SPEAKER BIOS AND DISCLOSURES
Giselle Carnaby
Giselle Carnaby is Professor and Program Director in the Department of Health Sciences and Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio (UTHSCSA); She directs the Swallowing Research Laboratory and specializes in research epidemiology and biostatistics. Her research focus lies in the rehabilitation of swallowing disorders following Stroke and Head / Neck Cancer. Dr. Carnaby has published over 100 peer-reviewed publications and she has been funded as PI on both NIH and American Cancer Society grants. She is a lifetime Research Scholar for the American Cancer Society. She holds both Fellow and Honors of the American Speech-Language & Hearing Association.
Financial Disclosures: Dr. Carnaby receives a salary from the University of Texas, Health Science Center at San Antonio. Hiser research is supported by an NIH/NIA R-13 on swallowing and aging.
Non-financial Disclosures: Dr. Carnaby is a founding member and on the board of directors for the Florida Dysphagia Institute.
Sarah Essaied
Sarah Essaied is a Clinical Fellow on the Adult Medical Speech Pathology team at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She received her master’s degree from the University of Memphis in 2022, and prior to this, worked in social services for nonprofits in Texas and Tennessee for 8 years. Sarah’s interests include swallowing and neurocognitive disorders in medically complex patients. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband and friends and is a newfound pickleball fiend.
Financial Disclosures: Ms. Essaied receives a salary from Vanderbilt Medical Center.
Non-financial Disclosures: Ms. Essaied has no non-financial relationships to disclose.
Pamela DuVall
Pamela DuVall has been a Speech Pathologist for 28 years and with the Vanderbilt Adult Acute Care team for 10 years. Since coming to Vanderbilt she has specialized in dysphagia management of the head and neck cancer patient and the management of delirium and dysphagia of the medically complex patient. She was an active participant in the Medical Intensive Care team huddle and provides education to onboarding MICU nursing staff. She obtained her Master’s of Science degree at California State University East Bay and Bachelor’s degree at Chico State University.
Financial Disclosures: Ms. DuVall receives a salary from Vanderbilt Medical Center.
Non-financial Disclosures: Ms. DuVall has no non-financial relationships to disclose.
Mary Sue Fino-Szumski, Ph.D., M.B.A., CCC-A
Mary Sue Fino-Szumski, Ph.D., M.B.A., CCC-A is Director of Clinical Education and Associate Professor in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt University (Ph.D.) and Belmont University, Jack C. Massey College of Business (M.B.A. with a healthcare emphasis). Dr. Fino-Szumski teaches graduate courses and guest lectures on a variety of management and professional issues topics including supervision, business and financial management, securing employment, and credentialing. In addition, she works with students to ensure they achieve their clinical goals and meet credentialing requirements. She is the 2023 Chair for Audiology of the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA). She served on ASHA’s Council for Clinical Certification in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CFCC) from 2016-2019 and was the 2017 and 2018 Vice Chair for Audiology. She served as an academic faculty in audiology site visitor for the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA) (07/01/17-12/31/2019).
Financial Disclosures: Dr. Fino-Szumski receives a salary from Vanderbilt Medical Center.
Non-financial Disclosures: Dr. Fino-Szumski is the 2023 Chair of the Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA).
Meredith Golden
Meredith Golden graduated with a Masters of Physician Assistant in 2008 from Medical College of Georgia. She has enjoyed being a Physician Assistant for the past 14 years, the last ten of which have been spent in the CVICU at Vanderbilt Medical Center. She specializes in the care of surgical patients undergoing open heart procedures including heart and lung transplants.
Financial Disclosures: Ms. Golden receives a salary from Vanderbilt Medical Center.
Non-financial Disclosures: Ms. Golden has no non-financial relationships to disclose.
Scott Hawes
Scott Hawes, PT, NCS is an inpatient physical therapist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He completed his master's in physical therapy at Emory University. He has over 25 years of clinical experience including 20 years of experience in acute care. For the past 8 years he has been a prime physical therapist supporting the cardiovascular ICU at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Within this time, he has supported the growth of physical therapy's integration into the unit across a wide variety of diagnoses, mechanical device platforms, and disability levels. He helped operationalize a renewed emphasis on mobility within the unit through participation in weekly multidisciplinary mobility rounds and expansion of PT offering from 5 to 7 days per week to this unit. He serves as a ventricular assistive device champion for the acute rehabilitation department, and he also is a contributor to a current study examining the effects of integration of a dedicated exercise specialist into the workflow of the cardiovascular ICU.
Financial Disclosures: Mr. Hawes receives a salary from Vanderbilt Medical Center.
Non-financial Disclosures: Mr. Hawes has no non-financial relationships to disclose.
William McMaster, M.D.
Dr. McMaster is a thoracic surgeon at VUMC and faculty member in the School of Medicine. Dr. McMaster is board certified in general surgery and thoracic surgery. He completed his medical degree at the Medical University of South Carolina and residency and thoracic surgery fellowship at Vanderbilt. His research interests include adult cardiac surgery, heart transplantation, arrhythmia surgery, hypertension, inflammation (T cell activation), and surgical resident education.
Financial Disclosures: Dr. McMaster receives a salary from Vanderbilt Medical Center.
Non-financial Disclosures: Dr. McMaster has no non-financial relationships to disclose.
Antje Mefferd
Antje Mefferd, PhD SLP-CCC, is an assistant professor in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is also a board-certified speech language pathologist in Germany and the United States with work experience primarily in adult acute care. She completed her doctoral training at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln under the direction of Dr. Jordan Green and held a faculty position at Wichita State University prior to joining the department at Vanderbilt in 2014. Funded by the ASHFoundation and NIH, her lab has investigated the articulatory mechanisms that underlie speech intelligibility loss and recovery of talkers with dysarthria.
Financial Disclosures: Dr. Mefferd receives a salary from Vanderbilt Medical Center. Her research is funded by NIH.
Non-financial Disclosures: Dr. Mefferd has no non-financial relationships to disclose.
Michael Topf, M.D.
Dr. Michael Topf is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. His clinical interests include the surgical management and reconstruction of mucosal head and neck cancer including transoral robotic surgery (TORS). The goals of his research program are to improve oncologic and functional outcomes in head and neck cancer patients through a) enhanced communication between surgeons and pathologists using 3D scanning technology and mixed reality surgery using 3D specimen holograms.
Financial Disclosures: Dr. Topf receives a salary from Vanderbilt Medical Center.
Non-financial Disclosures: Dr. Topf has no non-financial relationships to disclose.
Jessica Williams
Jess is a Critical Care Certified Registered Nurse and is the Program Coordinator for the VUMC CVICU. Her previous experience has been as a bedside nurse in the CVICU and Trauma ICU and she also served as an ECMO Specialist at VUMC. As the CVICU Program Coordinator, she functions as a nurse leader with emphasis on clinical practice and process improvement. Some of her current clinical research and quality improvement projects include ICU mobility, temporary mechanical circulatory support, tracheostomies in the cardiac surgery patient population, and multidisciplinary complex care planning. She is completing her Clinical Nurse Specialist Advanced Practice Nursing Degree at the University of South Alabama.
Financial Disclosures: Ms. Williams receives a salary from Vanderbilt Medical Center.
Non-financial Disclosures: Ms. Williams has no non-financial relationships to disclose.