People

Jay Lemery

Professor of Emergency Medicine

University of Colorado

Professor of Emergency Medicine

University of Colorado

Renee Salas, MD, MPH, MS

Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School

 

Tracy Cushing

University of Colorado School of Medicine

Caitlin Rublee

Medical College of Wisconsin

Allan Kornberg

Associate Professor, Pediatrics & Emergency Medicine, Vice Chair, Clinical Affairs, Department of Pediatrics

University of Buffalo, The State University of New York

Associate Professor, Pediatrics & Emergency Medicine, Vice Chair, Clinical Affairs, Department of Pediatrics
University of Buffalo, The State University of New York
From PAN-USA

Jeffrey Sakamoto, MD

Chief Resident, Stanford-Kaiser, Emergency Medicine Residency Program; RAMS Board Secretary-Treasurer; SAEM Wellness Committee Member

Dr. Jeffrey T. Sakamoto is a Chief Resident at Stanford Emergency Medicine Residency and a member of the SAEM Wellness Committee. He also serves as the RAMS Board Secretary-Treasurer.

Michelle Blanda, MD

Member-at-Large

Northeast Ohio Medical University

Steven B. Bird, MD

Vice Chair for Education and Residency Director for the Department of Emergency Medicine; Past President, SAEM

University of Massachusetts Medical School

Dr. Steve Bird grew up in Illinois and obtained his degree in biology with honors from Yale University in 1991. While at Yale he conducted research for 3 years with Prof Sidney Altman, Dean of Yale University and winner of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He then graduated AOA from Northwestern University Medical School under a Navy health professions scholarship program.

Initially interested in neurosurgery, Dr. Bird spent 2 years as a surgery resident at Naval Medical Center San Diego. His surgery training was then interrupted as he was selected for Naval Flight Surgeon training. After spending 6 months in Pensacola at flight school, he was deployed to Okinawa, Japan (along with his wife, AnneMarie, a Navy officer) for two years, serving as a flight surgeon with the United States Marine Corps.

Dr. Bird then elected to resign from the Navy (and from neurosurgery) and pursue emergency medicine residency at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he served as chief resident followed by a fellowship in medical toxicology, also at UMass. He has remained as faculty at Umass since 2004 and was residency program director from 2011-2019.

Dr. Bird is currently the Chief Experience Officer (CXO), for UMassMemorial Healthcare and the University of Massachusetts Medical School. In that role he is responsible for all physician engagement and wellness activities across the 5-hospital system.

Dr. Bird served as President of SAEM from 2018-2019.

Al’ai Alvarez, MD, FACEP, FAAEM

Director of Well-Being, Co-Lead, Human Potential Team, Fellowship Director, Stanford Emergency Medicine Wellness Fellowship

Stanford Emergency Medicine

Dr. Al'ai Alvarez MD, FACEP, FAAEM is a clinical assistant professor of Emergency Medicine (EM) and the Director of Well-Being at Stanford Emergency Medicine. He co-leads the Human Potential Team and serves as the Fellowship Director of the Stanford EM Physician Wellness. He co-chairs the Stanford WellMD Physician Wellness Forum. His work focuses on humanizing physician roles as individuals and teams through the harnessing of our individual human potential in the context of high-performance teams. This includes optimizing the interdependence between Process Improvement (Quality and Clinical Operations), Recruitment (Diversity), and Well-being (Inclusion).

Arlene Sujin Chung, MD, MACM

Program Director

Maimonides Medical Center

Dr. Chung is the Program Director for the Maimonides Medical Center Emergency Medicine Residency Program in Brooklyn, NY. She is also the Immediate Past Chair of the ACEP Well-Being Committee and serves on the New York ACEP Board of Directors. As a nationally-recognized speaker and educator, Dr. Chung has made advocating for physician wellness a central focus of her career though lectures, teaching, policy development, and creating sustainable solutions for the future.

Jenny Castillo, MD

Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine; Attending Physician, Emergency Medicine Department; Director of Wellness, EDWell

Columbia University Medical Center

Jenny Castillo, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine for Columbia University Medical Center, and an Attending Physician within the New York Presbyterian Columbia’s Emergency Medicine Department. Her passion is physician wellbeing and is currently the Director of Wellness for the Department of Emergency Medicine. She is working on projects involving wellness in the workplace environment, promoting wellness operational improvements and creating a cultural change within medicine. Regionally, Dr. Castillo is the co-founder of NYC EM Well-being Alliance, a collaboration of emergency medicine physicians working on wellbeing initiatives. Additionally, Dr. Castillo is pursuing wellbeing-based research projects and participates on the national level through several wellness committees.

Elissa M. Schechter-Perkins, MD, MPH, DTMH

Vice Chair of Research, Department of Emergency Medicine; Director of Emergency Medicine Infectious Disease Management; Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine

Boston University School of Medicine

Elissa M Schechter-Perkins MD, MPH, DTMH, is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and the Vice Chair of EM Research at Boston University School of Medicine/Boston University School of Medicine. She is also the Director of Emergency Medicine Infectious Disease Management. She is the immediate past co-Chair of the SAEM Interest Group Emergency Medicine Transmissible Infectious Diseases, a network of academic emergency departments focused on research, practice, and policy on emerging and transmissible infectious diseases.

Dr. Perkins earned a Bachelor of Science from Stanford University, and completed her Doctorate of Medicine at Columbia University. She did her EM residency training at Yale New Haven Hospital, and then completed an International EM fellowship at Los Angeles County, University of Southern California, during which time she earned an MPH from UCLA and a diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from the Gorgas Clinical Course in Tropical Medicine in Lima, Peru.

Dr. Perkins has spent her career working with vulnerable populations, primarily in inner city EDs. Her academic area of expertise focuses on the intersection of infectious diseases, public health, and the ED. She has developed programs and evaluated methods to enhance both ED and hospital-wide screening and treatment of infectious diseases that have public health consequences, including HIV, HCV, MRSA, sexually transmitted infections, influenza, COVID-19, and monkeypox.

Larissa May, MD, MSPH, MSHS

Professor of Emergency Medicine; Director of ED and Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship; Medical Director, Learning Health System Hub; Chair, Infection Prevention Committee

UC Davis Health

Larissa May, MD, MSPH, MSHS - Dr. Larissa May is Professor of Emergency Medicine and Director of Emergency Department and Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship at the University of California-Davis and the medical director of the UC Davis Health Learning Health System Hub. She is a national expert in antibiotic stewardship in the emergency department (ED). Dr. May received her M.D. (2002), her MSPH in Public Health Microbiology and Emerging Infectious Diseases (2008), and her MSHS in Clinical and Translational Research (2013) from The George Washington University. She completed her residency training at the George Washington University in 2006. Dr. May’s research interests center on the clinical management of infectious diseases, including the application of rapid molecular diagnostic assays, behavioral economics and clinical guidelines to improve antibiotic stewardship and other quality improvement efforts. During fall 2020 she served as Yolo County's Interim Health Officer, leading the COVID-19 response. She has served on numerous committees and task forces focused on antibiotic stewardship, emergency preparedness, and infectious diseases surveillance for the CDC, NIH, and professional organizations

Michelle D. Lall, MD, MHS

Vice Chair of Community and Belonging

Emory University

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 where she served as an Associate Residency Director for 7 years. She is currently the inaugural Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Emory Emergency Medicine. She previously served as the inaugural Director of Wellbeing, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, as well as, the Medical Education Fellowship Director. 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 medical education. Dr. Lall’s primary interests are physician wellbeing and 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. Dr. Lall serves as the inaugural chair of the All Emergency Medicine Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force, a national emergency medicine work group focused on exploring and addressing bias and disparities in academic emergency medicine. 

Her professional memberships include: American College of Emergency Physicians – where she is a fellow, Society for Academic Emergency Physicians - where she is part of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors, Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine (AWAEM) - 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. 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 Momentum Award and AWAEM Mid-Career Award. In 2023, Dr. Lall was selected for the prestigious Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM®) program, an intensive one-year fellowship of leadership training with extensive coaching, networking and mentoring opportunities aimed at expanding the national pool of qualified women candidates for leadership in academic medicine, dentistry, public health and pharmacy.

Dr. Lall is committed to caring for underserved patients in a safety net hospital, educating and training the next generation of emergency physicians, and serving the academic emergency medicine community.

Cassandra Kim Bradby, MD

President

Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University

I am a proud graduate of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN. From there, the match brought me to SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, NY, where I served as the chief resident of education. Since 2014, I have served as assistant professor of emergency medicine at Vidant Medical Center and East Carolina University and now serve as the residency program director after four years in the role of associate program director. I have been involved with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts throughout my seven years in North Carolina, as the vice chair for diversity and inclusion for my department, as well as the chair of the vice chairs for diversity and inclusion for East Carolina University (ECU) Brody School of Medicine. I also serve as the faculty advisor for the ECU chapter of the Student Medical Association and the chair of the GME Committee for Diversity and Inclusion at Vidant Medical Center. Through SAEM, I have been involved with the Membership Committee, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, the Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine (AWAEM), and the Academy for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Medicine (ADIEM) as a member-at-large, faculty advisor for the Social Media Committee, and the current secretary-treasurer. I hope to continue to work with the ADIEM Executive Committee going forward to continue our momentum in creating education across emergency medicine on DEI and collaborating with other organizations."

Dr. Cassandra Bradby is an EM physician and Assistant Professor at Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. As a graduate of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN, she has dedicated her career to improving diversity and inclusion in medicine through mentoring and education. After finishing up as the Education Chief Resident at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, NY, Dr. Bradby headed back south to Greenville, NC where she now serves as the Residency Program Director and Vice Chair for Diversity and Inclusion for the Department of Emergency Medicine at Vidant Medical Center.

Esther K. Choo, MD MPH

Professor in the Center for Policy and Research in Emergency Medicine

Oregon Health & Science University

Esther Choo, MD MPH is a Professor in the Center for Policy and Research in Emergency Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University. She is an NIH-funded investigator, with expertise in drug policy, injury, and gender disparities in healthcare. She is a cofounder of Equity Quotient, a company that provides metrics of healthcare culture, a founding member for TIME'S UP Healthcare. She has a regular column in The Lancet focused on health disparities.

Alden M. Landry, MD, MPH

Immediate Past President

Dr. Landry is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Faculty Assistant Director of the Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership, Associate Director and Advisor for William B. Castle Society, and Director of Health Equity Education at Harvard Medical School. He also serves as Senior Faculty at the Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital and is the founder and co-director of the non- profit organization Motivating Pathways. He strives to lead efforts for the Department of Emergency Medicine, the hospital and the medical school that will address health disparities and improve quality of care for the most disenfranchised.

In addition to his clinical interests, Dr. Landry is involved in research on Emergency Department utilization trends, disparities in care and quality of care. He also co-instructs a course at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and teaches cultural competency to residents and physicians. Dr. Landry promotes careers in the health professions to under-represented minorities and mentors, scores of pre-medical students, medical students, residents, fellows and junior faculty. Dr. Landry also leads the Tour for Diversity in Medicine, (www.tour4diversity.org) an effort to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in medicine, dentistry, and other biomedical careers.

Dr. Landry has been recognized by his peers and colleagues as a leader in health equity and social justice. He has received numerous awards for his public health work and efforts to promote health care workforce diversity. He was recently awarded the Outstanding Academician Award by the Academy for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Medicine of the Society of Academic Emergency medicine and the Albert Frechette Award from the Massachusetts Public Health Association.

Dr. Landry received his Bachelor of Science degree from Prairie View A&M University in 2002 and his medical degree from the University of Alabama in 2006. He completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in 2009. In 2010, he earned a Master’s in Public Health degree from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and completed the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Minority Health Policy at Harvard University. He received the Disparities Solutions Center/Aetna Fellow in Health Disparities award in 2010-2011.

Tracy Madsen, MD, ScM

Tracy Madsen, MD, ScM is the Associate Director of the Division of Sex and Gender in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and the current AWAEM President. After completing both her undergraduate and medical degrees at Boston University, she completed a residency in Emergency Medicine at Brown University followed by a 2-year research fellowship with a focus on sex and gender differences in acute aspects of disease during which she earned a Master's degree in Clinical and Translational Research. Dr. Madsen conducts research in the realm of sex and gender based medicine, neurologic emergencies, and disparities in the physician workforce. Currently funded by a K23 from the NHLBI, her research focuses on sex and gender differences in the epidemiology, outcomes, and acute treatment of stroke. She has established a national presence in the field of sex and gender differences in stroke as well as disparities in the emergency medicine workforce.

Larissa Velez, MD

Vice Chair of Education and Program Director

UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas

Dr. Velez was born and raised in Puerto Rico, where she studied emergency Medicine before moving to Dallas for a tox fellowship and have been affiliated with UTSW since then. She has been the PD since 2011 and vice chair for education in the last three years. Passionate about education, cultural competency, and anything tox.

Leon Sanchez, MD, MPH

Chair, Emergency Medicine

MGB Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital

Dr. Leon Sanchez is currently the Chief of Emergency Medicine at the MGB Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital and an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Prior to that, Dr. Sanchez was the Vice Chair for Network Operations at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He is a nationally recognized expert in the field of Emergency Medicine Operations and his areas of recent focus include operational improvement, patient flow and throughput optimization, queuing, and schedule optimization.