OccPod: the official ACOEM podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod,ACOEM’s official podcast. In this episode, Dr. Nabeel is joined by Dr. Mani Berenji to discuss the public health effects of the LA wildfires, which burned from January 7 to 31, 2025. Dr. Berenji discusses her personal experience, both as an occupational and environmental medicine physician in LA and as an Angeleno, and advises on the short- and long-term hazards of the wildfires and site cleanup.
Dr. Berenji recommends this webinar for clinicians, “VirtualGrand Rounds: Southern California Wildfire Response - What Clinicians Need to Know,” available here:

https://www.cmadocs.org/store/info/productcd/CME25_0129_VGROUNDS/t/virtual-grand-rounds-Southern-California-Wildfire-Response-What-Clinicians-Need-to-Know

See links below for more public health resources in responseto the Southern California Wildfires.

California Medical Association’s Wildfire Resources: https://www.cmadocs.org/wildfires

U.S. Small Business Association’s Disaster Assistance:
https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance

LA County’s Public Health Fire Safety and Health Information:http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/wildfire/

LA County DPH Health Advisory (January 13, 2025)
http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/eprd/lahan/alerts/LAHANFire011325.pdf

Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) SouthernCalifornia Wildfire Response:
https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/Southern-California-Wildfire-Response/Pages/default.aspx

Coalition for Clean Air Wildfire Smoke and Safety Resources
https://www.ccair.org/wildfire-and-smoke-safety-resources/

Protecting yourself during fire cleanup:
https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/cleaning-up-after-the-la-wildfires-is-dangerous-heres-how-to-protect-yourself?utm_campaign=5947416-crisis-communications

Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod, ACOEM's official podcast. In this episode, Erin and Dr. Nabeel are joined by Dr. Maria Starchook-Moore to discuss recent initiatives by ACOEM's Private Practice Section.

Dr. Starchook-Moore discusses her personal experience as an occupational and environmental medicine physician and outlines the goals of the Private Practice Section, which aim to share information on starting a practice through podcasts, webinars, and mentorship.

An important note for our listeners – OccPod will be going on an editorial hiatus until further notice. Now is the perfect time to go back and revisit the full catalog of OccPod episodes!

Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod, ACOEM's official podcast. In this episode, Erin and Dr. Nabeel are joined by Dr. Vincent Michaud for a conversation that is truly out of this world – aerospace medicine and supersonic transport.

Dr. Michaud is the Deputy Chief Health and Medical Officer at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. He is responsible for the oversight of all NASA health and medical activities including medical aspects of all national and international NASA missions. 

Dr. Michaud earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and completed residencies in Aerospace Medicine and Occupational Medicine at the United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks Air Force Base, Texas. He is a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association and is certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine.

Don't forget to subscribe to OccPod so you never miss a new episode!

Thank you for joining for another episode of OccPod. In this episode, Erin and Dr. Nabeel are joined by Dr. Judith Green McKenzie for a discussion on vaccines, particularly her experiences with the rapid delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine to employees.

Dr. McKenzie is a Medical Officer at the Occupational Safety &Health Administration and Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where she was Inaugural OEM Division Chief & OEM Residency Program Director. She also served as Professor of Medicine & OEM Division Director at Johns Hopkins Medicine and as Executive Director for Health, Safety and Environment for Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Health System.

Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod. In this episode, Erin and Dr. Nabeel are joined by guests Drs. Robert Bourgeois and Brett Perkison to discuss the relationship between heat stress and worker health.

Dr. Bourgeois is the Medical Director of the Bourgeois Medical Clinic, an occupational medicine practice in Morgan City, Louisiana. He helped to design the Heat Stress plan for the Deepwater Horizon response.

Dr. Perkison is the Associate Medical Director at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Employee Health, and the Program Director of UT’s Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency. Dr. Perkison’s work measures the extent chronic diseases in employees affect workplace productivity, absenteeism, employer-covered healthcare costs, and other work-related indices of occupational health.

Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod. In this episode, Erin and Dr. Nabeel discuss the latest variant of COVID-19, the summer surge, and the forthcoming updated vaccines.

Don't forget to subscribe to OccPod so you never miss a new episode!

Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod. In this episode, Erin, Dr. Nabeel, and guest Dr. Gary Toups discuss hyperbaric medicine, including the recent implosion of the Titan submersible. Dr. Toups also discusses decompression illnesses in divers and case-on workers.

Dr. Toups has practiced Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine since 2004, when he treated recreational divers and military aviators for decompression illness at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan.  He is a former US Air Force officer, and served as a navigator, pilot, flight safety officer, and aircraft mishap investigator.  In 1995, he left aviation and attended the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, earning his MD in 1999.

Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod.

In this episode, Erin and Dr. Nabeel are joined by Dr. Michael Sauri to discuss Mpox, formerly known as Monkeypox, recent outbreaks, and the status of vaccines.   

Dr. Sauri is the Medical Director of Occupational Health Consultants, which services over 130 biomedical research laboratories. Dr. Sauri’s 12-year military career included residency training in General Preventive Medicine in the US Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, General Internal Medicine at Brooke Army Medical Center, and Infectious Diseases Fellowship training at Bethesda Navy Hospital.

Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod.

In this episode, Erin and Dr. Nabeel discuss air quality and the detrimental effects of climate change, highlighting the hundreds of active wildfires in eastern Canada and the consequential particulate haze over New York City and the American Northeast. 

Thank you for joining us for another episode of OccPod! On today’s episode, Erin, Dr. Nabeel and guest Dr. Rivera Margarin discuss occupational and environmental residency programs and the topics that interest OEM students, particularly those related to climate change. 

Dr. Rivera Margarin is faculty at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health where serves as the program director for the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency, advises pre-med students in the masters in environmental health sciences program and teaches an environmental and occupational toxicology course. She is co-principal investigator for the Department of Energy funded Johns Hopkins Former Workers Program for Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories and is a medical advisor for health and safety to the International Association of Fire Fighters.