Editors

Andrew C. Meltzer is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at George Washington University whose research focuses on the use of novel bedside diagnostics and therapeutics to identify, understand and care for patients with emergency conditions with a focus on gastrointestinal emergencies. Dr. Meltzer is a well-published author and he is an active lecturer and educator. His research is funded by the National Institutes of Health and the medical industry.

In addition to his scholarly pursuits, Dr. Meltzer has served in a leadership role for several successful healthcare tech startups. Specifically, Dr. Meltzer serves as Chief Medical Information Officer for Babyscripts, a digital health tool to transform pregnancy care and served as Chief Medical Officer for OpenBeds, an online platform for substance use disorder treatment.

Dr. Meltzer attended medical school at the SUNY Downstate School of Medicine in New York City, completed his residency and fellowship training in emergency medicine and clinical research at the University of Maryland Department of Emergency Medicine and Shock Trauma Center, and serves as Director of Clinical Research in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine.

Dr. Randy Lee serves as an editor for Urgent Matters. Dr. Lee has more than 15 years of advisory work, investment experience, and company leadership. He is currently an assistant professor and the co-fellowship director for medical leadership and operations at George Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Lee continues to practice emergency medicine at George Washington University Hospital. He currently serves as an advisor and/or on the board of directors for several early-stage healthcare companies. In addition to his medical background, Randy had a 10-year career on Wall Street, where he managed an investment portfolio, evaluated new investment strategies, and grew various company and divisional operations. Dr. Lee earned his medical degree at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed his emergency medicine residency at UCLA Medical Center, where he served as a chief resident. Randy graduated from Penn State University with a B.S. in Finance and International Business.

Dr. Pourmand is a professor of Emergency Medicine in the Department of Emergency Medicine at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C. His research focuses on the current understanding of evidence-based medicine and clinical medicine through multidisciplinary collaboration across the School of Medicine and across the GWU campus. 

Dr. Nadendla attended George Washington University for his undergraduate and medical degrees before completing an Emergency Medicine residency at Virginia Tech Carilion Clinic. Currently, he serves as a Medical Leadership and Operations fellow for the Department of Emergency Medicine at George Washington University. Dr. Nadendla’s interests are in healthcare innovation, department operations, and patient flow.

Dr. Hoffer attended Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine for medical school before completing an Emergency Medicine residency at The George Washington University. Currently, she serves as an Ultrasound fellow for the Department of Emergency Medicine at George Washington University. Dr. Hoffer’s interests are in emergency medicine, ultrasound, and innovation.

Dr. Shpigel earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the LeBow College of Business at Drexel University. He went on to receive his medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University, where he also completed his residency in Emergency Medicine. At Thomas Jefferson University's Health Design Lab, he facilitated design thinking workshops and explored the effects of public space design on community health. Presently, Dr. Shpigel serves as an attending emergency physician and is a Medical Leadership and Operations Fellow in the George Washington University Department of Emergency Medicine. Concurrently, he is pursuing his MBA at the GW School of Business. Dr. Shpigel has been involved in numerous projects in healthcare administration, with focal areas in EMR optimization, emergency department intake and throughput, clinical protocols, tele-scribing, and more.

Neha is a PGY-1 Emergency Medicine Resident. Prior to residency, she received her MD Degree from Penn State College of Medicine, where she was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society and Gold Humanism Honor Society. She was involved in numerous research initiatives, including co-creation of a novel Artificial Intelligence tool called Simplify, that led her team to place first in a national competition and receive $30K to fund further development. She has also co-authored research on health care disparities that was published in the Journal of American Medication Associations and American Journal of Public Health. Before medical school, she served as a Digital Health Fellow for StartUp Health. Neha is also social entrepreneur- at the age of 9, she founded a nonprofit called Empower Orphans and became the first American to receive the International Children's Peace Prize from Nobel Laureates Desmond Tutu. Empower Orphans has impacted 30k+ children globally and raised $2.4 million. With the support of Meta and Kids Rights, she also co-founded and served on the board of State of Youth, an advocacy platform for young changemakers globally that now has 130+ chapters across the world.

Nicholas A. Melucci, DO, MPH is a PGY-3 Emergency Medicine resident at The George Washington University Hospital with interests in health policy, health systems innovation, and resident leadership. He earned his medical degree from the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine and a Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Nicholas served as Chair of the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association Health Policy Committee, where he leads national initiatives in advocacy, gun violence prevention, emergency contraception access, and LGBTQIA+ education, and has delivered testimony before the Maryland General Assembly in support of adverse childhood experiences legislation. Within his residency, he is Administration Committee Co-Chair and former Wellness Committee Co-Chair, partnering with faculty on operations, quality improvement, and programs that strengthen resident development and departmental systems. He has received the GW Department of Emergency Medicine Medical Student Teaching Award, served as a teaching assistant across multiple institutions, and publishes on health policy, physician wellness, artificial intelligence, health equity, and emergency department operations. Nicholas also works on federally supported innovation efforts including GuideGuard, a patent-pending device to prevent guidewire retention, and SentinelRx, a project aimed at improving responses to substance use and overdose, and in his free time he enjoys hiking, skiing, hockey, lacrosse, cooking, coffee, and time with his golden retriever, Teddy.

Leslie Gailloud, MD is fourth year emergency medicine resident with an interest in emergency care administration and innovation. She began her career in education technology, working at a startup focused on supporting school-based fundraising initiatives, before transitioning to work at Montefiore Health System to pursue a broader impact on community and population health. She earned her BA form the University of Chicago, her MD from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and is completing Emergency Medicine residency at George Washington University Hospital, where she was also selected as chief resident. She is concurrently pursuing an MBA at the GW University School of Business. Her academic and professional interests include acute care delivery design and quality improvement. She will start as an attending physician with US Acute Care Solutions (USACS) at Sutter Solano Medical Center and has been selected for the USACS Integrated Acute Care Innovation Fellowship.