Information That Would Have Been Useful Yesterday: Mistakes, Myths, and Alternative Paths to Research Success (AACEM and Research Committee)

Achieving success as an emergency medicine researcher is challenging, and it is common to struggle during the first 5-10 years of one’s career. There are myriad definitions of “success” within the scope of emergency medicine research and the varied pathways to becoming successful are not always clear to early-stage investigators. There are common mistakes that plague early career researchers that, coupled with myths and lack of clarity about career development and the research process itself, lead to frustration, angst, and dropout. A thorough understanding of the research landscape, measures of success, and strategies and skills needed for attainment thereof, are needed to ensure a continued supply of talented emergency medicine investigators.

In this didactic, we host a panel of mid-career emergency medicine clinician-scientists with diverse research training, funding sources, and subject matter expertise. Each panelist will share the top 1-2 lessons they learned in the early stages of their career that have helped them attain success and fulfillment. Topics covered will include mentorship, collaboration, finding a niche, pursuit of formal research training, and the diverse landscape of federal and non-federal funding. Time will be allotted at the end for questions from the audience.

Each panelist will present unique examples and perspectives, providing the audience with a diverse range of options, problems, and solutions. Attendees will leave this session with tangible ideas and concepts they can apply to their own careers. 

Presenters:

  • Joseph Miller, MD, MS
  • Kathryn Hawk, MD, MHS
  • Faheem W. Guirgis, MD, FACEP
  • Michelle D. Lall, MD, MHS

 

Authors

  • Joseph Miller, MD, MS

    Clinical Associate Professor

    Henry Ford Health / Michigan State University Health Sciences

    I am a Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Henry Ford Health and Michigan State University. I lead the SAEM ARMED course and frequently speaks on statistical methods. My research focuses on the intersection of neurological and cardiovascular emergencies, and I am a principal investigator for a R01 ancillary study to the BOOST-3 trial.

  • Kathryn Hawk, MD, MHS

    Yale School of Medicine

    Kathryn Hawk, MD, MHS is an attending physician in the Yale New Haven Hospital Emergency Department and an Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, the Yale School of Public Health and the Program in Addiction Medicine. She was a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) K12 sponsored Drug use, Addiction and HIV Research (DAHRS) Scholar, and is board certified in emergency and addiction medicine. She completed her residency training and research fellowship in the Yale University Department of Emergency Medicine. Her research primarily focuses on the design, testing and implementation of evidence based-care for ED patients with substance use disorders, with an emphasis on initiating medications for opioid and alcohol use disorder in the ED and maximizing effective linkage to ongoing treatment using innovative strategies. Her research on quality improvement and reducing opioid-associated mortality through data linkages, implementation-facilitation ED-initiated buprenorphine for opioid use disorder, initiating treatment for alcohol use disorder in the ED and the dissemination of evidence-based best practices for care of patients with addiction has been funded by NIDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Emergency Medicine Foundation (EMF), Foundation for Opioid Response (FORE), and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).


  • Faheem W. Guirgis, MD, FACEP

    University of Florida

    Faheem W. Guirgis, M.D., is an endowed professor of emergency medicine at the University of Florida. His research program’s goal is to define the pathophysiologic role of lipids and lipoproteins in mediating organ failure, inflammation, and recovery from sepsis and to discover precision medicine treatments. He has been the recipient of multiple NIH awards to fund his research. Dr. Guirgis has also been a proponent and leader of research education and is MPI and Co-director of the UF-FSU NCATS KL2 Program.

  • Michelle D. Lall, MD, MHS

    Emory University School of Medicine

    Dr. Michelle D. Lall, a board-certified emergency medicine physician, is a Professor at Emory University. She has been on faculty at Emory since 2013. She was an Associate Residency Director for 7 years. She is currently the inaugural Director of Well-being, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion for Emory Emergency Medicine and the Senior Medical Education Fellowship Director for Emergency Medicine. Prior to coming to Emory, Dr. Lall was an Assistant Professor at Wayne State University beginning in 2008. She was an Assistant Residency Director at the Sinai-Grace/Wayne State University Emergency Medicine Residency Program and the medical student clerkship site director at Sinai-Grace/Wayne State University beginning in 2009. Dr. Lall is a graduate of Wayne State University School of Medicine. She completed her residency and chief residency at Emory University.

    Dr. Lall is actively involved in the teaching and supervision of medical students and residents. Dr. Lall’s primary interests are physician well-being and the negative impact of gender bias on equity and inclusion in medicine. She is interested in gender differences in burnout among physicians. She has previously presented didactics on physician well-being and gender bias in medicine at multiple signature regional and national annual meetings of medical educators. Dr. Lall is part of a national emergency medicine work group focused on exploring and addressing gender and racial bias and disparities in academic emergency medicine. Additionally, she is the lead author on two scoping reviews of assessment tools available to evaluate physician well-being and co-author on several papers addressing gender bias in Emergency Medicine.

    Her professional memberships include: American College of Emergency Physicians – where she is a fellow, Society for Academic Emergency Physicians - where she is secretary/treasurer on the Board of Directors, Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine - where she is a Past President, American Association of Women Emergency Physicians, and Georgia College of Emergency Physicians. She is also a member of the Delta Omega Honor Society. Dr. Lall is a recipient of the Momentum Award from the Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine (AWAEM), which recognizes extraordinary efforts that further the mission and values of AWAEM. While at Sinai-Grace/Wayne State University, Dr. Lall was a two time "Faculty Teacher of the Year" award winner. At Emory, she has been a two time recipient of the “Faculty Advocate of the Year” award. In 2020, Dr. Lall was named one of the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association 25 Under 45 Influencers in Emergency Medicine whose contributions embody the spirit of the specialty. Dr. Lall is a recipient of the AWAEM Mid-Career Award, which honors mid-career female faculty who have shown promise for significant career achievements in emergency medicine through research, education, service, advocacy, or administration, and/or who have worked to promote the role of women in academic emergency medicine.

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