Leadership and Innovation in Academic Medicine – UofL News Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:43:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 UofL faculty leadership program graduates fifth cohort /post/uofltoday/uofl-faculty-leadership-program-graduates-fifth-cohort/ Wed, 03 Aug 2022 19:05:43 +0000 /?p=56964 LIAM, a program designed to help UofL faculty members cultivate leadership and innovation skills, graduated its fifth class, bringing the number of individuals who have completed the program to 143.

Over its five-year history, the program has increased the population of leadership-prepared faculty members across both campuses. LIAM graduates have moved on to accept leadership positions at UofL, including Russ Farmer, assistant dean – clinical skills and medical director of the Paris Simulation Center in the School of Medicine; Susan Ryan, associate dean for faculty affairs in the College of Arts & Sciences; Brandon McCormack, director of the Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research; Doug Craddock Jr., vice president of community engagement and chief of staff to the executive vice president and university provost; and Jeff Guan, who recently was named interim dean of the College of Business.

The mission of is to develop the next generation of leaders at UofL by teaching them the skills needed first to lead themselves, then lead with others and finally, lead an organization. Faculty members enroll in an 11-month training program that includes regular discussions and capstone team projects.

“Leadership is a set of skills that you can practice. It’s not something you are born with or not born with, but there is a set of definable skills, and with any skill, if you practice it, you get better at it,” said Gerard Rabalais, who developed and directs the LIAM program with Staci Saner.

LIAM Awards 2022
LIAM Awards 2022

Originally created for School of Medicine faculty and named Leadership and Innovation in Academic Medicine, LIAM quickly expanded to include faculty members from across the university as well as staff from UofL Health. Reflecting this broader scope, the program has been renamed Leadership and Innovation in Academics Matter.

The LIAM class of 2022, listed below, includes 46 faculty members from HSC and Belknap campuses and UofL Health.

LIAM graduating class (2022):

Cara Cashon, Arts & Sciences

David Schultz, Arts & Sciences

Michael Losavio, Arts & Sciences

Michael Menze, Arts & Sciences

Sherri Wallace, Arts & Sciences

Thomas Edison, Arts & Sciences

Daniela Terson de Paleville, ֱ and Human Development

Gianina Fink, ֱ and Human Development

Laurie Dawn McCubbin, ֱ and Human Development

Samantha Walte, ֱ and Human Development

Stefanie Wooten Burnett, ֱ and Human Development

Jeff Guan, Business

Jose Fernandez, Business

Michael Wade, Business

Robert Garrett Jr., Business

Zachary Goldman, Business

Brittney Richardson, Medicine

Cindy Crabtree, Medicine

Erin Davis, Medicine

Hannah Fischer, Medicine

Jessica Kline, Medicine

Katherine Pohlgeers, Medicine

Katie Canalichio, Medicine

Katrina Erickson, Medicine

Keri Marques, Medicine

Marcie Cole, Medicine

Marx de Sa, Medicine

Mary McClanahan, Medicine

Matthew Lawrenz, Medicine

Mohiuddin Hadi, Medicine

Nana Yaw Ohene Baah, Medicine

Natalie Henderson, Medicine

Ronald Morton, Medicine

Stacy Lenger, Medicine

Rebecca Gesler, Nursing

Dongfeng Wu, Public Health and Information Sciences

Shesh Rai, Public Health and Information Sciences

Christina John, UofL Physicians

Cindy Lucchese, UofL Physicians

M Renae Gagnon, UofL Physicians

Mariam Traore, UofL Physicians

Zachary Bostock, UofL Physicians

Adam Hall, Dentistry

Alia Eldairi, Dentistry

Breacya Washington, Dentistry

Pin-Chuang Lai, Dentistry

The 45-member LIAM class of 2023 also has been announced and is listed below.

LIAM incoming class (2023):

Kristi King, ֱ and Human Development

Justin McFadden, ֱ and Human Development

Dylan Naeger, ֱ and Human Development

Ashley Shelton, ֱ and Human Development

Eduardo Antunes Bortoluzzi, Dentistry

Grace De Souza, Dentistry

Timothy Followell, Dentistry

Liliana Rozo (Gaeth), Dentistry

Hammam Al Makadma, Medicine

Tracy Ander, Medicine

Forest Arnold, Medicine

Virginia Barbosa, Medicine

Michael Chorney, Medicine

Samantha Cotton, Medicine

Dale Ding, Medicine

Susan Harkema, Medicine

Lauren Herrmann, Medicine

Gagandeep Kaur, Medicine

Jerry Lin, Medicine

Wei Liu, Medicine

Jonathan Newsom, Medicine

Siddharth Pahwa, Medicine

Adriana Palade, Medicine

Melissa Perrotta, Medicine

Ryan Shapiro, Medicine

Caitlin Thomas, Medicine

Nelleke van Wouwe, Medicine

Nagma Zafar, Medicine

Jian Zheng, Medicine

Lynn Roser, Nursing

Andrew Scott LaJoie, Public Health and Information Sciences

Tina Vandergriff, UofL Hospital

Abbey Roach, UofL Hospital

Amy Capps, UofL Hospital

Aundrea Lewis, UofL Hospital

Kim Wilson, UofL Hospital

Brandi Meyer, UofL Hospital

Erzsi Sleder, UofL Hospital

Rachel Riggs, UofL Hospital

Fay Knott, UofL Physicians

Mindy Sherman, UofL Physicians

Susi Gillis, UofL Physicians

Westley Covington, UofL Physicians

Sherri Ryan, UofL Physicians

Jamieson Forristal, UofL Physicians

 

]]> LIAM program bridges HSC and Belknap Campuses to cultivate faculty leaders /post/uofltoday/liam-program-bridges-hsc-and-belknap-campuses-to-cultivate-faculty-leaders/ Fri, 07 Aug 2020 14:59:26 +0000 http://www.uoflnews.com/?p=50967 The third cohort of the Leadership and Innovation in Academic Medicine (LIAM) program completed an 11-month course to develop faculty leaders by presenting their projects designed to improve academic work or health care at the University of Louisville. LIAM is one of the most popular programs offered by the HSC Office of Faculty Development.

The 25 members of the class of 2019-2020, organized in five teams, outlined plans for improving faculty research productivity, patient access, employee recognition, communication and active learning in July. This was the first LIAM class to include faculty from the Belknap Campus.

The mission of the program is to develop the next generation of leaders at UofL by teaching them the skills needed first to lead themselves, then lead with others and finally, lead an organization. Faculty members enroll in an 11-month training program that includes regular discussions and the capstone team projects.

Gerard Rabalais, M.D., M.H.A.
Gerard Rabalais, M.D., M.H.A.

“Leadership is a set of skills that you can practice. It’s not something you are born with or not born with, but there is a set of definable skills, and with any skill, if you practice it, you get better at it,” said Gerard Rabalais, who developed and directs the LIAM program with Staci Saner.

LIAM originally was designed as a program for faculty in the School of Medicine, but has evolved quickly to include faculty members across the university.

“Our five-year goal is for 15% of the faculty at the Health Sciences Center campus to complete this program. Once you get to that tipping point, synergy is going to start to kick in,” Rabalais said. “That is the result of the cross-disciplinary relationships that develop, meet and work with people they would never have worked with before from different departments or across colleges. Now that we have increased interest from faculty on the Belknap Campus, with 16 people completing the program by July 2021, we likely will set the same target for Belknap Campus.”

During the event, the program’s fourth cohort of 40 faculty members was introduced. It is the largest class in the program’s history and includes 11 members from Belknap Campus and nine from Health Sciences Center schools other than the School of Medicine.

Projects and team members in the LIAM class of 2019-2020:

Improving Faculty Research Productivity: David Brown, Linda Fuselier, Brandon McCormack, Susan Ryan, Siobhan Smith-Jones

Patient Access at UofL Physicians: Jennifer Daily, Luz Huntington-Moskos, Marija Sasek, Maria Mendoza, Rodolfo Zamora

Employee Recognition: HimaBindu Dukka, Arpita Lakhotia, W. David Lohr, Suzanne McGee, Michael Sweeney

Communication: Brit Anderson, Tamer Mohamed, Kimberly Pate, William Tse

Driving Active Learning: Michael Egger, James Harrison, Chithra Ram, Jennifer Stiff, Tracy VanMeter, Beverly Williams-Coleman

LIAM program class of 2020-2021:

  • Jason Gainous Arts & Sciences
  • Kandi Walker Arts & Sciences
  • Regina Roebuck Arts & Sciences
  • Benjamin Mast Arts & Sciences
  • Kevin Gawley Arts & Sciences
  • Dawn Heinecken Arts & Sciences
  • Amy Flint ֱ and Human Development
  • Douglas Craddock ֱ and Human Development
  • Andrew McCart ֱ and Human Development
  • Ishwanzya Rivers ֱ and Human Development
  • Brigitte Burpo ֱ and Human Development
  • Jill Steinbach-Rankins Speed School of Engineering
  • Matthew Fox Medicine
  • Adam Ross Medicine
  • Ashley Iles Medicine
  • April Herrity Medicine
  • Beatrice Ugiliweneza Medicine
  • Timothy Ford Medicine
  • Siddharth Shah Medicine
  • Becca Hart Medicine
  • Kelly Jackson Medicine
  • Sunnye Mayes Medicine
  • Jeff Meyer Medicine
  • Courtney Smith Medicine
  • Joshua Sparks Medicine
  • Rebecca Starr Seal Medicine
  • Amanda LeBlanc Medicine
  • Leslie Sherwood Medicine
  • Samuel Carson Medicine
  • Clayton Tyler Ellis Medicine
  • Kellen Choi Medicine
  • Cynethia Bethel-Jaiteh Nursing
  • Muna Hammash Nursing
  • Imelda Wright Nursing
  • J’Aime Jennings Public Health and Information Sciences
  • Brian Marrillia Dentistry
  • Lavina Myers Dentistry
  • Juhi Bagaitkar Dentistry
  • Gill Diamond Dentistry
  • Ashley King-Tinsley Dentistry

 

]]> UofL School of Medicine faculty complete leadership training /post/uofltoday/uofl-school-of-medicine-faculty-complete-leadership-training/ /post/uofltoday/uofl-school-of-medicine-faculty-complete-leadership-training/#respond Thu, 26 Jul 2018 13:24:35 +0000 http://uoflnews.com/?p=43184 Sixteen members of the University of Louisville School of Medicine faculty have completed a 10-month training program aimed at developing effective future leaders in academic medicine. Leadership and Innovation in Academic Medicine (LIAM) was designed to develop innovative thinking skills in early to mid-career faculty who are motivated to be leaders in medical education.

“Leadership is more important than ever as the university prepares to deal with changes in our health care world. Our leaders need to have the resilience and creativity and the ability to be innovative and problem solve as challenges keep coming,” said Gerard Rabalais, MD, M.H.A., associate dean of faculty development, who created the program along with Staci Saner, MEd, program manager for faculty development.

“We need to deepen our bench here at the university,” said Tracy Eells, PhD, MBA, vice provost for faculty affairs, at the program’s final event on July 17. “We need to have a deep set of leaders that we can turn to because there are a lot of leadership positions at the university.”

The participants attended monthly meetings organized to introduce innovation and design thinking through understanding how to lead oneself, how to lead others and how to lead the organization.

Jeremy Clark, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, most values the connections he made with other participants.

“The single most impactful aspect of LIAM is therelationships Ibuiltwith each of my peers and with our physician leaders in the School of Medicine. I now have 15 other young leaders that I can go to and ask for advice and counsel when I am struggling with leadership problems,” Clark said.

Hugh Shoff, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, expected the program to help him acquire tools for becoming a better leader and innovator in medicine. He was surprised by the value of the self-reflection aspect.

“We spent lot of time in the beginning learning to analyze yourself and make sure you as a person are in the right place to become a better leader. I didn’t expect to spend as much time on that, but I am glad we did,” Shoff said.

Eells said self-leadership is a critical aspect of the program’s three-stage approach.

“It has to start with yourself, with emotional intelligence, knowing how to keep your cool when you are in a tense situation since you are serving as a role model to many others around you when you are serving in a leadership capacity,” Eells said.

The self-reflection portion will be expanded for the second LIAM cohort, which will increase from 16 to 24 members.

At the program’s final meeting, teams of four participants presented projects to improve the school or health care in general and presented them to a panel of judges, leaders from the UofL School of Medicine, and members of the 2018-2019 cohort were announced.

2018-19 LIAM cohort

Pascale Alard, PhD Microbiology and Immunology
Thomas Altstadt, MD Neurosurgery
Laura Bishop, MD Medicine
Eric Burton, MD Neurology
Camilo Castillo, MD Neurosurgery
Priya Chandan, MD, MPH Neurosurgery
Brittany Chapman, MD Neurology
Lynzee Cornell, PhD Otolaryngology and Communicative Disorders
Russell Farmer, MD Surgery
Shahab Ghafghazi, MD Medicine
Josephine Gomes, MD Family and Geriatric Medicine
Sushil Gupta, MD Pediatrics
Ahmed Haddad, MD, PhD Urology
Jennifer Hamm, MD Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health
David Haustein, MD Neurosurgery
Bridget Hittepole, MD Medicine
Deborah Kozik, MD Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery
Rana Latif, MD Anesthesiology
Jennifer Le, MD Pediatrics
Eli Pendleton, MD Family and Geriatric Medicine
Melissa Potts, MD Radiology
Vikas Singh, MD Medicine
Abigail Stocker, MD Medicine
Christina Terrell, MD Psychiatry

2017-2018 LIAM class projects

Increasing the Value of Academic Teaching

Academic teaching is a core mission for UofL School of Medicine faculty that is difficult to quantify in terms of scholarly recognition. The definition and documentation of good teaching is lacking. Our project proposes a structured way of accounting for teaching in an easily accessible system, and ideas for a culture shift towards recognition of teaching excellence as a critical mission for the university. Team members:Alexander Ovechkin, MD, PhD, Christine Brady, PhD, Elizabeth Cash, PhD, Kathrin LaFaver, MD.

A Better PICC Line

The project focuses on the creation of a PICC line that is tamper-evident for use in patients who have a history of IV drug use and require long-term antibiotic therapy for conditions such as bacterial endocarditis. The hope is that use of this PICC line will allow these patients to transition home for IV antibiotics in lieu of prolonged hospital stays to complete the antibiotics course. Team members:Farid Kehdy, MD, Hugh Shoff, MD, Laura Workman, MD, Luz Fernandez, MD.

Mind the Gap: Using Generational Strengths to Create Faculty-Student Teaching Partnerships
Many University of Louisville Health Sciences Center faculty struggle to adapt their teaching to include new educational pedagogies due to lack of time, variable prioritization of teaching and difficulty using new technology. We propose the creation of student-faculty partnerships where the faculty – our content experts – can use the technical savvy and availability of students to modify and improve their teaching. We plan to pilot this initiative as part of the Medical Students as Teachers elective for fourth year medical students and measure change in course evaluations, student satisfaction and faculty well-being. Team members:Leah Siskind, PhD, Sara Multerer, MD, Sara Petruska, MD, Tyler Sharpe, MD.

Financial Empowerment
Leaders in academic medicine are frequently ill prepared to make the financial decisions that are a necessary part of their jobs. There is currently a gap between finance officersat senior levels and leaders at lower levels who lead clinical, research or educationteams. Our proposed innovation is to empower leaders across the University of Louisville School of Medicine to make financial decisions by providing local, focused financial training to leaders. Team members:Carolyn Roberson, PhD, Adrienne Jordan, MD, Brian Holland, MD, Jeremy Clark, MD.

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