Implementation Team members will translate the strategic goals outlined in Phase 1 into actionable items through clear plans, process design, and proposals for resource allocation. The Implementation Teams engage stakeholders, set timelines, provide support, and monitor progress using defined metrics. They are tasked with defined evaluations in each area to ensure alignment, adaptability and measurable outcomes across the College of Medicine's strategic priorities.
Co-leads: Drs. Carolyn Giordano and Todd Strochlic
Goals:
- Centralize Graduate School and Medical Education program structures and functions through integration.
- Increase student enrollment and revenue from educational programs.
- Capitalize on educational programs unique to Drexel University and the College of Medicine.
Members:
- Hwyda Arafat, MD, PhD, MSc, MEdL, Director of Postdoctoral Affairs and Professional Development
- Seema Baranwal, MD, William Maul Measey Chair in Medical Education; Vice Dean of Institutional Effectiveness
- Rachel Ditoro, EdD, MSPAS, PA-C, Director, Physician Assistant Program, Salus at Drexel
- Dana Farabaugh, MD, Senior Associate Dean of Undergraduate Medical Education
- Katie Farrell, EdD, MSN, RN, Assistant Clinical Professor, College of Nursing and Health Professions
- John Gyllenhammer, JD, Deputy General Counsel and Chief Counsel for Health Sciences
- Karen Hanson, PhD, Director of Interprofessional Practice and Education, Salus at Drexel
- Monika Jost, PhD, Director of the Division of Pre-medical and Pre-health Programs
- Danielle Kane, Executive Director, Marketing and Communications
- Niki Kelley, Associate Dean of Graduate Administration, Operations and Finance
- Michele Kutzler, PhD, Associate Dean for Faculty
- David Logan, MBA, Associate Dean for Financial Affairs
- Joanne Mathiasen, PhD, Co-Director, Drug Discovery & Development program
- Leon McCrea II, MD, MPH, Deborah J. Tuttle, MD and John P. Piper, MD Vice Dean for Educational Affairs
- Mike Nonnemacher, PhD, Director, Division of Biomedical Sciences
- Katie O'Malley, MD, Faculty, Drexel University College of Medicine/Tower Health Family Medicine Residency program
- Vanessa Pirrone, PhD, Assistant Dean of Admissions, MD Program
- Jed Shumsky, PhD, Associate Dean of Educational and Academic Affairs, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies
- Nancy Spector, MD, Senior Vice Dean, Office of Faculty
- Emily Spengler, MD, Assistant Professor, Pediatrics, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children
- Robert Sterling, PhD, Co-Director, Division of Interdisciplinary and Career-Oriented Programs; Director, Graduate Programs in Clinical Research
- Melissa Vitek, OD, FAAO, PNAP, Dean of Global, Interprofessional, and Specialized Programming, Salus at Drexel
- Jocelyn Warren, MSEd, Director of Administrative Services, Office of Educational Affairs
Goal:
- Accelerate progress in new, synergistic educational programs through innovative, cutting-edge creative solutions.
Members:
- Mary Genevieve Carty, DHSC-c, MS, MHEd, Director of Education Innovation and Strategic Partnerships; Director, Center for Business and Program Development
- Jessica Chen, PhD, Assistant Professor, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
- John Fitzgerald, III, DO, Medical Director, Associate Program Director, and Director of Clinical Education, Salus at Drexel
- Haviva Goldman, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair of Medicine Education, Neurobiology & Anatomy; Assistant Dean, Phase 1 Curriculum
- Jennifer Hamilton, MD, PhD, Associate Dean of Simulation
- Caitlin Howe, PhD, Associate Professor, Neurobiology & Anatomy
- James Kelly, MMS, PA-C, Director of Educational Competency & Strategic Innovation, Salus at Drexel
- Colleen Lyons, PhD, MBe, Research Bioethics Graduate Faculty
- Elise Mosser, PhD, Course Director and Instructor, Biomedicine, Molecular Medicine, Infectious Disease, and Immunology MS programs
- Yassine Sellami, Director, Research Systems and Analytics, IT
- Kathy Veazey, MS, PhD, Assistant Professor, Neurobiology & Anatomy
- Bruce Wartman, MS Ed, Manager, Educational Development and Instructional Design, Technology in Medical Education
- Adrienne Willard, MD, Associate Professor, Internal Medicine
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Co-leads: Drs. Asif Ilyas and Sandhya Kortagere
Goals:
- Develop focus areas of clinical and basic science research based on areas of strength and opportunity.
- Optimize research resources including core facilities and research space.
Members:
- Joris Beld, PhD, Associate Professor, Microbiology & Immunology
- Marie-Pascale Côté, PhD, Associate Professor, Neurobiology & Anatomy
- Albert Donnenberg, PhD, Vice Chair of Translational Research, Allegheny Health Network
- Wei Du, MD, MS, Chair, Department of Psychiatry, Drexel University College of Medicine
- Elias El Haddad, PhD, Professor, Infectious Diseases & HIV Medicine; MD/PhD Program Director
- Alessandro Fatatis, MD, PhD, Professor, Pharmacology & Physiology
- Jenna Hope, PhD, Assistant Professor, Microbiology & Immunology
- Richard Huneke, DVM, Executive Director, University Laboratory Animal Resources
- Zachary Klase, PhD, Associate Professor, Pharmacology & Physiology
- Qiang Liang, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Neurobiology & Anatomy
- Patrick Loll, PhD, Professor, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
- Ramesh Raghupathi, PhD, Professor, Neurobiology & Anatomy
- Mauricio Reginato, PhD, Professor and Chair, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
- Gabriele Romano, PhD, Assistant Professor, Pharmacology & Physiology
- Veronica Tom, PhD, Professor, Neurobiology & Anatomy
- Renee Turchi, MD, MPH, Professor and Academic Chair, Pediatrics
- Erol Veznedaroglu, MD, Robert A. Groff Chair of Neurosurgery; Interim Chair of Neurology
Research Relationships Team
Goals:
- Build pathways for research collaborations and improve communications with internal and external partners to the College of Medicine.
- Grow clinical research expertise by leveraging an expanding clinical footprint.
Members:
- Seena Ajit, PhD, Professor, Pharmacology & Physiology
- Casey Allen, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, Allegheny Health Network
- Jessica Barson, PhD, Associate Professor, Neurobiology & Anatomy; Assistant Dean for Mentoring and Support
- David Bennett, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry
- Karen Berkowitz, MD, Associate Dean for Medical Student Research
- James Burns Jr., PhD, Professor, Microbiology & Immunology
- Christopher Butts, DO, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, Tower Health
- Rose Ann DiMaria Ghalil, PhD, RN, Professor and Senior Associate Dean for Research; Interim Associate Vice Provost for Research & Innovation, College of Nursing and Health Professions
- Simon Giszter, PhD, Professor, Neurobiology & Anatomy
- Meera Harhay, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine, Division of Nephrology & Hypertension
- Brisa Sanchez, PhD, Dornsife Endowed Professor of Biostatistics and Associate Dean for Research
- Christian Sell, PhD, Professor, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
- Michael Weingarten, MD, MBA, Professor of Surgery; Assistant Dean, Medical Scholars Tracks
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Co-leads: Drs. Nathalie May and Robert Sataloff
Goals:
- Examine how mission-based functions are maintained in the new structure.
- Expand Drexel Health to national and international status.
- Examine how to evolve Drexel Medicine into Drexel Health.
- Ensure a high level of quality excellence at all clinics, including facility upgrades.
- Create integration and collaboration with clinical sites across the College of Nursing and Health Professions and Salus at Drexel practices to create interdisciplinary services.
Members:
- Jill Adaman, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
- Radhika Aravamudhan, PhD, EdD, Dean, Osborne College of Audiology, Salus at Drexel
- Lindsey Bondurant, PhD, CCC-A, Assistant Professor of Audiology, Salus at Drexel
- Gary Davis, MD, Medical Director, Drexel Student Health Center
- Suzanne Dreitlein, MS ’18, CAPM, Web Manager, Marketing and Communications
- Wei Du, MD, MS, Chair, Department of Psychiatry, Drexel University College of Medicine
- Elias El Haddad, PhD, Professor, Infectious Diseases & HIV Medicine; MD/PhD Program Director
- Annette Gadegbeku, MD, Senior Associate Dean, Community Health and Inclusive Excellence
- Mary Gallagher Gordon, PhD, MSN, RN, CNE, Vice Dean; Clinical Professor, Graduate Nursing, College of Nursing and Health Professions
- Greg Johnson, Assistant Vice President, Clinical Systems, Drexel University Information Technology
- Brian Lahmann, MD, Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, Tower Health
- Jen Mainville, MPH, Business Administrator, Drexel Medicine
- Tracy McSweeney, Director, Clinical Systems, Drexel University Information Technology
- Olimpia Meucci, MD, PhD, Chair, Pharmacology & Physiology
- Jim Sapienza, FACHE, Chief Clinical Officer, Drexel Medicine
- Mitchell Scheiman, OD, PhD, Dean of Research; Director, Graduate Programs, Biomedicine, Salus at Drexel
- Barbara Schindler, MD, Professor, Psychiatry and Pediatrics; Vice Dean Emerita of Educational and Academic Affairs
- Nik Seval, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine
- Aniruddha Singh, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine
- Lauren Sponseller, PhD, OTD, MSOTR/L, Med, Dean, College of Health Sciences, Education and Rehabilitation; Chair, Occupational Therapy Department, Salus at Drexel
- Renee Turchi, MD, MPH, Professor and Academic Chair, Pediatrics
- Jeff Weaver, OD ‘85, MBA, MS, Interim Dean, Pennsylvania College of Optometry
- Kate Yurick, MD, Vice Chair, Anesthesiology, Tower Health
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Co-leads: Drs. Jim Reilly and Kheyandra Lewis
Policies and Procedures Team
Goal:
- Create transparent, equitable, and well-defined criteria that automate and streamline the appointments and promotions pathways.
Members:
- Nitin Bhinot, MD, MPH, Appointments & Promotions Committee Chair, College of Medicine
- Rachael Ditoro, EdD, MSPAS, PA-C, Director, Physician Assistant Program, Salus at Drexel
- Elias El Haddad, PhD, Tenure Chair; Professor, Infectious Diseases & HIV Medicine; MD/PhD Program Director
- Niki Kelley, Associate Dean of Graduate Administration, Operations and Finance
- Ogechukwu Menkiti, MD, incoming Appointments & Promotions Committee Chair, College of Medicine
- Sonia Navas-Martin, PhD, Professor, Microbiology & Immunology
- Amy Ott, PhD, Assistant Professor, Microbiology & Immunology
- Karthikeyan Ranganathan, MD, Assistant Professor, Allegheny Health Network
Ex-officio Members:
- Seema Baranwal, MD, William Maul Measey Chair in Medical Education; Vice Dean of Institutional Effectiveness
- Michele Kutzler, PhD, Associate Dean for Faculty
- Nancy Spector, MD, Senior Vice Dean, Office of Faculty
Community of Educators Team
Goals:
- Establish an environment that promotes excellence in teaching methods, curricula, and instructional design.
- Develop and expand faculty development programming that supports educators to drive innovation and advance scholarship in education.
Members:
- Andy Donato, Jr., MD, MHPE, Professor, Department of Medicine, Tower Health
- Julio Martin Garcia, PhD, Associate Professor, Microbiology & Immunology
- Haviva Goldman, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair of Medicine Education, Neurobiology & Anatomy; Assistant Dean, Phase 1 Curriculum
- Monika Jost, PhD, Director of the Division of Pre-medical and Pre-health Programs
- Nick Kuzma, MD, Associate Professor, Pediatrics
- Kirsten Larson, PhD, Professor, Microbiology & Immunology
- Hannah Mishkin, MD, MS, Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Tower Health
- Kate Yurick, MD, Vice Chair, Anesthesiology, Tower Health
Ex-officio Members:
- Seema Baranwal, MD, William Maul Measey Chair in Medical Education; Vice Dean of Institutional Effectiveness
- Michele Kutzler, PhD, Associate Dean for Faculty
- Nancy Spector, MD, Senior Vice Dean, Office of Faculty
Goals:
- Strengthen support systems and connectivity across Regional Medical Campuses (RMCs) to enhance faculty engagement, recruitment, and retention.
- Broaden the reach and impact of existing leadership/professional development programming across the RMCs to strengthen leadership capacity and foster collaboration across the College’s ecosystem.
Members:
- Linwood R. Haith Jr., MD, Academic Chair, Department of Surgery; Associate Dean of External Affairs
- Rich Hamilton, MD, MBA, Academic Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine
- Alexandra Johnston, DO, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Allegheny Health Network
- Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew, MD, MEd, MPPM, Academic Chair, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
- Danielle Pineda, MD, Designated Institutional Official, AtlantiCare
- Vilmaris Quiñones Cardona, MD, MPH, Associate Professor, Pediatrics
- Shalini Shah, MD ‘05, MPH, Regional Dean, Bayhealth
- Cecilia M. Smith, DO, Interim Academic Chair, Department of Medicine; Associate Dean, College of Medicine at Tower Health
Ex-officio Members:
- Seema Baranwal, MD, William Maul Measey Chair in Medical Education; Vice Dean of Institutional Effectiveness
- Michele Kutzler, PhD, Associate Dean for Faculty
- Nancy Spector, MD, Senior Vice Dean, Office of Faculty
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