ACMT Staff Information
Paul M. Wax, MD, FACMT
Executive Director
Dr. Wax is the Executive Director of the American College of Medical Toxicology. He received his B.A from Dartmouth College, his M.D. from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, his Emergency Medicine training at the UCLA Hospitals, and his Medical Toxicology training at Bellevue Medicine Center / New York University. He is Board-certified in both Medical Toxicology and Emergency Medicine, and is a Fellow of the American College of Medical Toxicology.
Along with his full time position as the Executive Director of ACMT, Dr. Wax is an Adjunct Professor in Emergency Medicine (Medical Toxicology) at UT Southwestern School of Medicine where he has been on faculty since 2006. Previously Dr. Wax had faculty appointments in the Departments of Emergency Medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine from 1991-2001 and the University of Arizona School of Medicine from 2001-2006. Dr. Wax previously served on the Board of Directors of ACMT from 1998-2008 serving as ACMT President from 2006-2008. From 1997-2006 Dr. Wax also served as one of the American Board of Emergency Medicine’s appointee’s on the Medical Toxicology Subboard. During this time Dr. Wax served as Editor of the Medical Toxicology Board Certification Examination as well as Chairman of the Subboard, and was also the primary author of the 2004 Core Content of Medical Toxicology.
Dr. Wax who became ACMT’s first Executive Director in 2008 has directed over $10,000,000 in federally funded programs for ACMT, and, as of 2021, is directing ACMT programs funded by NIH, FDA, CDC and SAMHSA. Dr. Wax is the Co-Principal Investigator of ACMT’s Toxicology Investigator Consortium (ToxIC), a 35 site multicenter research program, and is the author of more than 100 peer reviewed publications. In 2019 Dr. Wax was honored with ACMT’s Career Achievement award.
Sharan Campleman, PhD, MPH, DABT
Toxicology Data Research Scientist, Toxicology Investigators Consortium (ToxIC)
Dana Karshenas, MPH, CHES
Program Manager, Communications and Grants Office
Dana is a Program Manager in the Communications and Grants Office of ACMT. She contributes her expertise to a range of ACMT endeavors, including managing ACMT’s Department of Homeland Security toxicology training program, guiding the development of the website and performance tracking databases for the PEHSU program, and researching and writing grant proposals. She is particularly interested in community-based environmental justice initiatives and efforts to reduce health disparities.
Dana received her MPH from the Department of Health Behavior at the University of North Carolina and is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). Prior to earning an MPH, she completed both a BA and an MA in Russian and Eurasian studies, and spent four and a half years as coordinator of a Brooklyn-based NIH Fogarty AIDS International Training and Research Program grant, which focused on building HIV/infectious disease research capacity in multiple countries of the Former Soviet Union. Despite her global background, she has contributed to a number of projects focused on domestic public health issues, including intimate partner and sexual violence prevention, smoking cessation, prevention of injury from opioid misuse, and women’s and adolescent health promotion. Dana is originally from northeastern Ohio, but so far her life has taken her to quite interesting places all over the map. At present, she is happy to call North Carolina her home.
Carrie Dickenson, MA
Senior Program Manager, Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSU)
Carrie Dickenson is the Senior Program Manager with the PEHSU program at The American College of Medical Toxicology. She has worked in Canada and the United States in a variety of research management and programmatic roles. Previously, she was the research coordinator for the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at the University of California San Francisco. Carrie has authored numerous publications in reproductive environmental health and has a Masters Degree in the History of Medicine.
Adrienne Landry Dunavin, MA
Education Program Manager
Adrienne joined ACMT in February 2016. As the Education Program Manager, she is responsible for developing, overseeing, and leading education programs that align with ACMT’s strategic plan. She supports the work of ACMT's Education Committee with operational planning and event logistics.
Adrienne has a BA in History from the University of Kansas and an MA from Columbia University in Russian and East European studies. She has over a decade of experience in program management and event coordination, organizing conferences and high-profile diplomatic visits in the US and Europe.
Sandra Kirilovic
Senior Education Program Coordinator
Sandra joined ACMT in June 2017 as the Membership and Program Coordinator. Her main focus is membership engagement and coordinating membership programs and activities (webinars, educational events, etc).
Sandra has a BA in Psychology from the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada. She previously worked for a membership management software company, where she helped thousands of organizations better manage and communicate with their members. Sandra also has a background in data analysis, marketing, event planning and social media. Originally from Toronto, Canada, Sandra has recently relocated to the Phoenix area where she resides with her husband, cat and dog.
Tracy Kolian, MPH
Director of Strategic Innovation and Funding
Tracy M. Kolian wo
rks part-time as director of strategic innovation and grant management at ACMT. Tracy is a senior public health professional and worked at the national level for over a decade at the American Public Health Association and the Center for the Advancement of Health. In addition to her work with ACMT, Tracy is an independent consultant and supports public health clients advance their goals. Tracy has a BS in Toxicology from Northeastern University, an MPH from Tulane University, is a certified Toastmaster and a graduate of CDC’s Environmental Public Health Leadership Institute.
Shao Li, MPH
Toxicology Data Quality Associate, Toxicology Investigators Consortium (ToxIC)
Shao joined ACMT in October, 2018 as Quality Assurance Associate with ToxIc Registry program of ACMT. Shao received his MPH in Health Promotion and Program Planning from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY. He has years of collective experience in public health intervention, working for NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in Hepatitis prevention and outreach, and research coordination in Mount Sinai Health for cardiovascular clinical trials. Shao is now pursuing MBA in non-profit management and plus.
Karen M. Ferguson, CFRE
Chief Development Officer
Karen Ferguson is a development professional with an extensive background with for-profit and not for profit organizations.
As the Director of the Oswego Health Foundation, she successfully created a board and committee system; developed annual giving programs, special events, corporate and foundation grants program, planned giving program and finally a major gifts program. She was responsible for developing policies and processes; management of staff and office operations as well as authoring fundraising plans that were congruent to the health system strategic plan. Prior to that Karen served as the Executive Director for the Central New York Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She began her not for profit career as the Branch Director for the Oswego office of the American Red Cross of Central New York. Her prior experience includes owning and operating her own businesses for 15 years with nearly 10 years of Human Resources experience where she was a certified instructor for the Savings and Loan Association.
Karen has served on many boards and committees. Most notably she has been a longtime member of the CNY Chapter of Association for Fundraising Professionals becoming a board member in January 2013 and is currently serving as the president of the chapter. Karen also served on the national AFP Member/Chapter Services Committee.
Karen is a graduate of SUNY Oswego with a B.S. in Business. In September of 2012, she completed the requirements and successfully earned her Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), a credential she has since maintained.
Jessica Irving
Communications Manager
Jessica joined ACMT in March of 2020. She has broad expertise with graphic and web design, copy-editing and layout, video editing, and producing content for print, digital, and social media. Since 2006 Jessica has served a wide array of clients as a freelance web and graphic designer. She worked with three International Area Studies Centers at the University of Kansas in a similar capacity from 2009-2020.
Alexandra Shovaly, MBA
Finance and Operations Officer
Alex holds a diversified expertise in public/private organizations, including in project execution, social enterprise and non-profit finance, human resources and leadership/career development. She began her career as the Senior Program Assistant at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Israel, where she worked inter-departmentally on the program and in finance and human resources. While she worked on a number of initiatives, she spent her last year collecting the data, developing and implementing the first directly implemented UNHCR Israel community development program which focused on reducing the incidence of domestic violence within the asylum seeker and refugee communities in Tel Aviv, Ashdod, Arad and Eilat. . She worked closely with the Israeli Ministry of Health, Welfare, the police and the refugee and asylum seeker community.
Mukta Deia
COVID-19 Response Program Manager
Deia joined ACMT in June 2020. She oversees the assessment of the COVID-19 Response Task Force and the delivery of dynamic activities to meet their needs. She is also responsible for strategic planning, goals and metrics setting, as well as developing and managing the overall operational and budgetary responsibilities of ACMT’s response to COVID-19.
Deia received her BS in Public Health from The Ohio State University. She accumulated years of experience in the fields of educational technology and organizational learning while working at the university's College of Public Health as an instructional design assistant and collaborating with subject matter experts to create educational materials for their courses, contributing to the improvement of student learning outcomes. Deia is an Ohio native and currently resides in the Columbus area.
Kim Aldy, DO
Program Manager, Toxicology Investigators Consortium (ToxIC)
Dr. Aldy initially joined the Toxicology Investigator's Consortium with the American College of Medical Toxicology as the first ToxIC intern, where she led a vaping initiative around the country. In her new position with ToxIC, Dr. Aldy is responsible for the day to day management of the ToxIC program, staff and site coordination, helping with research projects and publications, and acquiring support for ToxIC through grants and related activities.
Alex Houck
Communications Assistant
Alex graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a BA in Creative Writing and History. While there she gained working experience in digital marketing, copywriting, and graphic design across a variety of industries. In addition to her work at ACMT, she pursues her passion for creative writing and is in the process of writing her first novel. Alex is from Pennsylvania and currently resides outside of Philadelphia.Alison Meyn, MPH
Clinical Research Quality Analyst, Toxicology Investigators Consortium (ToxIC)
Alison is a Clinical Research Quality Analyst with ACMT. Alison received her MPH in Epidemiology from the School of Public Health at Georgia State University. She has been an epidemiologist for three years working in infectious disease and chronic disease with experience in case investigation, disease surveillance, database creation, data analytics, and more recently was a COVID-19 first responder. She has contributed to a number of public health projects in the fields of: Maternal and Child Health, Cancer, HIV, Oral Health, Smoking Cessation, and COVID-19.Stephanie Abston, RN, BSN
Clinical Research Associate, Toxicology Investigators Consortium (ToxIC)
Stephanie Abston, RN, BSN is a Clinical Research Associate at The American College of Toxicology. As a CRA Stephanie is responsible for working with the research teams located at various institutions, as well as, working closely with the ToxIC registry. Sefira Fialkoff, MS
Membership Manager
Sefira Fialkoff is the Membership Manager at ACMT. She received her MS in Global Development from the Law School at Tulane University in 2015. She has worked in membership and human resources for various non-profit organizations, academic institutions, and start-up companies. She is a technical writer and communication specialist consultant for international research organizations and small businesses. She came to ACMT from her position as the assistant director of the Center for Inter-American Policy and Research (CIPR) at Tulane University. She has lived and worked abroad in Spain, Costa Rica, Kenya, Cuba and Mexico. While she still prioritizes travel and experiencing new cultures, she currently calls New Orleans home.