International FAIMER Institute Faculty

International FAIMER Institute 2003 Fellow
FAIMER
United States

Dr. Vyas contributes her expertise in medicine, health professions education, and the understanding of international culture to FAIMER programs and its research and scholarship activities. She applies her extensive experience to oversee the FAIMER Global Programs, geared towards health care education and workforce development in collaboration with international partners.

Prior to joining FAIMER, Dr. Vyas was a Professor at Christian Medical College, Vellore, India. She has led education innovations such as the distance learning postgraduate diploma in family medicine, integrated learning, and early clinical exposure. She was the convener for the National Medical Commission (NMC) regional and nodal centers for national faculty development in medical education. She served on the expert committee for development and implementation of basic and advanced courses in medical education for NMC.

Dr. Vyas received her MBBS and MD degrees from India. She holds a master’s in health professions education from the University of Illinois Chicago, USA.

International FAIMER Institute 2014 Fellow
Aga Khan University
Pakistan

Dr. Tashfeen Ahmad is an orthopedic surgeon at Aga Khan University, a private medical university in Karachi, Pakistan. He has a PhD in orthopedic basic science from Karolinska Institute, Sweden, and is a 2014 International FAIMER Institute Fellow. He is involved in medical education at undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels. His educational research interest is in teaching and learning, especially technical skills training. He has done research on role modeling, emotional intelligence, feedback, and the use of apps for learning during work. Dr. Ahmad is currently developing a simulation-based course on team building and communication in the surgical setting. Apart from educational research he is active in clinical outcomes research, registries, stem cell research, and orthopedic basic research.

International FAIMER Institute 2003 Fellow
Universidade Estadual de Campinas
Brazil

Dr. Eliana Amaral is a tenured Full Professor in obstetrics at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), São Paulo, Brazil, and served as founding Co-Director of the Brazil-FAIMER Regional Institute. She is a 2003 International FAIMER Institute Fellow, and a 2014-2015 Fellow of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Dr. Amaral’s research interests include issues of quality of obstetrics care, maternal morbidity-mortality, infectious diseases in obstetrics, education for health professionals, faculty development and affairs, and academic administration. Her current positions include: Chair of the Global Advisory Committee at the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME); Chair of the Infections During Pregnancy Committee at the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO); advisor for the Reproductive Health Division of the World Health Organization (Geneva); Chair for the Higher Education Chamber at the State of São Paulo Education Council; member of the Antenatal Care Committee for the Brazilian Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics Associations; and advisor for the Ministries of Health and Education, Brazil. Dr. Amaral is also the head of the Office on Evaluation and Research on Medical Education at UNICAMP. She has served as the Vice-Provost for Undergraduate Education at UNICAMP, leading the change for remote education during the COVID-19 pandemic (2017-2021); as an advisor for the Vice-Provost of the UNICAMP Undergraduate Office (2011-2013); coordinator for the Board on Specialty Licensing at the Brazilian Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics Associations (2009-2013), and head of the Faculty Affairs Office at the UNICAMP School of Medical Sciences (2014-2018). Dr. Amaral was awarded the Merit on Academic Career Dedicated to Education at UNICAMP (2013), a Gold Medal on Educational Merit from the Brazilian Association on Medical Education (2014), and Expert Recognition from the Latin American Federation of Associations on Obstetrics and Gynecology (2014).

International FAIMER Institute 2009 Fellow
CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute 2007 Fellow
IFME 2012 Fellow
Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences
India

Dr. Anshu is a Director-Professor of Pathology at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in Sevagram, India. She was awarded a Commonwealth Fellowship in 2007, a Fellowship from CMCL-FAIMER, Ludhiana in 2007, and a Fellowship from the International FAIMER Institute in 2009. In 2012, she was awarded the International Fellowship in Medical Education from FAIMER. The award allowed her to pursue her master’s in health professions education from Maastricht University, which she completed with distinction in 2014. She has been a faculty member and resource person at four Indian FAIMER Regional Institutes: CMCL-FAIMER, Ludhiana; GSMC-FAIMER, Mumbai; PSG-FAIMER, Coimbatore; and MAHE-FAIMER, Manipal. She also is a faculty member for the International FAIMER Institute and has written three WFME-FAIMER distance learning modules for the Centre for Medical Education in Context in the United Kingdom. She also is Editor of the Journal of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences. She has authored several publications and book chapters on medical education themes, including a book she edited with Dr. Tejinder Singh titled Principles of Assessment in Medical Education which is in its second edition. She was organizing secretary of the 2014 National Conference on Health Professions Education at Sevagram. She served as Secretary of the Academy of Health Professions Educators, India from 2017-2019. She is President of the Academy of Health Professions Education, India for 2022.

International FAIMER Institute 2013 Fellow
Universidade Estadual de Campinas
Brazil

Dr. Appenzeller is a rheumatologist and Full Professor at the Department of Orthopedics, Rheumatology, and Traumatology at the School of Medical Science, University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and currently researcher level 1B at the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development in Brazil.

She graduated in medicine (1999), did her rheumatology residency (2003) and PhD in internal medicine (2006) at UNICAMP, had a post-doctoral research fellowship at McGill University, Canada (2006-2008) was at Stavanger Hospital, Norway (2008-2009), and was a Fellow of the International FAIMER Institute (2013). In 2010, she joined the faculty at the School of Medical Science at UNICAMP.

Her scientific interest is to study neuropsychiatric manifestations in rheumatological autoimmune diseases and their impact on the quality of life of adult and pediatric patients.

She is currently editor of Advances in Rheumatology and a member of the editorial board of the scientific journals Lupus, Autoimmunity Reviews and Clinical Rheumatology.

International FAIMER Institute 2007 Fellow
Dr. D.Y. Patil Medical College
India

Dr. Payal Bansal is Director for the University Centre for Professional Education and Faculty Development, DPU, Pune. She graduated from Christian Medical College, Ludhiana and completed her post-graduation in surgery from Postgraduate Institute for Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India.

Dr. Bansal’s medical education training includes three international fellowships in medical education through FAIMER: in 2004-2005, the year-long Medical Education Scholar’s Program at the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan; in 2007-2009, the International FAIMER Institute; and from 2011-2013, the master’s in health professions education fellowship at Maastricht University, the Netherlands.

Her areas of interest in health professions education are faculty development, assessment, program evaluation, and facilitating change through educational capacity building programs. She serves on the faculty for the FAIMER Regional Institutes in India. Dr. Bansal has served as a member of the Undergraduate Working Group for curriculum reform in Medical Education – Vision 2015 of the Medical Council of India from 2010-2011. She has written many book chapters and has several publications in medical education. She is a reviewer for seven international medical education journals.

CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute 2016 Fellow
American University of Antigua College of Medicine (AUACOM)
Antigua and Barbuda

Dr. Namrata Chhabra is an Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Cell Biology, and Genetics at the American University of Antigua College of Medicine (AUACOM) in Antigua and Barbuda. She has 37 years of professional experience that includes leadership, administration, faculty affairs, academic affairs, medical teaching, clinical, and research. She is the former Executive Dean of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (SSR) Medical College, University of Mauritius in Mauritius. Additionally, she is a project advisor for the International FAIMER Institute and a Fellow of the CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute (2016). She has authored two textbooks on biochemistry and several research publications in international peer-reviewed journals. She is a member of various international professional organizations and a faculty member, editor, scholarly reviewer, and advisory board member of numerous online peer-reviewed international journals. She has extensive experience in research methodology, curriculum development and implementation, student-centered teaching, and student assessment.

International FAIMER Institute 2004 Fellow
University of Cape Town
South Africa

Francois Cilliers is an Associate Professor in the Education Development Unit at the University of Cape Town’s Faculty of Health Sciences in South Africa. His interests include the learning effects of assessment, faculty development, and helping faculty undertake meaningful educational research. Francois taught physiology for almost a decade before moving to work primarily in educational development. He holds a PhD in Health Professions Education from the University of Maastricht. Also medically qualified, he has worked in the field of HIV since 1992.

Francois is a 2004 International FAIMER Institute Fellow and previously served as a faculty member for the Sub-Saharan Africa-FAIMER Regional Institute (SAFRI). He teaches in the MPhil (Health Professions Education) program at Stellenbosch University. He is involved in the South African Association of Health Educationalists (SAAHE) and originated what has become the annual conference of the organization.

Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
United States

Dr. Dalal is a pulmonary critical care sleep medicine physician at Beaumont Health, Michigan. He has served as a respiratory course co-director for M1 students for the last seven years for the Oakland University William Beaumont (OUWB) School of Medicine. He also works as Program Director for the Pulmonary Critical Care Fellowship. He received the Teacher of the Year Award seven years in a row at Beaumont Health, and the Clinical Educator Award from OUWB School of Medicine twice. His medical educational interests spread over the continuum of undergraduate medical education, graduate medical education, and continuing medical education. As a course director, he is constantly involved in writing and modifying questions for mid-term exams, weekly quizzes, and final exams. He serves as member of the Exam Question Review Committee for OUWB Medicine.

He serves as mentor for several organizations including FAIMER, the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine, and the American College of Physicians apart from serving at his local institutes.

International FAIMER Institute 2010 Fellow
Era's Lucknow Medical College
India

Dr. Sucheta Dandekar is Professor of Biochemistry at Era’s Lucknow Medical College, Lucknow, India. She also is an adjunct faculty at Manipal Academy of Health Education. She was formerly Professor and head of the Department of Biochemistry at Seth G.S. Medical College and KEM Hospital, Mumbai. She has to her credit five books and several publications in national and international journals. She actively participated in all student-related activities and coordinated the student mentorship and parent-teacher programs.

Dr. Dandekar is a recipient of the Seth G.S. Medical College and KEM Hospital Oration and the Awadesh Saran Oration awards. She received the University of Mumbai Oration in biochemistry. Dr. Dandekar received the Best Teacher Award from the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences. She is Past President of the Association of Clinical Biochemists of India and has presented her research work at several national and international conferences. Dr. Dandekar was a visiting scientist at the University of Manitoba, Canada.

Dr. Dandekar was appointed to the Task Force of the Medical Council of India, Vision 2015, as a subject expert to draw the biochemistry curriculum. She is an active member of the Medical Education Technology Cell at her institute. She serves as faculty at the GSMC-, PSG-, and MAHE-FAIMER Regional Institutes.

An International FAIMER Institute 2010 Fellow, Dr. Dandekar has been awarded the International Fellowship in Medical Education (IFME) and received the master’s in health professions education (MHPE) from Keele University, UK. She has a keen interest in interprofessional education, integrating the basic sciences with clinical sciences and spreading the awareness of social accountability. Dr. Dandekar has conducted many workshops at the national level related to mentoring, early clinical experience, and interprofessional education, to name a few.

Temple University (retired)
United States

Dr. James Degnan was the Senior Director for Measurement and Institutional Research at Temple University. Now retired, Dr. Degnan continues to serve as a consultant to the university. Dr. Degnan developed and implemented programs used to assess student progress. He directed studies in the areas of applied statistics, psychometrics, program evaluation, educational research, testing, and public policy, and provided statistical analyses for university projects. Dr. Degnan served as an evaluator on several school reform initiatives including: Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (NSF), Restructuring Urban Schools for School Success (Pew), Philadelphia Standards Project—Mathematics (City of Philadelphia), North Philadelphia Community Compact (Pew), Capstone Program for Philadelphia Teachers and Students (City of Philadelphia and Temple University), Mathematics Academy for Science and Technology (Temple University), Early Mathematics Advising Program (Consortium of Pennsylvania Colleges), Statewide Grade 12/13 Mathematics Standards Project (Pew), Calculus on the Web Project (NSF), Policy Advisory Committees (Temple University), and Philadelphia School District Assessment Initiatives (Philadelphia School District Office of Assessment). He has served on a working group for the Governor’s Commission on College and Career Success (Pennsylvania), on an advisory committee on methodology for the Pennsylvania Legislative Office for Research Liaison (LORL), and on the College Ready Committee of the Mayor's Office of Education (Philadelphia). Dr. Degnan currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia, a program designed to provide a pathway to college for middle school students from low-income families.

CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute Fellow 2007
B. J. Medical College
India

Professor Desai is currently a Professor and head of the Department of Pharmacology at B. J. Medical College in Ahmedabad, India. She also holds faculty roles at the CMCL and GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institutes, the National Centre for Health Professions Education, and the National Medical Commission. Her professional interests include health professions education, pharmacovigilance, the rational use of medicines, and bioethics. She is the President-Elect of the Academy of Health Professions Education and is the Secretary (International) for the Indian Pharmacological Society (IPS). She has received several awards and distinctions from the IPS, including the N. N. Datta Prize for the best published paper and the Dr. S. C. Verma Memorial Prize.

Professor Desai has published more than 80 articles with more than 1,000 citations and previously served as Chief Editor of the Indian Journal of Pharmacology (2013-2017), the official indexed journal of the IPS.

International FAIMER Institute 2020 Fellow
Aga Khan University
Pakistan

Dr. Sadia Fatima is an Associate Professor and the inaugural member and Chair of the Haile T. Debas Teachers Academy at the Aga Khan University, Pakistan. Her research interests are the genetics and epigenetics of metabolic syndrome and technology-enhanced learning. Dr. Fatima has authored more than 90 peer-reviewed papers and four books, and has supervised numerous undergraduate and graduate students. A number of her students have received awards for best research presentations at national and international institutes. Dr. Fatima held a training scholarship on human genetics and genomics from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2017 and completed a certificate program in medical genetics and genomics from the NIH in 2021. She is a member of the Pakistan Physiological Society, the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease and the World Organization of Family Doctors. Dr. Fatima has organized and conducted over 100 workshops on innovation in teaching, learning, and assessment methods such as flipped classrooms, Pecha Kucha as a teaching tool, open book exams, online assessments, team-based learning, digital tools and artificial intelligence in medical education and research. She has received numerous honors and awards including the Excellence in Teaching Award (2017, 2022), Team Based Collaborative Award for Teaching (2022, 2023) and Mid-Career Researcher award (2023).

Villanova University
United States

Dr. Gail Furman, PhD, RN, CHSE-A is the Executive Director of the Simulation and Learning Resource Center and Clinical Professor at the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing (FCN), Villanova University and Adjunct Professor of Community Medicine at Drexel College of Medicine. She received her BSN and MSN(R) from the Saint Louis University School of Nursing, and her PhD in Education from Saint Louis University. Previously, Dr. Furman served the NBME as the Director of Educational Design and Development for the United States Medical Licensing Examination’s high stakes Step 2 Clinical Skills examination, which utilized standardized patients to assess clinical skills. She was Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine and Director of the school’s Clinical Skills Center, where she managed the standardized patient program and served as Course Director for the Patient, Physician, and Society courses.

Dr. Furman is a former member of the Executive Board of the Association of Standardized Patient Educators, an organization supporting the use of standardized patients in health professions education. Her expertise includes simulation methodology with standardized participants, interprofessional education, and communication skills.

FAIMER
United States

Dr. Hallock is President Emeritus of ECFMG and a FAIMER Senior Scholar. From 2001 to 2009, he served as President and CEO of ECFMG and as Chair of FAIMER’s Board of Directors.

Prior to joining ECFMG in 2001, Dr. Hallock served as the Dean of East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine (1988-2001) and as Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences at East Carolina University (1990-2001). He has held a wide variety of academic and administrative positions in medicine, including Associate Dean of All Children’s Hospital at the University of South Florida School of Medicine, Executive Dean and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of South Florida School of Medicine, and tenured Professor of Pediatrics at East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine.

Dr. Hallock is a Fellow of the Academy of Pediatrics. He is a Distinguished Service Member of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) for his outstanding contributions to academic medicine and dedication and service to AAMC and the Council of Deans. He has served as a member of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Executive Board, the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Composite Committee, the Institute for International Medical Education (IIME) Advisory Committee, and the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) Task Force for Defining International Standards in Postgraduate Medical Education. In 2009, Dr. Hallock received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE).

ASU-MENA FAIMER Regional Institute 2019 Fellow
Menoufia University
Egypt

Dr. Hegazy is an Assistant Professor in the Family Medicine Department and Director of the Medical Education and Human Resources Development Center at Menoufia College of Medicine at Menoufia University in Egypt. A 2019 Fellow of the ASU-MENA FAIMER Regional Institute, she serves as a writer for the Applied Knowledge Test, examiner for the Objective Structured Clinical Examination, Chair of the Digital Transformation Committee, and member of the Scientific Board of the Egyptian Family Medicine Team of the MRCGP[INT]. She also serves as an Executive Member of the Working Party on Education of WONCA - World Organization of Family Doctors. In addition, she is an Executive Board Member of the Egyptian Family Medicine Association and Associate Editor for the Egyptian Family Medicine Journal.

Dr. Hegazy received her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree in 2005. She completed her residency in family medicine at the Menoufia Teaching Hospitals and earned her Master of Science in 2009. She earned her Doctor of Medicine degree in 2013 from Menoufia Medical College. She also holds a professional diploma in research methodology and program evaluation from the American University in Cairo, Egypt.

She joined the Family Medicine Department in 2004 and is involved in teaching courses offered in the diploma, master, and doctoral programs, as well as advising post-graduate students. In addition, she teaches undergraduate students and mentors them in their research.

She has organized and conducted over 50 workshops in more than 10 countries and has more than 30 peer-reviewed publications. Her workshops and publications have focused on curriculum assessment, program evaluation, family medicine, mental health, and teaching and learning.

GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute 2007 Fellow
International FAIMER Institute 2021 Fellow
Seth G.S. Medical College & KEM Hospital
India

Dr. Praveen B. Iyer is a Professor (Additional) of Anatomy and Medical Education at the Seth G.S. Medical College (GSMC), Mumbai, India. He has been the Co-Director of GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute, Mumbai since December 2018. He is the Convenor of the NMC Nodal Centre for Faculty Development at GSMC.

He has received the Late Professor Dr. Jagdish S. Kalgutkar Memorial Prize, University of Mumbai.

His keen interest and passion in medical education led him to receive the GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute fellowship in 2007 and the International FAIMER Institute fellowship in 2021. He has been on the faculty of the medical education unit of GSMC and GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute since 2009, was on the visiting Regional Institute Faculty at the International FAIMER Institute in 2012, and is now a Global Faculty and Project Advisor for the IFI 2023.

Dr. Iyer has been a member of the Task Force of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) for Assessment and Blueprinting in Anatomy and also for implementing the new CBME undergraduate curriculum. He has been a member of the National Executive Committee on Faculty Development Programs, Academic Cell, National Medical Commission, India. He is the Secretary, Regional Chapter of Anatomy, Anatomical Society of India since 2022 and a member of the Academy of Health Professions Educators, India.

He has several publications in anatomy and medical education and has authored chapters on group dynamics and small group teaching in the book The Art of Teaching Medical Students, 3rd Edition.

University of Texas Health McGovern Medical School
United States

Vineeth John, MD, MBA, is Professor and Vice Chair for education in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Texas Health McGovern Medical School. John is also the Director of the Geriatric Psychiatry Section and is actively involved in various educational initiatives directed towards enhancing domain expertise among psychiatry residents. He received his medical training from Christian Medical College in Vellore, India, and completed his residency in general adult psychiatry at Tufts Medical Center and fellowship in geriatric psychiatry at the University of Miami-Jackson Memorial Hospital. In addition, he holds an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh Katz School of Business.

Dr. John has held positions of academic leadership at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and University of Wisconsin School of Medicine. From 2010-2015, he directed the General Adult Psychiatry Residency Program in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at McGovern Medical School. Over the past decade, he has been studying the effect of disruptive styles of leadership in organizations and presenting his research at national and international conferences.

Drexel College of Medicine
United States

Dr. Longjian Liu is a tenured Associate Professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University and an Adjunct Professor of medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine. He teaches and serves as an academic advisor for MPH and PhD students and MD/MPH fellows. Dr. Liu’s research activities include three themes: (1) epidemiological studies of cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and vascular-metabolic dementia; (2) big data analytics technology for pharmacoepidemiologic and health outcomes studies; and (3) global health, focusing on cross-country and multi-ethnic comparisons of environmental factors, social determinants of health (SDOH), and urban health studies. He is a Fellow of the American Heart Association (FAHA), and a Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Dr. Liu serves on Review Panels for NIH, EPA, and UK-MRC on research and training grants and on editorial boards for several peer-reviewed journals. He published a textbook, Heart Failure: Epidemiology and Research Methods, for MD-fellow continued education courses and for MPH review courses and chapters for the American Public Health Association (APHA) coordinated textbooks on cardiovascular disease epidemiology. Dr. Liu has over 100 articles published in peer-reviewed journals, cited by PubMed and Google Scholar.

International FAIMER Institute 2017 Fellow
Tecnológico de Monterrey
Mexico

Dr. César Lucio-Ramirez is a pediatrician and pediatrics and Global Health Professor at Tecnológico de Monterrey. Dr. Lucio is an International FAIMER Institute Fellow and has a master’s in health professions education from Keele University. His expertise revolves around learning communities, clinical skills assessment, online education, competency-based education, faculty development, and curriculum design. In 2019 he received the Teaching Excellence Award from the global consortium Universitas 21. He also forms part of the IFOM committee for the National Board of Medical Examiners.

He has presented conferences and research projects in national and international settings like the Association for Medical Education in Europe, and Reimagine Education, among others. He enjoyed being a TEDx speaker with his TEDx Talk “Global Health: Personal Attitude” and being part of local media counseling groups for TV and printed press.

International FAIMER Institute 2017 Fellow
Khyber Medical University
Pakistan

Dr. Usman Mahboob is an accomplished medical educationalist with more than 120 papers published in peer-reviewed journals. He has also authored a book chapter on data collection instruments and facilitated over 50 workshops. Under his supervision, over 100 students have completed master’s degrees in the last eight years. He is also a supervisor for doctorate and fellowship programs. He is an avid researcher and has been a principal and co-investigator for nationally and internationally funded projects and has won grants of more than £1.9 million. He also is the Associate Editor for BMC Medical Education.

CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute 2008 Fellow
International FAIMER Institute 2010 Fellow
IFME 2012 Fellow
College of Medicine and Health Sciences, National University
Oman

Dr. Ciraj Ali Mohammed is the head of Medical Education and Professor of Microbiology at College of Medicine and Health Sciences, National University of Science and Technology. He is the founding director of the MAHE-FAIMER Regional Institute fellowship program that focuses on leadership in interprofessional education. He is a recipient of the American Society for Microbiology Early Career Award (2006), Honorable Mention Award (2010), UNESCO Award for International Educators (2011) and Outstanding Mentor Award (2012). Dr. Ciraj is a Fulbright visiting scholar at the Department of Molecular Biology and Infectious Diseases, Florida International University, Miami and a recipient of the international fellowship in medical education (IFME). He has authored articles and chapters in medical education and medical microbiology and served on the editorial board of many journals. For innovative student-centered pedagogic approaches in medical education, he was awarded the Good Teacher Award eight times. He is currently Secretary of the Academy of Health Professions Educators, India, Chair of the Indian Interprofessional Education Network (IndiPen) and a member of the Global Confederation for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice. Dr. Ciraj also serves on the Advisory Board of the Network – Towards Unity for Health (TUFH).

SAFRI-FAIMER Regional Institute 2009 Fellow
Makerere University, College of Health Sciences, School of Medicine
Uganda

Dr. Mubuuke is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Uganda. Dr. Mubuuke is a FAIMER Fellow and has previously served as FAIMER faculty at SAFRI-FAIMER Regional Institute. He is also a Fellow of Bioethics from Johns Hopkins University, USA. Currently, he serves as the Deputy Chairperson of the School of Medicine Higher Degrees Committee and the School of Medicine Research Ethics Committee at Makerere University. He is also the Co-Chairperson of the Education Committee of the Consortium of Universities in Global Health (CUGH) and the Chairperson of the AFREhealth Health Professions Education Research Technical Working Group. He sits on the AFREhealth Research Sub-Committee as well. Dr. Mubuuke previously served on several committees at the College of Health Sciences at Makerere University and was part of the team that established the masters and PhD degrees in health professions education at Makerere University. He has served as a facilitator and external examiner at a number of universities. His research interests are in breast imaging, reproductive health imaging, mentorship, student assessment and inter-professional education. He has over 70 publications to his name and serves as an editor and reviewer on a number of journals including BMC Medical Education, Medical Education, PLOS ONE, African Journal of Health Professions Education and others. He is passionate about mentoring other people.

International FAIMER Institute 2017 Fellow
University of Khartoum
Sudan

Dr. Nurelhuda is a dental public health specialist. She obtained her bachelor in dental surgery from the University of Khartoum in 2002. Between 2006 and 2010, she was a doctoral research fellow at the University of Bergen studying dental caries risk factors in Sudanese schoolchildren. She proposed the use of the Sudanese commodity Gum Arabic to regulate oral micro-bacteria to control for tooth decay. Following that, Dr. Nurelhuda joined the Public Health Institute as a coordinator of a unit concerned with knowledge translation-related research and dissemination activities to enhance interactive engagement between the research and the Sudan health care system. She has extensive experience working with schoolchildren and children with special needs in oral health promotion programs and is currently rolling out a project with the University of Khartoum to deliver preventive services to mothers and children through dental homes. Her research work has been in the areas of health systems, health policy, and eHealth, where she advocated within the Ministry of Health and among stakeholders the importance of maximizing the benefits from information and communication technology in health care development.

Nova Southeastern University, Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine
United States

Dr. Maria Padilla is a board-certified pediatrician who currently serves as the Executive Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs at the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine (NSU MD). She completed her MD degree at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, where she also completed her training in the specialty of pediatrics. Dr. Padilla also completed a master of science in medical education leadership from the University of New England and has over 15 years of experience in medical education leadership at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. She is passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion in medicine, and she has championed curriculum innovation and implementation during critical points of NSU MD’s accreditation journey. As a Hispanic woman and a daughter of Cuban immigrants, her research interests currently include mitigating factors for imposter syndrome and supporting the career advancement of women and minorities in academic medicine.

GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute 2008 Fellow
University Malaya Faculty of Medicine
Malaysia

Dr. Pallath is a faculty member involved in teaching undergraduate medical students and medical education post-graduates at the Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya (UM). He also leads UM’s Medical Education Research Development Unit (MERDU), a faculty development program for the Faculty of Medicine. His teaching and research in medical education focuses on faculty development, professionalism, competency-based medical education, and leadership and management. He supervises masters and PhD candidates in medical education and medical microbiology. As a medical microbiologist, he also teaches medical microbiology and immunology to undergraduate medical students. Currently his microbiology research focuses on survival strategies of uropathogens. He is a FAIMER Fellow, Co Faculty member for FAIMER Competency-Based Medical Education (FACE) professional development program and Project Advisor to Fellows of the International FAIMER Institute.

Temple University
United States

Dr. Portwood is a Professor of human resource management and international business in Temple University's Fox School of Business. He is also Director of the Temple University Center for European Studies, and since 1990, has been an Adjunct Professor of management at the Graduate School of Business, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary. Dr. Portwood was a Fulbright Fellow in Hungary in 1990-91 and has since led projects promoting economic and social transformation in Central and Eastern Europe funded by the United States Agency for International Development, the Soros Foundation, the Ukrainian Federation of America, and the World Bank. These projects include reform efforts in the public and private sectors. He has also worked as a consultant with such international companies as American Express, Nycomed Pharmaceuticals, General Motors, Ford Motor Company (Europe), Dominion Textiles (Canada), Manulife Insurance (Asia), McKinsey & Co. (Japan), NEC (Japan), KPMG (Europe), General Electric, British Telecom, Pioneer Seed (Hungary), and MOL-Hungarian Oil Company.

Dr. Portwood is an active scholar and author in the areas of international human resource management, global change management, and the human side of organizational transitions. His research and writings have appeared in such publications as the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Journal of Allied Health, Human Resource Planning, American Chamber of Commerce-Japan Journal, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, and Labor Law Journal. He has been a member of the editorial board of Human Resource Planning, President of the Careers Division of the National Academy of Management, and a peer reviewer for a variety of journals and professional associations. He has taught internationally in England, Italy, France, Japan, India, and Singapore as well as Hungary. He currently teaches the Leadership and Group Dynamics course in Temple’s Executive MBA programs in Philadelphia, Tokyo, and Singapore.

Dr. Portwood's current interests include tracking trends in international labor markets, especially the increasing use of offshoring and contingent workers as tools of strategic HR practice. He is also studying the impact of economic transitions in emerging economies, and the need for new management paradigms as these economies mature. Finally, he is studying strategic and labor market implications of the trend towards global product design and production. Most recently, Dr. Portwood has been working on a project to improve healthcare availability in rural areas of Ukraine through use of web-based technology. He has also worked on health care development projects in Hungary, Poland, India, Cameroon, and Egypt.

Nova Southeastern University
United States

Dr. Vijay Rajput is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine Education at Nova Southeastern University, Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine (NSU MD). He has served as the Head for Division of Medical Education in Department of Medicine for Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, New Jersey from 2010-2015. He was the founding assistant dean for clinical curriculum at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University from 2010-2013. He was a program director for Internal Medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Camden, New Jersey from 2004 to 2012. Dr. Rajput was an associate fellow at the Center for Bioethics at University of Pennsylvania from 2009-2013. He also served as a senior note rater for the USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills examination for CSEC (NBME and ECFMG collaborative) for 20 years. Dr. Rajput has been a fellow of ACP since 1999. He has served as a member of the Clinical Skills Committee.

Dr. Rajput has authored or co-authored more than 110 papers, abstracts, and book chapters. He has presented more than 200 seminars, workshops, and grand rounds at regional, national, and international conferences. Dr. Rajput served on editorial boards and as a reviewer for several journals. Dr. Rajput has received several grants from HRSA and the Arnold P. Gold Foundation in the last 15 years. He was supported for literature and medicine, ethics OSCEs, and hidden curriculum in medical education.

Over the last 25 years, Dr. Rajput has received more than fifteen "Excellence in Teaching" awards from students, residents, and national organizations like ACGME and SHM. He was awarded the ACGME Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award— the most prestigious teaching award in 2011. He was inducted in the UMDNJ’s Master Educator Guild in 2005.

Dr. Rajput’s main areas of interest are bedside teaching, professionalism, ethics and humanism in medicine, student mentoring, and curriculum development. He lives in Pembroke Pines, Florida.

Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore
India

Dr. Anand is a pulmonologist by qualification and training, practicing in a 600-bed tertiary care hospital in India (KMC Hospital, Mangalore). He is currently working as the Professor of the Department of Pulmonary Medicine at Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, India which is one of the leading medical colleges in India. He is also an Associate Dean and is in charge of academics and international collaborations.

His areas of special interest are airway management and interventional pulmonology.

Dr. Anand is passionate about teaching especially innovations in medical education. He is the Convenor of the Medical Education Unit and as a member of the team is trying to bring about a change in teaching-learning-evaluation. He is a three-time recipient of the Good Teacher award of Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore. He is zealous about quality in health care and in particular accreditation systems. He has been involved in the implementation of quality management system in his organization. He has participated as a faculty in various training programs and delivered guest talks on various pulmonology, medical education, and quality related topics.

International FAIMER Institute 2019 Fellow
Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada
Indonesia

Prattama (Tama) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Education and Bioethics, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada. He received his master of health professions education from the University of Western Australia in 2018, and obtained his MD in 2013 from Universitas Gadjah Mada. He is currently practicing as an emergency physician.

In the university, Prattama is currently an active member of the Undergraduate Medicine Curriculum Committee; Undergraduate Medicine Curriculum Evaluation Team; Student Activity and Support Team; Quality Assurance Team of Master of Medical and Health Professions Education; and Learning Resource Coordinator of Clinical Skills Laboratory in the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada. As the Learning Resources Coordinator, Prattama supervises learning management system development, simulation-based learning environment, and educational video development for clinical skills learning.

At the national level, Prattama provides training and technical assistance in educational approaches to medical and health professions schools in Indonesia, and serves as a Scientific Division Member of the Indonesian College of Health Professions Education (I AM HPE). He is currently the Associate Director of the FAIMER Regional Institute of Indonesia for Educational Development and Leadership (FRIENDSHIP), and is also involved in Towards Unity For Health (Program Manager, Social Accountability Assessment). Prattama is also a Managing Editor of The Indonesian Journal of Medical Education (Jurnal Pendidikan Kedokteran Indonesia). His scientific publication and research interests are peer-assisted learning, simulation-based learning, clinical skills learning, and general medicine.

United States

Mary Beth Scallen (known as “MB”) is a professional stage actor, freelance writer, and educational consultant. She lives just outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. She has coached business executives, teachers, and medical professionals on effective verbal and physical communication skills, and ways to help students take enthusiastic charge of their own learning. She works regularly with FAIMER, People’s Light (a professional company outside of Philadelphia), and numerous other city theaters. She has taught at Temple University, West Chester University, and the University of Pennsylvania. She lives with her partner, Tom, a theatre stage manager, and their very naughty cat Dexter.

International FAIMER Institute 2008 Fellow
Topiwala National Medical College & BYL Nair Charitable Hospital
India

Dr. Henal Shah has been Co-Director of the GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute since December 2018. Dr. Shah also is a Professor (Additional) in the Department of Psychiatry at Nair Hospital in Mumbai, India. Having obtained her master’s degree in psychiatry from King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital in Mumbai, she gained experience at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow, Scotland. On returning to Mumbai, she has been working at KEM Hospital followed by her current position at Nair Hospital. She is keenly interested in child and adolescent psychiatry and has presented and published in this field.

She is passionate about medical education and received a master of health professions education from the University of Maastricht in 2010. She was awarded a fellowship in medical education by the International FAIMER Institute in 2008 and GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute in 2006. Since then, she has been a faculty member for FAIMER and other health professional education forums.

She has received the Bai Savitribai Phule Award from the Mayor of Mumbai for excellence in work and contributions to health services of MCGM (municipal corporation) and an International Fellowship for Medical Education (IFME) awarded by FAIMER. She has been awarded a St. Vincent’s Foundation Thomas Trauer Grant for development of a skills-based fellowship training program in child and adolescent psychiatry in Mumbai.

GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute 2009 Fellow
Dubai Medical College for Girls
United Arab Emirates

Dr. Fouzia Shersad is Director of Medical Education at Dubai Medical College for Girls (DMCG) in the UAE. She has over 25 years of experience as clinician, quality assessor, administrator, and medical educationist in many countries.

After graduating in medicine from Government Medical College, Trivandrum, Dr. Shersad practiced medicine in India and Oman for several years. Other qualifications include JMHPE, a FAIMER fellowship, a PhD in Medical Education, and FRCP (Glasgow). When Dr. Shersad joined FAIMER in 2009, the UAE became the first Gulf nation to join the global network of FAIMER.

As Director of Institutional Effectiveness at DMCG, Dr. Shersad led DMCG to win the prestigious Dubai Quality Award and Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award in 2011. Dr. Shersad is EFQM trained and served as a Senior Assessor for the Dubai Quality Award. Dr. Shersad is an honorary lecturer of medical education at Keele University. Dr. Shersad led institutional accreditation activities and Annual Dubai Medical Education Symposia for almost two decades at DMCG. Her experience includes faculty development and teaching professionalism and study skills to medical students.

Her special area of research interest is professionalism, and she introduced the Professional Attitudes and Social Skills initiative at DMCG as an innovation project since 2009. Other areas of research interest include quality in medical education, learning sciences, instructional technology, non-technical skills, and Entrustable Professional Activities.

International FAIMER Institute 2007 Fellow
Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University
Egypt

Wagdy Talaat joined FAIMER as an International FAIMER Institute Fellow in 2007. In 2009, he joined the International FAIMER Institute faculty.

Dr. Talaat holds a PhD in pathology jointly between Boston University in the United States and Suez Canal University in Egypt. He received his medical education training and earned his diplomas during the early 1980s.

In 2001, Dr. Talaat established the first Medical Education Department in Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean region at the Medical School of Suez Canal University in Egypt. In March 2004, in collaboration with Dr. Jan van Dalen from the Netherlands, he launched the Joint Master of Health Professions Education, an international distance learning program administered by Suez Canal University and Maastricht University. In October 2008, as his FAIMER education innovation project, he launched the Diploma of Health Professions Education, a national distance-learning program that serves Egyptian health professionals. In 2010, he launched the Arabic Diploma of Health Professions Education in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO). Hundreds of senior-level faculty in health professions education graduate annually from these three medical education programs, including presidents of medical universities, deans of health professions education institutions, chairpersons, and full professors.

Dr. Talaat has also worked for more than 25 years as a WHO Consultant for health manpower development and, since 2003, as a WHO Accreditation Project Director in Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean region.

Dr. Talaat is an author of four WHO books in medical education, the most recent titled Community Based Education in Health Professions: Global Perspectives.

In 2010, Dr. Talaat was granted the International Award for Leadership and Management from Management Science for Health in Boston, USA.

In 2017, he became the President of the Egyptian Society for Medical Education.

International FAIMER Institute 2009 Fellow
IFME 2012 Fellow
Aga Khan University
Pakistan

Dr. Muhammad Tariq is employed by Aga Khan University (AKU), Karachi, Pakistan, where he has served as Interim Associate Dean of Education and Interim Chair of the Department for Educational Development since December 2015. He is an Associate Professor and section head of Internal Medicine and a practicing internist. Dr. Tariq served as Director of Postgraduate Programs in the AKU Department of Medicine from 2008-2015, and as Program Director of Internal Medicine from 2001-2011. He graduated from Dow Medical College (now Dow University of Health Sciences) in 1992 and completed his residency in internal medicine at Aga Khan University in 1998. He was awarded Membership of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP) in the UK in 2001, and was advanced to a Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) of Edinburgh and London in 2011 and 2013, respectively. Dr. Tariq became a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP) in 2009. He was selected as an International FAIMER Institute Fellow in 2009 and completed his two-year fellowship in 2011. In 2012, he was awarded an International Fellowship in Medical Education (IFME) by FAIMER, to pursue a master’s degree in health professions education (MHPE) at Maastricht University, Netherlands. Dr. Tariq became Supervisor for the Fellowship of the College of Physicians & Surgeons (FCPS) in Pakistan in 2005 and became Examiner for FCPS Internal Medicine in 2012. He is a bird lover and particularly enjoys pigeons and parrots.

International FAIMER Institute 2011 Fellow
Colgate University
United States

Dr. Bineyam Taye is currently a Professor of epidemiology and global health at Colgate University, NY, USA. He is also the Director of the Global Public Environmental Health program. Dr. Taye received an International FAIMER Institute fellowship award in 2011 and developed innovative learning and assessment tools. He applied the knowledge from this fellowship to create a new interdisciplinary Global Public and Environmental Health (GPEH) program at Colgate, where he is serving as the inaugural program director. Dr. Taye is interested in an interdisciplinary global health program in the undergraduate curriculum.

University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine
United States

Dr. Tekian is Professor and Director of International Affairs for the Department of Medical Education (DME), and the Associate Dean for the Office of International Education at the College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). He joined DME in 1992 and is involved in teaching courses offered in the Master of Health Professions Education and the doctoral programs, as well as advising graduate students. Prior to joining DME, he was the founding Director of the first medical education department in Saudi Arabia at King Saud University, College of Medicine in Riyadh (1983–1990). He served during the 80s and 90s as a consultant to the World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office for projects in the Division of Development of Human Resources for Health. Dr. Tekian established several medical education departments/units in Eastern Mediterranean countries.

Dr. Tekian is an internationally recognized scholar and leader in health professions education. He has organized and conducted over 350 workshops in more than 45 countries and 60 cities, as well as presented over 300 keynote addresses nationally and internationally. He has more than 170 peer-reviewed publications and is the Principal Investigator of 15 research and training grants totaling more than $5 million. His consultations and workshops have focused on curriculum development, assessment, program evaluation, accreditation, simulations, and international medical education. Dr. Tekian is the senior author of the book Innovative Simulations for Assessing Professional Competence: From Paper-and-Pencil to Virtual Reality published in 1999.

Dr. Tekian has received numerous honors and awards including an honorary doctorate by the Tashkent University in Uzbekistan (1996), the Teaching Recognition Program Award by UIC in 2007, the Association for the Study of Medical Education Gold Medal Award in 2012, a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Armenian American Medical Society (2014), the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Division I’s Distinguished Career Award (2017), Ellis Island Medal of Honor (2017), and the highly competitive UIC Award for Excellence in Teaching (2018). He served as the President of the Division of Education in the Professions for AERA from 2009–2012, which is a major venue for presentation of scholarship in health professions education. Currently, he is the Chief Editor for the Springer-ICPE Book Series. His involvement with FAIMER extends for over two decades.

Temple University
United States

Donna Weiss, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, earned a BS and MA in occupational therapy from Columbia University and New York University and a PhD in psychoeducational processes from Temple University. She is a licensed occupational therapist, a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association, and is certified by The Leading Clinic as a coach/consultant in Appreciative Inquiry and Whole System IQ™.

Dr. Weiss is Associate Professor emeritus at the College of Health Professions and Social Work at Temple University, where she served as a faculty member in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs. She taught classes in pediatric intervention, group dynamics, leadership, clinical education and fieldwork supervision, outcomes measurement, administered curriculum development, admission and enrollment, teaching/learning evaluations, student relations, and faculty development initiatives.

She is the lead editor of A Practitioner’s Guide to Clinical Occupational Therapy, 2nd Edition (2012) published by Pro-Ed and The Interprofessional Health Care Team: Leadership and Development (2013) published by Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Dr. Weiss is a consultant in the areas of interpersonal communication, group dynamics, and leadership. She believes that positive communication can engage imaginations, broaden possibilities, and empower action for personal, professional, and organizational sustainability and growth.