Newswise — With the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang upon us, Penn Medicine physicians and scientists are available for comment on a variety of topics relating to health and injury issues—ranging from bird flu and travel-related illnesses to the effects of performance enhancing drugs, cardiac arrest, head trauma and more.

Experts are available for interviews by phone, webcam or satellite uplink from the Penn campus in Philadelphia.

Topics

Penn Medicine Experts

Internal Medicine

Gary Dorshimer, MD, chief of Internal Medicine at Pennsylvania Hospital. He will be traveling to Sochi as an Internal Medicine consultant for the NHL. He served in the same role at the 1998 Nagano, 2002 Salt Lake City, and 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and also serves as team internist with the Philadelphia Flyers, Phantoms, Eagles, and Kixx, and as a consulting internist to the Pennsylvania Ballet.

Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Injuries

**Additional specialized experts available upon request

Brian Sennett, MD, Director of Sports Medicine

Rahul Kapur, MD, CAQSM, associate professor of Orthopaedic Surgery (Sports Medicine Program).

Alexis Tingan, MD, assistant professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Samir Mehta, MD, Chief of the Division of Orthopaedic Trauma. Treats patients suffering from traumatic orthopaedic injuries, including many extreme sports athletes (snowboarders, rock climbers, etc).

Kate Temme, MD, Director of the Center for the Female Athlete. (Expert in the Female Athlete Triad)

Infectious Disease

- Flu (seasonal & novel strains)

-Vaccinations and disease prevention

- Waterborne diseases

- Norovirus

Neil Fishman, MD, University of Pennsylvania Health System associate chief medical officer, chairman of CDC’s Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee

Todd Barton, MD, an associate professor of Clinical Medicine

Ebbing Lautenbach, MD, MPH, chief of Infectious Diseases; expert on infection control and antibiotic resistance.

-John Wherry, PhD, a professor of Microbiology, can talk about the unique biology of norovirus, how it hides out in the immune system, and why it is so contagious.

Neurology/Neurosurgery

- Concussions/TBI

- Head/Neck Injury

- Spinal Injury

M. Sean Grady, MD, Charles Harrison Frazier Professor of Neurosurgery and Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery

Douglas Smith, MD, Professor of Neurosurgery and Director of the Penn Center for Brain Injury and Repair

Cardiology

- Heart Rhythm problems

- Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Benjamin Abella, MD, Vice Chair of the department of Emergency Medicine and Clinical Research Director, Center for Resuscitation Science

Neel Chokshi, MD, MBA, Director of the Sports Cardiology Program

Anti-Doping & Muscle Physiology

Tejvir S. Khurana, MD, PhD, associate professor of Physiology. He recently took research mice to within 1,000 feet of the summit of Mount Everest to study how a mammal’s physiology changes when exposed to low-oxygen conditions at extreme altitude.

Endocrinology

- Diabetes

- Metabolism

- Hormones

Mitch Lazar, MD, PhD, chief of the division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism and Director of the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism

Mark Schutta, MD, Director of the Penn Rodebaugh Diabetes Center

Psychiatry

- Performance Anxiety

- Mental Preparedness

- Eating Disorders

Michael E. Thase, MD, Director of the Penn Mood and Anxiety Program

Cory F. Newman, PhD, Professor of Psychology; Director, Center for Cognitive Therapy, expert in sports psychology

Kelly Allison, PhD, Director of Weight & Eating Disorders

Travel Medicine

- Illness prevention    

- Vaccinations for travel

- Motion sickness, jet lag, altitude sickness

- International disease surveillance

Suzanne Shepherd, MD, Director of Education & Research, PENN Travel Medicine, associate professor of Emergency Medicine

Stephen J. Gluckman, MD, director of Penn Global Medicine, professor of Infectious Diseases

  

Sleep Disorders

- Time Change/Jet Lag

- Sleep Deprivation and the role in athletic performance

Allan Pack, MD, PhD, chief of the Division of Sleep Medicine and Director of the Center for Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology

David F. Dinges, PhD, professor of Psychiatry and chief, division of Sleep and Chronobiology

  

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