National Journal Club - January 2026

Dr. Steven Aks graduated from the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1987. He works in Chicago, IL and 4 other locations and specializes in Public Health & General Preventive Medicine, Emergency Medicine and Medical Toxicology. Dr. Aks is affiliated with John H Stroger Jr Hospital Of Cook County.

Dr. Michele Burns is triple boarded in general pediatrics, pediatric emergency medicine, and medical toxicology. She has been the Medical Director of the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Poison Center for the last 20 years and is Chief of the Boston Children's Hospital Toxicology service. Her clinical research interests include investigating the epidemiological trends of pediatric poisoning exposures by using large hospital or national databases, and clinical communications that describe novel and innovative case presentations and/or treatment modalities in the pediatric toxicology patient. In addition, she is the Harvard Medical Toxicology Fellowship Director and a former member of both the ACMT Board and ABEM Medical Toxicology Subboard. Dr. Burns is also the Pediatric Toxicology Section Editor for UptoDate. She is committed to promoting optimal health care for acutely injured and poisoned patients, advocating for state-of-the-art treatment while contributing to national consensus guidelines and prevention efforts on a more global level.

Monica Thacker, M.D., M.S. is an Emergency Medicine physician affiliated with Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA. She completed medical school at St. George's University School of Medicine (class of 2021) and subsequently entered an Emergency Medicine residency at Jefferson Health Northeast. Dr. Thacker works in the emergency department, providing acute care to patients and managing a wide range of urgent medical needs, leveraging her training in emergency medicine.