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 Diplomate 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.

Liam C. Holtzman, DO

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.

 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 develope residency education, curriculum, and simulations.

Kevin Ferguson, MD, FACEP

Dr. FergusonI graduated from University of Michigan Medical School in 1985 and the Emergency Residency at King/Drew medical center in Los Angeles in 1988.  I completed a Critical Care Fellowship in 1991 at SUNY Upstate in Syracuse NY.  I 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.  My objective since arriving at UF has been to establish nationally renowned graduate and post-graduate educational & training programs for Emergency Physicians.  I designed the curriculum for our new residency which recently received full accreditation from the ACGME and will fill our 3rd class in spring 2008.  My objectives now are the development of Fellowships and resumption of my research.  We have developed an Academic Career Fellowship and have already had EM Critical Care Fellows.  Eventually we’d like to develop EMS and Pediatric Fellowships.  My research focus is non-invasive hemodynamic monitoring of emergency patients.  These programs go directly to our Medical Education Committee’s Mission of making the University of Florida Gainesville a nationally known center of excellence in Emergency Medicine education and training.

I traveled to the Disaster zone in southern Thailand following the Tsunami in 2005.  I have since developed a close relationship with the faculty of the Emergency Department at Mahidol University in Bangkok. I hope to develop educational exchanges with their Medical School and faculty. 

I am married and have 2 daughters.  I am a BIG college football fan and root for U-Michigan (alma mater) U-Florida (naturally) and Syracuse where I did my fellowship and met my wife.  I return to Ann Arbor for at least one MICHIGAN game and always catch a game at the SWAMP.  I also enjoy golf, swimming, travel and I am a beach-bum wannabe. 

 Robyn Hoelle, MD

Dr. Hoelle returned home to Gainesville after completing her residency at the second oldest EM residency program in the country, MCP/Hahnemann in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. University of Florida is her undergraduate and Medical School Alma Mater, graduating in 2002 with Honors in Research. She is Associate Director of Residency Program.

Publications include articles and Guidelines in the field of drowning resuscitation research. Academic interests include Wilderness Medicine and Ultra Sound.

Outside of work, she enjoys her family and travel.

Bruce Goldfeder, MD

Dr. GoldfederBruce Goldfeder is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Florida. He serves as Medical Director of the NASA Medical Support Team and Associate Medical Director of the ShandsCair Flight Team. Dr. Goldfeder attended college at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and completed his Fifth Pathway at New York Medical College. Dr. Goldfeder did his Internship at Stony Brook University and completed his Emergency Medicine Residency at New York Medical College. Dr. Goldfeder was  Chief Resident at Lincoln Hospital and then went on and completed his EMS  Fellowship at Fire Department of New York (FDNY). He is certified by the  American Board of Emergency Medicine.

Dr. Goldfeder enjoys spending time with his son and daughter.  He also enjoys participating in all outdoor sports events, and watching UF football and basketball, and all New York professional teams.

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.

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 Diplomate 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.

Jennifer Light, MD

Dr. LightDr. 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.

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. 

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 diplomate 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.

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. 

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.

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.

Bobby Desai, MD, FACEP

Dr. Desai, born in Bombay, India, Successfully matriculated at Albany Medical College and completed a residency at the University of Florida, Jacksonville. Recently 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.

University of Florida Office of Medical Informatics Location: http://emergency.med.ufl.edu/bios.shtml
Updated: Jun 11, 2008, © 2005 University of Florida