At The Protected Airway Collaborative, our vision comes alive through the extraordinary people who shape it. We are not simply a collection of local instructors — we are a global community of leading clinicians, educators, innovators, and guest experts, united by a shared commitment to elevate airway education. Around this community, we build a rich, multimedia learning environment that amplifies their expertise and makes it accessible to all.
Every course is powered by a diverse and dynamic faculty, chosen not just for their clinical mastery but also for their ability to teach, inspire, and connect across disciplines. Together, they transform each learning experience into something greater than the sum of its parts — a place where knowledge, creativity, and collaboration push the boundaries of what airway education can be.
– Welcome to PAC
Jonathan St George, MD
Founder & Executive Director
Jonathan St. George, MD, is the founder of The Protected Airway Collaborative and an emergency physician dedicated to transforming how clinicians learn airway management. His career spans urban academic centers, rural hospitals, disaster response, and international medicine, experiences that shape his vision for innovative, practice-driven education. Through PAC, he combines immersive simulation, digital platforms, and creative design to create learning spaces where clinicians at every level can refine skills, stay inspired, and deliver safer care. His mission is to turn the complex into the engaging, and the critical into the unforgettable—improving patient outcomes worldwide.
Sara Murphy DO – EM/CC
Director of the Physiologically Difficult Airway
Dr. Sara Murphy is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, with a dual focus in Critical Care Medicine & Emergency Medicine. Dr. Murphy is the creator and director of the Physiologically Difficult Airway learning space, an innovative educational initiative that integrates physiology, airway management, and critical care decision-making. A passionate educator, she is deeply committed to advancing the next generation of emergency and critical care physicians through immersive, physiology-driven training.
Chris Root MD – EM/EMS
Director of the Situationally Difficult Airway
Chris Root is an emergency medicine, prehospital, and flight physician in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He first became passionate about airway management while working as a New York City paramedic for nearly a decade. His interests include prehospital airway management, airway management during cardiac arrest, team dynamics during resuscitation, and, most importantly, breakfast burritos.
Wojciech Piechowski PA-C
Director of Own the Head of the Bed & Creative Director
A committed educator. He has been a core faculty member at the Protected Airway Collaborative since its inception. He plays a crucial role in developing, planning, and producing educational content for the Airway Course. He also enjoys playing guitar, recording, and mixing sound.
Stephen Meigher, MD – EM
Director of the Join the OxygeNATION Learning Space
Dr. Meigher is a graduate of Jacobi and Montefiore Emergency Medicine, where he served as chief resident. He is an attending physician with the Columbia Department of Emergency Medicine and is passionate about skill development education, particularly in nuanced airway management. He is most interested in studying and teaching the intersection of skill proficiency and risk-mitigation decision-making. When not on shift or teaching, he often travels the world rock climbing, ice climbing, and mountaineering, where he finds inspiration and insight in managing risk and training intense decision-making.
Rohan Panchami,a MD – Anesthesiology
Director of the Anatomically Difficult Airway
Dr. Rohan Panchamia is a board-certified Anesthesiologist specializing in critical care medicine and transplant anesthesiology. He graduated from the Seven-Year Dual B.A./M.D. program at The George Washington University. Dr. Panchamia completed his anesthesia residency at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical College. He then pursued a fellowship in critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. His clinical interests include critical care ultrasound, liver anesthesia, trauma anesthesia, advanced airway education, and resuscitative transesophageal echocardiography.
Jim DuCanto, MD – Anesthesiology
Creator & Director the SALAD Learning Space
Dr. Jim DuCanto is a tireless educator and innovator. He has collaborated worldwide with Emergency Medicine, Anesthesiology, Critical Care, and Prehospital and Retrieval Medical educators. Through his collaborations with colleagues in these diverse specialties, he has produced innovations related to Prehospital, Emergency Medicine and Critical Care airway management with the invention of a specialized rigid suction catheter (the “SSCOR DuCanto Suction Catheter”) as well as techniques to manage the massively soiled airway (the “SALAD” Technique), and a simulator to demonstrate and practice the SALAD technique (the Nasco Life/form® S.A.L.A.D. Simulator).
Oscar Mitchell – PCCM
Bronchoscopy & HALO Procedures Faculty Lead
Oscar is a Pulmonary and Critical Care attending at Penn Medicine and the Center for Resuscitation Science in Philadelphia. He is passionate about improving the care for patients during cardiac arrest and in the peri-arrest period. He is currently exploring the best ways to deliver education on high-acuity, low-occurrence (HALO) procedures and immersing himself in the world of in-situ simulations in the MICU. His educational conference, REVIVE, focuses on resuscitation, cardiac arrest, and post-arrest care.
Sean Runnels MD – Anesthesiology
Airway Geometry Bougie & Tube Introducer Lead
Dr. Runnels is the founder, inventor, and driving force behind Through The Cords. He is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Utah. He was fellowship-trained as a cardiothoracic anesthesiologist at Cambridge University in the UK and has extensive experience in difficult airway management in both high-resource and low-resource settings. In 2015, he returned to his practice at the University of Utah after a three-year sabbatical teaching in Africa. He is focused on reducing the costs and simplifying difficult airway management.
Oliver Panzer MD (critical care)
Physiologically Difficult Airway Ultrasound Lead Faculty
An Anesthesia and Critical Care Physician. Early on, I was drawn to the enormous potential of ultrasound in the perioperative setting. As part of my passion for using POCUS in complex patients, I developed an interest in teaching the management of difficult airways, especially physiologically difficult airways, and in using POCUS to critically evaluate physiology before intubation and to prepare for Front-of-neck airway (FONA). I joined the Protected Airway Collaborative in 2019 as faculty and am the director of the “Airway Leads” project at my home institution, the Hospital for Special Surgery.
Jess Boyle FP-C, CCP-C – EMS
Director EMS Programs & Creative Lead for the Airway Stress Lab
Jess Boyle—proud New Yorker, husband, and father—is an accomplished EMS leader and educator. A board‑certified paramedic (adult, pediatric, neonatal) and flight paramedic turned educator, he is an expert in mobile medical simulation training and critical care transport. Jess has shared insights at academic and industry conferences on difficult airway management and medical responses to chemical and biological threats, and continues to train physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, and allied professionals across the New York metro area.
Emilio Del Busto – EMS
Co-Director of Join the OxygeNATION Learning Space
Joined the PAC in 2016. I’m an NYC 911 and Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit paramedic for New York Presbyterian Hospital with over 15 years of EMS experience. I am passionate about airway and moving forward with the PAC philosophy of OxygeNATION. One of my specialties is using Supraglottic Airways (SGAs) effectively and how they can serve as a middle ground in a difficult airway.
Michael Defillipo – EM/EMS
Expert Lead Physiologically Difficult Airway Learning Space
Dr. Michael DeFilippo is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis. Before medicine, he dedicated over a decade to paramedicine and critical care transport, laying a foundation that vividly informs his high‑stakes airway expertise.
An educator and researcher at heart, Dr. DeFilippo focuses on airway management, resuscitation science, ultrasound, and EMS innovation.
Passionate about precision and impact, he enriches PAC with a blend of operational expertise, educational innovation, and a genuine love for both science and clarity.
Ralph Slepian, MD – Anesthesiology
Creator & Expert Lead Fiberoptic Learning Space
Dr. Slepian is nationally recognized for his expertise in managing difficult airways, including advanced fiberoptic intubation, and in anesthetizing complex cardiothoracic and pediatric patients. He frequently teaches residents these airway techniques and has contributed to research in this critical area. The ASA Task Force sought his expertise for expert review and commentary during the development of the ASA Difficult Airway Practice Guidelines.
Michael Aboodi, MD – PCCM
Emergency Tracheostomy Care Curriculum Lead
Dr. Aboodi is the faculty lead for a cutting‑edge curriculum focused on emergency tracheostomy care. Including critical airway management, tracheostomy tube assessment, decannulation processes, and managing tracheostomy-related emergencies like obstruction or hemorrhage. Dr. Aboodi has co‑authored significant research examining the impact of critical care specialist intervention on first-pass success in emergency airway management outside the ICU, underscoring his investigational interest in optimizing procedural outcomes
Kelly Crane, MD – PCCM
Emergency Tracheostomy Care Curriculum Lead
Kelly Crane is a critical care physician and educator who designs and develops simulation programs to help teach airway skills. Notably, she was instrumental in developing the learning space on tracheostomy emergencies for the Protected Airway.
Luca Ünlu, MD – EM
Co-Director The Protected Airway Collaborative (Germany)
Luca Ünlü is a physician and researcher from Germany, currently working at the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University Hospital Basel in Switzerland. With a background as a paramedic, he has a strong interest in emergency airway management, resuscitation, and prehospital care. Passionate about medical education, he is working with Christian Hohenstein to bring the Protected Airway Collaborative to Europe.
Maria Lame, MD – PEM
Co-Director The Pediatric Airway Learning Space
Dr. Maria Lame is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine.
Dr. Lame is recognized for her leadership in medical education, simulation, and telemedicine, and is deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Her scholarly contributions include pioneering pediatric studies aimed at enhancing airway and emergency readiness through simulation-informed training
Susan Fraymovich, MD – PEM
Co-Director The Pediatric Airway Learning Space
Dr. Susan Fraymovich is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine, and serves as Director of Education for Pediatric Emergency Medicine. She is the co-director of the Pediatric Airway Learning Space, bringing innovative, emotionally resonant curriculum to life at PAC events. Dr. Fraymovich blends clinical expertise with educational creativity.
Andrew Merelman DO – EM/EMS
Dr. Andrew Merelman is an Emergency Medicine resident at the University of New Mexico with a strong academic and clinical focus on airway management, procedural safety, and simulation-based training. He has published widely on topics such as bougie-first intubation, alternatives to RSI, and performance under stress in airway emergencies. Dr. Merelman brings a modern, evidence-informed approach to airway education, emphasizing innovation, safety, and adaptability in high-stakes environments.
Chris Reisig, MD – EM
Co-Director The Protected Airway Collaborative Simulation Program
Neel Naik MD – EM
Co-Director The Protected Airway Collaborative Simulation Program
Sagar Nakrani MD – EM
Cardiac Arrest Airway Program Lead
Christian Hohenstein MD
Co-Director The Protected Airway Collaborative (Germany)
Ahmed Shaik – EM/CC
Dr. Ahmed Shaikh, MD, is an Assistant Professor in the Critical Care Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, caring for patients across multiple New York hospitals. Board-certified in both Emergency Medicine and Critical Care Medicine,
A passionate educator, Dr. Shaikh leads surgical airway education at PAC, bringing his expertise in high-acuity airway management to this critical domain. His academic interests extend to innovation in critical care, including AI-driven decision support and public health initiatives to improve systems of care.
Biren Bhatt MD – EM
Dr. Biren A. Bhatt, MD, is an Emergency Medicine physician at Hackensack University Medical Center and Clinical Faculty with Hackensack Meridian Medical Group, where he brings over a decade of frontline experience to his clinical and teaching endeavors. In his role as a leading educator at PAC, he is a seasoned clinician and educator who enriches his airway training with practical wisdom grounded in high-stakes emergency care.
Frank Lovaglio MD – EM/IM
Dr. Frank H. Lovaglio, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Columbia University. He is double board-certified in Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine. With decades of clinical experience in high-acuity emergency settings, Dr. Lovaglio brings seasoned expertise and educational depth to advanced airway management training—anchoring content in real-world medicine and patient-centered care.
Richard Levitan, MD – EM
Richard Levitan, MD is an emergency physician and airway innovator whose career spans urban trauma centers and rural critical access hospitals. A member of the first Emergency Medicine residency class at Bellevue Hospital, he spent 25 years practicing in high-volume academic centers in New York City and Philadelphia before transitioning to rural practice in 2012. He now balances clinical work with national teaching, speaking, and device development.
James Horowitz, MD – Cardiology/CC
Dr. James M. Horowitz, MD, FACC, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at NYU Langone Health and the Medical Director of the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, with a focus on cardiology and critical care. He is an acclaimed expert in the management of high-risk pulmonary embolism, blending hemodynamic and respiratory strategies to improve outcomes in critically ill patients. Notably, he co-authored pivotal works on emergency respiratory management in acute PE—including “Intensive Care Management of the Patient With Hemodynamically Significant Pulmonary Embolism” and contributions to Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT) protocols.
Kathryn Chadason – FP-C, NRP
Former NYC 911 paramedic and flight paramedic with a clinical and educational focus in contaminated and difficult airway management.
Experience is grounded in high-acuity prehospital care, critical care transport, and practical, simulation-based airway education. Faculty with the Protected Airway Collaborative, teaching SALAD technique through cadaver labs, simulation, and hands-on airway training.
Published work includes: contaminated-airway simulation research in Academic Emergency Medicine Education and Training.
Robert Finklestein MD – PEM/CC
Dr. Robert A. Finkelstein, MD is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine, and Associate Pediatric Trauma Medical Director at NewYork Presbyterian Weill Cornell, he brings dual fellowship expertise in Pediatric Critical Care and Pediatric Emergency Medicine.
Dr. Finkelstein leads Weill Cornell’s multidisciplinary pediatric trauma simulation curriculum, co-leads the Trauma In Kids (TRIK) course, and serves on national committees shaping pediatric trauma and transfusion guidelines. A committed educator, he is deeply engaged in teaching pediatric critical airway management and ventilation strategies, bringing evidence-based rigor and simulation realism to his learners.
Jess LaPadula FP-C – EMS
Jesse LaPadula, FP-C, is a seasoned flight paramedic and educator specializing in advanced airway interventions. He is best known for his work with Dr. Jim DuCanto, teaching the SALAD (Suction-Assisted Laryngoscopy Airway Decontamination) technique, preparing clinicians to manage massively contaminated airways in high-pressure environments. His teaching combines hands-on realism with a practical, prehospital perspective, making complex airway techniques accessible and memorable. When he’s not teaching or flying, Jesse channels his creativity into building custom guitars.
Jace Mullen – FP-C
Jace Mullen, FP-C, is a critical care flight paramedic and dedicated airway educator based in Denver. He specializes in surgical airway decision-making, human factors, and the mental readiness required for emergency cricothyrotomy.
A featured guest on Prodigy EMS’s The EMS Educator podcast, Jace shares insights on enhancing instructional delivery and fostering engaging, self-directed learning environments in airway education. He has contributed to critical care literature—co-authoring a review on managing hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome during transport—a testament to his clinical and scholarly reach in high-acuity medicine.
Guadalupe Jimenez, MD – EM
Dr. Guadalupe Jimenez is an attending Emergency Medicine physician at Lincoln Hospital (NYC Health + Hospitals). A former U.S. Navy hospital corpsman with multiple combat deployments—including serving in trauma evacuation roles—she brings unmatched composure and clinical acumen to high-stakes environments. A 2020 Tillman Scholar, she is committed to serving underserved and veteran communities
Thomas Yang, MD – EM
Dr. Thomas Yang, MD, MEdHP, MS, is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where he serves as Director of Simulation and Medical Director of the Froedtert Hospital Simulation Center. A Yale-trained simulation fellow, he is a prolific educator and curriculum innovator, with published work in telesimulation and scenario design. Dr. Yang brings his emergency medicine and simulation expertise to PAC, enhancing hands-on training and immersive airway education.
| Jonathan St George, MD | Sara Murphy, DO | Jess Boyle FP-C, CCP-C | Richard Levitan, MD |
| Wojciech Piechowski PA-C | Chris Root, MD | Stephen Meigher, MD | Kathryn Chadason FP-C |
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