Faculty

University of Virginia Division of Medical Toxicology Core Faculty and Staff include:
Dr. Christopher Holstege (Chief), Dr. Nathan Charlton, Dr. Avery Michienzi, Dr. Rita Farah, Dr. Heather Borek, Dr. Abigail Kerns, Dr. Andy Baer, Dr. Justin Rizer, Dr. Saumitra Rege

Other instructors who contribute to the Medical Toxicology Fellowship include:
Dr. Leonard Vance, Dr. Gregory Saathoff, Kristy Davis

Division Chief, Medical Toxicology, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Virginia
Director, Blue Ridge Poison Center

Christopher P. Holstege, M.D., is a University of Virginia Professor of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics within the School of Medicine, Chief of the Division of Medical Toxicology, Director of UVA Health’s Blue Ridge Poison Center, and Senior Associate Vice President of Student Health and Wellness for the University of Virginia. He received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry degree from Calvin College and earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Michigan. He is dually boarded, a diplomate of both the American Board of Emergency Medicine and the American Board of Medical Toxicology.

Dr. Holstege is clinically active and provides medical care for poisoned patients.  He has been integrally involved in the diagnosis and management of a number of high-profile criminal poisonings, both domestic and abroad. He has served as principal or co-investigator on numerous extramural and multi-center funded research projects in clinical, basic science and epidemiologic arenas.  He has presented hundreds of research papers and lectures at regional, national, and international meetings. Dr. Holstege has over 300 publications in peer-reviewed medical journals, periodicals, and books.  He has edited or authored 13 books, including the book titled Criminal Poisoning – Clinical and Forensic Perspectives.  

Professor of Emergency Medicine
Director, Medical Toxicology Fellowship Program

Dr. Charlton is a Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and serves as the Program Director for the UVA Medical Toxicology Fellowship. He is also Director of the Wilderness Medicine Education Program, an intensive 2 week training course for medical students, involving numerous experts in the region and taking full advantage of the unique placement of the University at the door of the Blue Ridge Mountains. His research interests are in wilderness medicine, serotonin syndrome, and first aid. He also serves as Associate Medical Director of the Blue Ridge Poison Center. Dr. Charlton completed his Medical Toxicology Fellowship at the University of Virginia and joined the faculty at the University of Virginia in 2009.  He received his M.D. from The University of South Florida in Tampa, and completed his residency in emergency medicine at The University of South Carolina/Palmetto Health Richland in Columbia, S.C.  He is board certified in both Emergency Medicine and Medical Toxicology.

Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine
Lead Epidemiologist
Medical Toxicology Faculty

Dr. Rita Farah is our department’s first non-physician faculty member. Dr. Farah received her Ph.D. in Epidemiology from Paris-East Créteil University, and her Pharm.D. and Master of Public Health from Lebanese University. She served as epidemiologist at the Ministry of Public Health in Beirut from 2012 to 2020. Dr. Farah served as an instructor at several universities in Lebanon, teaching epidemiology, biostatistics and research methodology between 2015 and 2020.

Dr. Farah subsequently completed her international fellowship in clinical toxicology at Emory University School of Medicine. She was hired by the University of Virginia Department of Emergency Medicine – Division of Medical Toxicology in 2022 where she has served as the UVA Health’s Blue Ridge Poison Center’s epidemiologist. She serves a dual role as the lead epidemiologist in the Division of Medical Toxicology and as the lead epidemiologist for the University of Virginia’s Department of Student Health & Wellness. She has a rapidly growing list of publications that have made national news and has a growing international reputation. 

Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine
Assistant Director, Blue Ridge Poison Center

Dr. Avery Michienzi joined the Department of Emergency Medicine as an Assistant Professor in 2024 and is dual board-certified in Emergency Medicine and Medical Toxicology. Originally from Minnesota, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Genetics and Cellular Biology from the University of Minnesota. She graduated from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine before completing her Emergency Medicine residency at Wellspan York Hospital in Pennsylvania and her Medical Toxicology fellowship at UVA here in Charlottesville.

Dr. Michienzi currently splits her time between the Emergency Department and Medical Toxicology. She is the assistant program director of the Medical Toxicology fellowship and an Assistant Director of the Blue Ridge Poison Center. She has a particular research interest in novel substances of abuse, including vape shop drugs, and has been featured in the local, national, and international news for her work. 

Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine
Medical Toxicology Faculty

Abigail F. Kerns, M.D., is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and a Medical Toxicologist with UVA Health’s Blue Ridge Poison Center. She is board-certified in both Emergency Medicine and Medical Toxicology. Dr. Kerns is clinically active and provides care for acutely ill and injured patients in the emergency department as well as consultation for poisoned patients through the poison center and hospital-based toxicology service.

Dr. Kerns’ academic interests include clinical and forensic toxicology, novel psychoactive substances, toxicologic causes of neurologic presentations, and medical education. She is actively involved in the education of medical students, residents, and fellows and serves in a leadership role within the Emergency Medicine residency program. Dr. Kerns has contributed to research and scholarly work in emergency medicine and toxicology and is committed to advancing the care of poisoned patients through clinical practice, education, and investigation. 

Medical Toxicology Faculty

Dr. Baer is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine.  Dr. Baer graduated from the University of Virginia Medical Toxicology Fellowship in 2004.  He also holds a full-time emergency medicine position at Rockingham Memorial Hospital in Harrisonburg.  In 2004, he received the “Consultant of the Year” award from the University of Virginia Department of Emergency Medicine, recognizing his dedication as a consultant in toxicology. Dr. Baer’s interest and expertise in medical toxicology pertains to the visual diagnosis of toxicological diseases.  He is board certified in both Emergency Medicine and Medical Toxicology.

Medical Toxicology Faculty

Dr. Rizer is a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, Division of Medical Toxicology. He completed his Medical Toxicology fellowship in June 2018, following an Emergency Medicine residency at the University of Virginia. He received his medical doctorate from the University of South Florida School of Medicine. He is board certified in Emergency Medicine and board eligible in Medical Toxicology. He also holds a full-time emergency medicine position with Centra Medical Group in Lynchburg. Dr. Rizer’s interests include acute care and medical education.

 Saumitra Rege, Ph.D., is an epidemiologist with a particular interest in epidemiology related to substance diversion and abuse. Dr. Rege graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 2014 with a doctoral degree in pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacoeconomics. Dr. Rege has been recently focused on the application of epidemiological methods to study the patterns, determinants and control of substance misuse in adolescents and adults using state, national and international data. Dr. Rege also has been particularly involved in research within the student health population with a focus on alcohol and substance use as well as mental health issues in this population, conducting epidemiological studies using data linkage methods. Dr. Rege is a member of several national organizations including the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research and the American College of Medical Toxicologists. Dr. Rege is the recipient of The Rufus A. Lyman Award, presented annually to the author(s) of the best paper published in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education.

Dr. Vance has served as a faculty member in the School of Medicine at MCV/VCU, as Director of Health Standards at the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and as an Assistant Attorney General of Virginia.  He received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Virginia.  He is licensed in the Commonwealth as an attorney and as a Professional Engineer.  Dr. Vance is a Certified Industrial Hygienist, Certified Safety Professional, and Certified Hazardous Materials Manager.  His areas of interest and professional activity include chemical health and safety, asbestos, kepone, lead, and the law and regulation of chemicals.  He has served on numerous federal committees, including federal carcinogen, asbestos, and risk assessment task forces.  In Virginia, he has served on various state boards and legislative commissions.  Dr. Vance remains active in the classroom as a professor teaching in the areas of law, ethics, public health, chemistry and industrial hygiene.

Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine & Public Health Sciences

Dr. Saathoff serves as Executive Director of the University of Virginia’s Critical Incident Analysis Group (CIAG). In this capacity, he directs the operation of the group, which operates as a “ThinkNet” that provides multidisciplinary expertise in developing strategies that can prevent or mitigate the effects of critical incidents.  Since 1996, Dr. Saathoff has served as the Conflict Resolution Specialist to the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group. In this role, he consults with the Crisis Negotiation Unit and the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime.  During the Gulf War, Dr. Saathoff was called from reserve duty and deployed as a medical corps psychiatrist overseas, earning the Army Commendation Medal in 1991. Dr. Saathoff retired from the Army Reserves with the rank of Major. He has written The Negotiator’s Guide to Psychotropic Drugs for the FBI’s Crisis Negotiation Unit, and was a co-author of the FBI’s threat assessment monograph: The School Shooter. In addition to this, he has published in the areas of the personality disorders, police psychiatry, post-traumatic stress disorders, public response to weapons of mass destruction and biologic psychiatry.

Senior Industrial Hygienist

Kristy Davis is an Industrial Hygienist Supervisor in the UVA Office of Environmental Health and Safety.  Kristy graduated with a B.S. from the University of California, Berkeley and obtained a Master’s in Public Health (MPH in Environmental, Occupational Health) from California State University, Fresno.  Kristy’s interest and expertise in industrial hygiene is in the area of ventilation, indoor air quality, and the design of local exhaust ventilation for the purpose of controlling airborne contaminants in the work place.  With nearly 18 years of experience in OEHS, she is intimately familiar with the work environment here at the University and has conducted multiple work place assessments. She is a Board Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) through the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH) and a member of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA). She also serves as a member of the Health Advisory Board for Albemarle County Schools.  Kristy partners with toxicology to provide education on environmental and occupational exposures.