Dr. AJ Kirk attended Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, where he studied Biomechanical Engineering and Agricultural Engineering.  He concomitantly pursued a career in the Fire Service, training at A&M's Brayton Fire Training Fields and joining Brazos County's Fire Department.  He stayed at A&M for medical school and after graduating from the College of Medicine he matriculated to UAMS in Little Rock for an EM Residency.  While in Little Rock, Dr. Kirk pursued careers both as a Burn and Pediatric Critical Care Flight Physician as well as joining the Little Rock PD SWAT Team as a tactical physician.  Dr. Kirk is also a graduate of the UT Southwestern Government Emergency Medical Security Services Fellowship with emphases in EMS, Tactical and Disaster Medicine.  He has worked in the DFW Metroplex since that time, including 6 years as an Assistant Professor in the Section on EMS, Disaster and Homeland Security at UT Southwestern/Parkland Memorial Hospital and Children's Medical Center in Dallas.  In 2010, Dr. Kirk was brought to JPS, Fort Worth’s Level 1 Trauma and Tertiary Care referral center, to plan and build the Emergency Medicine Residency Program as well as help to lead a new Emergency Medicine contract group.  He served as the Associate Program Director as well as the EMS Fellowship Director and the Medical Director for JPS' Office of Emergency Management.  Given his interest in public safety and community improvement, he was honored to be appointed by Tarrant County Hospital District to sit on the Emergency Physicians' Advisory Board for MedStar for 6 years as well as the Executive Board for BEST EMS.  Dr. Kirk also was instrumental in developing the Fort Worth Police Department Tactical Medic program and continues to serve as their Medical Director.  Dr. Kirk is also specialized in combat sport physiology and is one of two physicians in North America who serve as a Medical Consultant to the UFC.  He continues to pursue his interests in medical operations integration with progressive patient-centered care pathways and operationalization of informatics-driven throughput optimization.  Currently Dr. Kirk is an Associate Professor with UT Southwestern and serves as the Chief and Medical/Surgical Director for Parkland Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Department, the 2^nd busiest ED in the nation with an estimated 270,000 Emergency Services patient contacts in 2019.