2023 Annual Impact Report

Each year the MTF provides funding opportunities for early to mid-career investigators. Learn more about all MTF research funding opportunities by clicking the links below.

2023 MTF/SAEMF Medical Toxicology Research Grant Recipient

Mehruba Anwar Parris, MD, FACMT
Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS); medical toxicology consultant, New Jersey Poison Information and Education System

Award Amount: $20,000
Funding Period: July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024
Project: "Efficacy and Incidence of Adverse Events of High Dose Buprenorphine for MOUD in the ED"

We caught up with Dr. Parris for an update on the project and to discuss how recieving this funding has impacted her. Read more in the "Impact Stories" section of this report.

The Charles E. Becker Medal for Outstanding Achievement as a Medical Toxicology Fellow was established with the generous support of Dr. Charles Becker, a pioneering leader in establishing the specialty of medical toxicology. In a career spanning more than four decades, Dr. Becker’s contribution to scholarship, research, public health promotion, and professional medical education in medical toxicology have earned him international recognition and respect.

This award aims to recognize an outstanding fellow who embodies the humanitarian spirit of Dr. Becker and whose professional goals include a desire to make a significant contribution to advance the field of medical toxicology.

Courtney Temple, MD was selected as the inaugural recipient of the Charles E. Becker Medal for Outstanding Achievement as a Medical Toxicology Fellow. Dr. Temple completed the Medical Toxicology Fellowship program at Oregon Health and Science University in 2022. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at OHSU and a member of the core faculty of the OHSU Medical Toxicology Fellowship Program. Dr. Temple received the Becker Medal during a ceremony at the 2023 ACMT Annual Scientific Meeting in San Diego, CA (pictured.)

The MTF offers several conference travel awards for medical students and residents to offset cost to attend ACMT's Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM). Attending these conferences provides opportunities to network with experts in the field, and recipients gain exposure to the latest advancements, emerging trends, and best practices in medical toxicology to encourage them to pursue medical toxicology fellowship training.

J&J Consumer Health
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Travel Awardees

Dr. Michael Shannon Diversity, Equity and
Inclusion Travel Awardee

Christy Williams, MD
Resident
NYU Langone Health

Michael P. Spadafora Medical Toxicology
Travel Awardee

Emily Amador, DO
Resident
Medical University of South Carolina

The focus of this program is to create opportunities for fellows to experience another facet of medical toxicology during their fellowship and introduce them to the possibility of a career in industry. The goal is to teach the principles of product development from the R&D pipeline, through the regulatory process, to launch and post-market stewardship. The rotation will address the gap in understanding the role of industry and the regulatory oversight of bringing important technology from the academic arena to the public sphere.

February 2023 Cohort

Adiel Aizenberg, MD
University of Arizona and Banner University Medical System, Tucson, AZ

Juliana Chang, MD
Northwell Health, Manhasset, NY

Frank Dicker, MD
Washington University, St. Louis, MO

Ryan Fuchs, MD
HealthPartners Institute, Minneapolis, MN

October 2023 Cohort

John Keller, MD
University California of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

Alexander Lazar, MD
Washington University, St. Louis, MO

Serah Wambui Oyewole, MD
University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX

Stephen Petrou, MD
University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

James Cao, MD, FACMT
2022 Innovative Research, Teaching, & Practice Grant
Project: “Molecularly Designed Polymers for Specific Bupropion Neutralization”

Dazhe (James) Cao, M.D., is an Associate Professor and Division Chief of Medical Toxicology in the Department of Emergency Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Cao earned his medical degree at Baylor College of Medicine. He completed a residency in emergency medicine at Carolinas Medical Center and received advanced training in medical toxicology through a fellowship at Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Safety. He is currently the Medical Director of Toxicology for the Parkland Health & Hospital System. Dr. Cao has delivered numerous national and regional invited lectures, contributed to the eleventh edition of the textbook Goldfrank's Toxicologic Emergencies, and published several academic articles.

Mehruba Anwar Parris, MD, FACMT
2023 - 2024 MTF/SAEMF Toxicology Research Grant
Project: "Efficacy and Incidence of Adverse Events of High Dose Buprenorphine for MOUD in the ED"

Mehruba Anwar Parris, MD, FACMT is an emergency physician and medical toxicologist. She is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, NJ. She completed her fellowship in Medical Toxicology at Emory University/CDC in Atlanta, GA after which she served in multiple educational and administrative roles at Jackson Health System and Florida’s Poison Control Centers in Miami, FL. She is currently the Director of Clinical Services for the Division of Medical Toxicology. Her interests are in acute and critical care, herbals, and public health within medical toxicology and addiction medicine.  

Jennifer Love, MD
2022 Innovative Research, Teaching, & Practice Grant
Project: "Emergency Department Based Acute Pain Management for Opioid Use Disorder"

Jennifer S. Love, MD, MSCR, is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Love received her medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and completed residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania where she also served as chief resident. She completed a Medical Toxicology fellowship at Oregon Health & Science University, and then a T32 Research fellowship at Mount Sinai.As part of her work with the Mount Sinai Center for Research on Emerging Substances, Poisoning, Overdose, and New Discoveries (RESPOND Center), Dr. Love explores novel adulterants in the opioid supply, especially xylazine, and the emergency care of patients exposed to xylazine. She is also dedicated in the education about, advocacy for, and research on gender equity in emergency medicine and has published analysis of gender disparities in authorship in medical toxicology journals.

President's Circle
$1,000 - $2,499

Michael Abesamis, MD
Peter Akpunonu, MD
Kim Aldy, DO, MS, MBA
A. Nelson Avery, MD, FACMT
Kavita Babu, MD, FACMT
Jeffrey Brent, MD, PhD, FACMT
Michelle Burns, MD, MPH, FACMT
DCM/Rockbridge Investments
Leslie Dye, MD, FACMT
Rob Hendrickson, MD, FACMT
Michele Hieger, DO
Kathy Kopec, DO, FACMT
Mark Mycyk, MD, FACMT
Evan Schwarz, MD, FACMT
Andrew Stolbach, MD, MPH, FACMT

Patron Donors
$500 - $999

Jeffrey Bernstein, MD, FACMT
Keenan Bora, MD
Diane Hindman, MD, FACMT
Michael Hodgman, MD, FACMT
Russ & Sharon Kerns
Kenneth Kulig, MD, FACMT
David Liss, MD
Michelle Ruha, MD, FACMT

Friends of the MTF
- $499

Steven Aks, DO, FACMT
Thomas Arnold, MD, FACMT
Lydia Baltarowich, MD, FACMT
Carl Baum, MD, FACMT
Michael Beuhler, MD, FACMT
James Cao, MD
Lynn Farrugia, MD, FACMT
Marion Fedoruk, MD, FACMT
Jonathan Ford, MD
Matthew Griswold, MD
Christina Hantsch, MD, FACMT
Fred Harchelroad, MD, FACMT
Scott Hardy, MD
Katherine Hart, MD
Hannah Hays, MD, FACMT
Fred Henretig, MD, FACMT
Michael Holland, MD, FACMT
David Jang, MD, FACMT
Joshua King, MD, FACMT
Ronald Kirschner, MD
Michael Kosnett, MD, FACMT
Jerrold Leikin, MD, FACMT
Jennifer Love, MD
Christine Murphy, MD, FACMT
Jennifer Parker Cote, MD
Holly Perry, MD
Mohan Punja, MD, FACMT

Anthony Scalzo, MD, FACMT
David Tanen, MD, FACMT
Trevonne Thompson, MD, FACMT
Moshe Tirosh, MD
Michael Toce, MD, MS, FACMT
Gary Tubbs, MD
Michael Wahl, MD, FACMT
Philip Walson, MD, FACMT
Brian Wolk, MD