MESSAGE FROM DEPARTMENT OF CLINICAL RESEARCH AND LEADERSHIP
February is Black History Month, and I can’t think of a better time to celebrate the contributions of our Black faculty and staff in Heath Sciences. As a division, HS is committed to diversity, inclusion, social justice, health equity, and anti-racism. We are fortunate to have rich multicultural teams advancing health outcomes for Black individuals and communities – communities that continue to suffer from decades of inequities. Through translational research, educational scholarship, curricular development, and service, we honor the rich history and wisdom of the Black community. We celebrate Black colleagues and community members who are making history of their own. In the Department of Clinical Research and Leadership, I’d like to spotlight five Black faculty members who are advancing our mission through scholarship, curricular design, and service:
Shawneequa Callier is an associate professor whose scholarship is shaping medical and research ethics and law on both the national and global landscapes. She is a leader in data science ethics, law and underserved patients, a top scholar in the field of law, ethics, genomics, and society, as well as ethical, legal and social implications of genomics.
Robert Turner, an early career faculty member, has gained a national reputation for research with retired NFL players, black male caregivers, and early aging in the African American male. His research is opening doors to understanding Black men’s health, a door that has historically been closed due to a history of inequity, ethical breaches, and social barriers.
Maranda Ward is an early career faculty member who commits her expertise in curricular design to ensure that health equity and diversity is a competency in all HS curriculum. She has developed curriculum and training that is core to our mission, and her work has gained national recognition. She is developing similar programming for pharmaceuticals and other industry.
John Young, a part-time faculty member, is dedicated to health quality and leadership advancement. His contributions to program fostered rich discussions in health inequity, gun violence, and depression in the Black male youth community. Ray Francis is another part-time faculty member who contributes valuable experience. He is an executive coach and brings his expertise to CRL programming while also mentoring students. These CRL faculty members, along with Black colleagues across HS, are making an impact through their commitment and work. I hope you will join me in thanking these remarkable team members and all of our Black colleagues. Individually and collectively, they help us do our jobs better by giving us a deeper understanding of their experience so we can ensure that our research and teaching advances the mission of health equity, inclusion, diversity, justice, and anti-racism. Black lives matter and we in HS commit to making each life healthy, meaningful, and purposeful.
--Leslie Davidson, chair, Department of Clinical Research and Leadership
Ward 
Young 
Francis 
Callier 
Turner
PEOPLE
NEUROSURGERY KNOWLEDGE. Mike Johnson recalls the exact moment when he decided that being a PA would be a great profession. He was an EMT student on a clinical rotation working alongside a nurse in a Colorado ER when he noticed an individual he didn’t know. “There was a guy going from room to room doing the cool stuff – he was suturing, removing a needle from a woman, doing other procedures, and connecting with patients,” Johnson said. “I asked the nurse, ‘who is that?’ and she told me he was a PA. I remember it well. I’d like to find that guy; he changed my life.” Johnson is looking forward to impacting PA students’ lives as an assistant professor in the Department of PA Studies (PAS). He joined the faculty in December after serving as a preceptor and clinical instructor with the PA program since 2016. He’s been a neurosurgery PA with the MFA since 2013. He worked as an EMT and firefighter for eight years in Las Vegas before going back to school to become a PA. “I always wanted to help people,” he said, noting that it runs in the family – his mom is a nurse and his dad is a doctor. As a PA, he enjoys the challenge of making complicated concepts understandable. ”I’ve loved being in neurosurgery,” he said. “It can be very rewarding, if you help someone get through something terrible. You have to operate at a very high level.” Johnson’s familiarity with the PA program was key to his decision to join the faculty full time. “It’s such a distinguished program and to be a part of it is a privilege,” he said. “The students are so sharp and prepared – they make great clinicians. I see the quality of the education and the students. It’s a great program that I’ve watched for years.” Johnson says he brings a strong clinical background and unique perspective to the program. “I’ve been in medicine a long time and can provide a practical approach,” he said. “I have a strong leaning toward teaching. I was always interested in that.” Johnson lives in the Woodley Park neighborhood of DC with his wife, Allison, and 15-year-old and six-year-old sons. For fun, the family enjoys hiking and camping in Shenandoah National Park and appreciating their greater backyard. “We explore Rock Creek Park a lot,” he said. “It’s amazing that I can walk 10 minutes from my house and be on the trail system.” Johnson has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado and a master of physician assistant studies degree from Touro University in Henderson, Nevada.
SHOW ME DATA. Rolla, a small city midway between Springfield and St. Louis, lived up to the “Show Me State” nickname for Jen Pattershall-Geide. Life there showed her it was time for a career change. “I came to the conclusion that being a professor wasn’t for me,” she recalled of her time at Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T). “I enjoyed teaching, but I found it very stressful and draining. I’m kind of an introvert.” The rural area offered few job prospects for her husband, Matt Geide, a clinical nurse manager, so the couple moved to the DMV. Fast forward to Pattershall-Geide joining GW and becoming a senior data analyst in HS Administration last fall. “I think it was the right move at the right time,“ she said. Since pivoting from teaching to data science, she hasn’t looked back. “I enjoy using data to support the school and its mission. I want to use the skills I have to help faculty, staff, and students achieve their academic goals,“ she said. In HS, she will provide data, analytics, and evaluation support while also managing program improvement processes and reviewing and scoring annual program assessments for leadership and program directors. After serving as an assistant professor at Missouri S&T for just over a year, she joined GW as assistant director of survey research and analysis. She moved to the Milken Institute School of Public Health four years later and spent two years as a business intelligence analyst. She left Milken for a centralized role at GW before joining HS. “I was interested in being in an academic role and supporting academic programs and data processes,” she said. Pattershall-Geide and her husband live in Falls Church with their German Shepherd, Rizzo, and cat, Leo. She says Rizzo is named after the character in “Grease,” but her husband claims he’s named for Frank Rizzo of the comedy duo, the Jerky Boys. The two do agree on spare time activities such as playing board and video games and going out to eat and to concerts. A native of Maine, Pattershall-Geide still has family there and enjoys visiting. “I never loved the winters,” she said with a laugh. “It’s a lot snowier and colder, but the summers can’t be beat.” She earned a bachelor's degree summa cum laude and a master's in psychological science from the University of Maine, and received her PhD in experimental psychology from the University of Arkansas.
LEADING WITH PURPOSE. Mary Warner is excited to lead PAS. “The PA program being in DC has a tremendous amount of potential to impact policy,” said Warner, who was named chair of the department in December 2021. “I’m looking forward to interacting with policymakers and increasing access to care and the use of PAs in more clinical settings. I also want to advance professional education in novel ways.” It’s not just GW’s proximity to decision makers that attracted her to GW – she likes the fact that the department has a PA program and the Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medicine Program. “I think we can leverage both programs to increase diversity in our profession,” she said. For now, her goal is to sustain the programs’ high quality during the pandemic. “Having lofty goals at this time isn’t really feasible,” she noted. “We’re not in a place to start new initiatives. We have to focus on our core mission that students get the education they need, and we need to improve the well-being of faculty and staff. I am impressed by the levels of excellence that exist given the stress everyone has faced with Covid.” She’s enjoying getting to know faculty, staff, and the department’s culture. “I’ve found an incredibly dedicated group of educators that have excellence as their No. 1 goal,” she said. “I’m really delighted to see that everyone is focused on excellence and that students acquire the skills they need to be competent PAs. It’s really impressive.” Warner has been a full-time PA educator for more than 20 years. She joined HS from the University of Bridgeport, where as an associate professor she focused on PA education, assessments, and mentorship for early career faculty. She previously held positions at Quinnipiac College, Yale University School of Medicine, and Boston University School of Medicine. At Boston University, she was the founding director of the PA program and served as a clinical skills specialist and master teacher within the school’s Office of Medical Education. Warner and her husband, Mark, live in Arlington. Though her husband is a retired vet, they don’t have any pets “at this very moment. I bet six months from now, we’ll tell you we have a dog,” she said with a laugh. The couple has two grown daughters, Hannah, an actor in Boston, and Charlotte, an Emory University nursing student living in Raleigh, North Carolina. Post-pandemic, Warner looks forward to visiting museums in the area and traveling to Europe and Hawaii. “We like to travel and I like to hike and get out in nature as much as I can,“ she said. A native of San Diego, California, she has a bachelor’s degree from Seattle University, a master of medical science degree from Emory University, and a doctorate of behavioral Health-Management from Arizona State University.
MODEL STAFF. Thanks go out to Rohini Ganjoo of the Department of Biomedical Laboratory Sciences (BLS) and the following HSers who took part in a photo shoot at the Arlington Education Center for the BSHS Hybrid Program: Nick Atlas of HS Administration, Allison Cannon of BLS, Patrick Corr of the Department of Clinical Research and Leadership (CRL) and HS Administration, Alexandra Dacey of HS Administration, Rakia Johnson of PAS, Ivy Meadows of BLS, Carmen Sessions, Sheel Singh, and Jessica To-Alemanji of HS Administration, Christian Ulysse of PAS, and D’Shaun Vance and Linda Zanin of HS Administration. Teri Capshaw of HS Administration directed the shoot which also included two HS students, a graduate, and an appearance by George, the GW mascot.
KUDOS! Four HS staff members have received “Kudos” from coworkers for going above and beyond. Andrew Godleski, of PAS, Minhye Kim of HS Administration, Emma Levine of BLS, and Joshua Walberg of the Department of Health, Human Function and Rehabilitation Sciences (HHF&RS) have been recognized by the HS Staff Culture & Morale Committee for their commitment to excellence and collaboration. Notice a staff member doing a great job? Nominate them today!
PROGRAMS
BELLS & WHISTLES. The Immersive Learning Center (ILC) is ready to hit the road, literally. GW’s first mobile classroom was delivered in January and is currently at VSTC. The ILC is the showpiece of the Community Medi-Corps Program, funded by a GO Virginia grant and GW. The ILC will provide immersive learning in STEM-H subjects to six magnet high schools in four NoVa school systems.
SURVEY SAYS... Heartbeats wants to know the one thing you’re most looking forward to when “normalcy” returns. No masks, no social distancing, no limitations…what’s at the top of your want-to-do list? Send us your answer and we'll report results in the next issue.
APPLAUSE
NEW CREDENTIAL. Congratulations to Yousif Barzani of BLS for earning a master’s degree in education and human development from GW GSEHD.
TECH ROLE. Reamer Bushardt of HS Administration and co-authors published, “The Role of Technology in Health Professions Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” in Academic Medicine in November 2021.
EDITORS. Reamer Bushardt of HS Administration and Harrison Reed of PAS co-edited with others, “The JAAPA QRS Review for PAs; Study Plan and Guide for PANCE and PANRE,” published in December 2021. Teri Capshaw of HS Administration served as a senior editorial consultant and contributor on the book. Several PAS faculty also contributed.
GOOD COMPANY. Leigh Frame of CRL was inducted into the Cosmos Club last fall. The club is a private social club for individuals distinguished in science, literature and the arts, a learned profession, or public service. Frame gave a talk, “Caring for the Other Half of Humans: The Microbiome & Its Relationship with Nutrition,” and took part in a roundtable, “The Future of Healthcare Begins with Nutrition, but Tell Us More about that Future,” at the Plant-Based Prevention Of Disease: American Board of Lifestyle Medicine Prerequisite Training as part of its Distinguished Researchers Series in October 2021.
DIGITAL HEALTH. Mountasser Kadrie of CRL has been named to a two-year term as chair of the digital health track to review and recommend proposals for the Global Healthcare Information and Management conferences.
KNITTING KINDNESS. Olga Kochar of BLS was featured in The Weekly, the GWU Hospital newsletter, for knitting scarves for the hospital’s homeless patient population. The ED distributes the scarves.
SCOPING REVIEW. Paige McDonald, Philip Van der Wees of CRL, Donald Adams, a student in the PhD in the Translational Health Sciences Program, and co-authors have published, “Management of non-compressible torso hemorrhage of the abdomen in austere/remote environments: Protocol for a scoping review,” in Trauma Surgery & Acute Open Care last fall. In January, McDonald was elected to a three-year term to the board of directors of the Online Learning Consortium.
P2P PROFILE. Physician to President Biden, Kevin O’Connor of HS Administration, was profiled in the Federation of State Medical Boards’ “FSMB Spotlight.” Find the interview here.
CHAIR. Tami Ritsema of PAS has been named to a three-year post as chair of the Grants and Scholarships Committee for the Physician Assistant Education Association, starting in January 2022.
COVID & CAREERS. Lisa Schwartz and Cliff Cymrot of BLS co-authored, “Factors Influencing Medical Laboratory Science Career Choice Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic,” in the Winter 2021 issue of the Journal of Allied Health. Schwartz and SMHS colleagues, Naomi Luban, Alison Hall, Diane McQuail, and Yolanda Haywood, co-authored “The Mentored Experience to Enhance Opportunities in Research (METEOR) Program,” in the December 2021 issue of Medical Education Online.
Q&A. Carmen Sessions of HS Administration was featured in a SMHS Black History Month profile.
PAIN MGMT. Mary Warner of PAS presented, “Facilitators and Barriers to the Adoption of Pain-Management Guidelines after an Adaptive Learning CME,” at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Addition Psychiatrists in December 2021.
ANNIVERSARIES. Congratulations to the following colleagues celebrating work anniversaries: Lisa Bagby of HHFR&S (one year), Joe Bocchino of CRL (20 years), Reamer Bushardt and Karen Foote of HS Administration, Melissa Parno of PAS, and Kathy Thoma and Robert Turner of CRL (five years).
SERVICE. Looking to give back? Check out opportunities sponsored by the GW Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service.
