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The Brain Trust  | Meet our Guests

Episode 1: Introduction to The Brain Trust, with Dr. Tabatha Wells
Host: Raj Shah, MD
Guest: Tabatha S. Wells, MD, FAAFP, IAFP President, 2021-2022
Most recently Dr. Wells was Program Director of the Carle Foundation Family Medicine Residency in Urbana. She serves as Co-Chair of the IAFP Reproductive Health Member Interest Group and is also on the IAFP Family Medicine Educators Committee and Public Relations Task Force.

Episode 2: Understanding Dementia
Hosts: Raj Shah, MD & Eukesh Ranjit, MD, MBBS, CAQGM, FAAFP
No Guests

Episode 3:  Diagnosing, Documenting, & Screening
Hosts: Raj Shah, MD & Eukesh Ranjit, MD, MBBS, CAQGM, FAAFP
No Guests

Episode 4: Eco System of Alzheimer’s and Dementia
Hosts: Raj Shah, MD & Eukesh Ranjit, MD, MBBS, CAQGM, FAAFP
No Guests

Episode 5: Health Systems, with Dr. John Brill
Host: Raj Shah, MD
Guest: John Brill, MD, VP Population Health at Advocate Aurora Health; UW School of Medicine and Public Health, Medical College of Wisconsin
Dr. Brill is the VP for Population Health Sciences & Research, for Advocate Aurora Health. He is a Clinical Adjunct Professor of Family Medicine & Community Health for the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health as well as the Medical College of Wisconsin and Clinical Instructor for the School of Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is a past president of the WI Academy of Family Physicians.

Episode 6: Rural communities, with Dr. Sharon Smaga
Host: Eukesh Ranjit, MD, MBBS, CAQGM, FAAFP
Guest: Sharon Smaga, MD
Dr. Smaga is Professor Emeritus at SIU Family Medicine, Carbondale. She has a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Geriatrics. She was the Medical Director of the Memory and Aging Clinic in Carbondale, Il for many years. Although partially retired, she still supervises residents in the office, works with medical students at the SIU School of Medicine, and promotes care of the elderly through participation in the Geriatric Workforce Education grant in Southern Illinois.

Episode 7: African American communities, with Dr. Scott Levin
Host: Raj Shah, MD
Guest: Scott A. Levin, MD, Program Director, Family Medicine Residency Program; Medical Director, PCC Dr. Burdick Family Health Center
Designated Institutional Official, Physician Advisor, Medical Staff President- West Suburban Medical Center
Dr. Levin is a Clinical Associate Professor of Family Medicine at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. He is an active member of the IAFP and was a member of the Board of Directors. Dr. Levin was elected President of the West Suburban Medical Center Medical Staff and serves on numerous hospital committees.

Episode 8: Early Detection in FQHC's, with Dr. Emma Daisy
Host: Raj Shah, MD
Guest: Emma Daisy, MD
Emma Daisy, MD, is a board certified Family Physician and Geriatrician practicing at Tapestry 360 Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center on the north side of Chicago.  She is President Elect of the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians.  She graduated from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, completed her residency in Family Medicine at Northwestern University, and her fellowship in Geriatrics at the University of Chicago.

Episode 9: Community Service Agencies in Rural Areas, with Dr. Sharon Smaga, Heather Knutt, and Becky Salazar
Host: Eukesh Ranjit, MD, MBBS, CAQGM, FAAFP
Guests: Dr. Sharon Smaga of SIU Family Medicine Carbondale, Marsha Nelson and Heather Knutt of Shawnee’s Savvy Caregiver and Family Caregiver Program, and Becky Salazar with the Egyptian Area Agency on Aging. 

Episode 10: Early Detection of Dementia in Veteran Populations, with Dr. Avinash Mantha
Host: Raj Shah, MD
Guest: Avinash Mantha, MD, Associate Program Director, Loyola Hines Geriatric Fellowship
Dr. Mantha is a board certified in family medicine and geriatric medicine who practices at the Edward Hines VA Medical Center. The majority of his job consists of doing home visits on homebound veterans. He also precepts medical students, residents and geriatric fellows in a weekly geriatric continuity clinic and does occasional hospital and nursing home work at the VA. Dr. Mantha is an associate program director of the geriatric fellowship, the Chicago area's largest geriatric fellowship and has served on the board of IAFP for 3 years. He enjoys global health and promoting primary care in other countries. 

Episode 11, Neurocognitive Disorders, with Denise Feil, MD, MPH
Host: Eukesh Ranjit, MD, MBBS, CAQGM, FAAFP
Denise Feil, MD, MPH - Director of Geriatric Psychiatry Training and Education, Greater Los Angeles VA Healthcare Center; Health Sciences Clinical Professor, UCLA; Program Director, UCLA Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship; David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Bio: Dr. Denise Feil is Professor of Clinical Health Sciences at UCLA and Director of Training and Education in Geriatric Psychiatry at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. She received her medical degree from McGill University Faculty of Medicine in 1995 and has been in practice 24 years. She is bilingual in French. She specializes in dementia diagnosis and treatment and conducts research on health services and health behavior.

Episode 12, Latino Communities, with Dr. Evelyn Figueroa
Host: Raj Shah, MD
Evelyn Figueroa, MD is a Professor, UIC Family Medicine Residency Program Director, and the Director of the UI Health Pilsen Food Pantry at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 1999, Dr. Figueroa earned her medical degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and subsequently completed her residency training in Family Medicine at Lutheran General Hospital. In 2007, Dr. Figueroa completed the UIC Scholars for Teaching Excellence Faculty Fellowship. She is board certified in family medicine and focuses her primary care practice in vulnerable populations work.

Episode 13, Electronic Health Record utilization in ADRD Early Detection, with Karl Kochendorfer, MD, FAAFP, FAMIA and Ravishankar K. Iyer, PhD
Host: Raj Shah, MD
Karl Kochendorfer, MD, FAAFP, FAMIA, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Chief Health Information Officer Associate Chief Medical Officer Associate Professor of Clinical Family and Community Medicine University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System (UI Health)
Ravishankar K. Iyer, PhD, George and Ann Fisher Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, Affiliate faculty at Mayo Clinic and Carle College of Medicine

Episode 14, Caregiver Support in ADRD Early Detection, with Mark Drexler, MD and Gene Kuhn, Alzheimer's Assn
Host: Raj Shah, MD
Mark Drexler, MD, FAAFP, lead Physician for the Comprehensive Care Center at NorthShore University and Faculty at the University of Chicago Family Medicine Residency
Gene Kuhn, Sr. Health System Account Manager at the Alzheimer's Association

Episode 15, Early Diagnosis in the New ADRD Treatment Era with Dr. Avinash Mantha, Edward Hines VA
Host: Raj Shah, MD
Avinash Mantha, MD - Assistant Professor of Geriatrics, Loyola Hines Geriatric Fellowship Associate Program Director, Edward Hines VA Medical Center. Dr. Mantha is a board certified in family medicine and geriatric medicine who practices at the Edward Hines VA Medical Center. The majority of his job consists of doing home visits on homebound veterans. He also precepts medical students, residents and geriatric fellows in a weekly geriatric continuity clinic and does occasional hospital and nursing home work at the VA. Dr. Mantha is an associate program director of the geriatric fellowship, the Chicago area's largest geriatric fellowship and has served on the board of IAFP for 3 years. He enjoys global health and promoting primary care in other countries.

Episode 16, Dare To Care about Early Detection ADRD with Elaine T. Jurkowski, PH.D, M.S.W.
Hosts: Raj Shah, MD & Eukesh Ranjit, MD, MBBS, CAQGM, FAAFP
Elaine T. Jurkowski, PH.D, M.S.W., Graduate Program Director and Professor Social Work at Southern Illinois University 

Episode 17, Connecting Primary Care Practices with Community Health Workers: Advancing Early Detection and Diagnosis of ADRD with Tracey Smith, DNP, PHCNS-BC, MS, and Angelia Gower
Hosts: Raj Shah, MD & Eukesh Ranjit, MD, MBBS, CAQGM, FAAFP
Tracey Smith, DNP, PHCNS-BC, MS, Director of Community Health and the IPHA CHW Capacity Building Center, Illinois Public Health Association and Angelia Gower VP NAACP Madison, IL and Director of Health and Environmental Programs