Department Blog - May 2026

In March, Assistant Professor Cheyenne Falat, MD, was featured in a Time article about situations that scare ER doctors the most. Dr. Falat shared insight about the realities of drowning in young children. Although drowning is the leading cause of death in children from ages 1 to 4, it is preventable. Dr. Falat recommends families enroll their children in swimming lessons and install barriers to prevent children from accessing pools or open water.

In a time when the challenges facing the medical profession seem greater than ever, Clinical Professor David Marcozzi, MD, MHS, expressed hope regarding the future of medicine with Becker’s Hospital Review. Specifically, Dr. Marcozzi cited the potential benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) to the healthcare community.

Adjunct Professor and former Department Chair Brian Browne, MD, was recently honored by the Baltimore Scouting Association for his decades of service to the Baltimore Area Council Scouts. 

In the 1990s, Dr. Browne worked with the Baltimore Area Council of Scouting America to conceive of the Health Services Luncheon, an opportunity to recognize distinguished healthcare professionals in Baltimore while raising funds for local Baltimore scouts.

The luncheon is now one of the largest gatherings of the greater Baltimore medical community, with more than 250 medical professionals from across the city in attendance every year. Since its inception, the luncheon has raised more than $1 million to supporting Baltimore scouts.

Last month, Associate Professor Dan Gingold, MD, MPH, educated readers in Prevention about potential presentations of appendicitis. Alongside national medical experts in family medicine and colorectal surgery, Dr. Gingold encouraged readers to trust their instincts—and seek emergency medical guidance if they felt pain throughout their abdomen or brain fog or confusion, as these symptoms can be associated with appendicitis.

On April 22, Assistant Professor Neeraja Murali, DO, MPH, alongside Chief Resident and Risk Management Fellow Lucy Martin, MD, led a Journal Court session for the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s medical students.

The session, held at the University of Maryland-Baltimore’s Francis King Carey School of Law, featured a medical malpractice mock trial, with medical students serving as key witnesses, attorneys, and jury members. 

The goal of the exercise was to introduce students to the complexities of medical malpractice, which affects, on average, three out of every four physicians in their careers.

Last month, the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) hosted its annual Scientific Assembly in Seattle. 

At the conference—one of the largest national events focused on the specialty of Emergency Medicine—AAEM recognized the outstanding contributions of Department faculty, including

• Assistant Professor Kathleen Stephanos, MD, who received the 2026 AAEM National Young Educator Award;
• Professor and Outgoing Chair Brian J. Browne, MD, who received the 2026 David K. Wagner Award;
• Associate Professor Sarah Dubbs, MD, who received the 2026 Kevin G. Rodgers Program Director of the Year; and
• Professor Amal Mattu, MD, who received the 2026 Master of AAEM Designation.

Additionally, Professor Laura Bontempo, MD, was re-elected to serve the AAEM Board of Directors as an At-Large Member.

Department faculty also participated robustly in conference presentations. Out of 200 total presentations at AAEM’s Scientific Assembly, Department staff delivered 23—or more than 12%— of all presentations.

Clinical Associate Professor Kyle Fischer, MD, MPH, was featured alongside colleagues from UMSOM’s R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in a recent WBALTV-11 segment on male support groups for Baltimore’s gun violence survivors.

The segment highlights the value of peer support, community, and personal transformation in overcoming traumas associated with gun violence.

Dr. Fischer is the Department’s fellowship director in Health Policy and Leadership—a two-year fellowship program for physicians seeking to enhance their medical training with policy experience and research.

This year, Department faculty were well-represented at the Maryland Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians’ 2026 Educational Conference and Annual Meeting.

Numerous faculty  were recognized for their outstanding contributions to Emergency Medicine in the State of Maryland. Award recipients include

• Professor Michael Bond, MD, who was honored as Maryland ACEP’s Physician of the Year;
• Assistant Professor Jenny Guyther, MD, who was honored as Maryland ACEP’s EMS Physician of the Year; and
• Professor and Interim Chair Mike Winters, MD, MBA, who was honored as Maryland ACEP’s Chairperson of the Year.

Beyond these honors, a wide range of faculty and residents presented at the conference, including

• Associate Professor Dan Gingold, MD, MPH, who participated in a panel on treating opiod use in the Emergency Department;
• EM Resident Hanna Hussein, MD, who competed in the conference’s resident competition with a presentation entitled “Rush Hour: Your Ultrasound GPS for the Crashing Patient;” and 
• Assistant Professor Bobbi-Jo Lowie, MD, who presented as a junior faculty speaker on her lecture “Everything Old is New Again: Reemergence of an Old Foe.”

Assistant Professor Sarah Sommerkamp, MD, coordinated the conference as a member of the Maryland ACEP Chapter’s Education Committee. On the Education Committee she was joined by Associate Professor Sarah Dubbs, MD; Clinical Associate Professor Jason Adler, MD; and Professor Michael Bond, MD, who all contributed to this year’s successful gathering.