Fellow Highlights

Congratulations to Abdel-Karim Koumaré (PHIL 2009), who was the head facilitator of a workshop entitled “Assessment of Lectures by Students” at the 18^th Meeting of French Speaking Deans and Faculty in Health Sciences Education, held April 16-19, 2011, in Libreville, Gabon. In French-speaking regions of Africa, it is uncommon to have students provide feedback to faculty on lectures, which are used as the predominant method for teaching. Using case studies, the workshop showed 40 educators how they can involve students in assessing faculty teaching skills.

Congratulations to Sucheta Dandekar (PHIL 2010) whose recent book, Nutrition and Biochemistry for Nurses, co-authored with Sreemathy Venkatraman, is being published by Elsevier. Designed primarily to meet the requirements of B.Sc. nursing students, the book is equipped with exhaustive information on the curriculum and features comprehensive end-of-chapter summaries and exercises.

Congratulations to Surapaneni Krishna Mohan (CMCL 2009), who recently earned a Certificate in Medical and Health Sciences Education (CIMHSE) from the Institute of Medical and Health Sciences Education, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, in China. Dr. Mohan completed course work for this international program from January 25, 2010, through April 30, 2011.

Congratulations to E. Oluwabunmi Olapade-Olaopa (PHIL 2002), who was recently appointed Professor of Surgery in the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, in Ibadan, Nigeria. He has also been appointed as the Coordinator/Technical Advisor to the Inter-Ministerial Advisory Committee on the National Medical and Dental Curriculum Review in Nigeria.

Congratulations to Chitra Pai (GSMC 2009), whose paper entitled “Evaluation of Practical Skills of Undergraduate Medical Students by an Innovative Mini-Objective Structured Practical Examination Design for Hospital Acquired Infections” was accepted for presentation in a poster session at Evaluation 2011: Values and Valuing in Evaluation, the annual conference of the American Evaluation Association, November 2-5, in Anaheim, California. The meeting brings together approximately 2,500 evaluation practitioners, students, and scholars to exchange ideas in a fun, collaborative environment. Also attending the meeting is Stacey Friedman, FAIMER Associate Director of Evaluation and Planning.

Congratulations to Elaheh Malakan Rad (PSG 2007), who was recently elected as a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology. Dr. Rad also finished her 18-month fellowship in pediatric interventional cardiology on October 7, 2011.

Congratulations to Elaine Bezerra (PHIL 2008) and Maria José Pereira Vilar (BRAZ 2008), whose work entitled “Blog Versus Traditional Seminar: A Comparative Trial in Rheumatology,” was accepted for oral presentation at the 2011 American College of Rheumatology and the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals Annual Scientific Meeting to be held November 4-9, 2011, in Chicago, IL.

Congratulations to Amol Dongre (PSG 2008), who was recently invited to serve as a consultant on the Formative Research Advisory Committee to the Aga Khan Foundation in New Delhi. The Aga Khan Foundation forms intellectual and financial partnerships to promote innovative solutions to development problems in health, education, and living conditions in underserved areas throughout the world. Dr. Dongre will offer technical support on qualitative research in community-based project work focusing on improving child feeding practices in the rural area of Bihar, India.

Congratulations to Chinmay Shah (GSMC 2008) on his recent promotion to Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology, Government Medical College, Bhavnagar.

Dr. Shah also recently organized and worked as resource person in a second workshop entitled Basic Course on Medical Education Technology, conducted at Government Medical College, Bhavnagar. Suman Singh (CMCL 2008) of Pramukhswami Medical College participated as a guest faculty member and Praveen Singh (CMCL 2008), also of Pramukhswami Medical College, attended as an observer for the Medical Council of India.

Dr. Shah has also recently been invited to serve as an editorial board member for both the International Journal of Medicine and Public Health and the National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology.

Congratulations to Narasimman Swaminathan (PSG 2010), who was recently nominated to serve on a subcommittee to develop a module on respiratory management as part of a larger e-learning tool on Comprehensive Management of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). In addition to respiratory management, this new software tool is expected to assist health professionals involved in SCI in such areas as prevention of SCI, clinical assessment of patients with SCI, pre-hospital and acute care, psychosocial management of SCI patients and their families, and vocational rehabilitation, among others. Development of the e-learning tool is a cooperative effort involving the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS), the Asian Spinal Cord Network (ASCoN), Livability Ireland, the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC), and the University of Sydney.

Venugopalarao Tanneru (CMCL 2007) recently coordinated a statewide convention on emergency care and training at NRI Medical College and Hospital in Chinakakani, India. This one-day program was an extension of Dr. Tanneru’s education innovation project. The program, organized by Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences and Andhra Pradesh Medical Graduates USA, was held on January 9, 2011, and included workshops on Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), and Neonatal Advanced Life Support (NALS). A guest lecture on Global Advances and the Future of Resuscitation Science was given by Vemuri S. Murthy, M.D., Chair, Department of Anesthesiology, West Suburban Medical Center, Oak Park, Illinois. Dr. Dharmapuri Vidyasagar, Emeritus Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, University of Illinois, organized PALS and NALS with simulators. Mr. Bobby Wales from the American Heart Association (AHA) delivered a key note address.

Congratulations to Muhammad Tariq (PHIL 2009), who was recently elected as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. Dr. Tariq was also recently appointed to the position of Head, Section of Internal Medicine, in the Department of Medicine at Aga Khan University.

Congratulations to Bosede Afolabi (PHIL 2002), who was recently promoted to Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, in Lagos, Nigeria.

Dr. Afolabi also earned a Doctorate of Medicine (D.M.) degree in Obstetrics and Gynaecology from the University of Nottingham in July 2011.

Congratulations to Vanessa Burch (PHIL 2001), Co-Director of the Southern Africa-FAIMER Regional Institute (SAFRI), who was recently awarded a Fellowship by the Royal College of Physicians of London.

Himanshu Pandya (CMCL 2007) has been appointed Convenor of the Medical Council of India (MCI) Regional Center at Pramukhswami Medical College, Karamsad, Gujarat. Pramukhswami Medical College is one of 13 schools selected as regional centers by MCI to promote faculty development at medical colleges throughout India. The regional centers conduct orientation programs for coordinators of medical education units as well as basic course workshops for junior and mid-level faculty. The centers also train faculty members at associated medical colleges with enough capacity to conduct additional basic course workshops.

The Regional Center at Pramukhswami Medical College was launched on December 10, 2010, and since then has trained 86 educators at the regional center itself and 164 educators at associated colleges in its basic course on medical education technologies. Workshops conducted at the center are directed by Dr. Pandya, and sessions are led by trained faculty, including FAIMER Fellows Praveen Singh (CMCL 2008), Suman Singh (CMCL 2008), Uday Singh (GSMC 2008), and Sushil Singh (GSMC 2010).

Dr. Pandya was recently appointed by MCI’s Board of Governors to serve on the Committee to Revise Undergraduate Curriculum in Medicine and the Subcommittee for Curriculum Implementation Support Program. He was awarded Fellowship of the Indian College of Physicians in January 2011.

Congratulations to Rano Mal Piryani (PSG 2011), who was recently selected to serve as a peer reviewer for the Journal of Pakistan Medical Association (JPMA).

Dr. Piryani also co-authored the following recent publication with P. Ravi Shankar (PSG 2007):

Shankar PR, Piryani RM. Three years of medical humanities at a new Nepalese medical school [Letter]. Education for Health [Internet]. 2011;24(1):535.

Congratulations to Arun Jamkar (PHIL 2004), who was recently appointed Vice Chancellor of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences.

Congratulations to Dianne Manning (PHIL 2008) on her recent promotion to Adjunct Professor, Health Science Education, University of the Witwatersrand Faculty of Health Sciences. To earn the title of Adjunct Professor, one must demonstrate national and preferably international recognition in one’s field of expertise as well as excellence in teaching and an exceptional service record. In the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, this title was previously restricted to teachers in the clinical disciplines. Dr. Manning’s promotion can be seen as an indication of the growing appreciation of the value placed on academic achievement in the area of education.

Congratulations to Bo Qu (PHIL 2010), who was appointed Vice Director for Research Centre of Medical Education at China Medical University in Shenyang, China, on January 8, 2011. The Research Centre of Medical Education was established in 1984 to develop three main areas of medical education: curriculum development, teaching and learning, and assessment and evaluation. In his new role, Dr. Bo will head both the Department of Evaluation and Management and the Department of Medical Education and Curricula. His goals are to advance national and international communication and collaboration and to enhance faculty development in China through innovative projects and methods.

Congratulations to Eliana Amaral (PHIL 2003), Co-Director of the Brazil-FAIMER Regional Institute, who on March 10, 2011, was appointed to the position of Advisor for the Vice-Chancellor on Undergraduate Studies at the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) in Campinas, Brazil. In this new role, Eliana will be facilitator/manager of Brazil Ministry of Education projects involving university-wide endeavors, including national evaluation of undergraduate programs (Sistema Nacional de Avaliação da Educação Superior [SINAES] / Exame Nacional de Desempenho dos Estudantes [ENADE]), fellowships for students to perform research based on community needs (Programa de Educação Tutorial [PET]), and the new foreign medical graduates examination (Revalidação de Diplomas Médicos Obtidos no Exterior [REVALIDA]). She will continue to be responsible for the coordination of the Committee on Valuing Teaching on Academic Careers at the Health Sciences School and the Brazilian Ministry of Education Pro-Ensino Project at UNICAMP. Eliana also heads Brazil’s National Specialty Board on Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Congratulations to Dr. Anshu (CMCL 2007, PHIL 2009), who was recently nominated as an Executive Member of the Indian Academy of Cytologists. She will be moderating a Symposium on Training in Cytopathology at the Annual Conference of the Indian Academy of Cytologists at Dharwad in November 2011. Dr. Anshu has also been nominated by the Board of Governors of the Medical Council of India to serve on the committee for revising the undergraduate curriculum in pathology.

Congratulations to Valdes Bollela (PHIL 2006) on his recent appointment as Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at Universidade de São Paulo, Campus de Ribeirão Preto.

Congratulations to Marina Joseph (PSG 2009), who presented a paper based on her education innovation project, “Transactional Analysis for Improved Learning Environment in Medical Colleges,” at the Western Pacific Association of Transactional Analysis conference in Perth, Australia, on November 7, 2010.

Congratulations to Priti Kapadia-Gupta (GSMC 2010), who organized the first Basic Medical Education Workshop for the Medical Education Unit at the Government Medical College of Surat. Dr. Kapadia-Gupta, who is Professor at the college and Coordinator, Medical Education Unit, organized the workshop with the guidance of Avinash Supe (PHIL 2002), Director of the GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute, and Chetna Desai (CMCL 2007). Along with Drs. Supe and Desai, Fellows Himanshu Pandya (CMCL 2007), Henal Shah (GSMC 2006, PHIL 2008), Praveen R. Singh (CMCL 2008), and Suman P. Singh (CMCL 2008) also facilitated the workshop.

Congratulations to Madhuri Kate (GSMC 2008), who was recently appointed Professor and Head of the Department of Pathology at ESI Post Graduate Institute of Medical Science & Research, Andheri East, Mumbai, India. Additionally, Dr. Kate holds the position of Coordinator, ME Unit, at the Institute.

Congratulations to Elsie Kiguli-Malwadde (PHIL 2005), who recently joined the African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation (ACHEST) as the Director of the African Coordinating Centre (ACC) for the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI). In her new role, Dr. Kiguli-Malwadde, formerly Associate Professor of Radiology at Makerere University, will be devoting her professional efforts full time to improving health professions education and research in sub-Saharan Africa.

Through MEPI, the United States government has supported the creation of a network of 30 regional partners in Africa, and has awarded grants to 13 African medical institutions in 12 countries. The purpose of the grants is to transform medical education by improving the “quality, numbers, and retention of graduates” in the health professions, and to strengthen research and innovation in medical education. The role of the ACC is to support the achievement of MEPI goals for a five-year term by serving as a central source of expertise for grantees, and by providing technical assistance and communication services, as well as promoting accreditation and certification in the region. In addition to appointing Dr. Kiguli-Malwadde as Director to help fulfill its mission, the ACC has formed a team of advisors, consisting of experts in African health professions education, including Jehu Iputo (FFFP 1991), E. Oluwabunmi Olapade-Olaopa (PHIL 2002), and Abdel-Karim Koumaré (PHIL 2009).

Congratulations to FAIMER faculty member Wagdy Talaat (PHIL 2007) and to Dina El Metwally (PHIL 2010), who collaborated to conduct a national workshop on Learner-Centered Teaching Strategies for the Ministry of Health in the Sultanate of Oman, November 8-10, 2010. There were 64 continuing professional development (CPD) participants, and feedback on the workshop was very positive. Doctors Talaat and El Metwally are World Health Organization (WHO) Consultants for Health Manpower Development.