Chair, ACOI 2025 Annual Convention and Scientific Sessions

Dr. Milton is the Designated Institutional Official specializing in Internal Medicine for WVUMedicine. Board certified in Internal Medicine, he earned his medical degree from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his residency at Ohio Valley Medical Center.

On July 19, 2025, Robert G.G. Piccinini, DO, D.FACN, was inaugurated as President of the American Osteopathic Association. He is the first psychiatrist in AOA history to achieve this honor and is the first graduate of MSUCOM. Dr. Piccinini is an AOA board-certified osteopathic psychiatrist in private practice.

Outside of his involvement with the AOA, Dr. Piccinini is the past president of the Michigan Osteopathic Association. He also is past president of the American College of Osteopathic Neurologists and Psychiatrists, the Macomb County Osteopathic Medical Association and the Michigan Osteopathic Service Corporation. He worked for Ford Motor Company as a plant physician and profiler.

Dr. Piccinini completed a forensic psychiatry fellowship at the Medical College of Wisconsin where he was tasked with treating patients in the maximum-security unit. He received the Distinguished Fellow award from the American College of Osteopathic Neurologists and Psychiatrists in 2007. He was the youngest member of the specialty college to receive this honor. Dr. Piccinini has given numerous presentations on domestic violence, violence in the workplace and physician wellness.

Dr. Piccinini earned his osteopathic medical degree from the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine in East Lansing. He completed an internship at Genesys Regional Medical Center followed by residency training at Henry Ford Health Systems. He also studied Geriatrics at the University of Rome, Italy.

Outside of his medical career Dr. Piccinini has cultivated his passion for cooking and smoking into “Dr. Bob’s BBQ.”

For more than 30 years, Camille Bonta has held communications and policy positions in the field of health care, and she is recognized as a respected and reliable expert among her professional society colleagues. During her career, she has forged strong working relationships in Congress, throughout the “House of Medicine,” within the public health community and across federal departments and agencies. She has led large physician- and patient-based coalitions and understands how to navigate the political dynamics of organized medicine.

As principal of Summit Health Care Consulting since 2007, Camille has guided lobbying and advocacy efforts of numerous national health care organizations on a wide range of health policy issues, including provider reimbursement, health care system reform, quality improvement, health equity, medical research funding, disease prevention, and product safety.

Camille is experienced at coalition building and grassroots advocacy and understands the importance of getting organizations a seat at tables where health policy discussions are taking place and decisions are being made.

Camille has served as a policy and advocacy advisor to ACOI since 2022.

Camille began her work in health care policy during her tenure in the office of U.S. Senator John Glenn, which coincided with the release of the Clinton Administration’s “Health Security Act” and the subsequent debate over comprehensive health system reform.

Camille holds a bachelors of science from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, and a masters in health science from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Karen J. Nichols, DO, MA, MACOI is the Immediate Past Chair of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Board of Directors, serving from 2020-2022, following the initial six years as a board member. She was Dean of Midwestern University/Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine - 2002-2018. She was IM Chair at Midwestern University/Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine and Assistant Dean for GME. A graduate of Kansas City University-COM (KCU-COM), she holds a master’s degree in management with a specialty in Health Care Administration. Her academic career followed 17 years in the private practice of internal medicine in Arizona.

Dr. Nichols has received the highest awards from the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, and from the state societies of Arizona and Illinois, as well as KCU-COM. She just received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Osteopathic Foundation. Dr. Nichols holds nine honorary degrees.

She has served as President of the AOA, the American College of Osteopathic Internists, and the Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association being the first woman to hold all those positions. Dr. Nichols created the Costin Institute for Osteopathic Medical Educators in 2003, a one-year fellowship program for educators at COMs, which has graduated over 300 Costin Scholars. Speaking about her book “Physician Leadership: The 11 Skills Every Doctor Needs to be an Effective Leader” has her on the speaking circuit several times a month.

Jeff Krepps, PhD, is the Director of Behavioral Health Education and Associate Professor of Behavioral Health with the School of Osteopathic Medicine. His current interests and work include performance enhancement and wellness/wellbeing services for medical students, physicians, other health professions students and professionals, as well as amateur and professional athletes.

Dr. Krepps received his PhD in Family Therapy from Nova Southeastern University where he also completed a specialization in Medical Family Therapy. He received his Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy from Appalachian State University and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has also completed training in clinical hypnosis and mindfulness, and he has consulted and trained with the developer of the Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Commitment (MAC) approach to sport and human performance enhancement. He is a member and officer of the Sport, Health, and Human Performance Special Interest Group within the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science and a professional member of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. Dr. Krepps has more than 26 years of clinical experience working with individuals & families experiencing a variety of difficulties, and, in his current role, he provides therapy/counseling services to medical students and medical residents, as well students in the pharmacy, physician assistant, physical therapy, and other health professions graduate programs. He also provides performance consulting services to student athletes and has worked with golfers, basketball, baseball, and soccer players. Additional clinical experience includes work in multiple settings, including private practice, a family medicine clinic, university counseling/therapy clinics, sexual assault treatment center, private and public mental health clinics, community substance abuse treatment center, and home-based therapy. His work in each of these settings has provided a wealth of experience in providing effective counseling services.

Julie K. Sterbank, DO MPH FACOI. Chairperson, ACOI Physician Wellness Committee. Associate Professor of Internal Medicine & Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University. Adult and Pediatric Allergy & Immunology MetroHealh Medical Center. Assistant Program Director for Combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Case Western Reserve University/MetroHealth Medical Center. Medical Director for Academic Affairs Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Department MetroHealth Medical Center.

Dr. Sterbank attended medical school at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. Her post graduate education was in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at MetroHealth Medical Center/Case Western Reserve University where she also served as Chief Resident. Her subspecialty training is in Adult and Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at University Hospitals Richmond Medical Center in Cleveland and her Masters of Public Health is from Baldwin Wallace University. She also received an Executive Coaching Certification from Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. She has been recognized with the James Quilty Comprehensive Care Award in Pediatrics. Currently, she practices full-time in Adult and Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at MetroHealth Medical Center where she also serves as Assistant Program Director for the Combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program and as the Medical Director for Academic Affairs for the MetroHealh Medical Center Department of Internal Medicine-Pediatrics. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and General Pediatrics in addition to Adult and Pediatric Allergy and Immunology.

Dr. James Matera is passionate about healthcare and the future of healthcare. He trained in internal medicine and nephrology, boarded by the AOBIM in nephrology. He practiced in a group from 1994-2017, at which time he opened his own small nephrology practice and started the Population Health Program at CentraState. in 2019, he became Sr. Vice President for Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer at Centrastate, and holds that title currently. He is focused on reducing variability in medicine as well as re-engaging physicians in medicine. He serves as Asst Clinical Professor of both UNECOM and Rowan SOM and still teaches medical students every Friday on critical thinking and case reviews. In his spare time, Dr. Matera enjoys golf, his grandchildren, and of course gourmet cooking. He won a show on the Food Network in 2018, Cooks vs Cons, where he outcooked 2 professional chefs.

Dr. Lamie is a dual board-certified internal medicine physician and Assistant Professor at the University of Texas in Houston, where he practices at the renowned MD Anderson Cancer Center. In his leadership roles, he serves as Medical Director for both Breast Cancer and Sarcoma Cancer Services, overseeing comprehensive clinical programs that provide cutting-edge care to patients. Additionally, he directs a team of 30 Advanced Care Practitioners within the Department of Hospital Medicine, guiding their efforts to deliver high-quality inpatient care and ensuring seamless coordination across multidisciplinary teams.

Dr. Lamie graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Missouri–St. Louis. He earned his medical degree from Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences and completed his residency at Creighton University. He is board certified by both the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine.

He is a contributor to a Springer Nature book pending publication, Hematology and Oncology Hospital Medicine: A Guide for the Frontline Clinicians, where he has authored a chapter focused on acute care management of breast cancer. He has contributed to numerous publications and funded research protocols. Dr. Lamie also advises multiple healthcare systems and insurance companies on utilization review and hospitalization guidelines and denials.

As a board member and medical consultant for the HOME institution, he serves as a volunteer providing clinical and spiritual guidance to physicians and patients in underserved regions of Africa and Asia.

Massoud Mahmoudi DO., Ph.D. FACOI., FAOAI., FACP., FCCP., FAAAAI
President Ameridcan Osteopathic College of Allergy and Immunology

Dr. Massoud Mahmoudi is a board certified in internal medicine and Allergy and Immunology. He completed his Ph. D. program in Microbiology at University of North Texas and Wadley Institutes of Molecular Medicine in Texas. Subsequently he completed three different post doctoral fellowships at UT Southwestern Medical School at Dallas Texas and then attended A.T. Still University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville Missouri where he completed his DO degree. Subsequently he attended an internal medicine residency program at Yale University and Rowan University. Then he completed a fellowship in Allergy and Clinical Immunology at University of California Davis. He is currently President of the American Osteopathic College of Allergy and Immunology and a faculty member at University of California San Francisco, Rowan University, and Touro University. He is fellow of American College of Osteopathic Internist, American Osteopathic College of Allergy and Immunology, American College of Physician, American College of Chest Physician, and American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. He is the author/editor of 14 books on Allergy, Immunology, and other medical topics and served as the founding Editor-In-Chief of SN Comprehensive Clinical Medicine for five years. He was a columnist for local newspapers and the San Francisco Chronicle. He has spoken locally and nationally on Allergy and Immunology and has appeared on local television stations and Fox News. Dr. Mahmoudi is currently the Liaison of AOA at ACIP (Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices).

Robert W. Hostoffer, DO, is an AOA board-certified osteopathic allergist, immunologist and pediatrician.

Dr. Hostoffer practices at Allergy/Immunology Associates in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. He is a clinical professor at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine at Athens, an associate professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and an adjunct professor at Lake Erie College of osteopathic Medicine.

Dr. Hostoffer is the past president of the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians, Cleveland Academy of Osteopathic Medicine, Cleveland Allergy Association and the Ohio Osteopathic Association. He is now a member of the board of the American Osteopathic Association and NOBME. He is the program director of the Allergy/Immunology fellowship (ACGME/Osteopathic Recognition).

Dr. Hostoffer earned his Osteopathic medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his pediatric residency training at Doctors Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and a fellowship in pediatric immunology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He has completed a master’s in medical education (LECOM, Erie, PA) as well as a master’s in business administration (St Joseph University, Philadelphia, PA) and a certificate in Physician Leadership from the University of Chicago.

Dr Hostoffer has authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles, 14 book chapters, 160 abstracts/posters and given 290 invited presentations. He recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Osteopathic Foundation.

Robert W. Hostoffer, DO, is an AOA board-certified osteopathic allergist, immunologist and pediatrician.

Dr. Hostoffer practices at Allergy/Immunology Associates in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. He is a clinical professor at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine at Athens, an associate professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and an adjunct professor at Lake Erie College of osteopathic Medicine.

Dr. Hostoffer is the past president of the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians, Cleveland Academy of Osteopathic Medicine, Cleveland Allergy Association and the Ohio Osteopathic Association. He is now a member of the board of the American Osteopathic Association and NOBME. He is the program director of the Allergy/Immunology fellowship (ACGME/Osteopathic Recognition).

Dr. Hostoffer earned his Osteopathic medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his pediatric residency training at Doctors Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and a fellowship in pediatric immunology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He has completed a master’s in medical education (LECOM, Erie, PA) as well as a master’s in business administration (St Joseph University, Philadelphia, PA) and a certificate in Physician Leadership from the University of Chicago.

Dr Hostoffer has authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles, 14 book chapters, 160 abstracts/posters and given 290 invited presentations. He recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Osteopathic Foundation.