Michael Callaham, MD

Additional titles:

• Founding Chair, UCSF Department of Emergency Medicine

Education:
BA: Cornell University
MD: UCSF
Training: University of Southern California and Highland General Hospital
Board Certification: Emergency Medicine

For the first part of my career I did various forms of clinical research including pre-hospital controlled trials on topics such as epinephrine doses and mechanical aids in CPR and ACLS. In recent years I have begun to feel that the traditional RCT approach is too narrowly focused and will never keep up, much less catch up, with the vast majority of medical problems whose treatment is not evidence based, or whose evidence is out of date. Because of my editing and publishing experience, my research interests now have turned to trying to better understand the scientific peer review publication process through research into methods of educating peer reviewers, as well as research into bias and its impact on scientific publication. I am still engaged in this area of research because no effective interventions for improving peer review have yet been identified (contrary to the beliefs of many), and the workings (and thus the remediation) of bias due to conflict of interest are unexplored terrain - at least, unexplored by physicians.  

Research and Academic Interests: 

Dr. Callaham's current research interests include education in critical appraisal, efficacy of educational programs for peer reviewers of scientific journals, demographics and motivation of ED users, and ethical standards in scientific publications.

University and National Positions:

Member, Institute of Medicine
Member, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Life Member and Fellow, American College of Emergency Physicians
Vice Chair, World Association of Medical Editors Ethics Committee
Editor-in-Chief, Annals of Emergency Medicine

Honors/Awards: 2007 elected to the Institute of Medicine