Overview and Learning Objectives
Airborne exposures remain a critical intersection between occupational medicine, public health and preventive medicine, and clinical practice. This webinar will review foundations of airborne hazard monitoring and regulation, followed by clinical considerations in the evaluation of inhalational exposures. The session will conclude with an overview of military deployment-related respiratory exposures and pulmonary symptoms. Designed for preventive medicine and occupational medicine trainees, this session emphasizes practical clinical application grounded in regulatory and exposure science principles. By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
* Apply a mechanism-based clinical approach to the evaluation of inhalational toxic exposures.
* Describe key federal regulatory and monitoring frameworks governing occupational and ambient air exposures.
* Differentiate major categories of airborne hazards, including particulates, irritant gasses, and asphyxiants.
* Review military deployment-related respiratory exposures and the concept of Deployment Related Respiratory Disease.
Michelle W. Robertson, MD, MPH, FACPM
Michelle W. Robertson, MD, MPH, FACPM Bio
Michelle W. Robertson, MD, MPH, FACPM, is an Occupational and Environmental Medicine physician with the NJ WRIISC and Clinical Director of the Airborne Hazards and Burn Pit Center of Excellence. She specializes in military-related environmental exposures and leads registry evaluations for hazards such as Agent Orange, Gulf War exposures, and Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pits. Dr. Robertson is also an American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) Fellow and recently completed fellowship training at Rutgers University. She has extensive experience in environmental health surveillance, injured-worker evaluations, and work with World Trade Center first responders. She is board-certified in both Family Medicine and Occupational Medicine and continues to mentor preventive medicine residents and fellows.
Sajjad A. Savul, MD, MS, FACOEM, FASAM
Sajjad A. Savul, MD, MS, FACOEM, FASAM Bio
Sajjad A. Savul, MD, MS, FACOEM, FASAM, is a residency-trained, board-certified occupational medicine physician with over 20 years of experience in occupational and environmental medicine. He currently serves as Program Director of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency at the University of Pennsylvania and holds a faculty appointment as Associate Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine. He also serves as Medical Director of Penn Presbyterian Hospital's Occupational and Employee Health Department. Dr. Savul is a Fellow of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) and remains actively engaged in the College's work. We are grateful to have him share his expertise with us today.
Edward Shadiack, DO, MPH
Edward C Shadiack III, DO, MPH Bio
Edward C Shadiack III, DO, MPH, is a board-certified physician with more than 15 years of expertise in clinical medicine, academia, and occupational and environmental health. He serves as a Clinical Consult Lead Physician at the VA’s War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC), a national referral center for complex exposure-related conditions. He holds board certifications in Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Public Health and General Preventive Medicine, Osteopathic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine, Pain Medicine, Family Medicine, and Obesity Medicine, as well as a Master of Public Health. Dr. Shadiack completed additional fellowships in mitochondrial medicine and in war related illness.