Our People

Dr. Karani was elected as chair, having previously served as treasurer. She is director of the Institute for Medical Education and a professor of medicine, medical education, and geriatrics and palliative medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Karani is a founding co-director of the Harvard Macy Program for Postgraduate Trainees. She served as a member of council and chair of the Education Committee for the Society of General Internal Medicine, and she is on the board of directors of the American Geriatrics Society. At NBME, she currently serves on the USMLE Composite Committee, the NBME Finance & Audit Committees, and the Step 3 Computer Case Simulation Test Material Development Committee. Dr. Karani also chairs the USMLE Patient Characteristics Advisory Panel, focused on ensuring exam content, practices, and review processes consider patient characteristics in a manner that mitigates bias and is consistent with contemporary scientific knowledge and understanding.

Dr. Karani received a Bachelor of Science from Brown University and a Doctor of Medicine from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She completed her residency and chief residency in Primary Care Internal Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She completed her fellowship, chief fellowship, and medical education research fellowship in Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Mount Sinai. She also received a Master of Health Professions Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Dr. Karani’s commitment to equity and justice is evident in her work. Her current scholarship is focused on reducing stereotyping and bias in assessment and explores the socialization and learning experiences in the clinical learning environment of students historically excluded from medicine. Dr. Karani’s work also explores how dominant values and beliefs that underpin the clinical workplace environment influence the experiences and professional identity of these vulnerable learners.

Dr. King was elected as a first term at-large member. She is a primary care internal medicine physician at the University of Vermont Medical Center and a professor at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, where she has been active in teaching both medical students and residents in internal medicine. Dr. King previously served on the Vermont Board of Medical Practice and as chair of the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB).

Dr. King received a Bachelor of Arts in zoology from Miami University and a Doctor of Philosophy in biology from Brown University. She went on to receive a Doctor of Medicine from The Robert Larner, MD College of Medicine at the University of Vermont and completed her residency in internal medicine at the University of Vermont.

Dr. Milling was elected as treasurer, having previously served as an at-large member of NBME’s Board of Directors. He is an associate professor of medicine at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Buffalo (UB), where he also serves as executive director of the Office of Medical Education and senior associate dean for Medical Education. Dr. Milling has responsibility for the Offices of Student and Academic Affairs, Medical Curriculum, and Medical Admissions. He oversees the development, delivery, and success of the medical educational program, including oversight of the school’s clinical competency and simulation centers. He is a two-time recipient of the Louis A. and Ruth Siegel Award for Teaching Excellence (1994 and 2000). As program director for the Jacobs School’s Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) and director of the Associated Medical Schools of New York’s Post-Baccalaureate Program, Dr. Milling is involved in improving the workforce numbers and the pipeline to medicine for underrepresented students in New York state.

Dr. Milling received a Bachelor of Science in pharmacy and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Buffalo. He completed his residency in internal medicine at UB, serving as chief resident. Following residency, he completed a primary care faculty development fellowship at Michigan State University.

Alfred F. Tallia is immediate past chair of the NBME Board of Directors. Previously, he was treasurer and an at-large member of the board. Dr. Tallia is professor and chair, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Rutgers, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and a Fellow in the Rutgers Center for Organizational Leadership.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Fordham University in New York and his medical degree from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He completed his residency and fellowship in family medicine at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. He also earned his master’s degree in public health in health care organization and administration at Rutgers.

Dr. Tallia has been associated with NBME since 1996 and has served in a number of roles. He chaired the USMLE Step 3 Community-based Care Committee, the Post Licensure Assessment System Governing Committee, and the Committee to Evaluate the USMLE Program, and served on the USMLE Budget Committee.

Peter J. Katsufrakis is president and CEO of NBME. Dr. Katsufrakis previously served as senior vice president of Assessment Programs at the NBME and is recognized nationally in the medical education and assessment community, both for his work at the NBME and in past roles advancing professionalism, HIV education, clinical training, and medical education administration.

Prior to joining the NBME, Dr. Katsufrakis’s positions included associate dean for student affairs and associate professor of clinical family medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, where he received several teaching and outstanding service awards for his work. He has also served as a clinical associate professor of family and community medicine, at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University.

Dr. Katsufrakis is licensed to practice medicine in Pennsylvania and is a diplomate of the American Board of Family Medicine. He is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and has served many organizations as a member, including the International AIDS Society, the American Academy of HIV Medicine, and the Association of American Medical Colleges Group on Student Affairs in many roles on committees and task forces.

Dr. Nosanchuk was elected as a first term at-large member. He is the senior associate dean for medical education at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he also serves as a professor in the Departments of Microbiology & Immunology and Medicine. His areas of research include medical education, assessment, fungal pathogenesis, host-pathogen biology, regenerative medicine, and innovative therapeutics.

Dr. Nosanchuk received a bachelor’s degree in history and a Doctor of Medicine from Cornell University. He completed his residency at New York Hospital-Cornell and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, followed by a fellowship at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Dr. Pêgo was elected as a first term at-large member. He is the founder and CEO of iCognitus and an anesthesiologist and assistant professor of pharmacology, anesthesiology, and critical care at the School of Health Sciences, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal. Dr. Pêgo is the coordinator of the “Lifelong Learning and Assessment in Health Professions” research team at Life and Health Science Research Institute. He is mainly interested in the effects of chronic stress on emotional behavior and understanding the underlying mechanisms. He is also interested in the cognitive skills assessment process. Dr. Pêgo completed the Fundamentals of Assessment in Medical Education (FAME) course conducted by the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER) and NBME, and he is a member of the European Board of Medical Assessors.

Dr. Pêgo received a Doctor of Medicine from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Porto and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Minho.

Dr. Thomas was elected as a first term at-large member. He recently retired from clinical practice in St. Paul, Minnesota, to become an ENT medical director for UnitedHealthcare. Prior to his career shift, he spent 26 years in private practice, leading a group of 21 otolaryngologists as President and CEO for seven of those years. During that time, Dr. Thomas was active in the administration of United Hospital, the state capital’s largest hospital, where he held a variety of leadership positions, including chief of staff. He was also active in the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), serving on numerous committees and holding a variety of leadership roles, including chair. He served as chair of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission (IMLCC). Currently, Dr. Thomas is chair of the Committee for Individualized Review of the USMLE. He sits on the board of directors of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education. In addition, he serves on the Editorial Committee for the American Association for Physician Leadership.

Dr. Thomas received a bachelor’s degree from Carleton College. He received a Doctor of Medicine at Mayo Medical School and completed his residency training at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery with a subspecialty interest in head and neck tumors. He received a Master of Business Administration in medical group management from the University of St. Thomas.

Vicki Girard, Esq., is the faculty director of the Health Justice Alliance at Georgetown University and a professor at the Georgetown Law Center. In her role, she focuses on training the next generation of physicians, nurses and lawyers to work collaboratively to advance health equity. 

Girard is a dedicated advocate for health equity and brings extensive experience in health law and policy. She spent over a decade representing companies in Food and Drug Administration-related regulatory and policy matters. This experience provided her with a valuable understanding of the legal and regulatory landscape surrounding health care, which she leverages to educate and empower future health care professionals. 

Girard is a published expert on academic medical legal partnerships and their role in helping to reduce health disparities. Her commitment to community health is further demonstrated by her involvement with the Community Advisory Council for the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center/Georgetown Office of Minority Health and her membership on the steering committee for MedStar Health’s Safe Babies Safe Moms initiative in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Karen Hauer serves as vice dean for education and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). In this role, she is responsible for overseeing a comprehensive range of educational programs across UCSF’s clinical training sites and campuses, encompassing pre-medical, undergraduate, graduate and continuing education.

Dr. Hauer is an active researcher in health professions education, focusing on competency-based medical education, learner assessment, equity in assessment, artificial intelligence, coaching and remediation. Her contributions were recognized with the 2024 Hubbard Award, a prestigious medical education research award.

She previously held the position of associate dean for competency assessment and professional standards at UCSF. In this role, she designed and implemented a program of assessment within the UCSF School of Medicine’s curriculum and developed and directed the school’s medical student coaching program. This work earned her team the ASPIRE international award for excellence in student assessment. 

Dr. Hauer also serves as president-elect of the International Competency Based Medical Education Collaborative and has held leadership positions with NBME, the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, the journal “Medical Education” and the Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine national organization.

Dr. Sorabh Khandelwal is the Samuel J. Kiehl III, MD chair in emergency medicine, a professor of emergency medicine and program director for the Ohio State University Emergency Medicine Residency Program. 

Dr. Khandelwal previously served as an assistant dean in the Ohio State University College of Medicine. A dedicated educator, he has received numerous local and national teaching awards, including the American College of Emergency Physicians National Faculty Teaching Award, the Ohio State College of Medicine Distinguished Educator Award and the Clerkship Directors in Emergency Medicine Distinguished Educator of the Year Award. He was also recently honored as a master teacher at Ohio State.

Dr. Khandelwal has been actively involved in medical assessment and licensing, serving as both an item writer and oral examiner for the American Board of Emergency Medicine. He has contributed to multiple United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®) committees since 2009. Dr. Khandelwal currently serves as vice chair of the USMLE Management Committee and co-chair of the USMLE Step 3 Computer-based Case Simulations Scoring Test Material Development Committee. He has also been a member of the NBME Council since 2018. 

Dr. Wilma Larsen is a field surveyor for The Joint Commission and brings a distinguished career in obstetrics and gynecology (OB-GYN), along with extensive leadership experience in military and civilian health care settings.

Dr. Larsen served in the military for 24 years, retiring as a colonel in 2010. Her military leadership roles include serving as chief of the OB-GYN clinic at Walter Reed Medical Center, department chair at Tripler Army Medical Center and chief medical officer at Darnall Army Medical Center. She also deployed to Iraq in 2009 as the chief of clinical operations, earning the Bronze Star and Legion of Merit awards for her service. Beyond her military achievements, Dr. Larsen was the vice chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and director of the Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship at Baylor Scott & White Memorial Hospital. 

Her commitment to advancing the field is evident through her work with the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), from which she has received numerous accolades, including the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Award and the ACOG Mentor Award.