2024-2026 Physicians Council Officer Slate

Sally Alrabaa, MD
LifeLink Tissue Bank

Professional Bio
Dr. Sally Alrabaa is the regional medical Director of LifeLink Tissue bank of Florida, Georgia and Puerto Rico. She’s an infectious disease specialist and an associate professor of medicine at the University of South Florida College of Medicine. Dr. Alrabaa has been a clinician for the past 20 years with expertise in internal medicine and infectious diseases ranging from sepsis, Tuberculosis, other bacterial, viral, atypical, and emerging infections as well as infections in the organ and tissue transplant populations. Dr. Alrabaa’s career in tissue banking started in 2018 as an associate medical director. She became involved with various AATB committees and functions soon after. In 2020, as an active member of the physician council she aided in drafting guidance the Tissue banking community during the COVID-19 epidemic based on best available scientific knowledge at the time and her real-life experience with COVID-19 patients. She assisted with drafting recommendations regarding monkeypox screening upon emergence of yet another virus. Dr. Alrabaa has been involved with the Tuberculosis working group since its beginning in 2021 and assisted in drafting multiple bulletins in the subject and recommendation regarding donor screening. Dr. Alrabaa was the physician council track session organizer for the AATB annual meeting in 2022, and she had presented on Tuberculosis disease and risk factor as well as moderated multiple sessions during both the 2022 and 2023 AATB Annual meetings. Dr. Alrabaa’s leadership expertise includes her positions as medical director of complex medicine unit in a large tertiary center hospital, as well as Director of the transplant infectious services. Dr. Alrabaa is very familiar with what it takes to be an effective leader and how to empower and motivate others to share their opinions, expertise, and wisdom. Dr. Alrabaa served as the Physician Council secretary since 2022.

Statement Outlining Vision and Goals for the Council
Dr. Alrabaa hopes to further strengthen the Physicians’ Council impact on the tissue banking industry by ensuring that decisions are made based on scientific evidence, consensus, and the committee’s objectives. She will bring special expertise with her background in clinical medicine, infectious diseases, and transplant recipient perspective. Dr. Alrabaa’s network includes numerous physicians and clinicians who can be invited to present to AATB membership on various topics of choice and aspects of tissue use and transplantation, as requested. Dr. Alrabaa’s goal is to build consensus from all committee members to implement initiatives that promote the growth, development, and success of the physicians’ council and the AATB organization as a whole.

Emmanuel Mahlis, MD
MTF Biologics 

Professional Bio
"I am currently the vice president and head of medical affairs at MTF Biologics. An internist by training, I practiced for 10 years in the central NJ area, mostly in a group practice setting. One of the busiest internists in central NJ, I was also lucky enough to be the medical director for two of the group’s centers. When the medical group disbanded, after joining CIGNA HealthCare as medical director, I was enticed to join Merck & Co. for a position in medical affairs. Advancing through roles of increasing responsibility I remained at Merck for 9 years. After leaving Merck, I began to build, and lead medical teams in small, medium, and large pharmaceutical companies, some from the ground up. Currently I am leading and expanding the medical team at MTF Biologics. With my proven track record of leading, and with impactful results in several settings, including start-ups and turn-arounds, I look forward to bringing to this potential opportunity extensive medical affairs experience, expertise in scientific / medical issues, business and management skills, and knowledge of clinical, medical and biopharmaceutical issues. At AATB, I have actively participated in the regular physician council quarterly meetings. I’ve also led two separate sepsis forums, the most recent in March 2024, and I’m a member of the 2024 annual meeting organizing committee for the physician track."

Statement Outlining Vision and Goals for the Council
"AATB's Physician Council is full of talented physicians and scientists with excellent experience, abilities and expertise. While these talents are used to great results within each person's organization, I feel that more can be done to leverage each member's abilities to make the physicians council, and our decisions, more impactful. With my experience in building teams and change management, I hope and look forward to, bringing our colleagues together in a more cohesive manner to ensure key, impactful and lasting results. I ask for your vote, and appreciate your confidence."

Dr. Anna McDonald
Birth Tissue Recovery, LLC

Professional Bio
Dr. McDonald's background as a board-certified Pediatric/Perinatal and Forensic Pathologist brings specialized expertise to the expanding field of birth tissue acquisition and processing, particularly around issues that pertain to donor eligibility and tissue suitability. She has served as the Medical Director of Birth Tissue Recovery since 2018 and has been active in AATB since that time. She has presented on topics such as the relevance of autoimmune diseases to birth tissue donation, human papillomavirus as it relates to tissue suitability, and placental pathology diagnoses at the AATB annual meetings.

Statement Outlining Vision and Goals for the Council
As Vice Chair, she hopes to work with the Council to develop tissue-specific risk analysis (i.e. placenta, skin, cancellous bone, adipose) and educational schematics for the application of the current TB donor screening criteria to ensure both tissue safety and the gift of donation. She hopes to work closely with council members to understand pain points within our various organizations and see how the Council leadership may assist in an effort to ensure tissue safety while maintaining the gift of the donation. 

Noelle Edwards, MD
LifeNet Health

Professional Bio
Noelle Edwards, MD is an Associate Medical Director for LifeNet Health and member of the Physician’s Council since 2022. She is a Pediatrician and has been passionate about tissue donation since being introduced to the industry as a tissue recovery technician prior to medical school. Noelle has been an enthusiastic member of AATB Physician’s Council, participating in educational talks on Allograft Cancer Transmission, Adequate Medical Records case review and didactic sessions at the 2023 Annual Meeting, and recently, Sepsis case reviews. She has also been an active contributor in the AATB Tuberculosis Working Group and is the Physician’s Council Track Representative in the planning committee for the 2024 Annual Meeting.

Statement Outlining Vision and Goals for the Council
Noelle hopes to continue to progress the tissue banking industry by serving the AATB and its Physician Council members in striving for the advancement of evidence-based decision-making and providing forward-thinking educational opportunities. As a member of the Physician’s Council leadership, she will seek to align tissue banking Medical Directors through the shared goal of utilizing the most recent scientific and medical knowledge to optimize donor gift utilization and safety.