Faculty Bios

Joseph A Tyndall, MD, MPH, FACEP

Dr. Joseph (Adrian) Tyndall is Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine and Clinical Associate Professor, is a Diplomat of the American Board of Emergency Medicine and Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians. Dr. Tyndall graduated from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and attended the Residency Program in Emergency Medicine also at the University of Maryland where he was Chief Resident.  Dr. Tyndall then moved to Brooklyn New York where he was involved in academic emergency medicine, first as a Student Clerkship Director, and eventually Residency Program Director at the Brooklyn Hospital Center in Brooklyn New York. Dr. Tyndall has also held the positions of Associate Medical Director at the Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in Brooklyn New York and has had faculty appointments as Assistant Clinical Professor at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University and the State University of New York Health Sciences Center in Brooklyn. Dr. Tyndall also holds an Executive Masters Degree in Public Health in the area of health services management from the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University in New York. He has wide ranging interests in resident education and research which include asthma, trauma and health services research. He has authored a number of book chapters and research publications, and has presented nationally and internationally in emergency medicine and trauma. Dr. Tyndall is the recipient of many awards, but is most proud of the physician of the year teaching award from the Brooklyn Hospital Center in 2001 for his contribution to emergency medicine resident education.

Dr. Tyndall is a music enthusiast, having studied piano performance at the collegiate level, strives to maintain youth as an avid weekend warrior road cyclist, enjoys playing soccer, owns golf clubs, loves life in the outdoors and enjoys time with family and three young daughters.

Joel Moll, MD, FACEP

Dr. Moll is Medical Director of the Emergency Department at Shands UF, and a Clinical Assistant Professor with the University of Florida Department of Emergency Medicine. Originally from Toledo, Ohio he did his undergraduate at University of Michigan and medical school at Ohio State University, before completing his EM residency at Carolinas Medical Center.  After residency he joined the faculty at Case Western University EM residency program at MetroHealth and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.  Tired of Midwestern winter, he relocated to Florida where he worked in community emergency medicine in a variety of administrative roles before joining the faculty at University of Florida.  Dr Moll is a diplomat of the American Board of Emergency Medicine, and a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Outside of work he enjoys family, friends, pets, travel, gardening, and watching University of Michigan sports.

 Donna Carden, MD

Dr. Donna Carden is Clinical Professor and Director for Research and Faculty Development of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University Of Florida College Of Medicine, is a Diplomat of the American Board of Emergency Medicine and Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians. Dr. Carden graduated from Medical College of Ohio after which she completed residencies in Internal and Emergency Medicine at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan and served as chief resident in Emergency Medicine. Dr. Carden later completed a post-doctoral research fellowship in Molecular and Cellular Physiology at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC), in Shreveport, Louisiana. A productive research career was followed by the opportunity to assist in developing the Department of Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medicine residency at LSUHSC, Shreveport, as well as the privilege of serving as Vice-Chairman of the department. During her tenure at LSUHSC, Dr. Carden had the opportunity to mentor numerous students, residents, fellows and junior faculty and brings experience and enthusiasm in mentoring to the University of Florida. She has authored numerous manuscripts and book chapters but is most proud of being the recipient of the Leonard Tow 2006 Humanism in Medicine Award.

Dr. Carden has two young adult daughters, one a junior at the Savannah College of Art and Design and one who will enter college in the fall after an internship with the World Health Organization.

 Richard W. Stair, MD, FACEP

Dr. StairDr. Stair was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, and received his education and residency training at the University of Maryland. Upon the completion of his residency in June of 1998, he joined the faculty at the University of Florida.

Dr. Stair's primary area of interest has been education, and was the first clerkship director in the department. He wrote the Emergency Medicine clerkship curriculum which is a required course for all fourth year medical students at the University of Florida's College of Medicine. The clerkship focuses on having medical students evaluate ED patients and formulate management plans, and the clinical decision making process. Dr. Stair also developed the simulation program for the department, utilizing high fidelity human patient simulators along with supporting clinical data to allow management of challenging cases in a controlled environment.

Dr. Stair is currently appointed as the Program Director for the fully-accredited University of Florida Gainesville based Emergency Medicine residency, and continues to develop residency education, curriculum, and simulations.

Preeti Jois-Bilowich, MD

Dr. Preeti Jois-Bilowich  Dr. Jois-Bilowich joined the faculty after completing a fellowship in Cardiovascular Emergencies at Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio. As the first fellow of this program, she developed knowledge in areas of 1) Acute Coronary Syndrome, 2) Cardiovascular Imaging, 3) Heart Failure, 4) Electrophysiology, and 5) Observation Unit Medicine.

Her fellowship training afforded her various research opportunities and has provided her with a niche within emergency medicine. She has served as principal investigator for several multicenter trials, has published original research, written review articles, and has lectured about cardiovascular emergencies in local, national, and international forums. Her pursuits in these areas are ongoing.

Although she treasured the educational experiences and the lifelong friendships gained in Cleveland, she was unable to adapt to Midwest winters. So, she returned to Florida, and specifically to her Gator roots.

Dr. Jois-Bilowich was the first female resident in the inaugural class of the University of South Florida emergency medicine residency program. She was born in Singapore, spent part of her childhood in Sri Lanka and immigrated to Tampa, FL in time to start 6th grade. She fills her spare time with varied activities: cheering loudly at Gator football games; running/dancing/weight training/spinning; globe-trekking; and appreciating family, friends, and life.

Megan Brown, DO

Dr. Brown completed a Pediatric Residency at the University of Florida, Jacksonville and a Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship at Maimonides in Brooklyn. Dr. Brown came to the University of Florida to start the Pediatric Emergency Department and currently is building the department’s faculty and educational experiences.  She serves on the FEMA Disaster Relief Team of Florida and enjoys time with her family and her horses. 

Haritha Challapalli, MD, FACEP

Dr. Challapalli is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine.  Dr. Challapalli has a BA in Classics and a BS in Biological Studies from Stanford University and went on to graduate AOA from Indiana University School of Medicine.  She completed two years of General Surgery training at University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, Texas, before switching careers and graduating from Harvard’s Emergency Medicine residency at Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s Hospitals in 2004.  Prior to joining the University of Florida in 2006, Dr. Challapalli was an attending Emergency Medicine physician at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois, and then at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida.  She is a diplomat of the American Board of Emergency Medicine and a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians.  Dr. Challapalli serves as the physician chair of our intradepartmental Quality Improvement Group, JDIG.  Dr. Challapalli enjoys travel and spending time with her family.

Bobby Desai, MD, FAAEM

Dr. Desai joined the EM faculty in 2007 after eight years practicing practicing community emergency medicine.  He brings a wealth of experience in billing, coding and medicolegal aspects of emergency medicine.  He was promoted to the position of Assosiate Residency Director in July 2008.  His responsibilities include mentoring the third year residents and preparing them for their careers after residency.  His research interests include abdominal pain, residency education and emergency department throughput.

Dr. Desai, born in Bombay, India, successfully matriculated at Albany Medical College and completed a residency at the University of Florida, Jacksonville.   Dr. Desai was a faculty member serving as an Assistant Residency Director for the Texas A&M Emergency Medicine Residency Program.  Dr. Desai continues to explore aspects of residency education, curriculum development and faculty development.

His interests outside of the ED include Wing Chun kung fu, MMA, and spending time with his wife, 3 children and dog.

Kevin Ferguson, MD, FACEP

Dr. FergusonDr. Ferguson graduated from University of Michigan Medical School in 1985 and the Emergency Residency at King/Drew medical center in Los Angeles in 1988.  Afterwards he completed a Critical Care Fellowship in 1991 at SUNY Upstate in Syracuse NY.  He was on the faculty that founded the residency at University of Michigan and was also on the faculty of St. John / Wayne State University before coming to UF in 2001 as Director of Graduate Medical Education in the Emergency Department. 

Since arriving at UF, Dr. Ferguson worked to establish our graduate medical education programs.  He designed the unique web based curriculum for our residency which received full accreditation from the ACGME in 2007.

He designed and created the department's simulation and skills lab including multiple point-of-view audio/visual recording and procedural skills mannequins.. The program's curriculum also incorporates several unique elements including the ability to stream lectures with audio, video, graphics, and have most educational material available 24 hours a day.

Dr. Ferguson's objectives now are the development of Emergency Medicine Fellowships, resumption of his research and advancing Critical Care as a recognized subspecialty of Emergency Medicine.

His research focus is non-invasive hemodynamic monitoring in emergency medicine resuscitations.  Dr. Ferguson has presented his work for over 15 years in regional, national and international forums.  He has publications in Annals of Emergency Medicine, Academic Emergency Medicine, Circulation, and other journals along with having written chapters in both Emergency & Critical Care Texts.  Dr. Ferguson has been an invited lecturer for several other residencies, regional, national and international conferences.

Dr. Ferguson led a medical relief mission into the Tsunami disaster zone in southern Thailand in 2005.  That trip led to the involvement with international efforts to facilitate emergenct medicine training.  He developed a close working relationship with the faculty of the Emergency Department at Mahidol University in Bangkok to create Thailand's first emergency medicine residency.  Dr Ferguson sponsored two faculty from Mahidol University for fellowships at UF.  He has returned twice to Thailand to provide medical care to the Akha mountain tribes

Personally, he enjoys spending time his wife and 2 girls along with the menagerie of pets.  He plays golf and softball, enjoys the beach, BBQ's, Disney, College Football (GO BLUE, GO GATOR's), as well as riding roller coasters. 

 Robyn Hoelle, MD

Dr. Hoelle completed her undergraduate and Medical degree at the University of Florida when she entered the prestigious Junior Honors Program, a seven year combined program focusing on seminar teaching and research interpretation. 

Graduating in 2002 with an Honors in Research for her published research in the area of drowning, Dr. Hoelle successfully completed a residency at the second oldest residency in the country, MCP/Hahnemann in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  

While she spent her first four years as faculty at UF concentrating on her educational contributions she is now focusing more on developing a research agenda. She served as the clerkship director for UF's mandatory Emergency Medicine clerkship for 2 years starting in 2005 and as Associate Program Director since the beginning of our brand new residency in 2006. In December of 2009, she will step down from the educational committee and concentrate her efforts fully on research interests.   Past publications include articles in the field of drowning.

Dr. Hoelle is currently working on projects in the field of Intimate Partner Violence and ED Overcrowding.

Liam C. Holtzman, DO, FACEP

Dr. Liam HoltzmanDr. Holtzman is a Clinical Assistant Professor with the Department of Emergency Medicine.  He graduated from the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, completed an internship at Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Philadelphia, and residency in EM with the York Hospital/Penn State Hershey Medical Center.  Before coming to UF Dr. Holtzman completed a faculty advanced training program in law enforcement EMS at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. For more than two years he served as Assistant Medical Director for the US Secret Service including service as former Presidents Carter and Clinton’s physician and Deputy Medical Director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in support of their tactical teams.  He has participated extensively in the training and supervision of pre hospital tactical medics serving the Pennsylvania State Police, and is the graduate of several national TEMS courses. He is also holds the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the Navy Reserve.

As a part of the developing pre-hospital division, Dr. Holtzman is charged with implementing a Tactical EMS program providing operational support to local law enforcement agencies and resident physician training and experience in EMS situations unique to the law enforcement operational environment. As such, he serves as tactical physician to both city and county area SWAT teams. Additionally he serves in a non-medical role as a sworn State Trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol Auxiliary augmenting patrol, manning special details, enforcing traffic violations, and investigating crashes on state highways.

Jennifer Light, MD, FAAP

Dr. Light did her medical school training at The University of Tennessee Medical Sciences Center after graduating from Vassar College.  She completed her pediatrics residency and Chief Residency at Children’s Hospital National Medical Center in Washington, D. C. where she also completed a fellowship in Critical Care Medicine.  After completing her training, she became the Assistant Medical Director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Medical College of Va before moving to Florida in 1983.  Dr. Light has been a faculty member of the UF/CoM for over twenty years with appointments in Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics.  She has a strong interest in clinical teaching, especially the “art of medicine”, and has been the recipient of the Outstanding Teaching Faculty Award from the Department of Pediatrics numerous times as well as a Teaching Award from the Department of Internal Medicine (10/02).

Dr. Light is also involved with the creation of a Peds Emergency Department.

Dr. Light has two young adult children, one of which is currently enrolled in the UF medical school and the other one is currently studying forensic anthropology.  Her interests include travel, baseball (her son played college ball) and antiques.

Judy Lucas, MD

Dr. Lucas, born in Chicago, completed Medical School at the University of South Florida and a Pediatric Fellowship at Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Oh.  Immediately afterward, she successfully completed a combined fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Pharmacology and Toxicology at Children’s Hospital in Boston. Dr. Lucas is using her expertise to assist in the development of our Pediatric Emergency Department.

Charles W. Luetke, MD

Dr. LuetkeDr. Luetke is board certified in Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine.  He has split his twenty-year Emergency Medicine career between academic institutions and community non-teaching Emergency Departments.  His academic interests are Emergency Department wound care, asthma and ultrasonography.  He does Quality Assurance at the Gainesville campus. 

His hobbies include fishing, basketball and scuba diving.  His wife, Jennifer is a midwife. They have two children. 

David A. Meurer, MD

Dr. MeurerBorn in Biloxi, Mississippi, I had a “mobile childhood” as the son of a career US Air Force officer. I attended high school and graduated from Wagner High School, Clark Air Base, in the Republic of the Philippines. While majoring in marine biology as an undergraduate at Florida Institute of Technology, I first became interested in Emergency Medicine while volunteering with Harbor City Volunteer Ambulance Service in Melbourne, Florida. After graduating from FIT, I worked for a BLS rural ambulance service in north Florida for several years before attending paramedic school in Valdosta, Georgia, and then worked as a paramedic for Tallahassee Memorial Hospital Ambulance Service on an ALS service. Upon graduating from UF College of Medicine, I interned at University Medical Center (now Shands Jacksonville) in a preliminary year, having also matched in the PGY2, 3,4 UF Emergency Medicine residency program. After completing my residency in Emergency Medicine, I came to the Division of Emergency Medicine at Shands in Gainesville in 1993. Except for a brief 3-month stint in private practice at Alachua General Hospital in 1996, I have enjoyed a clinical faculty appointment here at UF.

Clinical Interests: EMS and pre-hospital medicine, Farm Emergencies, Hazardous Materials response including radiation emergencies, Disaster Medicine, Environmental Emergencies (snake bites, space, altitude, and diving emergencies, etc), Development of clinical guidelines, Use of PDAs in clinical medicine.

Leslie Connor Nickels, MD, RDMS

Dr. Nickels was born in Memphis, Tennessee.She later moved to Arkansas where she graduated from John Brown University with her undergraduate degree in Biology.  She completed medical school at The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Arkansas and did her residency in emergency medicine at Orlando Regional Medical Center, in Orlando, FL.  After residency, she accepted a position in a community emergency department in Mountain Home, AR, where she worked fo two years.

Dr. Nickels had always been interested in academic emergency medicine and returned to Orlando to become the first ultrasound fellow at Orlando Regional Medical Center.  Upon finishing this fellowship, she accepted a position with the faculty at The University of FLorida as the director of ultrasound education.

Dr. Nickels has spoken and facilitated at multiple courses in emergency bedside ultrasound.  Dr. Nickels sat for and passed her Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer exam and is now certified in medical sonography.

Outside of work, she enjoys tennis, watersports, traveling, reading, spending time with her dog and being involved with her church.

Richard Petrik, MD

Dr. Petrik was appointed faculty for the department after he successfully completed an Emergency Medicine Residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital, where he was Chief Resident. Dr. Petrik’s interests lie in Medical Student Education. He enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter.

Matthew Ryan, MD, Ph.D.

Matthew Ryan is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine with the University of Florida, Department of Emergency Medicine.  He joined the faculty in 2008 after completing his residency training in Emergency Medicine at Orlando Regional Medical Center.  Dr. Ryan received his medical degree from University of Indiana School of Medicine.  Although he and his family loved Indianapolis, the warmth of the Florida sun beckoned to him.

Prior to medical school, Dr. Ryan was an Associate Professor of Chemistry of Purdue University Calumet.  His research interests while at Purdue included parameterization models for inorganic chemistry and development of controls for nonindigenous species and bioinvasions, specifically nonchemical controls of zebra mussels using low frequency radiation.  He received funding and published several papers in both fields.  Prior to Purdue, Dr. Ryan held Postdoctoral Fellowships at York University, Department of Chemistry with Dr. A.B.P. Lever in Toronto, Canada and at the Technical University of Berlin, Institute for Organic Chemistry with Dr. Helmut Schwarz in Berlin, Germany.  He received his Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Florida under the direction of Dr. David Richardson - dissertation entitled, "Ionization, Bonding and Solvation Energetics of Organometallic Complexes".

Dr. Ryan's interests include medical education, public health, basic and applied research.

Dr. Ryan was born in Brooklyn and raised in the Long Island town of King Park.  He received his B.S. in Chemistry from State University College of Oneonta in New York.

He is married with two children, and is an avid Gator fan.

 

University of Florida Office of Medical Informatics Location: http://emergency.med.ufl.edu/bios.shtml
Updated: Oct 14, 2009, © 2005 University of Florida