People

Leigh A. Patterson, MD, MAED

Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University

Dr. Leigh Patterson in the Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Brody School of Medicine and the Chief of Emergency Service Line for the ECU Health System. Dr. Patterson completed her residency at Louisiana State University in New Orleans and her fellowship in EM Ultrasound at Drexel College of Medicine. She completed her MAEd with a focus in Adult Education at East Carolina University and served as the Residency Director for Emergency Medicine.. She has worked in UME as a course director and as Chair of the Brody Executive Curriculum Committee. Following her time as Residency Director, Dr. Patterson served as the Associate Dean for Faculty Development. In this role, she also served as an Interim Chair for the Department of Pathology at ECU. She regularly mentors faculty on career planning and developing teaching skills. Dr. Patterson continues to enjoy a busy shift in the ED with residents and students. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter and is an avid knitter.

Scott G. Weiner, MD, MPH

Brigham and Women's Hospital

Scott G. Weiner, MD, MPH, is an associate professor of emergency medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of emergency department-based substance use disorder initiatives at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. 

He earned his medical degree from the University of California, Irvine, and completed residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He also founded and leads the Program in Opioid and Pain Innovation at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. Weiner is a health services researcher whose work focuses on improving care for patients with substance use disorders in acute care settings, particularly in emergency departments.

His research examines implementation of evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder, including emergency department-initiated buprenorphine, naloxone distribution strategies, and systems-level approaches to reducing overdose mortality. 

His leadership includes active roles in the American College of Emergency Physicians, where he is involved in the Pain Management and Addiction Medicine Section. Recent recognitions include the McGraw Endowed Chair in Emergency Medicine and the Professionalism Award from Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Jeanmarie Perrone, MD

University of Pennsylvania

Jeanmarie Perrone, MD is a Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and the founding Director of the Penn Center for Addiction Medicine and Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Perrone leads a program for the treatment of Opioid Use Disorder in the emergency department (ED) and a virtual telehealth bridge clinic (CareConnect) for low barrier access to medications for opioid use disorder. She has advocated at the state and national level for enhancing equitable care for substance use. She has attended numerous FDA meetings while serving on the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee and is a lead Co-Investigator on a NIDA CTN multi-site study of ED initiated buprenorphine. She has won numerous awards for education and mentorship and is board certified in emergency medicine, medical toxicology and addiction medicine.

Tala Elia, MD

University of Massachusetts Medical School - Baystate

Tala Elia is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at University of Massachusetts Medical School-Baystate Health. She has served as the Medical Director of the Advanced Practitioner Service for 4 years, as well as the Program Director of the Physician Assistant Residency from 2015 to 2018. She is dedicated to resident and ultrasound education.

Cortlyn Brown, MD, MCSO, FAAEM

Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine

Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center

Dr. Cortlyn Brown is an Assistant Professor of emergency medicine at Atrium Health Carolinas in Charlotte, NC.

Dr. Brown graduated with honors from the University of Chicago and matriculated to the Yale School of Medicine where she received the Parker Prize given to the graduating student who has shown the best qualifications for a successful physician and the Grannum Prize given to an African American graduating student who has shown excellent academic achievement. She completed the NIH Howard Hughes Medical Research fellowship and received a certificate in Leadership in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) from Cornell University. She then completed her residency at the University of California San Francisco where she served as Chief Resident and was awarded the Chancellor Award for Dr. Martin Luther King, JR., one of the highest institutional honors that is given to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding commitment to the ideals of DEI. She recently completed a Masters in Clinical Operations from Harvard University School of Medicine.

Dr. Brown joined Carolinas Medical Center Atrium Health faculty in 2020 as the department’s Vice Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. In addition to this role, she serves as clerkship director for the Health Disparities in Emergency Medicine rotation and Co-Leader of the Women in Emergency Medicine group.

In addition to local leadership, Dr. Brown holds several national leadership roles including Chair for the American Academy of Emergency Medicine Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion National Section as well as Section Editor for the WestJEM. Throughout her medical education, she also held several national leadership positions including, but not limited to, Student National Medical Association National Vice President and Strategic Planning Council Member and National Chair of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine Resident and Student Association Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Her research related to DEI has been published in such journals as JAMA Internal Medicine, Annals of Emergency Medicine, and Academic Emergency Medicine.