People

Cristiana Baloescu, MD, MPH

Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine

Yale School of Medicine

Dr. Cristiana Baloescu is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Yale School of Medicine, with academic interests in point-of-care ultrasound and research. She graduated from Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, the Emergency Medicine Residency at Yale New-Haven Hospital, and the Advanced Professional Master of Public Health at Yale School of Public Health. She has chaired the Ultrasound in Global Health Community of Practice within the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine and is an active member of SAEM. Dr. Baloescu has an interest in faculty development and strategies to improve communication and boost productivity and well-being.

James J. McCarthy, MD, MHA

Secretary-Treasurer

Memorial Hermann Health System

Dr. James “Jamie” McCarthy is Executive Vice President and Chief Physician Executive for Memorial Hermann in Houston, Texas. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing the physician organization and further establishing Memorial Hermann’s goal to build a physician-centric, integrated network of care.
Prior to joining MHH, Dr. McCarthy served as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at McGovern Medical School. Dr. McCarthy was also Chief of Emergency Medical Services for Memorial Hermann-TMC, home to the Red Duke Trauma Institute, the nation’s busiest Level I trauma center, as well as Memorial Hermann Life Flight®, the system’s signature air ambulance service. Under his leadership, the Department has been recognized regionally and nationally for Trauma and Cardiac Care.

Dr. McCarthy completed his medical degree at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine and his internship and residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. He is board certified in Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medical Services.

On a local and state level, Dr. McCarthy has been an advocate for emergency services, serving as a member of the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council (SETRAC), where he is the co-chair of the SETRAC Cardiac Care Committee. He is also serving a Chair of the Governor’s EMS and Trauma Advisory Council’s Cardiac Care Committee under the Texas Department of State Health Services. In addition to his professional commitments, Dr. McCarthy serves as EMS Medical Director for the West University Place Fire Department and as an un-affiliated neurotrauma consultant for the National Football League.

Donald Yealy, MD

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Dr. Yealy is a clinician, scientist, and leader in medicine; he oversees the training of 54 emergency medicine residents and fellows in 5 programs, the acute care research created by one of the consistently top funded EM departments in the U.S., and care delivered to over one million acutely ill or injured patients a year at 42 emergency departments. He is Chair and Distinguished Professor of Emergency Medicine and the Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President at UPMC, the largest integrated academic finance and health care delivery system in the country.

Dr. Yealy obtained a bachelor of science degree in biology at Villanova University (1981) and a medical degree at the Medical College of Pennsylvania (MCP, 1985). He completed an emergency medicine residency and a research fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Yealy is Editor in Chief of Annals of Emergency Medicine, edited four scientific textbooks in multiple edits each, and serves as a referee for 25 scientific journals. He has authored over 250 scientific manuscripts, edited 7 texts, and garnered over $40m of federal funding and served on multiple NIH study sections.

Dr. Yealy is a member of the National Academy of Medicine (formerly IOM) of the National Academies of Science. Dr. Yealy received the highest research recognition by both the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM), the highest educational award by ACEP, the leadership award for SAEM, and the Distinguished Service Award from AACEM. He was bestowed the Ralph C. Wilde Award for excellence in care and leadership by the Allegheny County Medical Society, and the Alumni Achievement Award of Women’s Medical College/MCP, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Drexel University College of Medicine.

Bernard L. Lopez, MD, MS

Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion; Associate Dean for Diversity and Community Engagement

Thomas Jefferson University

Bernard L. Lopez, MD, MS, is Professor and Executive Vice Chair in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. He received his Doctorate in Medicine from the Sidney Kimmel Medical College in 1986. He completed a residency training program in Emergency Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in 1989. Since 2013, Dr. Lopez has served as the Associate Dean for Diversity and Community Engagement in the medical school, providing oversight of diversity and inclusion initiatives for faculty, graduate medical education and medical students. In January 2017, he added the title of Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion at Thomas Jefferson University, providing oversight and guidance for the ten colleges that make up the university.

Brian J. Zink, MD

Immediate Past President

University of Michigan

Brian J. Zink, MD is Adjunct Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School. He is also co-Director of the medical student Leadership Development Program. Dr. Zink’s primary areas of focus are faculty and leadership development, mentoring and coaching, medical humanities, and the history of emergency medicine. Dr. Zink wrote the first comprehensive history of US emergency medicine – Anyone, Anything, Anytime (2006) and the 2nd edition of this work (2018). After serving as the Associate Dean for Student Programs at Michigan, he was selected as the inaugural Chair of Emergency Medicine at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Chief of Emergency Medicine at Rhode Island Hospital (2006-2017). Dr. Zink has served as President of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (2000-01) and the Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine (2012-13). He founded and is Co-Director of the SAEM/AACEM Chair Development Program. Dr. Zink has received the Hal Jayne Academic Excellence Award and John Marx Leadership Award from the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, the Outstanding Contribution in Education Award from the American College of Emergency Physicians, and the Distinguished Service Award from AACEM. He practiced emergency medicine in academic hospital emergency departments for 36 years. In 2024 he formed Brian J. Zink Coaching and Consulting, LLC, and is now focused on growing and developing the next generation of leaders in academic medicine.