Our Team
Michael Duncan, BS, NRP, EFO
Senior Outreach Coordinator, Center for EMS
Michael is a retired firefighter paramedic of over 30 years with extensive experience in urban, rural, and wilderness EMS. He also brings a wealth of knowledge from his previous service as a flight paramedic for OSU’s Skymed and Medflight of Ohio. As a Nationally Registered Paramedic and state EMS instructor, Michael supports the development of innovative education for the Center and local agencies. He is a graduate of Ohio State’s College of Business and the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer program.
Michael.Duncan@osumc.edu
614-685-3513
Jessica Irizarry, BSN, RN
Senior Outreach Coordinator, Center for EMS
Jessica brings nearly 13 years of nursing experience to the Center for EMS. As a registered nurse, she brings an exceptional background, including surgery, addiction medicine, and the last six years of her career in emergency services. Jessica brings a unique perspective that helps improve the seamless collaboration between prehospital and hospital services.
Jessica.Irizarry@osumc.edu
614-257-3572
Troy Acker
Ohio CARES Coordinator
Troy is the state coordinator for Ohio CARES, a position housed within Ohio State’s Center for EMS. He has also served communities as a firefighter/paramedic since 2004. His professional interests include EMS education and research.
Tyler Tumberg, MBA, MHA
Associate Director, Patient Flow Operations
As the Associate Director of Patient Flow Operations, Tyler oversees the Transfer Center & Capacity Management team as well as all business and operations for University Hospital’s Emergency Services which includes the: 98 bed Emergency Department, Observation Unit, Hyperbarics, and Center for Emergency Medical Services.
Tyler has held roles as a leader in an outpatient clinic setting and spent time supporting the executive director over strategy and operations for the 13-hospital health system BJC Healthcare in Saint Louis. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Dayton and Master of Health and Business Administration degrees from Saint Louis University. Tyler has also received a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification from the Ohio State University Fischer College of Business and sits on the board of Ohio CARES.
Travis Sharkey, MD, PhD
Medical Director – Ohio State Center for EMS
Medical Director – Worthington Fire Department
Assistant Fellowship Director – EMS Fellowship at Ohio State
Dr. Sharkey started his educational pathway in computer science and engineering and electrical and computer engineering studying signal processing and artificial intelligence techniques. This led to a PhD in biomedical engineering while obtaining an MD through the Medical Scientist Training Program at The Ohio State University. He completed both an emergency medicine residency and EMS fellowship at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center before returning as faculty.
As an EMS physician, Dr. Sharkey focuses on strengthening educational opportunities directed at real-world experiences of our local EMS providers. As a researcher, he is investigating the use of artificial intelligence and natural language processing to support accurate and efficient dispatch of EMS providers to get the right resources to the right people at the right time.