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.

Elizabeth Barksdale Boyle is a Senior Program Officer in the Health and Medicine Division’s Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice after serving for several years as a Program Officer with the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology. Formerly, she was an Environmental Health scientist at Westat, where she supported the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institute of Child Health and Development, and the National Cancer Institute. Before her tenure at Westat, Ms. Boyle was a Student Epidemiologist at the Minnesota Department of Health and an Industrial Hygienist at a consulting firm in Cincinnati. She is a Fellow of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she is pursuing a Doctor of Public Health in environmental health. Ms. Boyle has an MPH in environmental health from the University of Minnesota, a certificate in risk sciences and public policy from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and is a Certified Industrial Hygienist.

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.

Senior Advisor for Medical Toxicology in the Division of Applied Regulatory Science in the Office of Clinical Pharmacology in the Office of Translational Science in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He received his medical toxicology training at the Rocky Mountain Poison Center in Denver (1988-1990). Emergency Medicine training was at the University of Cincinnati (1982-1985, Chief Resident). His Medical Degree (1982) is from the Medical College of Pennsylvania, now Drexel University. His B.S. (1978) is from Ursinus College in Biology (valedictorian). He is a Past-President and Fellow of the American College of Medical Toxicology. He is a co-editor of Critical Care Toxicology. He is the former Medical Director of the Penn State Poison Center (1990-2002) associated with an inpatient toxicology admitting service. Research interests include antidotes and treatment of the poisoned patients. At the FDA he started a biological plausibility consult service that would analyze for potential mechanisms as supportive evidence for an emerging drug safety signal. Bioinformatic tools were evaluated and studied to support these analyses. Research has also been done to predict adverse events. He currently is the Medical Monitor for FDA sponsored clinical trials performed to inform regulatory decision making.

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.

Dr. Victor Chen is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a practicing transplant hepatologist board eligible in addiction medicine. He received his Doctor of Medicine from Emory University School of Medicine before completing an Internal Medicine residency at Duke University Medical Center and successive Gastroenterology and Transplant Hepatology fellowships at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He also received a Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Investigation and a certificate in Public Health Economics from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Chen serves on the Practice Guidelines Committee of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, where he also recently completed his term on the steering committee of the Alcohol Associated Liver Disease Special Interest Group. Additionally, he is a GRADE Methodologist for the American College of Gastroenterology. Dr. Chen is supported by K23 and P50 grants from the NIH/NIAAA for his research on the intersection between alcohol use disorder, alcohol associated liver disease, and liver transplantation. The works of Dr. Chen and colleagues have stimulated nationwide conversations to revise the transplant practice paradigm for patients with alcohol associated liver disease.

Joseph A. Cocciardi, PhD, MS, CSP, CIH, REHS/RS, has practiced professionally and held academic and instructional positions for more than 35 years. Dr. Cocciardi's breadth of education, experience, and professional certifications have served the public, industrial and commercial sectors in the health, safety, emergency response and environmental protection disciplines.

This service has included the development, management and evaluation of public and occupational health/safety programs, including those with an environmental protection emphasis. Epidemiological study, research and investigation have been conducted over the 35-year period. He has been the Principal Investigator/Project Manager on key environmental protection programs dealing with highly hazardous chemicals and toxic materials and performed multiple hazard and risk assessments in this area. He has also evaluated current and proposed safety and environmental technologies and legislation. 

He holds instructional licenses for work with specialized toxic materials (Asbestos Containing Materials; Lead) and was instrumental in the development of the first EPA licensed training site and public employee education center for the removal of Asbestos Containing Materials within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He assisted with the establishment of a similar public lead poison prevention training center for the Pennsylvania Department of Health/US EPA. He has developed and taught safety and environmental protection programs and seminars at the collegiate level.

In addition to consulting activities, Dr. Cocciardi remains an employee of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and is designated a TYPE 1 Safety Officer assigned to the HHS Incident Response Coordination Team (IRCT), with both response and planning responsibilities for large scale disaster events. He has deployed nationally and internationally as a member of the Type I HHS Incident Response Coordination Team (IRCT).

Jon Cole is a medical toxicologist and emergency physician at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School and has been Medical Director of the Minnesota Poison Control System since 2011. He has published extensively in emergency medicine and toxicology, focusing on emergency pharmacology, management of drug-induced shock and delirium, and care of patients with substance use disorders in the emergency department.

Dr. Dissanayake received her medical degree from Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA. She completed her Emergency Medicine residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, IL, and her Global Toxicology fellowship at the University of Illinois. Her areas of expertise and interest are Global Health, Social Emergency Medicine, and Medical Toxicology. 

Dr. John W. Downs, MD, MPH, is a medical toxicology faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and a retired U.S. Army officer with over 20 years of distinguished service. A graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and the Uniformed Services University (USU), he completed residencies in internal medicine and occupational & environmental medicine, as well as a fellowship in medical toxicology at VCU. Dr. Downs has extensive military medical experience, including multiple deployments as a senior medical officer for special operations and infantry units in Iraq and Afghanistan, and leadership roles such as Chief of Preventive Medicine at Fort Campbell and Chief of Occupational & Environmental Medicine at Walter Reed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Board certified in internal medicine, occupational & environmental medicine, and medical toxicology, he also holds certifications as a Certified Public Health professional (CPH) and Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology (DABT). A Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Dr. Downs has authored over 25 peer-reviewed publications and is a recipient of the Army Surgeon General’s 9A Proficiency Designation.

Carla Foster is an Epidemiologist and Principal Investigator at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) in the Health Care Provider Initiatives Unit. Her research focuses on the implementation and evaluation of public health detailing campaigns across New York City with the aim of improving clinical decision making and advancing a culture of health. Her research interests include implementation science and the impact of bias, racism, and white supremacy culture on physical and mental health. During DOHMH’s Incident Command System COVID-19 emergency activation response she served as Deputy Director of the Integrated Data Team. Prior to joining the NYC DOHMH, she led development of clinical practice guidelines at the American Urological Association. She obtained dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Pan-African Studies and Neuroscience from Wellesley College. Carla obtained her Master of Public Health Degree in Epidemiology from Columbia University where she is also currently pursuing a doctorate in Epidemiology.

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. Michael 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 the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s Office-both in Syracuse, NY. Dr. Holland is also 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. He is also Principal Medical Toxicologist at the Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health (CTEH) in Little Rock, AR.    

I am the Director of Clinical Toxicology at the Calvary Mater Newcastle, Professor at the University of Sydney 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 of the Asia Pacific Assocation of Medical Toxicologists, and a Board member of the EAPCCT. My major area of research is snake bite. I have published over 390 papers and received >$20 million in research funds. I have conducted 14 RCTs and coordinate or co-coordinate 5 large cohorts studies.

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.

Dr. Emily 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.

Mark A. Kirk, MD serves as Senior Advisor for Chemical Defense in the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, addressing chemical security and chemical defense matters at the Federal government and local jurisdictional level. He began supporting DHS chemical defense efforts in 2008.  He is an emergency physician and medical toxicologist with special interests in critical care toxicology, mass gathering preparedness, and incident response to large-scale hazardous materials incidents and chemical terrorism. 

Dr. Kopec is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at Carolinas Medical Center and the Director of the Medical Toxicology Division at CMC. After completing her fellowship at Einstein Medical Center she was an attending physician at Duke University for two years before moving to Carolinas Medical Center where she has been since 2015. 

Michael J. Kosnett, MD, MPH, FACMT has 34 years of experience as a physician specializing in medical toxicology and occupational and environmental health. He is board certified in internal medicine, medical toxicology, and preventive medicine (occupational medicine). He has served in a leadership and advisory capacity to multiple national and international medical and public health organizations. This includes service as past president of the American College of Medical Toxicology and a member of the Committee on Toxicology of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. In addition, Dr. Kosnett has served as a consultant and temporary advisor to the World Health Organization; EPA Science Advisory Board expert panels; and advisory committees of the CDC National Center for Environmental Health and ATSDR. He has also served as a medical toxicology consultant to the US Army Public Health Command, the US Air Force Science Advisory Board, and the US Navy Naval Air Systems Command. In 2016, the American College of Medical Toxicology awarded Dr. Kosnett the Matthew J. Ellenhorn Award, a career achievement award that recognizes “extraordinary contributions to the field of medical toxicology.”

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. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley; medical school at the University of Pittsburgh; and emergency medicine residency and medical toxicology fellowship at the University of Massachusetts. He is the program director of the medical toxicology fellowship at UMass Chan Medical School, and his academic interests include medical education, the application of novel technologies to the treatment of substance use disorders, and the surveillance of impairing substances in patients with severe traumatic injurie

Dr. Ophir Lavon is a board-certified medical toxicologist, clinical pharmacologist, and internal medicine specialist. He is the director of the Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology Unit at Carmel Medical Center (Haifa, Israel), and leads its fellowship program. Dr. Lavon is the current chairperson of the Israel Society of Toxicology and a board member of the Israeli Society for Clinical Pharmacology (both affiliated with the Israel Medical Association). Dr. Lavon is a board member of the European Association of Poison Centres and Clinical Toxicologists (EAPCCT) and serves as the chairperson of its Communication Committee. He is an active member of ACMT and AACT. Dr. Lavon is a senior lecturer at the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine of the Technion – Israel Institution of Technology, Haifa, Israel. Dr. Lavon is the chair of several advisory committees for the Israel Ministry of Health, including the Advisory Committee for Preparedness and Response to Toxicological Mass Casualties Events and the National Committee for Antidotes. Dr. Lavon served for several years as a medical consultant at the Israel Poison Information Center, and he is the former director of the Patient Safety and Risk Management Unit at Carmel Medical Center.

Brian Linde is the Chief of Occupational Health Services at VA Palo Alto Healthcare System (VAPAHCS) and faculty physician at Stanford Workforce Health and Wellness. Prior to joining VAPAHCS and Stanford Health Care last year, Dr. Linde was Associate Program Director of the Yale Occupational and Environmental Medicine Program (YOEMP) and Chief of Occupational Health Services at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System (VACHS). As Associate Program Director of YOEMP, he oversaw the medical education and training for the physicians in training in Occupational and Environmental Medicine. He has also designed curricula to train Internal Medicine residents in core aspects of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. As Chief of Occupational Health Services at VAPAHCS, he oversees the Medical Center Occupational Health Services for over 5,000 employees in the VA Palo Alto Healthcare System. Services include medical surveillance, work injury evaluation and management, infection prevention, and employee health and well-being. As a Board Certified Occupational and Environmental physician, he also provides patient consultations to evaluate health effects of occupational and environmental exposures. Dr. Linde received his M.P.H. in Occupational and Environmental Medicine from Yale School of Public Health, and his M.D. from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University.

Dr. Maskell is board certified in emergency medicine, medical toxicology, and addiction medicine.  He has an appointment as Assistant Professor of Military and Emergency Medicine at Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences and currently serves as the Medical Director of the Tactical Medicine Readiness Division at the US Army Medical Department Medical Center of Excellence, Ft. Sam Houston, Texas.  He also serves as guest faculty at Brooke Army Medical Center and as a Consulting Toxicologist for the Washington Poison Center.  He graduated from Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, completed his Emergency Medicine residency at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington, and his Medical Toxicology fellowship at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.  

Dr. Dan McCabe is a Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Pharmacy at the University of Iowa, Division Director of Medical Toxicology at the University of Iowa, and Medical Director for Iowa Poison Control Center.

Sean McCann is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine and Medical Toxicology at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). He completed undergraduate studies in neuroscience, as well as medical school at the University of Pittsburgh. He then completed emergency medicine residency at Resurrection Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. After residency he received fellowship training in medical toxicology at the Toxikon Consortium, a joint program through UIC, Cook County Health and the Illinois Poison Center. 

His fellowship research included projects addressing severe unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning, the impact of FDA packaging guidelines on loperamide abuse and misuse, severe methemoglobinemia secondary to sodium nitrite poisoning. Since completing fellowship in 2020, Dr. McCann has served as emergency medicine and medical toxicology faculty at UIC. In addition to working clinically in the Emergency Department, he sees patients on the inpatient toxicology consult service, takes medical backup call for the Illinois Poison Center, and helped establish an outpatient medical toxicology clinic. His current research focuses on lead poisoning in refugee and emergency department patient populations.

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. Nicholas Nacca is the director of Medical Toxicology and Medical Toxicology Fellowship Director at the University of Rochester Medical Center. In addition to being faculty member in the Department of Emergency Medicine he holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Environmental Medicine. His primary role is staffing the educational and clinical medical toxicology consultation service, with educational responsibilities to medical toxicology fellows, multidisciplinary teams of medical residents, pharmacy residents and students, as well as medical students. He staffs and directs a referral based outpatient Medical Toxicology Clinic.

Dr. Antonia Nemanich is an assistant professor of emergency medicine, medical toxicology and addiction medicine at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. She recently graduated from the Toxikon Consortium fellowship in Chicago and now continues to be involved with the fellowship as faculty.

Dr. Nikolaides is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine with a dual appointment in the Department of Psychiatry at Rush University Medical Center.  She is board certified in Emergency Medicine, Medical Toxicology and Addiction Medicine.  She is a graduate of Northwestern Medical School, getting both her MD and a Masters in Medical Humanities and Bioethics.  She completed her residency in Emergency Medicine at SUNY Buffalo and her fellowship in Medical Toxicology at University of Illinois / Cook County Hospital.  She completed an additional International Research Fellowship in Toxicology at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland prior to joining Rush. She now serves as the Director of Medical Toxicology, and the Director of Rush’s Substance Use Intervention Team.

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. Pérez Tuñón currently holds the position of Chief at the Centro Toxicológico del Hospital Angeles Lomas (Poison Control Center at Angeles Lomas Hospital) and serves as the Head Professor of Clinical Toxicology at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (National Autonomous University of Mexico). He is a certified Pediatrician and holds a Master degree on Pharmacology. Dr. Pérez Tuñón has been professor for over 12 years and participated on more of 30 publications. Finally, he is blessed with a loving wife, Sandra, and three incredible children.

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. Mindy Richlen is a Senior Research Specialist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, specializing in harmful algal blooms (HABs) and Oceans and Human Health (OHH). Her expertise encompasses field and laboratory studies on the ecology, diversity, and molecular biology of HABs. As Project Lead for the Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health (WHCOHH) Community Engagement Core (CEC), Dr. Richlen focuses on fostering collaboration with stakeholder and public health communities. She is also dedicated to community and classroom outreach, having developed K-12 activities based on WHCOHH research. In the national HAB community, Dr. Richlen serves as the Assistant Director of the U.S. National Office for Harmful Algal Blooms. This office, established by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, aims to improve engagement and coordination within the HAB research and management community, industry, and the public. Dr. Richlen brings a wealth of experience and a versatile skill set to her work. She is well-versed in planning, executing, and publishing research on HABs, translating findings, and effectively engaging diverse audiences in OHH research.

Dr. Joshua Shulman is the Medical Director of the Pittsburgh Poison Center. He completed his undergraduate Summa Cum Laude at the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Sciences (B.A./B.S.) in History and Neuroscience. He completed his Medical Doctorate (MD) degree at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 2012. He trained as a resident physician at UPMC Medical Education in Emergency Medicine from 2012 to 2015, and as a fellow in Medical Toxicology between 2015 and 2017. He was appointed a position of Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Medical Toxicology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He also holds an appointment as an Assistant Professor of Pharmacy and Therapeutics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Emergency Medicine, American Board of Medical Toxicology, and the American Board of Preventative Medicine in Addiction Medicine. He is currently practicing in UPMC Hospitals in the fields of Emergency Medicine, Medical Toxicology and Addiction Medicine.

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. 

Nora D. Volkow, M.D., is Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health. NIDA is the world’s largest funder of scientific research on the health aspects of drug use and addiction.

Dr. Volkow's work has been instrumental in demonstrating that drug addiction is a brain disorder. As a research psychiatrist, Dr. Volkow pioneered the use of brain imaging to investigate how substance use affects brain functions. In particular, her studies have documented how changes in the dopamine system affect the functions of brain regions involved with reward and self-control in addiction. She has also made important contributions to the neurobiology of obesity, ADHD, and aging. 

Dr. Volkow was born in Mexico and earned her medical degree from the National University of Mexico in Mexico City, where she received the Robins Award for best medical student of her generation. Her psychiatric residency was at New York University, where she earned a Laughlin Fellowship from The American College of Psychiatrists as one of 10 outstanding psychiatric residents in the United States.

Much of her professional career was spent at the Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York, where she held several leadership positions including Director of Nuclear Medicine, Chairman of the Medical Department, and Associate Laboratory Director for Life Sciences. Dr. Volkow was also a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Associate Dean of the Medical School at The State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Dr. Volkow has published almost a thousand peer-reviewed articles, written 113 book chapters, manuscripts and articles, co-edited "Neuroscience in the 21st Century" and edited four books on neuroscience and brain imaging for mental and substance use disorders.

She received a Nathan Davis Award for Outstanding Government Service, was a Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal (Sammies) finalist and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Association of American Physicians. Dr. Volkow received the International Prize from the French Institute of Health and Medical Research for her pioneering work in brain imaging and addiction science; was awarded the Carnegie Prize in Mind and Brain Sciences from Carnegie Mellon University; and was inducted into the Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) Hall of Fame. She was named one of Time magazine's "Top 100 People Who Shape Our World"; one of "20 People to Watch" by Newsweek magazine; Washingtonian magazine’s "100 Most Powerful Women"; "Innovator of the Year" by U.S. News & World Report; and one of "34 Leaders Who Are Changing Health Care" by Fortune magazine.

Sarah Weiss is a medical toxicologist currently practicing in Reading, Pennsylvania. Her undergraduate education at Hampshire College fueled her ongoing desire for learning and discovery. She returned to her home city of Philadelphia to attend Drexel University College of Medicine. She then went on to Emergency Medicine residency at Stony Brook University Hospital and toxicology fellowship at Einstein Healthcare Network.

Sarah's favorite areas of interest in toxicology are critical poisonings by psychotropic agents and care of people who use drugs. She is particularly interested in the intersections between recreational substance use, self-harm, and mental health. She cares deeply about teaching at all levels of training, from pre-medicine/high school to continuing medical education for practicing providers, as well as community education.  She has given presentations specifically on the care of people who use drugs, LGBTQ+ patients, and done health outreach projects for those communities. She is invested in the care of underserved communities including those with drug dependence, un/underinsured, and those with housing insecurity.

Outside of her professional life, Sarah never quite "grew up" and loves to climb and play. She is a professionally trained trapeze artist and an avid crafter. She particularly loves knitting, crochet, and spinning her own yarn. She shares her Reading home with two humans, a dog, a cat, and three rabbits.

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.

Jason has worked with the Comprehensive Transplant Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital for more than a decade, supporting candidates and recipients of solid organ transplants and vascular composite allographs--with a particular focus on liver, kidney, and genitourinary VCAs. He has been a contributing author to published research on Early Liver Transplant for Alcohol-related Liver Disease and has served as guest speaker and content expert on the same subject in multiple national conference presentations as well as educational sessions for various departments within the Johns Hopkins Hospital and other community health organizations. He is a champion of multi-disciplinary health care delivery and regularly advocates for a comprehensive, inclusive, and person-centered approach to transplant care. When he is not working he is likely laughing, crying, or otherwise creating chaos with his spouse and 4 young children.

Timothy J. Wiegand, MD, FACMT, FAACT, DFASAM is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Public Health Sciences at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) in Rochester, New York. Board-certified in both Medical Toxicology and Addiction Medicine, Dr. Wiegand specializes in Addiction Toxicology, combining clinical practice with research, teaching, and leadership roles. He has served two terms on the Board of Directors for the American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) and is currently on the Board of Directors for the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). In 2023, he began a two-year term as Treasurer of ASAM, having previously served as Vice President on the Executive Council. Dr. Wiegand founded and led the Toxicology Service at URMC until 2022, when he transitioned to Director of Addiction Medicine and Director of Addiction Medicine Consults in the Department of Emergency Medicine. He also serves as Fellowship Director for the URMC Combined Addiction Medicine Fellowship and is leading efforts to launch the URMC Medical Toxicology Fellowship, which is expected to be formally accredited by July 2023.

Mark Lawrence Zammit was born in 1974 and raised in Malta. He is employed as an Advanced Pharmacy Practitioner within the Ministry for Health, Malta and is a Visiting Senior Lecturer within the Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Malta (UOM).

He has expertise in clinical toxicology and pharmacology. He has worked within the Department of Health, Malta for more than 25 years in various positions and been asked to represent Malta in various fora both nationally as well as internationally.

He lectures clinical toxicology and pharmacology at the UOM and has researched the roles and functions of poisons information centers. He has also been involved in international collaborative projects in clinical toxicology. He has extensively lectured at International congresses and developed curricula and training programs in pharmacology and clinical toxicology.

He is a fellow of the European Association of Poisons Centres and Clinical Toxicologists and a member of the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology as well as an Associate Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

He has been General Secretary of EAPCCT and is an EAPCCT Executive Committee Member. He is also a member of the EU pool of experts on ad hoc rapid risk assessment relating to cross border toxicological risks and a management committee member of the European Venom Network (EUVEN). He also co-authored a number of World Health Organization documents relating to poison centres and clinical toxicology.