Program Leadership

Program Director

Amy Puchalski, MD

Associate Program Director

Asuncion Erikson

Program Coordinator

Current Fellows

PGY-4

Victoria Riley, MD

 

Adam Brzezinski, MD

Medical School: Poznan University of Medical Sciences
 
Residency: BayCare St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital (Pediatrics)
 
“Hello! My name is Adam – I am originally from Michigan and moved to Florida around high school, where I went to undergrad at Florida State University.  I fell in love with Charlotte the very first time my wife and I visited, and we couldn’t get enough of the great food and drink scene, awesome weather, and the fun outdoorsy activities (which our Bernedoodle, Scout, loves the most)!  CMC provided the perfect mixture of high acuity and high volume surrounded by smart, outstanding co-workers, all within a beautiful metropolitan area that anyone would be lucky to train and live in.  I am a movie buff, an avid video gamer, and I try to stay active either running or weightlifting in between finding the best burger places and cocktail joints.  My research interests are in airway management and medical simulation.  I couldn’t see myself training anywhere else!”

 

Sami Hlebak, DO

 

PGY-5

Beth Melton, DO

Medical School: Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine-Carolinas Campus

Residency:  Wake Forest (Emergency)

“Hi! My name is Beth Melton and I am so happy to be a PEM fellow at CMC. I am originally from Michigan and went to Michigan State University for college. I moved to Charlotte shortly after and worked for several years as a medical assistant, EMT, and was a Hyperbaric Technologist at CMC – Mercy. I attended medical school in South Carolina and recently completed my EM residency at Wake Forest. I live in the Plaza Midwood neighborhood of Charlotte now with my husband Tyler, my cat Petrie and my dog Triscuit. Professionally, I have research and clinical interests in preventing child abuse, ED care of sexual assault patients, workplace violence, and global health. Personally, I enjoy cooking and baking, attempting to try every Charlotte restaurant (just ask me for recommendations!), running and hiking, watersports, travel, reading, and crocheting. My favorite thing about CMC so far has been the people. The attendings and teaching are unmatched, and working alongside the phenomenal residents and other fellows makes me happy to come to work every day.”

Taylor Burl, MD

Medical School: Tufts University School of Medicine

Residency:  Hennepin County (Emergency)

“Hello! My name is Taylor and I’m a second-year PEM fellow, along with Beth. I grew up in Newburyport, Massachusetts and have a strong preference for beaches, black dogs, seafood, and New England sports teams. I went to undergrad at Penn State so naturally love the Nittany Lions and college football, too. I stayed in Boston for medical school at Tufts, and recently completed my emergency medicine residency at Hennepin County in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I fell in love with the PEM fellowship at CMC/LCH because it’s a high acuity, high volume, urban hospital program in a city with easy access to the outdoors, a great food and drink scene (I’ve been getting recommendations from Beth since I moved), and lovely neighborhoods to live in.  On days off you can find me running,  hiking with my dog, browsing flea markets, or reading romance novels and murder mysteries. My research interests include pediatric airway management and pediatric trauma. I’m looking forward to exploring these interests during fellowship, with the support of the wonderful and down-to-earth faculty at CMC/LCH. “

 

PGY-6

Rebecca Raffler, DO

Medical School: Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine

Residency: Carolinas Medical Center (Pediatrics)

“I’m a rare, born and raised, Charlotte native! Despite leaving to do my Undergrad at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, then living in NYC for a few years, I found my way back down south for medical school at VCOM in Spartanburg, SC. It was a very easy decision for me to come back to Charlotte, NC for my Pediatric Residency training at Levine Children’s Hospital and I love it here so much that I stayed for Fellowship. My research interests are on invasive group A strep, sepsis, and am currently the simulation fellow on our Sim Track! While our education and experience are uncontested with the amount of high acuity patients we care for and the diverse pathologies, it’s the people we work with and the city itself that sold this program to me. Charlotte is central to the mountains, beach, and multiple lakes so there’s always something to do and somewhere to be! The food, bar, and activity scene here is amazing and (most importantly) it’s super dog friendly! I can’t imagine being anywhere else. So come hang out with us!”

Alumni

2025

Zack Gibson, DO

Medical School: A.T. Still University Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine

Residency:  University of Arizona (Emergency Medicine)

Research Interest:  Airway Management, Medical Education

Current Position:  University of Utah

Haseeb Khatri, MD

Medical School: Texas A&M

Residency: University of Missouri (Emergency Medicine)

Research Interest: Advocacy and Policy, HIV Linkage to Care

Current Position: Health Care Administration, Leadership, and Management Fellowship (inaugural Atrium Health Program Fellow!), Carolinas Medical Center and Levine Children’s Emergency Department

Maureen Nsofor, MD

Medical School: Morehouse Medical College

Residency: Emory (Pediatrics)

Research Interest: Injury Prevention

Current Position: Carolinas Medical Center and Levine Children’s Emergency Department

 

2024

Ali Rosser, MD

Medical School: SUNY Upstate

Residency: Stony Brook (Emergency Medicine)

Research Interest: Simulation and Medical Education

Current Position: Dell Children’s Hospital – Austin

 

Kendra Jackson, MD

Medical School: University of Virginia

Residency: Carolinas Medical Center (Pediatrics)

Research Interest: HIV and Medical Education

Current Position: Johns Hopkins University

 

2023

Lizz Olson, MD

Medical School: Wake Forest

Residency: Carolinas Medical Center (Emergency Medicine)

Research Interest: Informatics and HIV

Current Position: Medical College of Georgia

Erica Scott, MD

Medical School: Texas Tech

Residency: East Carolina University (Emergency Medicine)

Research Interest: Global Health and Medical Education

Current Position: UT Southwestern

 

Whitney Ficker, MD

Medical School: University of Missouri

Residency: University of Missouri (Pediatrics)

Research Interest: Human Trafficking

 Current Position: University of Missouri

2022

Vanessa Goff, MD

Medical School: Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine

Residency: Children’s National Health System (Pediatrics)

Current Position: East Carolina University

Nikki Richardson, MD

Medical School: East Carolina University

Residency: Carolinas Medical Center (Emergency Medicine)

Current Position: St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital – Tampa

 

2021

 Elise Alves Graber, MD

Medical School: University of Miami

Residency: University of Miami (Pediatrics)

Current Position: Jackson Health System

Juliana Jaramillo, MD

Medical School: SUNY Downstate

Residency: King’s Country Hospital/SUNY Downstate (Emergency Medicine)

Current Position: East Carolina University

 

2017

Christyn Magill, MD

Medical School: University of Florida College of Medicine

Residency: Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital of Richmond (Pediatrics)

Current Position: Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics Atrium Health’s Carolinas Medical Center and Levine Childrens’ Hospital

JR Young, MD

Medical School: University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Residency: Children’s Hospital of Colorado (Pediatrics)

Current Position: Mid-Atlantic Emergency Medical Associates, Charlotte, NC

2014

Maneesha Agarwal, MD

Medical School: University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Residency: Boston Combined Residency Program in Pediatrics (Pediatrics)

Current Position: Faculty and Associate Professor Emory University School of Medicine / Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

 

2012

Chad Scarboro, MD

Medical School: Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Residency: East Carolina, Brody School of Medicine (Emergency Medicine)

Current Position: Chief Medical Officer, Levine Children’s Hospital and Jeff Gordon’s Children’s Center.  Associate Professor,  Department of Emergency Medicine, Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center