Judy Chertok, MD

Judy Chertok, MD is an Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health and the Director of Addiction Medicine and the Fellowship in Addiction Medicine in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Pennsylvania.  Her clinical work is in primary care based opioid treatment, community-based low barrier opioid treatment, and specialty hospital-consultation addiction treatment in addition to general family medicine inpatient and outpatient.  As the Director of Addiction Medicine, she initiated and oversaw the growth of the Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) program within Penn Family Care, from a single patient to nearly 250 patients per year, including a novel perinatal program. Since 2020, she has joined a unique collaboration with Prevention Point Philadelphia to provide mobile harm reduction resources, MOUD and COVID vaccines in a low barrier, community setting. Her educational work is focused on incorporating training for addiction care throughout all four years of the Perelman School of Medicine, for residents in Family Medicine, and for Addiction Fellows.

Nicole O’Donnell

Nicole is a Certified Recovery Specialist, recognized by the Philadelphia Inquirer for excellence in patient care for her work at Penn Medicine’s Center for Addiction Medicine and Policy, which includes supporting patients at Penn Presbyterian, Pennsylvania Hospital, and the Hospital of the University of Penn.  Ms. O’Donnell oversees the CareConnect Warmline, a low barrier and virtual buprenorphine bridge clinic, serving the Philadelphia area and surrounding counties connecting community members to evidence-based treatment.

Jeanmarie Perrone, MD

Jeanmarie Perrone is a Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, the Director of the Division of Medical Toxicology and the founding Director of the Penn Center for Addiction Medicine and Policy.  Dr. Perrone has led multiple initiatives in opioid stewardship and leads a program for the ED treatment of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD).  Dr. Perrone has served on many national task forces and federal advisory committees with the CDC and FDA addressing judicious opioid use and has advocated at the state and national level for expanding treatment opportunities for OUD.  Dr. Perrone has been featured in prominent media including the New York Times, National Public Radio, Freakonomics and USA Today and has published in the New England Journal of Medicine and JAMA . She has won numerous awards for education and mentorship and is boarded in emergency medicine, medical toxicology and addiction medicine.

Margaret Lowenstein, MD, MPhil, MSHP

Maggie Lowenstein, MD, MPhil, MSHP is a general internist, addiction medicine physician, and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine. Dr. Lowenstein’s research focuses on novel strategies for implementing evidence-based treatment and harm reduction interventions for opioid and other substance use disorders. She is interested in the delivery of substance use care in general medical settings as well as developing and studying low-barrier treatment models for substance use disorder. Dr. Lowenstein also co-chairs the Opioid Use Disorder Workgroup of the Penn Medicine Opioid Task Force and collaborates with partners in Philadelphia to disseminate of best practices for opioid use disorder care. She currently practices addiction medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and on Prevention Point Philadelphia’s mobile treatment unit

Sam Huo, MD, MPH, MS

Sam Huo, MD, MPH, MS is an emergency and addiction medicine physician and an Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine. She completed her residency in emergency medicine at Temple University Hospital and a fellowship in addiction medicine at Cooper University Hospital. She is passionate about harnessing the potential for the ED and hospital settings to be a point of entry to other settings of care, particularly for those who struggle with substance use disorders. Her approach to medicine is grounded in the philosophy of harm reduction and the belief that people who use drugs deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. She currently practices emergency medicine and addiction medicine at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania – Cedar Avenue. She serves as the medical director of the Addiction Consult Team at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. In her free time she enjoys rock climbing, playing tennis, and snuggling with her cats.

Patrick J. Brennan, MD

PATRICK J. BRENNAN, MD is the Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Professor of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. As Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Brennan leads implementation of Penn’s Blueprint for Quality, a strategic effort to improve clinical accountability and the outcomes of care.

Dr. Brennan oversees the departments of Healthcare Quality, Patient Safety, Regulatory Affairs, and Medical Affairs. He has developed a Center for Evidence Based Practice to apply scientific evidence to clinical operations. Dr. Brennan is an infectious diseases physician and previously served as Director of Infection Control for 11 years at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and for periods of time held the same post at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and the Philadelphia VA Medical Center.  He also served as Director of Tuberculosis Control for the City of Philadelphia for seven years.

Dr. Brennan is a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and in 2008 served as SHEA’s president. From 2004 to 2010 Dr. Brennan chaired the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC), which advises the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on a broad range of issues related to control of infectious diseases.

Dr. Brennan is a member of the Patient Safety Advisory Group of The Joint Commission. He is past chair of the Board of Directors of the Health Care Improvement Foundation (HCIF), an independent, nonprofit organization that leads health care initiatives aimed at improving the safety, outcomes and care experiences of patients in Southeastern Pennsylvania.