Administrative Accomplishments

During the course of my career I have been fortunate to have served on the faculty of a number of institutions including as founding faculty at two new medical schools and a new pharmacy school. In my roles at these new schools I was directly involved in designing, delivering, and assessing novel pharmacology curricula. Most recently at the University of Texas at Austin, Dell Medical School, I led both the pharmacology thread, directed an accelerated and integrated course, as well as serving as the chair of the scientific foundations committee which oversaw our one-year pre-clinical basic science curriculum. I have served on faculty senate (UCF-College of Medicine), faculty councils (UT-Austin and Dartmouth), IRB (Samford University), and IACUC committees (Sanford-Burnham). My efforts in teaching and administration have resulted in my induction into the University of Texas System Kenneth I. Shine Academy of Health Science Education as a distinguished educator. Externally, I serve as a peer-reviewer for numerous basic science and medical education journals and I serve on the editorial board of Kidney and Blood Pressure Research, Frontiers in Pharmacology, Frontiers in Oncology, and the ASPET journal Pharmacology Research and Perspectives. 

Research Areas

My research is divided between both translational basic science research and medical education research. Translational research efforts are focused on cancer pharmacology and drug development, particularly in regards to colorectal cancer, kidney cancer, and breast cancer. Medical education research interests include the development and assessment of tools and methods to integrate the basic sciences. These have included integrated cases and teaching methods self-learning modules and curricular approaches designed to nest together difficult to learn material in a fun and engaging manner. Most recently I developed an interactive tool, the “Integrated Pharmacology Atlas”, to teach autonomic nervous system pharmacology, physiology, and anatomy (www.pharmacologyworld.com) using competitive grant funding from the American Physiological Society. Other ongoing work includes studying the use of retrieval practice questions as part of formative assessments across curricula, devising statistical models to help predict student success on the USMLE Step1, and assessment of team-dynamics in small group learning. Most recently I published a book on the evidence underlying pedagogical approaches that use technology in health and life science education with Springer-Nature entitled “Technologies in Biomedical and Life Sciences Education: Approaches and Evidence of Efficacy for Learning”.

ASPET Activities

• Division of Pharmacology Education
  • Member
  • Executive Committee (2022-Present)
• Division for Translational and Clinical Pharmacology
  • Member
• Pharmacology Research & Perspectives
  • Editorial Board Member/Reviewing Editor

Other Society Memberships/Activities

• American Physiological Society (APS)
• International Association of Medicinal Science Educators (IAMSE)