2024 ACMT | Annual Scientific Meeting

Dr. Hassan is an Emergency Medicne Consultant and Medical Toxicologist From Oman, Completed his Medical Degree at Sultan Qaboos University Medical School in Oman in 2013. Completed his Emergency Residency Program and Board at Oman Medical Specialty Board (OMSB), Oman. Completed a 2 year fellowship program in Medical Toxicology at Emory University, Georgea, USA. Dr. Al Balushi is an active member of Middle East and North Africa Medical Toxicology Association (MENATOX), as well as a board member and the secretary of Oman Society of Emergency Medicine (OSEM).

Dr. Noah Berland is an emergency physician and assistant division director of medical toxicology at NYC H+H Kings County Hospital Center. Prior to studying Medicine Dr. Berland obtained a Bachelors and Masters in Electrical Engineering. Dr. Berland obtained his MD from NYU School of Medicine and completed his Emergency Medicine Residency at SUNY Downstate - Kings County Hospital. Dr. Berland went on to complete his Medical Toxicology Fellowship and Rutgers NJMS in Newark NJ.

Albert Burgess-Hull is a Data Scientist and Machine Learning Researcher at MATClinics, an outpatient addiction treatment center in Maryland that specializes in Opioid Addiction Treatment. He received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin - Madison and completed postdoctoral fellowship training at the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s Intramural Research Program. Albert’s research focuses on the development and validation of digital diagnostic and prognostic frameworks for the classification and prediction of treatment related outcomes in addiction medicine. He is also interested in how the use of advanced clustering/segmentation methodologies can be used for the development of precision medicine frameworks to deliver the optimal treatment to the right patient at the right time.

A/Prof Betty Chan is a clinical toxicologist and emergency physician with major interests in cardiovascular drug poisonings, antidotes and cognitive function following poisoning. She is an Associate Professor with the University of New South Wales – Head of the Discipline of Critical Care, a consultant with the NSW Poisons Information Centre and an associate Editor of the journal Clinical Toxicology. She is an emergency physician, head of the Clinical Toxicology unit at Prince of Wales Hospital, South Eastern Area Toxicology Service (SEATS). Her research findings have led to a change of clinical guidelines in the use of digoxin-Fab in acute and chronic digoxin poisonings, folinic acid in acute and chronic methotrexate poisoning. She has initiated a number of projects which have provided clinical data for further studies in tapentadol poisoning, the use of haemodialysis for acute and chronic lithium poisoning, digoxin-Fab supply and demand, optimal methods to manage severe tricyclic antidepressant and dihydropyridine poisonings.

John W. Downs, MD, MPH is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and served two years as a US Army infantry officer, prior to attending medical school at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU). Dr. Downs completed residency training in internal medicine at Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, and in occupational & environmental medicine at USU, where he also completed a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree.  Dr. Downs later completed fellowship in medical toxicology at the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System-Medical College of Virginia. Dr. Downs is currently stationed at the Uniformed Services University where he is an Associate Professor and the Associate Program Director for the occupational and environmental medicine residency, and an attending physician at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.  Dr. Downs is board certified in internal medicine, occupational medicine, and medical toxicology, and is a certified public health professional (CPH).  He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 

Albert Garcia-Romeu, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His research examines the effects of psychedelics in humans, with a focus on psilocybin as an aid in the treatment of addiction. His current research interests include clinical applications of psychedelics, real-world drug use patterns, diversity in science, and the role of spirituality in mental health. He is a founding member of the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research and the International Society for Research on Psychedelics. He serves on the Board of Directors for the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) and is an Associate Editor for the journal Psychedelic Medicine.

Dr. Hamilton is Professor and Chair, Emergency Medicine, Drexel University College of Medicine. He is the Chief Academic Officer, DIO, and Regional Associate Dean for the Crozer Keystone Campus and EM System Chair of the Crozer Keystone Health System. Dr. Hamilton's research interests include PFAS and Manganese drinking water standards. He has received awards for his teaching and research and is a widely published author of manuscripts, textbooks, and book chapters, and patents.

Dr. Holland is the Director of Occupational Medicine for the Saratoga Hospital Medical Group, and is the Saratoga Hospital Employee Health Medical Director, where he oversees the health and safety of over 3100 employees and staff. He also serves as Employee Health Medical Director at Glens Falls Hospital in Glens Falls, NY, covering 2500 employees.

Dr. Holland is Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY where he is on the faculty of the Medical Toxicology Fellowship Training Program and is a Consulting Medical Toxicologist at the Upstate New York Poison Center and at the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s Office-both in Syracuse, NY.  

He is also Principal Medical Toxicologist at the Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health (CTEH) in Little Rock, AR.   

I am a Professor and NHMRC Senior Research Fellow at the University of Newcastle. I am a consultant clinical toxicologist and emergency physician, Director of the Department of Clinical Toxicology, Calvary Mater Hospital and consultant toxicologist to the NSW Poisons Information Centre. I was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2019 for my contribution to toxicology. I am President Elect of the Asia Pacific Assocation of Medical Toxicologists. My major area of research is snake bite. I have published over 375 papers and received $20 million in research funds.

Dr. Kiernan is an Assistant Professor at Emory University School of Medicine. She is a board-certified Emergency Medicine physician who recently completed a medical toxicology fellowship at Emory University/CDC. She has served as the fellow co-chair for the AACT Radiation Special Interest Section group as well as a chair in the ACMT Fellow-in-training association.

Dr. Kathryn Kopec is currently an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and the Director of the Medical Toxicology Division at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC. Dr. Kopec obtained her bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Dayton and her medical degree from Michigan State College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her Emergency Medicine residency and Medical Toxicology fellowship at Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA. She is currently on the ACMT Board of Directors. Academically her interests involved global toxicology, drugs of abuse, agitated delirium and toxicology education.

JoAn Laes, MD, DFASAM, FACMT is an addiction medicine physician in Minneapolis, Minnesota, focusing on inpatient addiction medicine and toxicology consultation as well as experience in outpatient treatment of opioid and other substance use disorders. She is also a core medical toxicology faculty for the Minnesota Poison Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and medical director for Missions Inc. Detox facility in Plymouth, Minnesota. She is board certified in Internal Medicine, Medical Toxicology, and Addiction Medicine. She completed internal medicine residency at Hennepin County Medical Center and medical toxicology fellowship at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Jeffrey Lai, MD, is an emergency physician and medical toxicologist at UMass Chan Medical School and UMass Memorial Health. He is the medical toxicology fellowship director and the clerkship director for the Introduction to Medical Toxicology elective at UMass Chan Medical School. His academic interests include medical education, the application of novel technologies to the treatment of substance use disorder, and the surveillance of impairing substances in patients with severe traumatic injuries.

Dr. Dan McCabe is a medical toxicologist and emergency medicine physician at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, as well as a Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Iowa, the Director of the Division of Medical Toxicology at the University of Iowa, and the Medical Director of the Iowa Poison Control Center. Dr. McCabe received his medical degree from the University of Iowa. He completed a residency in emergency medicine at Cook County Hospital and a fellowship in medical toxicology at the Regions Hospital/Minnesota Poison Control System. Dr. McCabe has a broad range of interests including improvement of care for the poisoned patient, toxicology, addiction medicine, resource utilization, and public health.

Dr. McKay was trained in Anatomic and Surgical Pathology, Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Medical Toxicology and was a Medical Director of Occupational Health and Medical Review Officer for a hospital system during more than 30 years of clinical practice, during which he provided toxicology consultation at 3 hospitals, directed a medical toxicology fellowship training program, and provided medical oversight of a regional poison control center. He provides medical legal consultation across the country on toxicology-related issues, and has testified in nearly 100 cases, many related to questions of alcohol- and -drug-induced impairment.

Dr. Moore is currently an Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine and Medical Toxicology at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City.  She completed her Emergency Medicine Residency training at Lehigh Valley Health Network in and her Fellowship in Medical Toxicology at Banner-University Medical Center in Phoenix. She is actively involved in Women in Toxicology (WiT), and helps to produce the  “Tox in Ten” and “ ACMT Highlights” Podcast.

Dr. Mycyk currently serves as the Chair of Research for the Department of Emergency Medicine at Cook County Health. He is a board member of several biomedical journals, including service as Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Medical Toxicology and Associate Editor of Academic Emergency Medicine. Dr. Mycyk received an AB in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard College and an MD from University of Illinois. He completed his Residency in Emergency Medicine at Boston City Hospital/Boston Medical Center and his fellowship at Toxikon Consortium.

Dr. Nacca was born Rochester NY. He completed his undergraduate work at University of Rochester with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience. He completed medical school, Emergency Medicine residency training, and Medical Toxicology fellowship at SUNY Upstate Medical University and the Upstate Poison Control Center. He currently works as an Emergency Physician and Medical Toxicologist at University of Rochester Medical Center where he serves as the Director of Medical Toxicology. The Medical Toxicology consult service at URMC provides 24/7 call coverage for Strong Memorial Hospital and affiliates, fielding both inpatient and outpatient consultations for management of both intentional and unintentional ingestions, overdoses, and environmental exposures. Dr. Nacca’s focus is on Medical Toxicology and Emergency Medicine education, with interest in novel psychoactive substances and adulterated drugs of abuse.

Dr. Daniel Nogee is a board-certified medical toxicologist and emergency medicine physician currently serving as the Chief of Consultation within the Chemical Casualty Care Division (CCCD) of the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense (USAMRICD). Dr. Nogee earned his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. While in medical school, he completed a research year at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health campus in Bethesda, MD through the Medical Research Scholars Program. Dr. Nogee completed internship and residency in emergency medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and completed a Masters in Health Sciences through the Yale University School of Medicine as well as a research fellowship in emergency medicine as part of the Yale Emergency Scholars program. Dr. Nogee completed fellowship training in Medical Toxicology through the Emory University School of Medicine-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Medical Toxicology Fellowship in Atlanta, GA. While serving as a medical officer for the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health he was deployed as a field investigator for an outbreak of non-viral hepatitis in the Las Vegas area.

During medical school, Dr. Nogee commissioned as an officer in the United States Army/Maryland Army National Guard. He is currently assigned as a Field Surgeon with the 224^th Medical Company (Area Support) in Olney, MD. During 2020 he deployed in support of COVID-19 response efforts in Maryland. In 2021, he deployed to the Middle East as a Battalion Surgeon with the 29^th Infantry Division Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion. 

Dr. Anthony (Tony) Pizon received his medical degree from the University of Toledo School of Medicine in 2001.  He then completed his Emergency Medicine Residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in 2004 and his Medical Toxicology Fellowship at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona in 2006. Dr. Pizon is currently a Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, Division of Medical Toxicology at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine. He serves as Chief of the Division of Medical Toxicology and Director of the Medical Toxicology Fellowship at UPMC. He is also Assistant Medical Director of both the Pittsburgh and West Virginia Poison Centers. Yet, most importantly, he is blessed with amazing wife, Caryn, and four wonderful children (Benjamin, Elizabeth, Gabriela, and Seraphina).

Dr. Robert “Cole” Pueringer is a Medical Toxicologist, Addiction Medicine Specialist, and Hospitalist. He joined Essentia Health in September of 2022. He completed his medical training in the Twin Cities, including Medical School at the University of Minnesota, Internal Medicine Residency and Chief Resident year at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC). He received his CTropMed certification for Tropical Medicine & Travelers’ Health at the University of Minnesota. He then completed a Medical Toxicology fellowship at the Health Partners Institute/HCMC in 2021 and an Addiction Medicine fellowship at the University of Minnesota in 2022. His academic interests include medical education, Global Health, and the overlap of Medical Toxicology and Addiction Medicine. He is particularly passionate about substance use disorder - a disease that has affected many aspects of his own life – and hopes to contribute significantly to substance use treatment, education, de-stigmatization, and harm reduction in northern Minnesota.

Dr. Spungen is a second year Medical Toxicology fellow at Banner—University Medical Center Phoenix. She completed her Emergency Medicine residency at UCLA Ronald Reagan/Olive View. Her research interests include bias and spin in scientific communication, vasopressor dosing in cardiodepressant drug toxicity, and using R to explore large toxicologic data sets. 

Dr. Trevonne M. Thompson is an attending emergency physician and medical toxicologist at UI Health and a tenured professor of Emergency Medicine and Medical Toxicology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine (UICOM). He obtained his undergraduate degree from Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. After graduating with a degree in Biology and minors in Chemistry and Spanish, he attended medical school at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago. He served his emergency medicine residency at Cook County Hospital (now Stroger Hospital of Cook County). After serving as Chief Resident in Emergency Medicine, he completed a Medical Toxicology fellowship at the Toxikon Consortium in Chicago. Dr. Thompson is the head of the Division of Medical Toxicology within the Department of Emergency Medicine at UICOM. He leads the medical toxicology consultation service and clinic at UI Health. He is a consultant to the Illinois Poison Center and is an associate program director for the Toxikon Consortium Medical Toxicology Fellowship.

Dr. Thompson is the Associate Dean for Admissions for the University of Illinois College of Medicine. He is a past chair of the Emergency Medicine Section of the National Medical Association.

Dr. Michael Toce completed his undergraduate studies at Carleton College where he received a B.A. in biology and biochemistry. He received a M.S. in bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his M.D. from the Medical College of Wisconsin. He completed his pediatrics residency at the Boston Combined Residency Program before completing a Medical Toxicology Fellowship and Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital. He is currently an attending in the Boston Children's Hospital Emergency Department and works as a Medical Toxicologist at the MA/RI Poison Control Center. Dr. Michael Toce conducts research that focuses on pediatric toxicology and emergency medicine. He has published on the association of state opioid reduction policies with pediatric opioid poisonings and is currently focused on assessing the association of naloxone access laws and adolescent and young adult opioid overdose.

Dr. Twiner has studied environmental toxicology for over 20 years earning his PhD from Western University (Ontario, Canada). The main focus of his early research career involved identifying and characterizing the toxicological mechanisms of marine and freshwater algal toxins with applications towards the development of molecular and biochemical detection methods as well as assessing the health effects of these toxins on marine mammals and humans. He spent several years working at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research in Charleston, SC before developing his own research laboratory at the University of Michigan. He continued to carry on his research program while completing his medical degree and then residency in Emergency Medicine at Detroit Receiving Hospital, Detroit, MI USA. He is now an attending physician at Detroit Medical Center, Detroit, Michigan.  He holds an academic position with Wayne State University where he continues his algal toxin research but has also branched out to work on research projects involving hypertension and heart failure in the underserved communities within and around Detroit. To date, he has published over 40 research papers. 

Dr. Stephanie Weiss is the Staff Research Physician serving the Translational Addiction Medicine Branch of the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s Intramural Research Program. After earning a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical chemistry, Dr. Weiss received her medical degree in 2011.  She is board certified in emergency medicine, addiction medicine, and medical toxicology and was selected to participate in the Boston University Research in Addiction Medicine Scholars Program prior to joining NIDA.  Dr. Weiss is responsible for providing optimal, safe, and ethical care to study participants and clinical support toward the TAMB mission conducting inpatient and outpatient proof-of-concept human laboratory studies. Her research interests include novel psychoactive substances, medication misuse, and improving interpretation of urine drug testing.

We are interested in studying the interaction of mitochondrial function in the area of acute care that includes sepsis and acute poisoning. We are currently taking a translational approach studying the mitochondria at a cell-based level, to various animal models, all the way to the clinical setting actively enrolling patients with these acute medical conditions with the goal to develop better prognostic measures with the potential for mitochondrial-directed therapy. 

Our lab has the latest models of the O2k-FluoRespirometer (O2k-Series H), Western blotting, confocal microscopy to study mitochondrial function in both in vitro and in vivo models with a focus on mitochondrial-directed therapies using substrate prodrugs. Relevant in vivo platforms include zebrafish, murine and porcine models of acute critical care illnesses that also combine state of the art physiological monitoring such as PV loop catheters providing realtime physiological data to be linked with cellular function. Our other interests also utilize the use of blood cells as proxy of organ cellular function as a type of biomarker which may provide prognostic function and allow clinicians to better gauge response to therapy. 

Combining these elements we aim to better understand the complex interactions of both bioenergetics in issues of acute care to better improve patient care and outcomes.