Phyllis Hendry, MD, is a tenured professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville. She completed her pediatric residency at Louisiana State University Medical Center in Shreveport, followed by a pediatric emergency medicine fellowship at the University of Florida Health Science Center Jacksonville.

She served as director of pediatric emergency services at UF Health Jacksonville from 1993 to 2005, and since 2008 has been assistant chair for emergency medicine research. In March 2016, she was appointed the TraumaOne deputy medical director of pediatric transport and care.

Dr. Hendry served as a founding medical director for a regional pediatric hospice and palliative program, Community PedsCare, from 2005 to 2007. She was the medical director for Florida Department of Health’s EMS for Children program from 1999 to 2005 and continues to serve on the Florida EMSC Advisory Committee as data liaison.

She has been a textbook editor and contributor to the Advanced Pediatric Life Support and Pediatric Education for Prehospital Professionals textbooks. Currently, Dr. Hendry’s research initiatives include serving as principal investigator for the Pain Assessment and Management Initiative (PAMI) and the Pediatric Emergency Care Safety Initiative (PECSI). She has been the principal investigator for numerous federal and private grants, as well as clinical trials totaling more than $6 million. Dr. Hendry was the Jacksonville site principal investigator for University of Florida’s first Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute grant titled, “An Emergency Department-to-Home Intervention to Improve Quality of Life and Reduce Hospital Use” (2014-2017). Her areas of research interest include pain management, patient safety, pediatric trauma and emergency care, EMS data systems, health literacy, bereavement and end-of-life care.

Dr. Hendry served on numerous university committees, including promotion and tenure, Faculty Senate and Faculty Council. In 2017, she received a University of Florida Term Professorship Award. She was also the recipient of the 2015 Robert C. Nuss Research Scholar of the Year Award.

Sophia Sheikh, MD, received her degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine at Birmingham and completed her residency training at the University of Florida School of Medicine – Jacksonville. She then pursued further training in the field of medical toxicology at the joint program offered by Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. While learning the clinical aspects of medical toxicology, she also learned principles related to public health surveillance, epidemiology, public health and disease prevention. In addition to toxicology, she also has an interest in emergency department pain management. She is a sub-investigator on a patient safety grant working on improving pain management and education in acute care settings. She authored several publications and presented lectures nationally on these topics. Currently, she is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Florida School of Medicine – Jacksonville.