Louise grew up in Naperville, a western suburb of Chicago.  The Emergency Medicine bug first bit while she was in college at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.  As a first aid worker for intramural sports, she looked forward to assisting injured players with the limited contents of a basic first aid kid and ice.  While in medical school at Rush Medical College (1993-7), she co-founded an Emergency Medicine interest group - whose success was substantially assisted by the popularity of the TV show "ER".  While at Rush, Louise also worked in the Illinois Poison Center as a Poison Information Specialist and discovered that she also enjoyed toxicology as a discipline.

Louise made the long trek to the Hoosier state for Emergency Medicine residency and then Medical Toxicology training at Methodist/IUSOM.  She joined the Emergency Medicine and Medical Toxicology faculty in 2002 and currently serves as the Fellowship director for the Medical Toxicology Fellowship at IUSOM as well as the director of the toxicology rotation.  She has authored numerous works in the Emergency Medicine and Medical Toxicology literature and has collaborated in research projects.  Currently she edits a FOAM-ED series ACMT Toxicology Visual Pearls for Academic Life in Emergency Medicine (ALiEM). She serves as the Vice President for the American College of Medical Toxicology and is active in the ACMT Research, Fellowship Director, Education, and Membership Committees.   When not at work, Louise enjoys hiking, gardening, biking, and spending time with friends and family.

Kao L. ACMT Toxicology Visual Pearls: Suicide Plant.  Published online at: Academic Life in Emergency Medicine (ALiEM) on April 3, 2017.  Available at: https://www.aliem.com/2017/04/acmt-toxicology-suicide-plant/  Metrics available at: https://datastudio.google.com/open/1DBplmSDZrS9Cehzp6qVGUIUFqDZ4wgE9

Snow JW, Kao L, Furbee B; Antitubulin Agents: Colchicine, Vinca Alkaloids, and Podophyllin.  In: Brent J & Burkhart K et al (eds): Critical Care Toxicology:  Diagnosis and Management of the Critically Poisoned Patient; 2^nd edition.  2017; New York, NY, Springer Publishing.

Love J, Kao L.  ACMT Toxicology Visual Pearls:  Drug Induced Rash.  Published online at: Academic Life in Emergency Medicine (ALiEM) on February 21, 2018.  Available at: https://www.aliem.com/2018/02/acmt-visual-pearls-drug-induced-rash/.  As of March 13, 2018 it was the second most popular post on the site.

Kao L, Pizon A. Medical Toxicology Fellowship Training Is Available to Applicants from Many Specialties.  J Med Toxicol. 2018 May 21.PMID 29785474

Farrugia LA; Rhyee S; Calello D; Campleman S; Judge B; Kao L; Pizon A; Porter L; Riederer A; Wiegand T; Wax P; Brent J. The Toxicology Investigators Consortium Case Registry- the 2017 Annual Report. J Med Toxicol. 2018 Sep;14(3):182-211. PMID: 30094774

 Nanagas K, Avera R, Purpura A, Murphy J, Kao L. Articles You May Have Missed. J Med Toxicol. 2018 Oct 23. doi: 10.1007/s13181-018-0683-3. PMID: 30353415.

 Kao L & Rusyniak DE. Chronic Poisoning:  Trace Metals and others.  In: Goldman L & Schaefer AI (eds): Cecil-Goldman Medicine, 26th Ed. 2018; Philadelphia PA:  Elsevier Inc.

 Expert Reviewer for: Katz K & O’Connor A: EMRA and ACMT Medical Toxicology Guide, 1^st Edition, Emergency Medicine Residents Association, 2018.

Kopec K, Kim T, Mowry J, Aks S, Kao L. The Role of Dantrolene in Dinitrophenol(DNP) Overdose: A Continuing Question.  Am J Emerg Med 2019; 37(6): 1216. PMID 30948257

Grogan J, Gerona R, Snow JW, Kao L. Ibogaine Consumption With Seizure-Like Episodes, QTc-Prolongation, and Captured Cardiac Dysrhythmias. J Emerg Med. 2019;57(4):e99-e104. doi:10.1016/j.jemermed.2019.06.052

Spyres MB, Farrugia LA, Kang AM, et al. The Toxicology Investigators Consortium Case Registry-the 2018 Annual Report. J Med Toxicol. 2019;15(4):228-254. doi:10.1007/s13181-019-00736-9