All Sessions

Jessica D. Carter is an Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Harding University College of Pharmacy, where she maintains a clinical practice site at a family medicine clinic primarily serving patients with diabetes. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Texas A&M University in 2016 and her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Harding University College of Pharmacy in 2020. Following graduation, Dr. Carter completed a postgraduate residency at CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital in...

Ellen Jones, Pharm.D., BCACP is an Associate Professor at Harding University College of Pharmacy and a clinical pharmacist at OneLife Direct Primary Care Clinic in Searcy, Arkansas. She teaches drug information, immunization, and self-care pharmacotherapy and is passionate about helping students connect clinical knowledge with real-world impact. As the founder of RxDecks and Phluent, she combines her background in the performing arts with her love of pharmacy education to create innovative, interactive learning tools for...

Bruce W. Newton, PhD is Professor and Chair of Anatomy. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology at Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, PA. and a Ph.D. in Anatomy at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. He participated in post-doctoral work in Neurobiology at the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY. Basic Science Research: Development of afferents into spinal autonomic regions; gonadal hormone control of sexual dimorphism of spinal motoneuron systems; testicular descent; sex...

Dr. Aariyana Britton is a dedicated healthcare professional, researcher, and advocate from Sussex County, Virginia. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences from Averett University (2020) and a Master of Science from Liberty University (2022), where she focused on public health and U.S. health policy. Most recently, she earned her Doctorate degree, further strengthening her expertise in understanding and addressing complex health challenges across diverse populations. Dr. Britton currently serves in the areas...

Margaret L.P. Adam, MD, is an attending physician at Seattle Children's Hospital and a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Dr. Adam's clinical interests include the diagnosis and management of infants, children, and adolescents with a variety of genetic conditions. Dr. Adam has a special interest in Mowat-Wilson syndrome, for which she has conducted clinical research in the past. She is currently involved as the primary geneticist...

Dr. Simoyan is an addiction medicine physician and holds an appointment as a full professor in the department of psychiatry at Drexel University College of Medicine. She also holds adjunct faculty positions at Penn State University College of Medicine and Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. She was the Founding Medical and Executive Director of Research at Caron Treatment Centers and the program director for the addiction medicine fellowship at Geisinger Marworth prior to her current...

Dr. Benjamin Littenberg is a Primary Care Internist with interests in epidemiology, health services delivery, quality improvement, public health, and technology assessment. He does clinical trials, decision models, meta-analysis, and secondary data analysis. He has authored over 185 peer-reviewed papers and served as Principal Investigator on 16 federal and foundation-supported grants. Dr. Littenberg earned the MD from Case Western Reserve University and trained in internal medicine at Hartford (Connecticut) Hospital. He was a Robert Wood...

Dr. Walaa Dabbas is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at University of Illinois Chicago and practices in the Division of Nephrology at UI Health. Dr. Dabbas is a Transplant Nephrologist, provides comprehensive, individualized care to all kidney transplant patients and patients with chronic kidney diseases. She has a special interest in living kidney donation, kidney transplantation for obese patients, and combined organ transplants. Dr. Dabbas graduated from Dubai Medical College, United Arab Emirates, completed...

Christopher Ziebell, MD, FACEP, is the Emergency Department Medical Director at Houston Methodist Hospital and Chair of USACS' Workplace Safety Committee. He took on this role after serving as the emergency department medical director at Dell Seton Medical Center at the University of Texas at Austin. He led the ED at Central Texas’ only Level I adult trauma center (formerly known as University Medical Center Brackenridge) from 2007-2021. He has served as director of behavioral...

Dr. Holloway is Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Program Director for the Global Health Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care. He is boarded in Pediatrics and Pediatric Critical Care. Dr. Holloway attended the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA where he received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, followed by Doctor of Medicine conferred by the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, VA. He completed his internship and residency in...

Isabella is a 3rd year biology major at Cairn University, works as both a CNA and medical assistant (MA), and serves as the President of the Health Sciences Club at her school. She has experience in blood cancer research, having a first-author publication in the works. Isabella has also shadowed many physicians and providers in several specialties of medicine. She is passionate about sharing her story and helping other premed students succeed in their journey!

Dr. Rachel Sieke is an accomplished psychiatrist located in Cleveland, Ohio, renowned for her dedication to enhancing mental health care through a holistic and patient-centered approach. Dr. Sieke sees her primary role as guiding individuals on their journey of self-exploration and empowerment, fostering an environment where patients are encouraged to actively participate in their healing. Driven by the belief that mental health treatment must consider the whole person, she skillfully integrates psychotherapy, lifestyle modifications, community...

Aliza Ben-Zacharia, PhD, DNP, ANP-BC, FAAN Dr. Ben-Zacharia is a full-time faculty and an assistant professor on a tenure track at Hunter College and is the Co-Director of the Research/EBP fellowship at the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing (PSON). At Mount Sinai PSON, she oversees the Phillips Fellowship Program, a formal interdisciplinary program comprising mentorship, collaborative research projects, and enhanced clinical rotations at The Mount Sinai Hospital. She is a board certified ANP with...

As Research Associate Professor of Pulmonary Medicine in the Department of Medicine at UIC, I have been leading a team to study (1) the role of caveolin 1 and IL7 in the development of pulmonary hypertension; (2) why African Americans are more susceptible to the effects of respiratory infections using caspase-12 knockout mice; (3) role of caspase-12 and WWOX in acute lung injury, heart failure and hypertension. As Director of the RRC Cardiovascular Research Core...

Dr. Christine Khandelwal graduated from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed a residency in Family Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Dr. Khandelwal realized her passion for caring for the complex, geriatric, and seriously ill population, which led her to pursue a Geriatrics Fellowship, concentrating in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, at UNC Chapel Hill. Dr. Khandelwal has been practicing as a clinician educator, developing programs for the past ten years, including...

Robert N. Agnello, DO, FACOFP is assistant professor of family medicine and osteopathic manipulative medicine at CUSOM. He has been adjunct faculty since the inception of CUSOM in 2013 assisting the OMM department. Dr. Agnello is board-certified in family medicine since 2001 via Warren Hospital in Phillipsburg, NJ and added a CAQ in pain medicine in 2017. He has worked at the Womack Army Medical Center in family medicine since 2010 and interdisciplinary pain medicine...

Tom Yankeelov received an MA in Applied Mathematics and an MS in Physics from Indiana University, before completing the PhD in Biomedical Engineering at SUNY @ Stony Brook. He completed his post-doc with Dr. John Gore at the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science and climbed the ranks to Full Professor in 2010. He then joined the faculty at The University of Texas at Austin in 2016 where he is now the Moncrief Chair of...

Varsha Gadiyar is a PhD student in biomedical sciences at Rutgers University, Newark.

Dr. Ajami is an Assistant Professor of Immunology at OHSU. Her work aims to understand how immune system contributes to different neurodegenerative conditions. Her team harness the power of different single-cell technologies to assess immune cell phenotypes, functions and interactions on a cell-by-cell basis. She was the first author on three seminal papers between 2007 and 2018 that reported the origin and heterogeneity of brain immune cells. In 2007, she was the first to show...

Julissa is a first-generation Colombian-American master’s student at Saint John’s University. She currently serves as a master fellow in the Collaborative Health Integrated Research Program (CHIRP), where her research focuses on addressing racial and ethnic disparities among Latinx, Black, and Asian populations. In addition to her role as a research assistant, she works as an MRI Research Operator at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, affiliated with Columbia University.

Dr. Mason R. Henehan, MD, FAAD, is a board-certified dermatologist practicing in Riviera Beach, Florida. He earned his medical degree from the University of Florida College of Medicine, where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and received the C. Craig Tisher, MD Award for Research. Dr. Henehan completed his transitional year residency at the University of Central Florida, serving as the peer-selected Graduation Speaker, followed by a dermatology residency at...

Dr. Jonathan J. Wisco is Associate Professor at Boston University Aram V. Chobanian & Edward Avedisian School of Medicine, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology. He is co-Director for the preclinical curriculum, Principles Integrating Science, Clinical Medicine and Equity (PISCEs); and Director of the Laboratory for Translational Anatomy of Degenerative Diseases and Developmental Disorders (TAD4). Dr. Wisco is also interested in best practices of teaching and learning, notably on the topics of curriculum design, faculty development,...

Winnie T. Whitaker, MD, FAAP is the division director for pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas in Austin, TX as well as Associate Professor of Pediatrics for the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School in Austin, TX. She also serves as the medical director for Camp Longhorn, a residential summer camp located in Burnet, TX. Dr. Whitaker is actively involved in numerous...

Mansi Roy is an international Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) student from India, currently pursuing her degree at Hofstra University in the USA. Her journey into audiology stemmed from a deep desire to make a tangible difference in people’s lives by restoring one of the most fundamental senses—hearing. Passionate about bridging the gap between technology and patient care, she is particularly interested in cochlear implants, vestibular disorders, and intraoperative monitoring in the operating room. Beyond academics,...

Dr. Firn, a certified healthcare ethics consultant, is Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Learning Health Sciences (DLHS), and Clinical Ethicist and Ethics Education Chief with the Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences (CBSSM) in Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School Dr. Firn’s research focuses on interprofessional education, collaboration, and decision making, and applied ethics. Her expertise includes ethics education and clinical ethics with a focus on ethical issues in the ICU,...