Featured Speakers

Dr. Andrea K. Boggild is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto, and Medical Director of the Tropical Disease Unit of Toronto General Hospital. She is a licensed Medical Microbiologist and Infectious Diseases physician with additional certifications in Tropical Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine, who provides care to patients with travel-acquired illnesses in her medical practice. As a Clinician Scientist in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, she has graduate supervisory privileges through the Institute of Medical Science and leads a research program in tropical medicine and travel and migration health. She serves in many leadership capacities nationally and internationally, including on advisory groups to the Public Health Agency of Canada and World Health Organization, and as the Editor-in-Chief for Tropical Diseases, Travel Medicine and Vaccines. Dr. Boggild is an effective mentor to those who are underrepresented in STEM, and has a track record of success creating novel pathways to representation across the academic enterprise. She has a longstanding interest in the intersection of human and ecological health, as well as how socioeconomic and demographic inequities drive health disparities globally.

Creative physician- leader with executive management experience in clinical and operational strategy, quality improvement, digital health and informatics, predictive analytics, and care model design. She has been featured as a Top Executive Population Health Leader in Becker's Hospital Review. She has led hundreds of clinician and care team members in population health and affordability improvement initiatives, linking initiatives to trainee education, and managing health system value analytics through a learning health system model. Dr. Gupta has consulted and speaks nationally on population health and healthcare affordability. She has been featured in media outlets including NPR, CNN, and StatNews. Dr. Gupta’s work has focused in health system innovation, policy, and implementation to better define and improve the culture of delivering more affordable care to patients. She has worked as a senior adviser with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovations' Comprehensive Primary Care program to test new models of value promoting payment reform. Her research created the first High Value Care Culture Survey, evaluated drivers of value-based decision making in medical centers across California, and evaluated interventions to reduce expenditures for high cost conditions. She serves as Senior Advisor of Costs of Care Inc, focused on disseminating innovations in improving the affordability of healthcare for patients.

Dr. Nisha Patel is a practicing transplant hospitalist who is double boarded certified in Internal Medicine and Obesity Medicine. Dr. Patel is currently enrolled in a Culinary Medicine program through Health Meets Food. She also takes a special interest in clinical lipidology. Dr. Patel spends a considerable amount of time reading the latest evidence based nutrition journal publications. She translates this science into real world, practical applications for her patients and physician colleagues alike. She has given several invited talks to her physician colleagues, medical trainees and the general public on the importance of a healthful lifestyle as the foundation of care. Her passion is empowering her patients and others with the knowledge and tools to make practical, sustainable life long healthful eating habits, especially by incorporating more healthful plant based foods into their day to day eating. She has written articles on The Beet and KevinMD calling to action the importance of incorporating practical nutrition education in medical training. Dr. Patel is in the process of starting an obesity medicine practice and strives to reduce the deep stigma surrounding obesity as a chronic disease which often prevents individuals from seeking evidence based care. Dr. Patel is also passionate about addressing food insecurity as it is intimately tied to the development of many chronic diseases. In addition to her clinical interest, Dr.Patel is a staunch advocate for changing the culture of medicine to reduce physician burnout. She currently serves as the Chair of her medical group's physician wellness committee. Dr. Patel currently resides and practices in San Francisco, CA with her husband.

Dr. Disha Narang is a board-certified endocrinologist and obesity medicine specialist, with an emphasis in culinary medicine. She is currently the Director/Physician Lead for Obesity Medicine at Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital. Dr. Narang is also currently enrolled in a Culinary Medicine program through Health Meets Food. Dr. Narang's goals through her practice are to create a positive and non-toxic relationship with food, creating an environment of "food as medicine", and empowering her patients with the skills and resources to combat chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic diseases in combination with medical management. She has curated a patient, community, and clinically-facing culinary medicine lecture series, bringing to life the concept of "food is medicine" over the last 3 years. Dr. Narang strives to end the stigma around obesity, and emphasizes treatment of obesity as a chronic disease. She has a special interest in women's health, as it relates to diabetes and weight management. Dr. Narang has written articles for KevinMD and Endocrine Web, discussing the importance of using nutrition education and practical and sustainable dietary patterns to improve metabolic disease. She has contributed to articles featured in Insider Magazine, Women's Health Magazine, Huff Post, and Yahoo.com. Dr. Narang was also featured on Fox News Chicago, in addition to the Decoding Obesity Podcast. Dr. Narang currently resides and practices in the Northern suburbs of Chicago.

Laura J. Zimmermann, MD, DipABLM, MS, FACP is a primary care internist and lifestyle medicine physician. She is an associate professor of preventive medicine and internal medicine and is currently the Interim Division Chief of General Internal Medicine at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Dr. Zimmermann founded the Physician Mommies Chicago Facebook group, which includes over 2,800 physician mothers from the Chicagoland area. She is also co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of the Illinois Medical Professionals Action Collaborative Team (IMPACT), an organization leveraging social and other media to fight misinformation and advocate for science-based policy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Zimmermann is the Medical Director of the Rush University Prevention Center, a multidisciplinary lifestyle medicine clinic integrating medical and behavioral care for lifestyle change to prevent and manage chronic illness. She is also the Director of Clinical Preventive Medicine for Rush University Medical Group, leading institution-wide quality improvement initiatives in hypertension control, cancer screening, and tobacco cessation. Additionally, Dr. Zimmermann has leadership roles in the multisite clinical trial Enhanced Lifestyles for Metabolic Syndrome and Heart 2 Heart, a community-based participatory research trial partnering with churches to improve health on Chicago’s West Side. She lives in Oak Park, IL, with her husband, science and music writer Rob Mitchum, and their two young sons.

Dr. Lipi Roy is an internal medicine and addiction medicine physician, a keynote speaker, as well as a sought-after media medical commentator. During the pandemic, Dr. Roy served as Medical Director of COVID Isolation and Quarantine Sites for Housing Works in New York City. She also serves as clinical assistant professor at NYU Langone Health. Dr. Roy’s work spans clinical medicine, media, academia, homeless health, social and criminal justice and public speaking. As the former Chief of Addiction Medicine for Rikers Island, Dr. Roy oversaw substance use treatment and recovery services at the nation’s 2nd-largest jail complex. Previously, Dr. Roy was a primary care doctor to Boston's homeless population among whom the leading cause of death was drug overdose. She also served as an attending physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and as faculty at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Roy is a strong advocate for public service, caring for incarcerated and homeless men and women, serving the underserved in Nicaragua and India, as well as treating New Orleans residents affected by Hurricane Katrina. Dr. Roy has also provided medical relief to earthquake victims in Haiti, and volunteered in the medical tent at the Boston Marathon. Dr. Roy is a dynamic public speaker and media personality whose mission is to educate and empower the public to make healthy decisions. She is a Forbes contributor and former MSNBC and NBC News Medical Contributor whose appearances include CNN, Dr. Oz, The Tamron Hall Show, Charlie Rose and CBS New York. Her articles have been published in STAT, The Huffington Post and Psychology Today; and she has been featured in The New York Times, Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, Cooking Light and Oprah.com. She can be followed on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Liudmila Schafer, MD, FACP, an Associate Professor of Medicine and board-certified Medical Oncologist, specializing in Gastrointestinal malignancies, and Founder of The Doctor Connect movement. She helps physicians to stop sacrificing lives they work so hard for and creates collaboration of physicians to elevate their voices. She levels the playing field of knowledge around cancer treatment, clinical research, precision oncology, and wellness to help patients and healthcare professionals make informed decisions and bravely build the best life every day. She serves on the institutional, regional, and national committees.

Linda McGhee is a clinical psychologist and nationally recognized moderator, mental health expert and speaker. McGhee has been featured in the Washington Post, New York Times, Huffington Post, and Grown and Flown. She hosts “Good Mental Health on Radio One” which raises awareness around mental health. She is a mental health expert for the Steve Fund, an organization devoted to mental health for college students of color, and is a regular contributor to the Son Rise Project, an Oprah Winfrey Network podcast that supports families of black teenagers and young adults with mental illness. She is known for speaking nationally on mental health, education, anxiety and trauma, racial trauma and disparities. McGhee has recently provided commentary on the intersection of racial trauma, COVID-19 and the mass protests. She currently serves as the President of the Maryland Psychological Association. Dr. McGhee’s motto is, “Building strong, healthy leaders starts from a solid foundation.” She is a compassionate leader who seeks to bridge differences and shed light. Her strength lies in her ability to promote healthy discussions on sensitive issues.

Dr. Merlin is a physician-investigator and behavioral scientist whose research focuses on chronic pain and opioid misuse/use disorder across populations and settings, including primary care, palliative care, and individuals with serious illness such as HIV and cancer.

Dr. Sital Bhargava is a board certified family physician. She has completed fellowships in faculty development and research in primary care, as well as a masters in Epidemiology. After joining a private practice and working as faculty at a residency program, Dr. Bhargava decided to create a practice to suit the needs of her patients. She started a direct primary care practice in order to make healthcare accessible and affordable to her patient population. She also is getting certified in somatic experience therapy in order to provide patients with some access to mental health resources.

Dr Eve Bloomgarden is a board-certified Endocrinologist at NorthShore University Health Systems in the Chicagoland area, where she is the Director of Thyroid Care and the Director of Endocrine Education and Innovation. Her clinical expertise is in the diagnosis and management of thyroid dysfunction and thyroid cancer. Dr. Bloomgarden received her medical degree from New York University and completed residency and fellowship training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She is the Chief Development Officer of Women in Medicine® NFP and a founder and the Chief Operating Officer of the grassroots advocacy organization IMPACT (www.impact4hc.com). Through leadership roles with IMPACT and WIMS, she advocates for her patients, for women in medicine and for her fellow healthcare workers. She speaks on a wide range of topics ranging from endocrinology to advocacy to empowering healthcare professionals to tackle misinformation on social media. Dr Bloomgarden has written for multiple national publications including the Washington Post, US News, the Chicago Tribune, The Hill, KevinMD, and others, and has been interviewed and featured in articles in the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun Times, Forbes, InStyle, and Romper. She has been featured on multiple podcasts including Track the Vax, The Curbsiders, Get Real Health, and the Unbiased Science Podcast. She loves spending time with her husband, also a physician, and their two young children.

Ankita Sagar, MD, MPH, FACP is a board-certified Internist and physician executive leader with expertise in quality improvement, clinical program building, healthcare delivery, and health policy. Dr. Sagar is the System Vice President of Clinical Standards and Variation Reduction for Physician Enterprise at CommonSpirit Health. She is an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at Creighton University. Dr. Sagar's clinical interests include standardization of clinical quality, ambulatory antimicrobial stewardship, post-COVID sequelae, and continuum of care for cancer survivors. She serves as the current co-Chair of the Early Career Physician Committee for the New York Chapter of the American College of Physicians (NY-ACP) as well as a Council Member of the Council of Early Career Physicians for the ACP. She was awarded the 2020 Laureate Award for the New York Chapter of the American College of Physicians in recognition of her contributions in leading programs addressing physician well-being, physician advocacy for responsible public policy, as well as medical education. In 2021, she was the recipient of the INSPIRE Award by the American Medical Women's Association, which honors women physicians who are inspirational and demonstrate vision, integrity, collaboration and service. She has been an invited speaker at national conferences by professional organizations including the American College of Physicians and the Society of General Internal Medicine. She has served as a panelist at regional conferences and national conferences on topics including women in medicine, career development for early-career physicians, burnout, and mentorship.

Susan Hingle is an Internal Medicine specialist and a Professor of Medicine, who serves as Associate Dean for Human and Organizational Potential, and Director of Faculty Development at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Miami University and a medical degree from Rush University Medical College. She completed an Internal Medicine residency at Georgetown University completed the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program. Dr. Hingle was awarded the prestigious AMWA Elizabeth Blackwell Career award. Additionally, she has received several other awards including the Golden Apple Award, the Excellence in Teaching Outstanding Teacher Award, the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, the Most Influential Faculty Award, and the Chair’s Resilience Award. Dr. Hingle was honored with ACP’s McDonald Award for Young Physicians and was awarded several ACP John Tooker Evergreen Award for Chapter Innovation. She has been active nationally in numerous organizations, including the American College of Physicians, the Alliance of Academic Internal Medicine, the American Medical Women’s Association, and the American Medical Association. She served as Chair of the ACP Board of Regents and Chair of Board of Governors. She serves on the AMWA Board of Directors and the AMA Women Physician Section Governing Council. She was senior author on the ACP policy paper on gender equity in physician compensation and career advancement. Dr. Hingle strongly believes that we must focus on equity and inclusion as well as physician well-being and fulfillment if we are going to be able to reach our full potential as individuals, organizations, and a profession.