Medical Toxicology Fellowship

Introduction

The Toxikon Consortium offers a prestigious two-year Medical Toxicology Fellowship in partnership with the University of Illinois Chicago, Cook County Hospital, and the Illinois Poison Control Center.

Founded in the 1950s as the first Poison Control Center in the United States, the Illinois Poison Center set the standard for toxicology services nationwide. Our fellowship program was also the first to achieve full accreditation in the country. We specialize in research areas such as street drugs, natural poisons and venoms, antidote therapy, pharmaco/toxicokinetics, and environmental/occupational toxicology. Over the past 20 years, we've trained over 30 fellows who have gone on to lead in medical toxicology.

Goals and Objectives

Fellowship Goals

The Toxikon Medical Toxicology Fellowship Program aims to provide comprehensive postgraduate fellowship training in medical toxicology for qualified physicians. The program’s goal is to develop future leaders in medical toxicology. These individuals will be able to perform at a high level as bedside and outpatient medical toxicology practitioners. They will develop the skills required to serve as medical backups for poison control centers and understand the skills needed to be a medical director. They will be among the finest academic teachers in medical toxicology. They will be highly skilled in reading the literature critically and have the necessary tools to contribute to the ongoing body of evidence in the medical toxicology literature.

Fellowship Objectives

The primary emphasis of The Toxikon Program includes:

Attain clinical experience in the diagnosis and management of acute and chronic poisoning of adults and children
Develop skills in teaching and lecturing in toxicology.
Learn the core content of medical toxicology.
Develop an understanding of the basic science of toxicology, including pharmacokinetics.
Develop an appreciation and an approach to environmental and occupational toxicology.
Develop a foundation in epidemiology, biostatistics, and preventive medicine as related to toxicology.
Develop experience with laboratory toxicology.
Describe the basics of research methodology.
Engage in community service.
Receive training in administration that would lead to opportunities as a medical director of a poison control center.
Be prepared for the written board examination in medical toxicology.

Educational Details

Selected Publications

Kim T, Chhabra N, Weech DM, Leikin JB. Short-Term Graft Failure of Organs Procured from Drug-Related Deaths Compared with Other Causes of Death. J Med Toxicol 2020 [in press].

Eswaran V, Allen KC, Bottari DC, Splawski JA, Bains S, Aks SE, Swoboda HD, Moore PQ, Tran TH, Salisbury-Afshar E, Lank PM, McCarthy DM, Kim HS. Take-Home Naloxone Program Implementation: Lessons Learned From Seven Chicago-Area Hospitals. Ann Emerg Med 2020;76(3):318-327.

Routsolias JC, Gimbar RP, Zell-Kanter M. Clinical Pharmacists: Essential During a Poison Outbreak. J Med Toxicol 2020 [in press].

Mycyk MB. ECMO shows promise for treatment of poisoning some of the time: the challenge to do better by aiming higher. Crit Care Med 2020; 48(8):1235-1237.

Bryant SM, Kim T, Colibao L, DesLauriers C. Pediatric poison center exposures and outcomes in the context of grandparent supervision. J Pediatr. 2020;222:263.

Agunbiade A, Routsolias JC, Rizvanolli L, Bleifuss W, Sundaresan S, Moskoff J. The effects of ceftriaxone by intravenous push on adverse drug reactions in the emergency department. Am J Emerg Med. 2020; S0735-6757(20)30164-9

Rushovich T, Arwady MA, Salisbury-Afshar E, Arunkumar P, Aks S, Prachand N.J Opioid-related overdose deaths by race and neighborhood economic hardship in Chicago. Ethn Subst Abuse. 2020:1-14.

Bryant SM, Lu JJ. Salicylate toxicity following undetectable concentrations. Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2020 Mar;58(3):212.

Mycyk MB. Addressing the vexing challenge of bleeding from oral anticoagulants in the ED. Amer J Emerg Med 2020; 38:1209-1210.

Chhabra N, Aks SE.Treatment of acute naloxone-precipitated opioid withdrawal with buprenorphine. Am J Emerg Med. 2020;38(3):691.e3-691.

Devgun JM, Rasin A, Kim T, Mycyk MB, Bryant SM, Wahl MS, DesLauriers C, Navon L, Moritz ED, Thompson TM, Swoboda HD, Lu J, Aks SE.An outbreak of severe coagulopathy from synthetic cannabinoids tainted with Long-Acting anticoagulant rodenticides. Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2019 [in press]

Neumann N, Chai PR, Wood DM, Greller HA, Mycyk MB. Medical Toxicology and COVID-19: Our role in a pandemic. J Med Toxicol 2020; 16(3):245-247.

Kopec KT, Kim T, Mowry J, Aks S, Kao L. Role of dantrolene in dinitrophenol (DNP) overdose: a continuing question? Am J Emerg Med. 2019 Jun;37(6):1216

Myers K, Giblin E, Zell-Kanter M. It’s Just Math-Unless It’s Toxic! AEM Educ Train 2019;4(1):64-67.

Black E, McCann S, Rasin A, Aks S. Articles you might have missed. J Med Toxicol 2019;15(2): 136-8.

Bryant SM, Lu JJ. Salicylate toxicity following undetectable concentrations. Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2019 May 22:1. [in press]

Jang DH, Love JS, Mycyk MB. JMT’s research concepts section: a 5-year evaluation. J Med Toxicol. 2019 [in press]

Navon L, Moritz E, Austin C, Wahl M, Aks S, Layden J. The Public Health Response to a Large Poisoning Outbreak Involving an Illicit Substance: Synthetic Cannabinoids Contaminated With a Long-Acting Anticoagulant Rodenticide, Illinois, March-July, 2018. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2019 Apr 5 [in press]

Chhabra N, Pallasch EM, Wahl M, Bryant SM. Tramadol, naloxone, and seizures. Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2019;57(12):1160.

Maloney LM, Mycyk MB. Honest Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest Advances Emergency Medicine Scholarship. Acad Emerg Med. 2019;26(6):698-700.

Abbasi AB, Salisbury-Afshar E, Jovanov D, Berberet C, Arunkumar P, Aks SE, Layden JE, Pho MT. Health Care Utilization of Opioid Overdose Decedents with No Opioid Analgesic Prescription History. J Urban Health. 2019 Feb;96(1):38-48.

Mycyk MB. Synthetic Cannabinoid-Associated Coagulopathy. N Engl J Med. 2019;380(1):100-101.

Naloxone prescriptions from the emergency department: an initiative in evolution. Verdier M, Routsolias JC, Aks SE. Amer J Emerg Med 2019;37(1):164-165.

Mycyk MB. Responsible Attention to Conflicts of Interest Enhances the Credibility of Published Scholarship.J Med Toxicol. 2019;15(1):1-3.

Stolbach A, Bebarta V, Beuhler M, Carstairs S, Nelson L, Wahl M, Wax PM, McKay C. ACMT Position Statement: Alternative or Contingency Countermeasures for Acetylcholinesterase Inhibiting Agents. J Med Toxicol. 2018;14(3):261-263.

Larsen J, Thompson T, Mycyk MB. Reviewing the record: medical record reviews for medical toxicology research. J Med Toxicol 2018;14(3):179-181.

Naloxone access among an urban population of opioid users. Nikolaides JK, Rizvanolli L, Rozum M, Aks SE. Am J Emerg Med. 2018;36(11):2126-2127.

The virtual toxicology journal club: the dissemination and discussion of noteworthy manuscript using twitter. Chai PR, Ruha AM, Wong KE, Monette DL, Spyres MB, Lapoint J, Greller H, Mycyk MB. J Med Toxicol 2018; 14(3):212-17.

Emergency department patient burden from an electronic dance music festival. Chhabra N, Gimbar RP, Walla LM, Thompson TM. J Emerg Med 2018 Apr;54(4):435-439.

Hays GP, Mycyk MB. Confronting the opioid crisis by taking a long look in the mirror…and at our peers. Acad Emerg Med 2018; 25(5):594-6.

Khattar N, Routsolias JC. Emergency Department Treatment of Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome: A Review. Am J Ther 2018;25(3):e357-e361.

Chhabra N, DesLauriers C, Wahl M, Bryant SM. Management of severe bupropion poisoning with intravenous lipid emulsion. Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2018;56(1):51-54.

Kanter JA, Chhabra N, Zell-Kanter M. Mailbox Tox: Ingestion of a Pharmaceutical Product Stolen From a Mailbox. Ann Pharmacother 2018;52(3):299.

Theobald JL, Spoelhof R, Pallasch EM, Mycyk MB. The beef jerky blues: methemoglobinemia from home cured meat. Pediatr Emerg Care 2018;34(7):e122-e123.

Christian MR, Sergel MJ, Mycyk MB, Aks SE. Comparison of high-fidelity medical simulation to short-answer written examination in the assessment of emergency medicine residents in medical toxicology. Mo Med 2017;114(5):396-399.

McCabe DJ, Lu JJ. The association of hemodialysis and survival in intubated salicylate-poisoned patients. Am J Emerg Med 2017;35(6):899-903

Mycyk MB. Maintaining the Public Trust in Journals with Ethical Publishing. J Med Toxicol 2017;13(4):275-77.

Bryant SM, Welker KL, Khattar N. Treatment of Benzodiazpine Dependence. N Engl J Med 2017;376:2397-8.

Ho JH, Leikin JB, Dargan PI, Archer JRH, Wood DM, Brent J. Metal-on-Metal Hip Joint Prostheses: a Retrospective Case Series Investigating the Association of Systemic Toxicity with Serum Cobalt and Chromium Concentrations. J Med Toxicol 2017;13(4):321-328.

Witsil JC, Mycyk MB. Haloperidol, a Novel Treatment for Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome. Am J Ther 2017;24(1):e64-e67

Middelberg LK, Chhabra N, Mycyk MB. Carbon Monoxide Intoxication of Childhood. Pediatr Emerg Care 2017;33(3):e5.

Bryant SM. The POPOP (puffing on pulse oximeter probe) sign of ethanol withdrawal. Am J Emerg Med 2016; 34(5):895-8.

Thompson TM, Toerne T, Erickson TB. Salicylate Toxicity from Genital Exposure to a Methylsalicylate-Containing Rubefacient. West J Emerg Med 2016;17(2):181-3.

Theobald JL, Spoelhof R, Pallasch EM, Mycyk MB. The Beef Jerky Blues: Methemoglobinemia From Home Cured Meat. Pediatr Emerg Care 2016.

Chhabra N, Bryant SM. Snapchat Toxicology: Social Media and Suicide. Ann Emerg Med 2016; 68(4):527.

Weeks MA, Clark E, Mycyk MB. Characteristics of heroin-dependent patients seeking asthma care in the ED. Am J Emerg Med 2016. 34(5): 895-8.

Lim SM, Marcelo C, Bryant SM. Those Salicylate Cases-How Sweet Are They? Am J Ther 2016;23(5):e1155-6.

Chhabra N, Valento M, Bryant SM, Aks SE. Digoxin-Specific Antibody Fragment Dosing: A Case Series. Am J Ther 2016;23(6):e1597-e1601.

Welker KL, Mycyk MB. Pharmacology in the Geriatric Patient. Emerg Med Clin North Am 2016;34(3):469-81.

Mycyk MB. When Your N >1: Drawing Meaningful Conclusions from Registry Studies. J Med Toxicol 2016;12(3):219-20.

Thompson TM. Medical Toxicology Education in a World of Limited Resources. J Med Toxicol 2015;11(3):281-2.

Palmer RB, Aks SE. Retained pill fragments at autopsy: time to rethink gastric decontamination? Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2015;53(2):82-4.

Bryant SM. Wartime toxicology: perspectives from a downrange medical toxicologist. J Med Toxicol 2015;11(1):157.

Zell-Kanter M, Quigley MA, Leikin JB. Reduction in ephedra poisonings after FDA ban. N Engl J Med 2015;372(22):2172-4.

Doyon S, Aks SE, Schaeffer S. Expanding access to naloxone in the United States. J Med Toxicol 2014;10(4):431-4.

Friedman LS, Krajewski A, Vannoy E, Allegretti A, Wahl M. The association between U.S. Poison Center assistance and length of stay and hospital charges. Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2014;52(3):198-206.

Fellowship History

The Toxikon Consortium was founded in 1988 through the vision of Dr. Daniel Hryhorczuk and a grant from the Chicago Community Trust to pool scarce toxicology resources and develop toxicology education, clinical service, and research. The consortium brought together Cook County Hospital, the University of Illinois, and Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center. Each of these institutions provided critical resources to the fellowship program.

Cook County Hospital has been the administrative core of the program. The Section of Toxicology (Division of Occupational Medicine) provided initial support and space. Since 2004, we have resided within the Division of Toxicology (Department of Emergency Medicine) at Cook County Hospital.
In the early 1990s, the University of Illinois provided drug information and emergency medicine resources through a newly formed Division of Toxicology in the Department of Emergency Medicine.
RUSH was the original home of the Northeastern Illinois Regional Poison Control Center. In 1995, the Poison Center moved to MCHC (Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council) as the Illinois Poison Center. MCHC and the IPC are located in downtown Chicago, above Union Station. The Illinois Poison Center (IPC) now acts as the sole poison information resource for the State of Illinois, and the Toxikon Consortium provides medical backup.

The medical toxicology fellowship was originally approved by Cook County Hospital in 1985. The original pathway for training was a preceptorship program that was completed by four individuals. This was followed by the formation of the two-year fellowship program. The ABMT (The American Board of Medical Toxicology) was the initial credentialing body for our Medical Toxicology trainees. The ABMS (American Board of Medical Specialties) and AOA (American Osteopathic Association) specialty boards are the current credentialing bodies.

In addition to training toxicology fellows, Toxikon has also become a model of excellence in toxicology training for medical/pharmacy students and residents from multiple specialties, including Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics, Pharmacy, and Occupational Medicine. We train approximately 110 residents and 60 medical and pharmacy students per year.

The Medical Toxicology Fellowship Program is the centerpiece of The Toxikon Consortium. We are proud to produce outstanding leaders in our field and take tremendous pride in advocating for public health and safety in all matters involving medical toxicology.

Duration

The fellowship is a two-year program.

Fellows

Dr. Mitchell D’Aloia, Senior Fellow

Dr. Mitch D’Aloia completed his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree at Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine in April 2020. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Purdue University in May 2015. He is concluded his Emergency Medicine Residency at Swedish Hospital, where he served as Chief Resident. During his clinical years at Firelands Regional Medical Center, he was elected as the Site Representative. His leadership roles have extended to organizing community outreach programs, such as COVID-19 vaccination drives and diabetes education events, at St. Bernard Hospital.

Dr. D’Aloia has contributed to medical research, particularly in toxicology. His recent publication, “A Fruitful Source of Cyanide: A Case Report of Suicide Attempt by Amygdalin Ingestion,” co-authored with M.E. Nelson, appeared in the Journal of Medical Toxicology in 2023. He has presented his research at national conferences, including the American College of Medical Toxicology Annual Scientific Meeting, and intends to pursue a fellowship in Medical Toxicology.

Throughout his career, Dr. D’Aloia has received academic and professional recognition. These include the Rural and Urban Scholars Pathway Graduate Award and a Certificate of Culture Competency. He also ranked in the top 20% of his class in the Psychiatry and Primary Care blocks during medical school. In addition to his clinical and research activities, Dr. D’Aloia is committed to education and has served as an Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine Teaching Assistant. He has also led workshops and educational sessions for medical students and residents.

Dr. Kara Zweerink, Senior Fellow

Dr. Kara Zweerink completed her Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in May 2021. She earned a Bachelor of Liberal Arts from the same institution in May 2020, graduating Magna Cum Laude, and completed her Emergency Medicine Residency at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Throughout her career, Dr. Zweerink has been involved in multiple research projects. A key publication includes “Inpatient Status is Associated with Longer Transit Time and Lower Completion Rate in Video Capsule Endoscopy,” co-authored by H. Bader et al. and published in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy in 2021. Her research interests extend to interprofessional learning and the use of antiemetics in pregnancy within the emergency department.

Dr. Zweerink has demonstrated leadership through her role as a Resident Advisor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where she mentors junior residents. As part of her commitment to education, she has also led clinical practice workshops and organized simulation events. Dr. Zweerink has volunteered at the KC Care Dermatology Clinic, offering care to underserved populations, and has been actively involved with the Sojourner Health Clinic, providing no-cost medical services to indigent patients in downtown Kansas City.

Chanell Davis, MD, Junior Fellow

Dr. Davis is a 2025–2027 Medical Toxicology Fellow. She earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a Master of Science from Northwestern University, and her medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine. She completed her Emergency Medicine residency at Cook County Hospital, where she served as Chief Resident of Wellness and Recruitment.

Dr. Davis brings a deep commitment to medical education, advocacy, and community engagement. She has co-authored a book chapter for Rosen and Barkin’s 5-Minute Emergency Medicine Consult, delivered numerous invited talks on professionalism, toxicology, and equity in medicine, and earned recognition as Resident Speaker of the Year by the Illinois College of Emergency Physicians. Her research includes projects on salicylate poisoning, pediatric medication insecurity, and equity-focused clinical care.

Passionate about mentorship and representation, Dr. Davis has led a longitudinal educational initiative with Chicago Public Schools, designed resilience workshops for young women of color, and advocated for wellness and inclusivity in her residency program. She continues to champion compassionate, evidence-based care through her work in medical toxicology.

Natalia Swiatowiec, MD, Junior Fellow

Dr. Swiatowiec is a 2025–2027 Medical Toxicology Fellow. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and her medical degree from Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, where she graduated with honors and participated in the Bioethics and Professionalism Honors Program. She completed her Emergency Medicine residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where she was actively involved in ultrasound education and clinical research.

Dr. Swiatowiec has led instructional workshops in point-of-care ultrasound, participated in the residency’s ultrasound track, and contributed to quality improvement initiatives. Her research interests span toxicology, emergency ultrasound, and clinician wellness. She has collaborated on multi-center studies with the Wisconsin Poison Center and worked on innovative projects involving prehospital ultrasound in Helicopter EMS.

Dr. Swiatowiec co-authored research that was presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics conference, has presented her research at several local Midwest conferences, and is scheduled to present at the upcoming North American Congress of Clinical Toxicology.

Fluent in Polish, Dr. Swiatowiec helped lead a Polish medical language curriculum at Loyola Stritch and developed online resources to support the program’s innovative teaching efforts. She has also served as a medical interpreter and health volunteer. A member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society and Phi Beta Kappa, she brings together academic excellence, cultural humility, and a strong commitment to compassionate care. Dr. Swiatowiec combines clinical rigor and collaborative research to advance the field of medical toxicology.

Program Director

Dr. Trevonne Thompson, Professor of Emergency Medicine, Director of Medical Toxicology Fellowship.

Program Faculty

Sean McCann

Assistant Professor

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Timothy Meehan

Associate Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine

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Department of Emergency Medicine