The BSOM Office of Faculty Development is now the
BSOM Office of
Faculty Affairs & Leadership Development
The Office of Faculty Affairs and Leadership Development (OFALD) promotes excellence in medical education at ECU’s Brody School of Medicine through the professional and leadership development of faculty in all their roles – teachers, scholars, researchers, clinicians, scientists and administrators – and throughout the lifecycle of their career, from onboarding to retirement.
The various programs held by The Office of Faculty Affairs and Leadership Development or offered in collaboration with other ECU offices include programming on teaching and assessment, wellness, career development, research and writing support and reappointment, tenure & promotion. We facilitate the on-boarding process through New Faculty Orientation and one-on-one entrance interviews for new faculty. We run a yearly junior faculty mentoring program (Mentoring Advice Program), a book club and programming for Medical Education Day. We facilitate the Master Educator Award process and provide support for nomination/application to other University and non-university award processes. We celebrate faculty through our quarterly newsletter, our monthly Above and Beyond Spotlight and our social media.
We provide support in resolving faculty inquiries and concerns, and we provide support for recruitment and retention of excellent faculty.
For departing faculty, we offer an exit interview. Our office also supports teaching opportunities for retired physicians.
The Office of Faculty Affairs and Leadership Development also promotes excellence in medical education at ECU’s Brody School of Medicine through the professional and leadership development of staff, students, and administrators.
Visit The Office of Faculty Affairs and Leadership Development Website
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Mentoring Advice Program
2021 - 2022
The 2021 - 22 Mentoring Advice Program (MAP) cohort kicked off in August with 13 mentors and 13 mentees.
In 2019, the OFALD initiated the Mentoring Advice Program (MAP) to promote the career development and advancement of junior faculty at the assistant professor level at Brody School of Medicine through a program that is tailored to their needs. The objectives of the program are to support and retain junior female and URM faculty; therefore, priority is given to female and URM with accommodations to other junior faculty if there is room.
MAP provides mentees workshop programming on career development and research topics from August through May. Junior mentee participants in the program are paired with mentors.
MAP participants are required to complete a project as part of their participation in the program.
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Caste Book Club
The Office of Diversity Affairs and The Office of Faculty Affairs and Leadership Development have teamed up to co-facilitate a book club, choosing selections related to diversity, equity and inclusion topics. The first selection is Isabel Wilkerson's Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. The fall cohort includes 11 members, including co-facilitators Irma Corral, PhD, MPH and Allison Flowers, MAEd.
The book club is meeting virtually via the Teams application and meets three times (Intro - Part 2; Part 3 - Part 5; Part 6 - Epilogue) to discuss the book. A discussion guide created by the OFALD is used as a starting point for discussions. Several members of the group are working to make changes at the medical school based on ideas sparked at the book club meetings.
“I was very excited to see the Caste Book Club because I had read the book, but had not had the chance to digest it with others. I have enjoyed the thoughtful and insightful discussion of the concerns raised in the book. It was really nice to learn from other people’s experiences. It was clear how the book resonated with so many. I look forward to future book clubs and being able to share with my colleagues.”
Dr. Karlene Cunningham
We are currently accepting our next cohort of the Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents Book Club. See flyer near the end of this newsletter for more information.
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Koch and Koster's NIH-funded Research
Research in the Koster laboratory investigates the pathological mechanisms that underlie skin and cornea fragility in patients affected by the TP63-related ectodermal dysplasias, AEC and EEC. In collaboration with the Koch laboratory, her laboratory develops and analyzes in vitro and in vivo models to identify cell and molecular defects resulting from TP63 mutations.
"Our group uses a two-pronged approach to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for skin and cornea fragility. First, we have generated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) from patients affected by AEC or EEC. We differentiate these iPSC and their Crispr/Cas gene-corrected counterparts into either epidermal keratinocytes or limbal stem cells (the stem cells of the cornea). These conisogenic cells are then used for mechanistic studies aimed at identifying underlying defects." Dr. Maranke Koster
In addition to this in vitro approach, we are generating mice in which epidermal and limbal stem cells are transduced with mutant TP63 constructs in utero. These models enable us to investigate the function of mutant TP63 proteins in the complexity of an in vivo environment. Collectively, these models will enable us to dissect the pathological mechanisms underlying tissue fragility in AEC and EEC and may ultimately lead to the development of therapeutic strategies for AEC and EEC patients.
This work is currently funded by an R01 from NIH/NIAMS and an R21 from NIH/NEI to Drs. Maranke Koster and Peter Koch.
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"What to Expect" Student Programming
Brody School of Medicine students Simone Boney, Merdi Lutete, Toni Madugu and Emmanuella Mensah collaborated to create a tri-fold pamphlet for the family and other support persons of the current M1 students and a digital manual for all BSOM students.
The project, "What to Expect: when your loved one gets accepted to the Brody School of Medicine," was born out of a previous book club facilitated by OFALD's Allison Flowers in which Dr. Kori Brewer and Merdi Lutete took part. Brewer, Flowers and Lutete engaged in conversations based around The Privileged Poor author Abraham Jack's assertion that students can be more prepared and successful if their home support systems are provided with information about what the school experience will entail and what role the support persons can take to increase the educational success of their loved one.
Lutete explains why she joined the project:
"The Privileged Poor book club exposed me to some of the challenges sometimes faced by students of poor economic backgrounds or resources. These challenges vary with examples such as knowledge in seeking opportunities, maximizing networks of professors for professional development, etc. These challenges and many more factored into my decision of joining this project which opens the door to friends and family members to learn and understand the journey that their students are embarking on while in medical school."
Brewer and Flowers reached out to the Brody I Am First (A community of First Generation Medical Students) members to join the initiative and then served as advisors and editors throughout the process. The students, led by Mensah, created the materials. ECU Creative Services and ECU Printing and Graphics also assisted.
Emmanuella Mensah reflects on the project:
"As a first-generation immigrant and medical student, I have a passion to serve communities that are often overlooked. When I was approached with this idea, it was a no-brainer for me to wholeheartedly dive into finding the best ways to communicate what we go through as students to our loved ones. Having a resource like this at the beginning of my journey would have given my family a much better understanding of what to expect instead of being surprised along the way with me. I am excited to see how this will benefit those here and those to come. Being a part of this project has lain the foundation for me to identify and create resources for communities that need help, and I am grateful for the team who worked hard for it all to come together."
A brochure was mailed out to the permanent address on file for each M1, and each M1 who has an additional address they wish to send to will be provided with another brochure/envelope to mail. Brochures are also available in the Brody Office of Student Affairs, Office of Admissions and Office of Student Development and Academic Counseling.
A link to the digital manual will be sent out to all students and is available to view here.
The next phase of this project will be the creation of a short video called "A Day in the Life of a Brody Student."
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Diversity & Inclusion
Research & Scholarship Award
Dr. Linda May, interim department chair, associate professor in Foundational Science and Research and adjunct faculty in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Nancy Winterbauer, associate professor in Public Health and Dr. Jim deVente, associate professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology received the Diversity and Inclusion Research and Scholarship (DIRS) award for the project titled “Developing Participatory-Designed Tools to Improve Health Behaviors among Black Pregnant and Postpartum Women in Rural Communities.”
New evidence from our lab demonstrates the effectiveness of physical activity interventions to improve maternal and child health and potentially attenuate racial disparities. The researchers found that although rural NC communities lack many resources to address barriers and improve health outcomes for pregnant women and children, faith-based organizations are a common strength within their communities. However, they note that the lack of programs utilizing community churches for increasing education and healthy behaviors during pregnancy is a lost opportunity to improve maternal and child health and decrease health disparities.
Dr. May explains the research need:
"Research consistently demonstrates racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities of health outcomes between people from urban versus rural locations, especially women and children. Despite efforts to minimize racial/ethnic disparities, adverse pregnancy outcomes are higher for Non-Hispanic Black (NHB) pregnant women."
Therefore, the proposed research will capitalize on the opportunity to improve maternal and child health and reduce racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities by leveraging new and accessible health-based technology, as well as the physical and social church infrastructure to promote engagement in healthy behaviors during and after pregnancy. The researchers will be recruiting for this study from October 2021 until June 2022 and will focus on rural communities and recruit via local churches with a focus on black women.
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Wooten Family Initiative Grant
The Wooten Family Initiative Grant , a joint project between Dr. Tonya Zeczycki, assistant professor, and Dr. John Cavanagh, professor and chair, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, focuses on developing alternative therapeutic strategies for the treatment of Parkinson's Disease (PD), namely by reducing or preventing the formation of toxic α-synuclein oligomers at the onset of the disease.
More than 10 million people worldwide are currently living with Parkinson’s disease (PD), and within the US alone, the projected prevalence of PD in the next 15 years will exceed 1.6 million people. There is no cure for PD, and current therapeutic strategies targeting the late stages of the disease have been largely unsuccessful.
"Our objective for the Wooten Family Initiative Grant is two-fold: to begin exploring a potential avenue of therapeutic development focused on prevention of PD in its early stages and to better understand the fundamental mechanisms initiating PD. We expect that the successful completion of this project will not only provide fundamental mechanistic insight into the initiation and progression of PD, but also afford the foundation for the development of broadly applicable, alternative therapeutic strategies for its treatment and the treatment of other neurodegenerative diseases." Dr. Tonya Zeczycki
The underlying cause of neuronal dysfunction associated with PD is the accumulation of toxic α-synuclein oligomers and aggregates. Recent research shows that long before motor and cognitive symptoms appear, α-synuclein oligomerization and aggregation in the gut contribute to PD pathogenesis. Amyloid proteins produced by gut bacteria is proposed to exacerbate PD pathologies by promoting the formation of toxic α-synuclein oligomers. Zeczycki and Cavanagh proposed in the Wooten Family Grant Initiative that by reducing or preventing the production of bacterial amyloids in the gut, there can be a significant impact on slowing or preventing the onset of PD pathologies in the brain.
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OFALD
Above and Beyond Spotlights
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Professional Development & Grant Opportunities
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Office for Faculty Excellence
Grant Writing Series
To attend any or all sessions from intro to grantmaking to proposals, reviewers, eTRACS, funding and more,
register HERE.
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Activate your FREE membership to the
National Center for Faculty Dev & Diversity
The National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD) has on-demand access to mentoring, tools and support for faculty. Need to activate your free membership?
1) Go to http://www.FacultyDiversity.org/Join
2) Choose your institution from the drop-down menu.
3) Select “Activate my Membership”
4) Complete the registration form using your ecu.edu email address (i.e. @ecu.edu)
5) Go to your ecu.edu email to find a confirmation email. Click “Activate Account” in the confirmation email
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Grant Opportunities
Brody Brothers Endowment Fund
Call for Proposals
The Principal Investigator or Co-PIs must have a full-time primary faculty appointment in BSOM.
• Interdisciplinary collaborative projects involving investigators from different departments are encouraged but not required.
• Projects should be in the areas of cancer, diabetes and obesity, cardiovascular disease or other prevalent health problems found in eastern North Carolina. • Application submission deadline is 5pm on October 15, 2021.
• All applications should be submitted as a single PDF document to the Office of Research & Graduate Studies via email to BSOM-Research@ecu.edu
• The term of the project shall be for 12-months. Under extenuating circumstances, a one-time, no-cost extension may be requested. All requests are considered by the Stewardship Committee of the Brody Brothers Endowment Fund.
• The application should describe how the Brody Brothers Award will lead to larger federal funding.
Proposals will be reviewed initially by a faculty review committee, and a prioritized list of proposals will be provided to the Stewardship Committee of the Brody Brothers Endowment Fund for final consideration. Proposals should include the medical/scientific significance of the proposed research, the specific aims of the project, the feasibility of collecting sufficient data samples to complete the research within the specific grant term, the potential for future research grants/projects and a proposed budget and justification. Additional information may be required after initial review.
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2022/2023 Teaching Grant Proposals
The Teaching Grants Committee is pleased to announce a call for 2022/2023 Teaching Grant proposals.
The committee has access to at least $70,000 pool of funds from which it may fund roughly 4-8 proposals. Full time tenured, tenure-track, and fixed-term faculty members from both Academic Affairs and Health Sciences are eligible to apply for these grants. The purpose of these grants is to support new innovative and/or creative teaching approaches with aims to improve instruction at the University.
Proposal guidelines are attached and available in both formats online here. Included in the proposal guidelines are the application, evaluation criteria, submission instructions, and reports due following funding. The submission deadline is 5:00 pm on Monday, November 8, 2021. The proposal Review Packet and a separate signature form/ checklist should be submitted by the deadline electronically by sending them to facultysenate@ecu.edu. Progress and/or Summative reports on past funded grants must be submitted prior to another grant submission. If unsure if past reports have been submitted, you may check the listing of previously funded grants online here.
Please direct any questions to Associate Professor Armin Krishnan, Chair of the Teaching Grants Committee at krishnana@ecu.edu.
Visit The Office of Faculty Affairs and Leadership Development Website
Credits:
Credits: Cover photo, MAP and Book Club collages, MAP table and Above & Beyond Spotlights: Nora Brooks; What to Expect Brochure & Manual: Simone Boney, Merdi Lutete, Toni Madugu and Emmanuella Mensah; Book Club flyer: Allison Flowers; All other photos courtesy of and used with permission by ECU Photos/ECU Communications.