2024 Research Committee Leader Spotlight EMRA

Charles Sanky, MD, MPH, Chair of the EMRA Research Committee, 2024

Program: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Your goal as an EMRA leader: Continuing to grow in EMRA committee leadership role will allow me to better serve my peers and patients. Integrating lessons I've learned through service to EMRA the past seven years, I hope to facilitate opportunities for residents, young physicians, and medical students to share and learn from each other's experiences. I look forward to furthering EMRA’s mission and helping foster the tight-knit, supportive community that will allow others to find a professional home like I did.

What do you think are the top three traits of a great leader? Showing up for your team. Integrity. Creativity.

What is the best advice you have ever received? Sometimes when you feel a need to ramp up or do more, you really have to slow down and do less. Only then will you gain the focus, clarity, and perspective that you really need.

What is something that people don't know about you?

I was a former professional musician! Looking forward to getting back into it very soon...

If you weren't an emergency physician, what would you be?

Bored.

Favorite life hack for night shifts: Snacks. Lots of snacks.

What's the last non-textbook you read? "Poverty, By America" - by Matthew Desmond

Favorite channel on social media? The TED Talks Channel

What are your tops songs on your Spotify Wrapped? "I Wish" - Stevie Wonder, "Sunshine of Your Love" - Cream, "Crazy on You" - Heart

Anna Heffron, MD, PhD, Chair-Elect of the EMRA Research Committee, 2024

Anna Heffron.jpg Program: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Your goal as an EMRA leader: I'm thrilled to be leading in EMRA and most look forward to helping my colleagues connect over and advance their interests related to research.

Why did you get involved in a professional society? I love that medical societies are a way to connect with colleagues all over the country/world on things that you mutually care about. Huge changes or progress that wouldn't otherwise be possible can happen through societies--so I most love that about them.

What do you think are the top three traits of a great leader? A great leader is humble, open-minded, and persistent/hard-working.

What is the best advice you have ever received? Oooh pick the single best piece of advice... that would be impossible so I will pick two. The first comes from a really incredible aunt: to live in appreciation, not expectation. The second comes from Dr. Atul Gawande--in Better--to ask unscripted/unexpected questions and to count something/write something if you want to make change.

What is something people don't know about you? Most people don't know I was on my undergrad boxing team.

If I weren't an emergency physician, I would be: I might have been a basic science researcher, and/or an activist of some type.

What is your favorite hack for night shifts? Peanut M&Ms and of course some source of caffeine (about 50/50 on whether that's coffee or Celsius)

What is the last non-textbook you read? Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver--it's SO GOOD. Finished it right around the same time as Deep Medicine by Eric Topol--also really good though a different kind of read.

Michael Makutonin, BS, Vice Chair of the EMRA Research Committee, 2024

Michael Makutonin.jpg Program: George Washington University

Your goal as an EMRA leader: I have been a stats and computer nerd for as long as I can remember, and I hope that I can help folks get similarly inspired about the process of research and the role that statistics and machine learning can play in their academic and clinical practice!

Why did you get involved in a professional society? Emergency medicine is an excellent specialty, where we have the privelege of making lives better at their worst moments. But as with any field, there are challenges we face and improvements we can make - and the best way to do that is together, united. I have seen how ACEP and EMRA advocate for changes and issues affecting our specialty, and I'm honored to be able to contribute to these organizations.

What is the best advice you have ever received? Take the time to listen, always - and if nobody's talking, ask.

What is something people don't know about you? I used to be a ski instructor!

If I weren't an emergency physician, I would be: I would probably go back to software engineering - but I don't want to think about that possibility too deeply until after Match next year, when this question becomes as hypothetical as it is for my colleagues.

Favorite life hack for night shifts: Does coffee count? Then coffee. Lots of coffee. Sometimes followed by a snack. And then more coffee.

What app on your phone consumes the most of your time? Oof - the New York Times. I'm a doomscroller.

What is the last non-textbook you read? "We are Legion, We are Bob" - if you've ever wondered what it would be like if a software engineer wrote a semi-realistic Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, look no further!

Favorite channel on social media? StastQuest with Josh Starmer - he's one of the best teacher I know.

Laura Harding-Jackson, DO, PhD, Asst. Vice Chair of the EMRA Research Committee, 2024

Michael Makutonin.jpg Program: University of Michigan Medicine

Your goal as an EMRA leader: My goal is to highlight and expand the vibrant academic world of emergency medicine! Emergency medicine is a fulfilling destination for both community and academic-focused individuals. However, the vast academic side of emergency medicine is not always conveyed to those exploring interest in the specialty. I am so excited to showcase the cutting edge practice advancements contributed by emergency medicine physicians and broaden the possibilities of academic emergency medicine to the next generation of physicians.

Why did you get involved in a professional society? I am so excited to collaborate with other motivated individuals within emergency medicine to empower our colleagues and guide the evolution of the specialty. As a first year resident, I am looking forward to learning from more senior members and organizing the groundwork for what I hope will be a fruitful career in medicine and professional advocacy! I am thrilled to be a resident in emergency medicine because the broad range of the specialty lends endless opportunities for advancement.

What is the best advice you have ever received? Growing up, my mom would always tell me to “sleep on it” when I had a difficult decision to make. To this day, I believe that taking a beat and reevaluating a problem the next day can do wonders for clarity.

What is something people don't know about you? I love baking macarons. Experimenting with endless flavor options is so fun, and while baking them is a finicky process, it is so rewarding when they come out perfectly.

If I weren't an emergency physician, I would be: A world-renowned travel writer and food blogger, of course!

Favorite life hack for night shifts: Always keep an emergency snickers bar on hand.

What app on your phone consumes the most of your time? Probably messaging my family chat on WhatsApp! We are a proud family of over-sharers.

Favorite channel on social media? Probably anything cooking or baking related; Food52 and New York Times Cooking are two favorites!

Jose Reyes, MD, Asst. Vice Chair of the EMRA Research Committee, 2024

Michael Makutonin.jpg Program: Cook County Health & Hospital Systems

Your goal as an EMRA leader: My goal as an EMRA leader is to create a stronger emergency medicine specialty that will continue to compare to the others in desirability as a specialty and innovator in the House of Medicine as a whole. Similar to other specialties that integrate research more closely into their training, I plan to promote research in EM so that its prevalence and accessibility increase to develop the EM physician’s ability to innovate and critique the medical system. I aim to advocate for progress in reproductive and women’s health issues, and I plan to share the perspective of underrepresented demographics in leadership decisions to ensure equity is maintained and in ongoing and new projects spearheaded by EMRA.

Why did you get involved in a professional society? I got involved in a professional society to develop my advocacy skills and develop partnerships that would lead me to be the strongest advocate I can be. Although independent advocacy at the state and local level is successful for some, to promote change on important topics at a national level, a collective voice is needed for the benefits of change to be widespread and not piecemeal.

What do you think are the top three traits of a great leader? Being open and forward with communication. Taking personal responsibility for everything you can within reason (AKA go out of your way to clean a dirty ultrasound even if you didn’t use it, stop in a patient room who sounds like they are in pain even if they aren’t your patient, check in on people who may need it). Be insightful and aim to seek feedback at any point to grow continuously, never assuming you have learned all that you can because that is definitively wrong.

What is the best advice you have ever received? If you are having a bad day, don’t bend over backward to make it a good one. Some days will get better, but the days that don’t will feel worse if you think you failed to make it a good one. If you have work that can be delayed on a bad day, push it to another day. If you have to be at work and be present, don’t stress yourself out trying to turn it into a perfect day. Your work and mental health will be better if you focus on only what is necessary and leave everything else for a better day.

What is something people don't know about you? I have kosmemophobia or a visceral reaction to jewelry. I will never forget to double glove to remove ostentatious stuck rings and occasionally forget for the dreaded ED disempaction.

If I weren't an emergency physician, I would be: I would try to be a writer, but odds are my writing wouldn’t be best seller level, so I’d probably teach writing and write some.

What app on your phone consumes the most of your time? Marvel Snap. It's a silly game that doesn’t deserve the amount of time it’s given.

Favorite channel on social media? Ziwe (RIP Her Show) who came back with an insane George Santos Interview.

Katrina A. Muraglia, MD, PhD, Asst. Vice Chair of the EMRA Research Committee, 2023-2024

Katrina Muraglia.jpg Program: University of Michigan

Your goal as an EMRA leader: My main goal as an EMRA leader is to promote resident involvement in research, particularly basic science. We as EM physicians play a pivotal role in at least the first 6 hours of every field of medicine; our "domain" of basic science research is well and truly endless--and minimally tapped as far as I'm concerned.

What is the best advice you have ever received? When I was starting grad school, one of our deans at the time told me this: "Don't wait to live your life until after grad school, after med school, after training. This is your life and you should live every moment of it now."

What is something people don't know about you? I am a competitive powerlifter and finished 12th in my weight class at USA Powerlifting Raw Nationals in 2015. I took a bit of a hiatus while finishing medical school but am now back to competing and coaching. My passion is mentoring young female lifters who are also interested in STEM, and teaching them how to use the gym as a simulation ground to gain confidence and unapologetically take up space in a male-dominated field.

If I weren't an emergency physician, I would be: I would be a novelist writing epic high fantasy books!

Favorite life hack for night shifts: Celsius, Celsius, and more Celsius. Also--eating an actual meal--I am sleepier if I don't eat "lunch" (or whatever meal that's supposed to be!)

What's on your playlist? Can never go wrong with pop punk!!