People

Nidal Moukaddam, MD, PhD

Baylor College of Medicine

Nidal Moukaddam, M.D.Ph.D., is an Professor at Baylor College of Medicine and the director of Psychiatry Outpatient Clinics at Harris Health.

Her recent work includes the creation and testing of smartphone applications for mental illness across the age spectrum, research performed in collaboration with the Rice University department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Her team has also developed tools to enhance wellness and combat burnout in physicians. The results of this work include an open, fee-free, dynamic platform for academic collaboration, Healthsense, that is now available for researchers to engage in sensor-based measurements in their studies and earned the community paper award at the 25th Annual International Conference on Mobile Computing and Networking. Their team has also released a longitudinal adaptive study for the effects of COVID-19 on mental health, available at http://sh.rice.edu/covid-sense/

Dr. Moukaddam has supervised many students and residents, leading to numerous awards including Women of Excellence Award at Baylor College of Medicine (2020), the Faculty Mentorship & Teaching award for Baylor Psychiatry Department (2018), being selected for Houstonia magazine- Houston top 100 doctors’ selection (2017) and Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences’ Outstanding Mentor Award (2017). She is also the creator of a wellness curriculum for Baylor College of Medicine’s Center of Excellence in Health Equity, Training and Research.

She received her MD from the American University of Beirut and did both her PhD and residency at UTMB-Galveston, in clinical sciences. She is board certified in General Psychiatry & Addiction Medicine and specializes in challenging adult populations: she practices emergency psychiatry at Ben Taub Hospital, a level 1 trauma center in Houston, Texas, with a special focus on individuals afflicted with both psychosis and addiction.

Stephanie A. Lareau, MD

Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine

Stephanie is an emergency medicine physician at Carilion Clinic in Roanoke Virginia and Associate Professor at the VT-Carilion School of Medicine. She completed a Wilderness Medicine Fellowship at Georgia Health Sciences and completed her EM residency and medical school at Wake Forest University. She is the Wilderness Medicine Fellowship Director at VT-Carilion.
Stephanie earned the Fellowship of Wilderness Medicine and Diploma in Mountain Medicine. She the secretary of the WMS Board of Director, is part of the WMS DiMM Faculty. She served as a director for the WMS Student/ Resident Elective in Virginia for 10 years and is currently the director of the VTC/Radford WM Student Elective.
Her research interests include injuries in endurance mountain biking races, the effectiveness of high fidelity simulation in wilderness medicine education, student/resident WM elective curriculum and Lyme disease within SW Virginia.
She is a certified Level 4 Swift Water Rescue Instructor through the ACA. She is also a WFA and CPR/AED instructor through ECSI. She is also a dive physician through UHMS/NOAA. She volunteers as an instructor for local EMS.
Outdoors, Stephanie enjoys mountain biking, sailing, rock climbing, skiing, horseback riding and SCUBA diving.

Nicholas Murphy, PhD

Baylor College of Medicine

Dr. Murphy is an assistant professor of psychiatry and head of the Neural Oscillations and Modulations Lab within the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Murphy’s research is dedicated to precision neurophysiological biomarkers of mood and trauma-related disorders. His endeavors use linear and non-linear feature extraction methods to quantify dynamic activity within pre-frontal microcircuits; these provide an overview of information processing capacity and communication structure at a variety of temporal scales that describe the functional architecture of the brain and how it responds to treatment.

Christopher D. Verrico, PhD

Baylor College of Medicine

Christopher (“Chris”) Verrico is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), with a secondary appointment in Pharmacology. He is also a principal investigator (PI) on the Research Service Line at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (MEDVAMC). Chris leads five active research projects, funded by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense (DOD), and the McNair Foundation, that tackle pressing public health issues. One of his prominent projects, funded by the FDA, is a U01 study examining the human abuse potential of kratom, an herbal substance with opioid-like effects. This research will generate critical data on the risks and potential therapeutic applications of kratom, which will help shape regulatory decisions and guide public health recommendations. His R21 investigates the use of a GLP-1 receptor agonist, exenatide, to treat cocaine use disorder, examining how it might modify cocaine's reinforcing effects. Chris is also co-leading an R01-funded trial in collaboration with the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, which studies the combination of a GLP-1 receptor agonist and nicotine replacement therapy to improve smoking cessation outcomes. This study also explores whether this approach can mitigate post-cessation weight gain, contributing to more effective long-term cessation strategies. In another project with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, supported by DOD funding, he is exploring the combined use of lofexidine and buprenorphine for treating both opioid use disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Lastly, in collaboration with Texas Children’s Hospital, Chris is leading a McNair Foundation-funded trial to assess the use of dronabinol for alleviating endometriosis and back pain, offering potential new avenues for pain management.

Geoffrey B. Comp, DO, FACEP, FAWM

Valleywise Hospital

Dr. Geoff Comp is an Associate Program Director for the Creighton University School of Medicine Emergency Medicine Residency at the Valleywise Health Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Geoff participates as a leader, mentor, and advocate for wilderness medicine and EM medical education, with experience lecturing and teaching locally, regionally, and nationally. His professional and research focus includes wilderness medicine, physician wellness, mentorship, and innovation in medical education. He constantly seeks opportunities to combine his interests through collaboration with others and outdoor exploration. Outside of medicine, Geoff can be found running or road biking, trying to find the best Mexican food in Arizona, or chasing his twin boys (Austin and Carter) with his wife, Mackenzie.

Thomas R. Kosten, MD

Baylor College of Medicine

I have spent 45 years developing medications for psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, affective disorders, PTSD, substance use disorders and dementing disorders in over 50 clinical trials as PI with funding from NIH, DoD, VHA, Pharma companies and Foundations. These studies have resulted in my publishing over 900 papers and books in this field. I also have a human genetics lab that focuses on pharmacogenetics and epigenetics, particularly microRNA and DNA methylation as biomarkers in several neuropsychiatric diseases. I have consulted to many pharmaceutical companies over the years including Alkermes, Astellas, Boehringer-Ingelheim, BioXcel, Novartis, Pfizer, GSK, Otsuka, J&J, Sage, and Sandoz

Abigail T. Alorda, MD

University of Central Florida College of Medicine

Dr. Alorda is originally from rural East Canton, Ohio. She graduated valedictorian of her class and then moved to Cleveland, Ohio to obtain her bachelor’s degree in Biology and Spanish at Case Western Reserve University. After graduating summa cum laude she spent a transition year working as a part-time elementary school teacher, a full-time facilities worker, and an after school caregiver. From there she moved to Toledo, Ohio and matriculated into the University of Toledo College of Medicine where she found her calling in Emergency medicine.

In 2021, Dr. Alorda moved to Orlando, Florida to attend residency at the UCF/HCA Florida Healthcare GME (Greater Orlando/Osceola) emergency medicine program. Throughout her time in residency she applied and was successfully able to attend and present at over 10 different conferences- including local, regional, and national organizations- and was even fortunate enough to be a repeat presenter for a few.

During her third year of residency she served as the Administrative Chief Resident and served as the liaison between residents and faculty while coordinating schedules of emergency medicine residents, off service rotating students, and fellowship rotating students. Upon graduation of residency she was the recipient of several awards including: the annual Humanitarian Award, Prolific Scholar Award, and Resident DEI award.

Currently, Dr. Alorda is a Medical Education Fellow in Orlando, Florida and enjoys volunteering as teaching faculty at the UCF College of Medicine. She is a current student in the ACEP Teaching Fellowship program with goals to graduate in 2025 and become a core faculty member in an emergency medicine residency program in Florida.

Shayne M. Gue, MD, MSMEd

BayCare Health System / St. Joseph's Hospital

Dr. Gue was born and raised in Huntington, West Virginia, where he earned his medical degree from the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University in 2015. He completed his Emergency Medicine Residency at AdventHealth East Orlando where he led as Chief Resident, was named Resident of the Year, and served as President of the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association of Florida.

Dr. Gue currently serves on the Executive Committee for the Florida College of Emergency Physicians and serves as Co-Chair of the Membership and Professional Development Committee and the Symposium by the Sea Planning Committee. He is also actively involved in national committees within ACEP and SAEM. Dr. Gue is a national speaker, having presented for ACEP, SAEM, CORD, IMSH, and ACOEP.

He is a proud graduate of the American College of Emergency Physicians Teaching Fellowship and completed a Master’s in Medical Education from the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. He is the recipient of the AdventHealth GME Faculty of the Year Award for 2020, the ACEP Microteaching Award for 2021, the UCF Innovative Teaching Award for 2022, and was selected to the 2022 Class of the ACEP Young Physicians Leadership Society. More recently, he was awarded the UCF Educational Excellence Award and the ACEP National Junior Faculty Teaching Award for 2023.

His educational interests are focused on developing novel approaches to graduate medical education through the use of interactive curriculum design, gamification, faculty development, and educational scholarship in innovative teaching strategies.

Maia Winkel, MD

Stanford University

Maia Winkel, MD is the current Stanford Emergency Medicine Physician Wellness Fellow, as well as a Clinical Instructor at the Stanford School of Medicine. Prior to this, she completed Emergency Medicine residency at the Jacobi and Montefiore Medical Centers in the Bronx, NY, where she was Chief Resident. She holds a Masters in Bioethics from Columbia University.

Denise Marte, MD

Brown Emergency Medicine

Denise Marte, MD is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Marte is commited to advancing the science and practice of Social Emergency Medicine and currently serves on the curriculum committee for Brown Emergency Medicine's Social Equity in Emergency Medicine (SEEM) curriculum. Dr. Marte completed medical school at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and her EM training at the New York Presbyterian Hospitals of Columbia & Cornell Universities.

Ambuj Suri, MD

Brown University

Dr. Suri is a third year resident at Brown Emergency medicine and currently serves as the Chief of Equity and Inclusion

Almaz Dessie, MD

Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University

Dr. Almaz Dessie is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She earned her BA in Music Theory and Composition, cum laude, and her MD with a concentration in Global Health from Brown University's Program in Liberal Medical Education. Dr. Dessie completed her pediatrics residency at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, followed by fellowships in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Brown University and Emergency Ultrasound at Columbia University.

Dr. Dessie is an expert in pediatric point-of-care ultrasound. She also has a passion for diversifying the healthcare workforce and provision of equitable, justice-informed emergency care. At Brown, she is the director of the Pediatric Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship and Director of Diversity and Inclusion for the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine. She researches the use of point-of-care ultrasound in pediatric emergency resuscitation. She has received numerous awards for her work both in ultrasound and diversity, equity, and inclusion in medicine, most recently the Brown Physicians, Inc. Career Development Award and the Hasbro Children’s Hospital Emergency Department Exemplary Award. She practices as a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence, RI.

Gianna Petrone, DO

Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University

Dr. Petrone is an assistant residency program director. She earned her bachelor of science degree in biology from Manhattan College and Medical Degree from The University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Biddeford Maine. Dr. Petrone completed her emergency medicine residency and served as chief resident at Kent Hospital in Warwick RI. She recently completed a one year medical simulation fellowship with Brown Emergency Medicine.

Dr. Petrone is an assistant professor of emergency medicine at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and an attending physician at The Miriam Hospital and Rhode Island Hospital. Her current interests include curriculum development, simulation-based airway management and emergency procedural skills training in the bariatric population.

Nicole Schnabel, MD

University of Michigan

Dr. Nicole Schnabel, MD, is a current medical education fellow and clinical instructor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Michigan. She is serving as assistant program director for the University of Michigan emergency medicine residency. She is also enrolled in a Master of Health Professions Education Program at the University of Michigan. Dr. Schnabel graduated from medical school at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit and completed residency training at Ascension St. John Hospital in Detroit, where she was served as chief resident. Dr. Schnabel’s research interests include resident assessment, beside teaching innovations, and resident well-being.

Donna Okoli, MD

University of Michigan

Donna Okoli, MD
Medical Education Fellow & Clinical Instructor, University of Michigan
Dr. Donna Okoli is a passionate leader in emergency medicine and medical education with a focus on health equity and leadership development. Currently a Medical Education Fellow at the University of Michigan, she is dedicated to advancing education that addresses health disparities and prepares future physicians to lead transformative change in healthcare.

Dr. Okoli’s career began as a high school chemistry teacher with Teach for America, where she developed a strong commitment to equity in education. During medical school, she co-founded the Anti-Racism Task Force at Tufts School of Medicine, integrating its work into the school’s 10-year strategic plan. As Chief Resident at Advocate Christ, she revamped the residency curriculum to emphasize trauma-informed care and advanced communication skills.

Her academic focus is on preparing underrepresented minorities for success in emergency medicine and to fostering leadership in the next generation of physicians. As Assistant Clerkship Director at the University of Michigan and soon to be at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Dr. Okoli works to create inclusive opportunities for students to explore emergency medicine while mentoring them for residency success.

James Marvel, MD

Stanford University

Dr. James Marvel is an Emergency Medicine Physician in the Stanford University Department of Emergency Medicine. He completed his residency training in 2019 at LAC+USC Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA. After residency, Dr. Marvel was accepted to the Wilderness Medicine Fellowship at Stanford University. He used this fellowship year to further his understanding of human performance in extreme environments, completing an RCT evaluating medication dosing for altitude illness and serving as medical staff and researcher for a desert ultramarathon. During his fellowship Dr. Marvel gained a deep appreciation for the ways climate variables can impact human performance and overall health. He stayed on as faculty in the Stanford University Emergency Department, where he has turned his focus towards understanding the impacts of climate change on human health. He has co-directed a course on the topic for Stanford Undergraduates and medical students for the past 2 years, and recently formed an ED Green Team, which he co-leads with one of the department's nurse managers. Dr. Marvel has been an active member of the SAEM Climate Change and Human Health Interest Group, and is excited to continue to explore ways to blend his passion for wilderness medicine with studying climate change's impacts on health.

Kaitlin Rose, MD

University of Michigan

Kaitlin Rose is currently an Emergency Medicine Resident at the University of Michigan. She had earned her medical degree at Central Michigan University College of Medicine. She is a founder of the ED Green Team at University of Michigan Medicine as well as founded the Climate Change & Health Track for resident physicians.

Christyn Magill, MD

Carolinas Medical Center

Christyn Magill is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Atrium Health's Carolinas Medical Center and Levine Children's Hospital. She completed her medical school training at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL, Pediatrics residency at Virginia Commonwealth University/Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, VA, and her Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship at Carolinas Medical Center and Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte, NC. She currently serves as Program Director for the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship. She also enjoys serving in medical education and spending time elevating the knowledge of learners of all levels in the Departments of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics. Dr. Magill is the Academic Advisor for the Charlotte site as part of the CHaMP (Charlotte, Houston, and Milwaukee Prehospital) node of PECARN. Her research focuses on resource utilization in the prehospital setting and optimizing management of traumatically injured children in the prehospital setting. 

Elizabeth G. Olson, MD

Medical College of Georgia

Dr. Elizabeth Olson is a dual-trained EM/PEM attending in Augusta, Georgia. She completed medical school at Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, before moving to Charlotte, where she completed her EM residency and PEM fellowship at Carolinas Medical Center. She serves a dual role as Assistant Program Director of Medical College of Georgia's EM residency as well as MCG's Director of EM Informatics. Her areas of interest are health equity, clinical informatics, expanding access to medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorder, and medical education.

Juliana Jaramillo, MD

ECU Health

Dr. Juliana Jaramillo graduated from SUNY Downstate/Kings County where she completed her Emergency Medicine Residency followed by a Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship at Atrium Health / Carolinas Medical Center. Currently she is an Assistant Clinical Professor at ECU Health for Emergency Medicine / Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) Faculty Advisor for the Brody School of Medicine as well as Southeast Region.

Her interests include diversity and inclusion, mentorship, Hispanic health, education / curriculum development, wellness, pediatrics, and global health. She has served in numerous leadership roles within the Latino Medical Student Association, National Hispanic Medical Association, and previously completed the AAP Women's Wellness through Equity and Leadership program (WEL).