Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod, ACOEM’s official podcast. In this episode, Dr. Nabeel is joined by Dr. Yohama Caraballo-Arias, an occupational physician and an internationally recognized expert in workplace health and well-being.
She is currently a visiting researcher and professor at theUniversity of Bologna, Italy, and recently published her book, “The 7 secrets to happiness at work: Neuroscience for Healthy, Productive and Happy Work Life,” available on Amazon.
English: https://www.amazon.com/secrets-happiness-work-Neuroscience-Productive/dp/B0F5NTML1T
Dr. Caraballo-Arias’ research on happiness can be foundhere:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yohama-Caraballo-Arias
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=i6djJOIAAAAJ&hl=es
Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod,ACOEM’s official podcast. In this episode, Dr. Nabeel is joined by Dr. Mani Berenji to discuss the public health effects of the LA wildfires, which burned from January 7 to 31, 2025. Dr. Berenji discusses her personal experience, both as an occupational and environmental medicine physician in LA and as an Angeleno, and advises on the short- and long-term hazards of the wildfires and site cleanup.
Dr. Berenji recommends this webinar for clinicians, “VirtualGrand Rounds: Southern California Wildfire Response - What Clinicians Need to Know,” available here:
See links below for more public health resources in responseto the Southern California Wildfires.
California Medical Association’s Wildfire Resources: https://www.cmadocs.org/wildfires
U.S. Small Business Association’s Disaster Assistance:
https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance
LA County’s Public Health Fire Safety and Health Information:http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/wildfire/
LA County DPH Health Advisory (January 13, 2025)
http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/eprd/lahan/alerts/LAHANFire011325.pdf
Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) SouthernCalifornia Wildfire Response:
https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/Southern-California-Wildfire-Response/Pages/default.aspx
Coalition for Clean Air Wildfire Smoke and Safety Resources
https://www.ccair.org/wildfire-and-smoke-safety-resources/
Protecting yourself during fire cleanup:
https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/cleaning-up-after-the-la-wildfires-is-dangerous-heres-how-to-protect-yourself?utm_campaign=5947416-crisis-communications
Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod, ACOEM's official podcast. In this episode, Erin and Dr. Nabeel are joined by Dr. Maria Starchook-Moore to discuss recent initiatives by ACOEM's Private Practice Section.
Dr. Starchook-Moore discusses her personal experience as an occupational and environmental medicine physician and outlines the goals of the Private Practice Section, which aim to share information on starting a practice through podcasts, webinars, and mentorship.
An important note for our listeners – OccPod will be going on an editorial hiatus until further notice. Now is the perfect time to go back and revisit the full catalog of OccPod episodes!
Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod, the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine's official podcast. In this episode, Erin and Dr. Nabeel are joined by Dr. David Caretto for a conversation about planning a successful medical conference.
For over 100 years, ACOEM's annual conference has been the American Occupational Health Conference, or AOHC. Planning a successful conference means weaving together education, experience, and the best and brightest in occupational and environmental medicine, or OEM.
Dr. Caretto currently serves as Regional Medical Director of Employee Services at Sutter Health – he also served as the Program Chair for AOHC 2024, which was held in Orlando, Florida earlier this year. As always, thank you for listening and don't forget to subscribe!
Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod. In this episode, Erin and Dr. Nabeel are joined by Dr. Matt Hamm to discuss his journey in occupational and environmental medicine, and developments in expanding opportunities for residents interested in OEM.
Dr. Hamm is the Medical Director of the Exposure Response Call Center at the Occupational and Environmental Network (OEHN) and a consultant in occupational health. He leads ACOEM's OEM Pipeline Task Force and recently completed a residency in occupational and environmental medicine at Harvard.
Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss a new episode of OccPod!
Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod. In this episode, Erin and Dr. Nabeel are joined by Dr. Camille Napier to discuss aging in the workplace and fitness for duty.
Dr. Napier is a board-certified physician, educator, and administrator with over twenty years of experience in occupational and internal medicine disease management, wellness promotion, communicable disease surveillance, and quality improvement. Dr. Napier serves as the lead physician in Employee Health Services at Mount Sinai – she also serves as Assistant Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Everywhere you look, it seems as though Artificial Intelligence (or AI) is at the forefront of public discourse. In this episode of OccPod, Erin and Dr. Nabeel are joined by Dr. Zaira Chaudhry for a conversation about AI in occupational and environmental medicine.
Dr. Chaudhry is a board-certified Occupational Medicine physician and a PhD student at West Virginia University’s College of Engineering whose research focuses on the human factors related to AI integration in clinical OEM practice. She is also a member of ACOEM’s Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning/Virtual Reality in OEM Practice Workgroup and currently serves on ACOEM’s Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee as well as the Council on External Relations and Communications.
Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod!
On this episode of OccPod, Erin and Dr. Nabeel talk with the incoming Presidential Line of ACOEM. We welcome our guests, Drs. Tanisha Taylor, Laura Gillis, and Jill Rosenthal.
Dr. Tanisha Taylor is Senior Medical Director for RWJBH Employee Health and Wellness, New Jersey. Dr. Taylor received her MD from New York Medical and her MPH from Yale University.
Dr. Taylor is the current President-Elect of ACOEM. She joined the College in 2005, and served as Young Physician Director from 2013 – 2016, after which she was a Director on the Board for several years. She has been active on the American Occupational Health Conference Planning Committees and currently serves on the Council on Governmental Affairs and chairs the Vaccine Workgroup.
Dr. Gillis is currently the Chief Medical Officer at Union Pacific Railroad. Her previous positions include serving as a US Naval Flight Surgeon, a private practice physician and business owner, the US Federal Maritime Surgeon, and a Medical Director at BNSF Railway. Dr. Gillis is currently ACOEM’s Vice President. She has held multiple roles in ACOEM, including Chair of the Council on Membership Engagement, Chair of the Transportation Section, and has been member of the ACOEM Board of Directors since 2019.
Dr. Jill Rosenthal is the Chief Medical Officer at Zenith Insurance, a Fairfax Financial Company. She is also an Affiliate Assistant Professor at the University of South Florida Occupational Medicine Residency Program and the past Chairperson of the Florida Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Foundation Board. Dr. Rosenthal has served as the Medical Director for General Motors, Evanston-Northwestern Hospital’s Employee Health Department, and two Johnson and Johnson companies. She is the current Treasurer and incoming Vice President of ACOEM and chairs ACOEM’s Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee.
In May, Dr. Taylor will be installed as ACOEM President, Dr. Gillis ascends to President Elect, and Dr. Rosenthal becomes ACOEM’s Vice President.
Please join us at the 108th American Occupational Health Conference – AOHC – May 19-22, at Lowes Royal Pacific Resort in Orlando, FL, where our incoming leaders take office! Learn more about the conference and register today at acoem.org/aohc.
Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod, ACOEM's official podcast. In this episode, Erin and Dr. Nabeel discuss updated guidance from the CDC for respiratory viruses, including COVID-19. This coincides with the fourth anniversary of the pandemic's declaration around the globe.
Dr. Nabeel is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Siani. He is a Fellow of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, serves on the ACOEM Board of Directors, and chairs ACOEM's Council on OEM Science.
Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod. In this episode, Erin and Dr. Nabeel are joined by Dr. Amy Behrman for a conversation about COVID-19 and outbreaks of Measles, and how workers can protect themselves.
Dr. Behrman is the Medical Director of Occupational Medicine Services and Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Behrman serves on the National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit which is dedicated to improving vaccine use as recommended by the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod, ACOEM's official podcast. In this episode, Erin and Dr. Nabeel are joined by Dr. Brett Perkison and Ms. Cynthia Hernandez for a conversation about flood zone workers who respond to climate-related natural disasters.
Ms. Hernandez is the National Training Director for the Resilience Force, an organization that serves as a voice for workers who respond to climate disasters in the United States, many of whom are immigrants. She began her career as a researcher and instructor at Florida International University’s Center for Labor Research & Studies, investigating the intersection of labor and immigration.
Dr. Perkison is an assistant professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston, TX, and is the program director for the Occupational and Environmental Medicine residency program in Houston. He is board certified in both family medicine and occupational and environmental medicine and is a Fellow of ACOEM. One of his main research interests is improving the health and safety of construction workers grappling with the aftermath of natural disasters.
Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod, ACOEM's official podcast. In this episode, Erin and Dr. Nabeel are joined by Dr. Vincent Michaud for a conversation that is truly out of this world – aerospace medicine and supersonic transport.
Dr. Michaud is the Deputy Chief Health and Medical Officer at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. He is responsible for the oversight of all NASA health and medical activities including medical aspects of all national and international NASA missions.
Dr. Michaud earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and completed residencies in Aerospace Medicine and Occupational Medicine at the United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks Air Force Base, Texas. He is a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association and is certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine.
Don't forget to subscribe to OccPod so you never miss a new episode!
Thank you for joining for another episode of OccPod. In this episode, Erin and Dr. Nabeel are joined by Dr. Judith Green McKenzie for a discussion on vaccines, particularly her experiences with the rapid delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine to employees.
Dr. McKenzie is a Medical Officer at the Occupational Safety &Health Administration and Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where she was Inaugural OEM Division Chief & OEM Residency Program Director. She also served as Professor of Medicine & OEM Division Director at Johns Hopkins Medicine and as Executive Director for Health, Safety and Environment for Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Health System.
Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod. In this episode, Erin and Dr. Nabeel are joined by guests Drs. Robert Bourgeois and Brett Perkison to discuss the relationship between heat stress and worker health.
Dr. Bourgeois is the Medical Director of the Bourgeois Medical Clinic, an occupational medicine practice in Morgan City, Louisiana. He helped to design the Heat Stress plan for the Deepwater Horizon response.
Dr. Perkison is the Associate Medical Director at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Employee Health, and the Program Director of UT’s Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency. Dr. Perkison’s work measures the extent chronic diseases in employees affect workplace productivity, absenteeism, employer-covered healthcare costs, and other work-related indices of occupational health.
Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod. In this episode, Erin and Dr. Nabeel discuss the latest variant of COVID-19, the summer surge, and the forthcoming updated vaccines.
Don't forget to subscribe to OccPod so you never miss a new episode!
Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod. In this episode, Erin, Dr. Nabeel, and guest Dr. Gary Toups discuss hyperbaric medicine, including the recent implosion of the Titan submersible. Dr. Toups also discusses decompression illnesses in divers and case-on workers.
Dr. Toups has practiced Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine since 2004, when he treated recreational divers and military aviators for decompression illness at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. He is a former US Air Force officer, and served as a navigator, pilot, flight safety officer, and aircraft mishap investigator. In 1995, he left aviation and attended the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, earning his MD in 1999.
Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod.
In this episode, Erin and Dr. Nabeel are joined by Dr. Michael Sauri to discuss Mpox, formerly known as Monkeypox, recent outbreaks, and the status of vaccines.
Dr. Sauri is the Medical Director of Occupational Health Consultants, which services over 130 biomedical research laboratories. Dr. Sauri’s 12-year military career included residency training in General Preventive Medicine in the US Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, General Internal Medicine at Brooke Army Medical Center, and Infectious Diseases Fellowship training at Bethesda Navy Hospital.
Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod.
In this episode, Erin and Dr. Nabeel discuss air quality and the detrimental effects of climate change, highlighting the hundreds of active wildfires in eastern Canada and the consequential particulate haze over New York City and the American Northeast.
Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod! On today’s episode, Erin, Dr. Nabeel and guest Dr. Rivera Margarin discuss occupational and environmental residency programs and the topics that interest OEM students, particularly those related to climate change.
Dr. Rivera Margarin is faculty at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health where serves as the program director for the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency, advises pre-med students in the masters in environmental health sciences program and teaches an environmental and occupational toxicology course. She is co-principal investigator for the Department of Energy funded Johns Hopkins Former Workers Program for Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories and is a medical advisor for health and safety to the International Association of Fire Fighters.
Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod. In this episode, Erin, Dr. Nabeel and guest Dr. Silpa Krefft discuss Deployment Related Respiratory Diseases, including burnpit exposure.
Dr. Krefft is an occupational pulmonologist and critical care physician. She completed training in Internal Medicine at Boston University Medical Center and a Pulmonary/Critical Care fellowship and Occupational Medicine training at the University of Colorado.
She joined the faculty in the Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at National Jewish Health in Denver, CO in 2016 as well as the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado in 2017 where her practice includes evaluation and management of occupational and environmental lung diseases.