Call from Friday October 9th, 2026 featuring Dr. Shmuel Shoham.

Shmuel Shoham, M.D. is Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Dr. Shoham has over 20 years of experience in management of patients with invasive infections, and is the author or co-author of over 100 original articles, book chapters and topic reviews. He is a nationally recognized expert in infectious diseases of immunocompromised patients and his research explores diagnosis, prevention and treatment of infections in such patients. Dr. Shoham serves as a reviewer and expert consultant to multiple journals, professional societies, hospitals and government agencies in the US and numerous countries abroad.

He is a member of professional guideline committees for the American Society of Transplantation (AST), the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Invasive Fungal Infections Cooperative Group and Infectious Diseases Mycoses Study Group (EORTC/MSG) and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). Dr. Shoham is the recipient of numerous awards including the American College of Physicians' (Washington, DC Chapter) laureate award, their highest honor.

Dr. Shoham received his medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, PA) and medical residency and infectious diseases fellowship training at Boston University School of Medicine (Boston, MA).

Call from Friday October 2nd, 2026 featuring Dr. Jon Zenilman.

Dr. Jonathan M. Zenilman is a professor of medicine, at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He also has joint appointments in population family and reproductive health, international health, and epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Dr. Zenilman is known internationally for his work in infectious disease epidemiology. Prior to coming to Johns Hopkins in 1989, he was a medical epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) where he developed the National Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Program (GISP). , which has operated continuously since 1987. He also coordinated and wrote the 1989 STD Treatment Guidelines and has continuously consulted with CDC since.

In Baltimore, his activities have included directing the Baltimore City Health Department Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) program and developing the Johns Hopkins Center for STI Prevention and Training. His research encompassed nearly all areas of STD behavioral science and clinical epidemiology, as well as extensive experience in conducting Phase 1 through Phase 3 clinical trials for drugs and vaccines. In addition to being a productive researcher and clinician, he has been active in health policy, has served as a Senior Medical Advisor for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (DHHS) 1995-1997, has testified before Congress and the Maryland legislature on infectious diseases related issues. He has been a technical consultant on numerous advisory committees for CDC, NIH, DoD, and the US Presidential Commission on Bioethical Issues and on numerous data safety monitoring committees for drugs and vaccines.

Call from Friday September 25th, 2026 featuring Dr. Su Thavarajah.

Dr. Sumeska Thavarajah is an assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her areas of expertise include nephrology.

Dr. Thavarajah earned her M.D. at Wayne State University School of Medicine. She completed her residency at the University of Connecticut Health Center and performed nephrology fellowships at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and the University of Connecticut Health Center.

She serves as chair of the National Kidney Foundation of Maryland's Medical Advisory Board. She was recognized by the National Kidney Foundation of Maryland with a Linda Cameron Award for Patient Services in 2015.

Call from Friday September 18th, 2026 featuring Randi Eichenbaum.

"I'm BRCA2+, which means I'm high-risk for certain cancers. I lost my mom to ovarian cancer, and I later had breast cancer myself. So I didn't come to hereditary cancer risk as an entrepreneur looking for a market. I came to it as a patient lost in it, and eventually realized my product brain and my personal story were pointing to the same missing thing."

MOTA is a digital companion designed to help women with BRCA mutations navigate their care journey. They provide personalized roadmaps based on National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines, connect people with vetted specialists, and offer a supportive community of others on similar journeys.

Call from Friday September 11th, 2026 featuring Drs. Khamishon and Devlin

Dr. Khamishon is a Movement Disorders Fellow (PGY-6) at Johns Hopkins with interests in medical education and community-engaged care. Her work centers on expanding access to programming for people with Parkinson's disease as well as advancing innovative models for future physicians.

Kerry Devlin, PhD, LPMT, MT-BC (she/her) is senior music therapist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Music & Medicine, where she has the honor of co-constructing music therapy encounters and research projects in adult neurology, critical care, and pediatric anesthesiology and critical care. Kerry received her PhD in Music Therapy from Aalborg University, exploring the impact of perspective-taking on music therapy research, education, and clinical practice through a four-article series. As a disabled clinician, Kerry understands the unique experience of moving through the health care system as both a patient and a provider. She is passionate about amplifying the lived experiences of therapy participants through co-designed and co-authored research.

Call from Friday September 4th, 2026 featuring Marisa Stachelski, Podcaster and Cancer Survivor.

In 2022, a colon cancer diagnosis led to genetic testing and the discovery that Marisa carries the BRCA2 gene mutation.

What followed were multiple preventative surgeries, recovery, difficult decisions, and a complete shift in how she viewed health, identity, advocacy, and the future.

Today, she uses her voice to help bridge the gap between medical information and the real-life emotional experience of navigating hereditary cancer risk.

She is the host of BRCA & Beyond, a podcast dedicated to conversations around BRCA, genetic mutations, hereditary cancer, prevention, survivorship, previvorship, mental health, advocacy, and life beyond diagnosis. Through honest storytelling and expert conversations, her goal is to help people feel informed, supported, and seen.

Call from Friday August 28th, 2026 featuring Dr. Craig Spencer.

Dr. Spencer is an emergency medicine physician and an Associate Professor of the Practice of Health Services, Policy and Practice at Brown University School of Public Health. As a physician he focuses on frontline preparedness, both in the U.S. and globally, especially on the impact of COVID-19 on health systems. This includes the real world impact of pandemic preparedness – or lack of preparedness – for clinicians and patients, particularly from a humanitarian perspective.

An advocate for equitable access to medical countermeasures, diagnostics, and treatment, he also explores the historical foundations for the COVID response, based on the response to previous pandemics. He brings to the Pandemic Center a unique understanding of the current operational level of pandemic preparedness and response, the scope of which includes providers, patients, and frontline readiness, locally, nationally, and globally.

Thanks to Dr. Marcie Johnson for filling in for Kimberly this week!

Call from Friday July 31st, 2026 featuring Richard Amador from HealthCare Access Maryland.

Richard Amador, who joined the HCAM team in July 2017, currently serves as HCAM's Outreach Manager in the Connector program. In this role, his educational background in language and pedagogy comes together with his knowledge about insurance affordability programs and policy to increase health literacy in the communities served by HCAM. Richard, a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, holds a B.A. in Hispanic Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, and he received an M.A in Latin American Literature from UC Berkeley in 2009. Richard has spent the last decade applying his background in the humanities to a career path dedicated to advocating for Maryland residents' access to health care – from working as a Spanish translator and interpreter at the Columbia Health Center Clinic within the Howard County Health Department to a Connector employee since inception in 2013.