People

Alejandro Aviña-Cadena, MD, MPH

Boston Medical Center

Alejandro Aviña-Cadena MD, MPH (Dr. Aviña, He/Him) is a first-generation Mexican-American physician, born and raised in Los Angeles. He is a current second year Emergency Medicine resident at Boston Medical Center (BMC) and a proud product of the public school system and community college. After he transferred to a 4 year university, he spent the next few years at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) where he received his Bachelors of Science, completed a Post-Bacc program, completed a Masters in Public Health and completed his medical degree as a leader in UCI’s Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community (PRIME-LC). Dr. Aviña is a first-generation Mexican-American physician and his lived experiences served as a motivation for his work in health equity. In addition to serving as the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) chapter president as a medical student, PRIME-LC president and conducting research on food insecurity and Dr. Aviña spearheaded UCI School of Medicine’s first 4-year longitudinal Social Determinants of Health curriculum where he worked with a number of key stakeholders to incorporate his curriculum into every major educational experience at UCI’s School of Medicine. Now in residency, Dr. Aviña is a co-president for BMC’s Emergency Medicine Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) program in addition to conducting research/quality improvement projects on incorporating a patient’s social context to their plan of care in the ED and has worked on a number of diversity/health equity projects that have promoted program recruitment and resident well-being. Now almost 2 years living in Boston, Dr. Aviña and his wife recently expanded their family and are excited for where the next few years will take them.

Nikkole Turgeon, MD

Boston University School of Medicine

Nikkole Turgeon, MD is a current PGY-2 resident in Emergency Medicine at Boston Medical Center Emergency Department. In her work within the BMC EM residency, she focuses on the development and implementation of a longitudinally integrated health equity curriculum. She also serves as co-chair of the BMC EM Residency Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (JEDI) Committee. Within this role, she is working to promote a more inclusive environment for residents through various initiatives. Her current interest in global health work is focused on the advancement of building equitable emergency care systems.

Nikkole grew up in Rhode Island and obtained a B.S. in Medical Laboratory Sciences in 2016 from the University of Rhode Island. During undergrad, she spent time working at a free clinic in Providence, RI where she saw the positive impact that community engagement and advocacy have on advancing health equity. Before medical school, Nikkole was the recipient of a Boren Scholarship that granted her the opportunity to live and work in Mozambique, Africa for six months. She pursued her interest in infectious diseases by working at a tuberculosis clinic and this experience strengthened her interest in pursuing global health work. She obtained her Medical Degree from the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine in 2018. During her four years in medical school, she dedicated her time to focusing on local and global health equity work. Specifically, she worked on various social justice-related projects including co-leader of the student leadership group, The Social Justice Coalition, and spearheaded the creation and implementation of a social determinants of health curriculum within emergency medicine clerkship. Nationally, she has worked with ACEP and EMRA on advocacy efforts and the development of multiple policy resolutions focused on the advancement of social EM. Her global interests have focused on decolonizing global health and now serves as a co-chair for the Global Emergency Medicine Academy’s Decolonizing Global Health group. Nikkole’s current leadership and other committee roles include Vice Chair of EMRA’s SEM committee, member of the CUGH’s Advocacy and Communications Committee, and SAEM’s Equity and Inclusion Committee.

Mary E. Tanski, M.D, M.B.A.

Oregon Health & Science University

Mary Tanski, M.D., M.B.A., F.A.C.E.P. is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, OR. She is co-director of the emergency medicine administration fellowship and serves as faculty in the OHSU Healthcare MBA program, where she teaches the Operations and Quality Improvement course.

Dr. Tanski was elected to the Board of the Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine and serves as member at large. She serves on the AACEM Diversity and Equity taskforce and is also active in the Academy of Women in Academic Medicine. Her professional and research interests include emergency department operations, healthcare quality, mentorship, and leadership development. She is an oral boards examiner for the American Board of Emergency Medicine, and a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Dr. Tanski received her Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from Michigan State University and her medical degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. She completed her Emergency Medicine residency served as Chief Resident at George Washington University, and her fellowship in Emergency Department Administration as well as her Masters of Business Administration at OHSU.

Caitlin M. Farrell, DO, MPH

Boston Medical Center

Caitlin M. Farrell is an Emergency Physician at Boston Medical Center and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine Caitlin graduated from Trinity College with a degree in Biology and Writing. After college, she worked as a preschool teacher at a Head Start in Las Vegas, Nevada, after which she turned her attention to public health and obtained a Masters in Public Health from Boston University with a specialization in Health Policy and Advocacy. She completed her Emergency Medicine training at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts where she also served as Chief Resident. She then completed her Health Equity Fellowship at Boston Medical Center where she focused on improving healthcare for incarcerated populations. She has served in several leadership roles within organized medicine, including the American Medical Association and the Massachusetts Medical Society. Her academic work is focused on improving the care of incarcerated patients through research and advocacy. Her work has been published in medical journals such as the American Journal of Public Health as well as the New York Times. Additionally, she works closely with the Medical Justice Alliance on medical parole and authors affidavits for patients seeking medical parole. She also visits jails across Massachusetts to perform dementia screenings for patients seeking medical parole. Caitlin aims to advance research, advocacy, and improve health inequities for the marginalized incarcerated population. She lives in Boston with her husband.

Rachel B. Kearney, MD, MPH

Boston Medical Center

Rachel Brigell Kearney, MD, MPH is a second-year Emergency Medicine resident at Boston Medical Center. She has a background in public health, and earned an MPH in Global Health and Population from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health with a focus on quantitative and qualitative research methods before medical school. She has worked in Tanzania and Zambia. Her interests within Emergency Medicine include health equity, social emergency medicine, quality improvement, and ultrasound.

Herbert C. Duber, MD, MPH, FACEP

University of Washington

Dr. Herbie Duber is the Washington State Department of Health Regional Medical Officer for Northwest Washington. In this role, he supports the development of healthcare policy and programs across the state and serves as a key liaison between local public health in Northwest WA and the Department of Health. He is also a Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Washington where he leads the Section of Population Health. He holds adjunct appointments in the Departments of Health Metrics and Global Health, and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Clinically, he works in the Emergency Department at the University of Washington and Harborview Medical Centers in Seattle, WA.

Dr. Duber’s research focused on evaluating health systems and health programs, with a particular interest in vulnerable and underserved populations domestically and internationally. He has co-authored more than 70 peer review publications. Dr. Duber is a vocal advocate, leader, and mentor at the intersection of emergency medicine and public health. He chairs the American College of Emergency Physicians’ (ACEP) Public Health Committee and serves as President of ACEP’s Washington chapter. He continues to mentor students, residents, and junior faculty, supporting the development of the next generation of emergency medicine and public health leaders.

Dr. Duber received his BA in Biology from Pomona College, after which he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship. He received his MD from the NYU School of Medicine and his MPH in International Health from the Harvard School of Public Health.  Dr. Duber completed his residency training at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and a research fellowship at UCLA and the RAND Corporation.

Haeyeon Hong, MD, MS

Boston University School of Medicine

Haeyeon Hong, MD, MS, is an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. She currently serves as the Local Health Equity Fellow at Boston Medical Center and as a Commonwealth Fund Fellow in Minority Health Policy. Throughout her medical school and residency, she has led several innovative projects focused on the Social Drivers of Health (SDOH) Screening and Referral initiatives at Boston Medical Center. Driven by her deep-rooted commitment to health policy and health equity, Dr. Hong is determined to reimagine socially responsive emergency care with the goal of addressing disparities in care. She aspires to spearhead innovative approaches in harnessing SDOH data to elevate population health and advance value-based care. Dr. Hong served as the co-chair of the Social Emergency Medicine and Population Health Interest Group of SAEM for two consecutive years. Dr. Hong received her medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine in 2019, and completed her emergency medicine residency at Boston Medical Center in 2023

Ashlea D. Winfield, MD, MSPH

Cook County Health

Dr. Ashlea Winfield is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and the Associate Director of the Cook County Health Simulation Center in Chicago, IL. Dr. Winfield earned her Master of Science in Public Health from the Tulane University School of Public Health and medical doctorate from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in New Orleans. She then went on to complete her residency at Cook County Health where she served as a chief resident, earning her the highest leadership award granted by her department to a resident physician, the Robert Simon Leadership Award. She then completed her emergency simulation fellowship at Cook County Health.

Dr. Winfield has created multiple initiatives aimed at fostering a culture of safety and equitable treatment for all individuals within her program and institution. Dr. Winfield has lectured nationally and regionally on topics related to caring for gender expansive patients, trauma informed care, racism, implicit bias, and promoting equitable processes in residency recruitment. Dr. Winfield is a member of the Academy for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Medicine (ADIEM) Executive Committee and co-chair of the Resident and Trainee committee. Due to her ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts she was awarded the Cook County Health Physician of the Year in 2022-2023 and is a member of the National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF) 2022-2023 40 under 40.
As the Associate Director of the Cook County Simulation Center, Dr. Winfield directs simulation-based education for emergency medicine residents with a focus on procedural competency and task trainer development as well as using simulation to teach topics in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Dr. Winfield also uses her expertise in medical simulation to inspire youth to pursue careers in STEM by partnering with local high schools. She is also a board member of local non-profit; the I Am Abel Foundation which helps youth in Chicago reach their dreams by allowing exposure to careers in healthcare and providing resources to achieve their educational goals.

Jeffrey Druck, MD

Vice Chair of Faculty Advancement, Transformation, and Wellbeing for Emergency Medicine

The University of Utah

Dr. Druck is an emergency physician who focuses on treatment of emergent conditions at University Hospital. He is a member of the teaching faculty at the University and educates resident physicians and medical students.

His interests include mentorship, wellbeing, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), medical education, and the intersection of education and clinical care. He has been involved in medical education at the undergraduate level, graduate level, and CME level. From a DEI perspective, he has been involved in DEI efforts on an undergraduate, graduate, and national level.

Joshua J. Davis, MD

Assistant Professor, Clinical Medicine

Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine

Joshua Davis, MD, is an emergency physician in Wichita, KS, who teaches as a faculty member instructor at the Simulation Center University of Kansas School of Medicine - Wichita and a Course Director and Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine. He is the Assistant Medical Director for Ultrasound, Quality, and Research with Vituity in Wichita, KS. His research interests are broad and include emergency medicine clinical topics along with patient safety, interprofessional communication, handoff communication, procedural competency, and medical education. He has published over 75 peer reviewed articles, given multiple national presentations, and written several book chapters. He is involved in developing several national guidelines and curricula.

Cemal B. Sozener, MD, M. Eng., FACEP, FAHA

University of Michigan

As a physician experienced in both prehospital and hospital education on acute stroke care, Dr. Sozener has worked with the INSTINCT research team at the University of Michigan and led past efforts in both qualitative and quantitative interventions and analysis for that study in addition to working with the numerous physicians, nurses, and other staff personnel throughout the entire INSTINCT network. Dr. Sozener is active in the NINDS StrokeNet Training Program and is co-director of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Stroke Program.

Lauren M. Nentwich, MD

Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital

Dr. Lauren Nentwich is Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs for the Department of Emergency Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. She is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Nentwich earned her undergraduate degree in mathematics from the University of Chicago and her medical degree from Harvard Medical School. She completed her residency in emergency medicine at Boston Medical Center followed by an NIH research fellowship in neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Nentwich’s professional interests are in optimizing ED and hospital flow and capacity and developing processes to support emergency physicians and ED staff in the care of their patients.

Peter D. Panagos, MD

Washington University in St. Louis

Dr. Panagos is currently Executive Vice Chair and Professor of Emergency Medicine and Neurology at Washington University in St Louis. He is a 1987 graduate of Dartmouth College. In 1994, he completed his medical education at Emory University. Following a year of surgical training at Naval Medical Center San Diego, he graduated and received his wings as a Naval Flight Surgeon in Pensacola, Florida. From 1996-1999, he was stationed in Okinawa, Japan from with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. In 2002, he completed a residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of Cincinnati and subsequently completed a Neurovascular Emergencies/Stroke Fellowship at the same institution in 2003. At Washington University, he has served as PI for multiple NIH and Industry funded clinical trials including current Co-PI of NINDS StrokeNet (RCC 28). Starting in December 2023, he will serve as main PI of NIH/NINDS RCC 28 (MARCC), the largest national stroke trial network, StrokeNet. He is the Director of Neurovascular Emergencies in the Division of Emergency Medicine and Co-Director of the Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University Stroke Network. He has severed in multiple leaderships for the AHA/ASA including Chair of Mission: Lifeline Stroke, the Emergency Neurovascular Care Committee (ENCC) and is the immediate past Chair of the ASA Stroke Council Leadership Committee. He is Associate Editor of Academic Emergency Medicine and an Emergency Medicine Oral Board Examiner.

Lauren E. Mamer, MD, PhD

University of Michigan

Lauren Mamer, MD, PhD is a Clinical Assistant Professor in Emergency Medicine at University of Michigan and Hurley Medical Center. She completed a NINDS StrokeNet Fellowship, during which she focused on the composition of stroke teams. She has an enduring interest in cerebrovascular disease in the ED that has spanned projects across multiple modalities including large national data set analysis, health services research, quality improvement and medical education. She is currently a K12 scholar studying the application of blood-based biomarkers to risk stratification of TIA in the emergency department. Her current research interest is in optimizing the care of patients presenting to the emergency department with transient neurologic deficits, specifically the application of blood-based biomarker assays to the diagnosis of clinically silent ischemic stroke in these patients with the goal of optimizing secondary prevention and streamlining the diagnostic workup of neurologic complaints.

Christopher T. Richards, MD, MS

University of Cincinnati

Dr. Richards is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Cincinnati and has an expertise in prehospital stroke care. He is a board-certified EMS physician and is the medical director of the UCHealth Mobile Stroke Unit as well as for several Fire-EMS agencies in Greater Cincinnati. He is also Co-Director and clinical faculty of the UC Stroke Team which provides acute stroke reperfusion consultation to over 30 emergency departments and hospitals in the Greater Cincinnati region. He has been on several national workgroups focusing on prehospital stroke care, including the NIH’s Brain Attack Coalition Symposium on Inequities in Access and Delivery of Acute Stroke Care and as the chair of the Acute Care Subcommittee of the American Stroke Association Advisory Committee.

Michelle Ihn Suh, MD

University of Chicago

Michelle Suh, MD (she/her) is an emergency medicine physician, educator, and researcher. She completed her medical education and residency training at the Baylor College of Medicine, and she is currently a medical education fellow at the University of Chicago. Her research interests focus on the hidden curriculum of medical education and caring for vulnerable populations.

Casey M. Clements, MD, PhD

Mayo Clinic

Dr. Casey Clements is a Consultant Physician and Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He serves within Mayo Clinic Quality as the Staff Safety Officer, leading Environmental Health and Safety for the Mayo Clinic Enterprise and an operational Occupational Safety team based in Rochester, MN that is responsible for an integrated safety management system and its many programs working throughout Mayo Clinic on staff injury prevention and response. His own work in this area focuses on healthcare-based violence mitigation. Having helped lead workplace violence mitigation efforts for Mayo Clinic since 2014, he now chairs the Complex Behavior Committee for both the Rochester practice and the Mayo Enterprise which spearheads efforts to address violence in healthcare. Dr. Clements also has a Ph.D. in Microbiology & Immunology and his additional interests include research in the areas of emergency infection and sepsis, as well as ED operations, and opioid stewardship.

Gina Lopez, MD, MPH

Boston Medical Center

Dr. Gina Lopez is a board-certified Emergency Medicine physician working at Boston Medical Center, the busiest emergency department in New England. With a large safety net population, she works with the Multi-Visit Patient Program which strives to meet the complex care needs of the most vulnerable, frequent visitors both in the ED creates bridges to services in the community. She is highly committed to the diverse patient population, as well as cultivating diversity within Emergency Medicine through work with the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion group which creates a sense of community amongst those who have faced barriers practicing medicine.

Serving as the Physician Director of Workplace Safety, she collaborates with leaders across the hospital system from nursing, public safety, behavioral medicine and patient advocacy to coordinate care for patients with behavioral challenges prioritizing patient and staff safety. Dr. Lopez championed the roll out of utilization of standardized agitation scoring across the hospital system. She has been a partner in the development the hospital’s Behavioral Response Team working towards early response systems to agitation management, bedside support and prevention of crisis incidents. Partnering with Public Safety, she chairs the hospital Threat Assessment Team and Safety Care Plan Committee reviewing all safety incidents in the hospital and prioritizing care plan development to bring trauma-informed safety recommendations to frontline care providers. Working with Quality and Safety, she reviews workplace violence safety incidents, leads investigations and coordinates root cause analyses for critical events.

She is proud to be involved in efforts to improve hospital policy, staff education and strategic planning for prevention and mitigation of workplace violence. Her special interests include emergency behavioral care, effective de-escalation, workplace safety, health equity and staff wellness.

Alice Bukhman, MD, MPH

Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital

Alice Kidder Bukhman is an Instructor of Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School and faculty in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH). Her research and operational work focuses on program development, operations and health equity in both the U.S. and global context. She currently serves a Medical Director for Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Emergency Department and Head of Medical Partnerships for Prisoners’ Legal Services of MA.

Ambrose H. Wong, MD, MSEd, MHS

Yale University School of Medicine

Dr. Wong is a physician-scientist in the Department of Emergency Medicine, with a focus on teamwork, patient safety, behavioral health, and healthcare disparities. He is the Research Director and Associate Fellowship Director at the Yale Center for Medical Simulation. He also has expertise in qualitative and mixed-methods techniques for health services research.

He received his Bachelor of Science from the University of British Columbia in Microbiology & Immunology in Vancouver, Canada and attended Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Ambrose obtained his Emergency Medicine residency training at NYU & Bellevue Hospitals Center in New York City, serving as chief resident physician in his final year. He subsequently completed a medical simulation fellowship at NYU School of Medicine & New York Simulation Center for the Health Sciences. He received a Master of Science in Health Professions Education at Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions.

Dr. Wong applies healthcare simulation technology to address workplace violence and improve behavioral care in the emergency setting. He has authored 25 peer-reviewed publications on behavioral emergency care and received an NIH NCATS KL2 & YCCI Scholar Award to implement an agitation code team response intervention. He is the current recipient of multiple federal awards to investigate the use of health IT and patient-centered methods to improve the care of agitation management while maintaining safety of staff and healthcare workers.