Leadership

Fred R. Buckhold III, M.D.

Professor, General internal medicine
Director, Internal Medicine Residency Program 

Originally from St. Louis, Buckhold went to the University of Arizona for his undergraduate degree before attending Saint Louis University for medical school and staying at SLU for IM residency. He joined the faculty after graduating in 2010 and became program director in 2014.

Buckhold has held plenty of different roles and responsibilities in his tenure at SLU. Above all of these, the most fulfilling is the role of program director (despite the bald jokes), which provides the opportunity to exponentially improve patient care, build the careers of early physicians, and interact daily with a fantastic community of residents that provides such a positive impact on the program and the institution. 

Buckhold has four daughters, two dogs and a saint of a wife who puts up with such madness. In his spare time, Buckhold loves to hear from former residents, particularly if they stressed him out, just so he may return the favor or hit them up for money for current residents. He also religiously watches soccer — both Tottenham Hostpur F.C. and St. Louis City Soccer Club.

Instagram: @im_slu_pd

Stephanie Shieh, M.D.

Division: Nephrology
Primary practice site: John Cochran VA Hospital

Stephanie Shieh is originally from Saint Louis but did the majority of her training in California including internal medicine residency and a chief resident year at University of California Irvine, as well as a nephrology fellowship at University of California San Francisco. She returned to St. Louis in 2014 and has been working at Saint Louis University and the John Cochran VA in both nephrology and internal medicine.

Shieh's interests are varied and include home-dialysis therapies, innovations in educational teaching, and healthcare policy both within and outside the VA.

Working with SLU and the Veterans Affairs has afforded Shieh the ability work with a diverse patient population with exposure to different models of healthcare delivery. She says her experiences working with residents, fellows, and medical students have helped her to become a better mentor, educator and clinician.

Ghassan Kamel, M.D.

Division: Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
Primary practice site: SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital

Ghassan Kamel moved to Saint Louis in 2011 from Beirut, Lebanon, after completing his medical school training at the American University of Beirut. Saint Louis University has been his home since then. He completed his internal medicine training, chief residency, and pulmonary and critical care fellowship at SLU. He joined SLU as faculty in July 2018, he is now the medical ICU director and one of the associate program director for the core IM program. 

Kamel has a strong interest in airway diseases - in particular asthma and COPD. He is interested in quality improvement and improving health care metrics, especially in the ICU. 

On a personal level, he is a father of two beautiful daughters, and he loves spending time with them and his amazing wife. He enjoys tennis, basketball and sports in general.

Twitter: @GKamelMD

Paul Kunnath, M.D. 

Division: General internal medicine
Primary practice site: SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital

Paul Kunnath received his undergraduate degree at Washington University in St. Louis, where he studied biomedical engineering and music. He worked as a research and development engineer in St. Louis prior to completing medical school, residency and chief residency at Saint Louis University. He joined the SLU faculty in 2020. 

Kunnath is a general internist and sees primary care patients at the Saint Louis University Doctors Office Building (soon to be Center for Specialized Medicine). He also attends on the general internal medicine wards at Saint Louis University Hospital. His teaching interests are in clinical reasoning and evidence-based medicine. His research interests are in reduction of low-value medical practices and physician and patient numeracy. He is deeply grateful for the opportunity to teach and learn from residents and students. 

Twitter: @PaulKunnath

Philip Mar, M.D., Pharm.D. 

Division: Cardiology
Primary practice site: SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital

Philip Mar grew up in Atlanta, and earned his pharmacy degree at the University of Georgia. After pharmacy school, he worked for a few years as a pharmacist while attending medical school at the Medical College of Georgia, and then completed his internal medicine residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He then moved to Kentucky to finish his general cardiology fellowship at the University of Louisville, where he also served as chief cardiology fellow. After cardiology fellowship, he finished an advanced fellowship in clinical cardiac electrophysiology at Indiana University before starting his career in academia at Saint Louis University.

In his free time, Mar enjoys playing table tennis and is always looking for a good challenge!

Kelvin L. Pollard II, M.D.

Division: General internal medicine
Primary practice site: Center for Specialized Medicine

Kelvin L. Pollard II earned his undergraduate degree from Austin Peay State University in Biology with special emphasis in Leadership studies and graduate degrees from Mississippi College and Meharry Medical College. He worked as an elementary, middle school, and high school teacher prior to completing medical school at Meharry Medical College. He completed residency and chief residency at Saint Louis University before he joined faculty in 2022.

Pollard is an assistant professor of medicine, associate program director and general internal medicine physician at the Center for Specialized Medicine and SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospitals respectively. He provides patient care both in the outpatient and hospital setting.  He is most passionate about medical education, curricula innovations, and eradicating health disparities through evidenced based, culturally competent care. He is actively implementing the P.R.O.M.O.T.E. initiative, a new resident led medical education leadership initiative. He enjoys the opportunity to participate in the training and mentorship of both medical students and resident physicians.

Justin Purdy, M.D. 

Division: Hospital internal medicine 
Primary practice site: SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital 

Justin Purdy completed his medical school training at the University of Missouri and residency at the University of Kentucky. He also completed a hospital medicine fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and stayed on as faculty.  He is originally from St. Louis and jumped at the opportunity to move back in 2019 and join the hospitalist group at Saint Louis University Hospital. Upon joining SLU, Purdy helped develop a hospital medicine track for our senior residents and continues to serve as the co-director of the track. His research interests are focused on professional development, shared decision making, and preserving autonomy for patients and learners.   

When not in the hospital he enjoys spending time with his family which usually requires that he try and maintain some semblance of peace as his three children work tirelessly to destroy the house.  When a quiet moment can be found Purdy enjoys watching sports, binging prestige TV and playing golf or hockey.

Woo J. Moon, D.O., 

Division: General internal medicine
Primary practice site: SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital

Woo Moon completed his undergraduate, graduate and medical education at Michigan State University. He then completed his internal medicine residency at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2015 and served as chief resident from 2015 to 2016. 

Moon has a strong clinical and academic focus on point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) and bedside procedures. He serves as a core POCUS faculty member for the American College of Physicians and is both a faculty member and steering committee representative for the Society of Hospital Medicine's POCUS Certificate of Completion program. At Saint Louis University School of Medicine, he has co-led the undergraduate medical education ultrasound program since 2022 and formally joined the faculty as an associate professor in 2025. 

As associate program director, Moon is developing a comprehensive, longitudinal POCUS curriculum for internal medicine residents. His goal is to help residents build POCUS skills throughout their three years of training and to integrate ultrasound into the culture of bedside rounds and procedural care. 

Michael Heger, M.D.

Michael Heger was born in Wenatchee, Washington — the "Apple Capital of the World" —  but it was not long before his family moved to Billings, Montana — or what he calls the "Metropolis of Montana." It was here that he was raised, and he lovingly calls it home. He attended Montana State University (Go Cats!), where he studied electrical engineering and decided to pursue a career in medicine. It was this endavor that brought him to St. Louis, where he studied at Saint Louis University. He was elated to stick around SLU for residency, where he found a supportive and fostering community.  Three years later, he's excited to be chief resident and to give back to the program that trained him to be the physician he is today.

In his free time, Heger loves to hang out with his wife and newborn son. Additionally, he's always working to perfect his golf game, and he is trying to pick up a new skill: woodworking. 

Ryan Plunkett, M.D.

Ryan Plunkett is the chief resident for quality improvement and patient safety at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital and John Cochran VA Medical Center. A native Hoosier, Plunkett came to Saint Louis University for his undergraduate studies before attending Indiana University for medical school. He returned to St. Louis for his internal medicine residency and has since been heavily involved in research, medical education and his clinical interests: gastroenterology and hepatology. 

Hayden Rotramel, M.D.

Hayden Rotramel grew up in a tiny town outside of St. Louis and completed her medical training in Kansas City, Missouri. Intially, she was drawn to Saint Louis University due to its proximity to family. However, after interviewing, SLU quickly rose to the top of her list because of its supportive learning environment and tight-knit community. Three years later, she can attest that both those things hold true; her program is truly committed to helping residents continually improve and receive the best possible training. During Rotramel's time here, she has grown as a clinician and a medical educator, and has discovered a passion for academic medicine and patient-centered care. She looks forward to serving as chief resident and can't wait to give back to the program/community that has given her so much.

When she's not at the hospital, she enjoys attending events in Tower Grove Park and Missouri Botanical Garden, listening to live music (ideally outdoors), and bothering her two cats. 

Hadil El Sharkh, M.D.

Hadil El Sharkh was born in Egypt and raised in Alabama, where she completed her undergraduate degree in electrical engineering and her medical education at the University of South Alabama. Her diverse background has shaped her perspective and passion for medicine. She is honored to serve as a chief resident and excited to support her colleagues, advocate for the residency program and help foster a culture of excellence in both clinical care and medical education.

Outside of medicine, Sharkh loves exploring new countries with her husband, staying active through CrossFit and unwinding with a good crochet project.

Adam Streicher, D.O.

Adam Streicher is a lifelong Midwesterner and St. Louis transplant. He now proudly calls St. Louis home. In his internal medicine training, he has learned the importance of pairing strong clinical skills with genuine compassion for the people under his care. His love for medicine is rooted in his privilege of building meaningful relationships with patients, his curiosity for the diseases he seeks to treat and prevent, and his strong desire to help people live well. The School of Medicine is a place where he has found community, mentorship and vocation. Because the program has given him so much, he became a chief resident to pay it forward and help foster continual program improvement.

Outside of the hosptal, Streicher finds joy in distance running and spending quality time with his growing family. Looking ahead, he plans to practice general internal medicine at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital and remain an active part of the SLU community.