Health Medical Center and the University of Colorado Department of Emergency Medicine. In addition, Dr. Vogel earned a Master of Science in Epidemiology from the Colorado School of Public Health in 2013.
Dr. Vogel is an active leader in the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM), having previously served as secretary-treasurer, member-at-large, and resident member on the SAEM Board of Directors. She has dedicated more than a decade to SAEM’s Program Committee, including serving as chair for the 2019 and 2020 annual meetings. She has also contributed to numerous SAEM committees, academies, and task forces, leading national initiatives and strategic planning efforts to advance emergency care research, education, and professional development.
As a dedicated health services researcher, Dr. Vogel focuses on improving emergency care. She has authored numerous publications and has received research support from the National Institutes of Health and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. She also serves on the editorial board of Academic Emergency Medicine.
Dr. Vogel’s contributions to emergency medicine have been recognized with multiple academic awards for leadership and research excellence.
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Ava E. Pierce, MDSecretary-Treasurer
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Dr. Pierce is a professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center, where she serves as associate vice chair of outreach and engagement and co-director of the Joint Admission Medical Program.
She earned her medical degree from Louisiana State University School of Medicine at Shreveport and completed her emergency medicine residency at Emory University School of Medicine. She also completed the Medical Education Research Certificate Program and the AAMC Healthcare Executive Diversity and Inclusion Certificate Program.
Dr. Pierce’s research focuses on medical education, health equity, and cardiac resuscitation. She is committed to implementing innovative changes that enhance excellence in health care and strengthen a diverse workforce dedicated to providing high-quality medical care.
She has been an active leader within the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM), particularly in the Academy for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Medicine (ADIEM), where she has served as development officer and president. In recognition of her impact on student and resident academic success, ADIEM awarded her the 2016 Outstanding Academician Award. She has also served on SAEM’s Membership Committee, Ethics Committee, Equity and Inclusion Committee, and as an elected member-at-large on the SAEM Board of Directors.
Dr. Pierce is also a member of the National Medical Association and the AAMC Group on Diversity and Inclusion, as well as a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians. In 2022, she was appointed as holder of the Michael P. Wainscott, MD, Professorship in Emergency Medicine.
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Ali S. Raja, MD, DBA, MPHImmediate Past President
Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School
Dr. Raja is the executive vice chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School. He holds a Master of Public Health from Harvard University, a medical degree and Master of Business Administration from Duke University, and completed emergency medicine training at the University of Cincinnati. He further advanced his expertise with a research fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Dr. Raja is board certified in emergency medicine and clinical informatics and is appointed to both the Department of Emergency Medicine and the Department of Radiology at Harvard Medical School.
An expert in the management of critically ill patients in both the emergency department and prehospital settings, Dr. Raja has served in various high-stakes roles, including as a critical care air transport team commander for the U.S. Air Force, a civilian flight physician, and a tactical physician for several local, state, and federal agencies. He has also served as a physician with MA-1 DMAT.
The author of over 200 publications, Dr. Raja’s current research focuses on improving the appropriateness of resource utilization and operations within the emergency department.
In addition to serving on the SAEM Board, Dr. Raja has been involved with the SAEM Foundation Board and has chaired the SAEM Program Committee and the Trauma Interest Group. He has contributed to several other committees within SAEM.
Dr. Raja is also on the board of the Massachusetts chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives, where he serves as President-Elect, and he previously served as the editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine’s Journal Watch Emergency Medicine.