Just as the field of medicine continuously evolves to meet the ever-changing needs of patient care, we must also evolve and innovate the way we educate future physicians. MOmentum will build upon a strong, learner-centered foundation to design and implement a state-of-the-art medical education curriculum.
By integrating cutting-edge technology, innovative learning strategies and robust support systems, we are paving the way for a more dynamic, engaging, and effective learning experience. Our goal is to equip our students with the skills, knowledge, and adaptability needed to thrive in an increasingly complex health care environment and deliver patient-centered care with excellence.
We aim to not only prepare students for the challenges of today but to empower them as lifelong learners and compassionate leaders in medicine.
With MOmentum, we are charting a bold path forward in medical education, ensuring that every student has the tools to reach their full potential.
Committee charge
Building on our strong learner-centered foundation, we will design and implement a state-of-the-art medical education curriculum. We aim to optimize learner success by integrating education-enhancing technology, innovative learning strategies, and comprehensive support systems.
Our goal is to ensure that students are fully equipped to excel as physicians, delivering patient-centered care and adapting to the evolving complexities of the health care environment.
Guiding principles
- Provides individualized support of all learners to optimize their personal and professional growth and development
- Grounded in evidence-based educational theory and the science of learning
- Leverage forward-looking teaching modalities and technologies
- Promotes life-long, self-directed learning and critical thinking
- Promotes the use of evidence-based medicine in developing clinical skills that integrate with basic science learning
- Transform the classroom into the laboratory – make the educational activities nonreplicable and invaluable to student learning and mastery of content
- Builds on the success of problem-based learning by augmenting with active learning strategies (case-based learning, TBL, Peer Instruction, flipped classroom)
- Incorporates frequent formative assessments and meaningful feedback
- Shorten the pre-clinical phase to allow for earlier transition to the clerkship phase and career exploration
- Enhance faculty engagement and development
- Restructure summative assessments
Steering Committee
Mark Ellis, MD (Co-Chair)
Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine, Springfield Clinical Campus
Joel Shenker, MD, PhD (Co-Chair)
Associate Dean for Curriculum, Professor of Neurology
Audrey Abeyta, MA
Program Evaluation and Assessment Coordinator, Office of Medical Education
Kristina Aldridge, PhD
Assistant Dean for Accreditation, Associate Professor of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences
Nathan Beucke, MD
Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Dima Dandachi, MD, MPH
Associate Professor of Medicine
Carla Dyer, MD
Professor of Medicine
Bill Folk, PhD
Professor of Biochemistry
Shelly Frazier, DO
Associate Professor of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences
Jason Furrer, PhD
Associate Teaching Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
Mitchell Goldman, MD
Professor of Medicine
Audrey Gruse, BS
M2 student
Stephen Halenda, PhD
Associate Professor of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology
David Haustein, MD, MBA
Associate Dean for Springfield Clinical Campus, Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Colleen Hayden, EdD
Associate Dean for Program Evaluation and Assessment
Laura Henderson Kelley, MD
Associate Dean for Preprofessional Programs, Associate Professor of Medicine
Dena Higbee, EdS, MS
Executive Director of Simulation
Cheryl Hill, PhD
Associate Teaching Professor of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences
Casey Holliday, PhD
Associate Professor of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences
Bruce Horwitz, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Kevin Kane, MD, MPH
Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education, Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Scott Kinkade, MD, EdD
Assistant Dean for Clinical Curriculum, Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Peter Koopman, MD
Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Whitney LeFevre, MD
Assistant Dean for Rural Programs, Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Michael McCullough, MD
Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Women’s Health
Pete Ozias, EdD
Administrator, Office of Medical Education
Luis Polo Parada, PhD
Associate Professor of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology
Willie Shearon, MD
Resident, Anesthesiology
Kristi Smalley, EdD
Academic Assistance Coordinator, Office of Medical Education
Nicole Walker, BS
M3 student, Springfield Clinical Campus
Jill Wiggins, MBA
Director of Student Affairs, Springfield Clinical Campus
Peter Wilden, PhD
Associate Professor of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology
Curriculum Thread Teams
Biomedical Sciences
Jason Furrer, PhD (Co-Chair)
Associate Teaching Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
Cheryl Hill, PhD (Co-Chair)
Associate Teaching Professor of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences
Wacim Benyoucef, BA
M3 student
John Cannon, PhD
Associate Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
Carla Dyer, MD
Professor of Medicine
Shelly Frazier, DO
Associate Professor of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences
Stephen Halenda, PhD
Associate Professor of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology
Casey Holliday, PhD
Associate Professor of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences
Bruce Horwitz, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Ellen Kurkowski, DO
Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine
Teresa Lever, PhD
Professor of Otolaryngology
Michael McCullough, MD
Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Women’s Health
Luis Polo Parada, PhD
Associate Professor of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology
Joel Shenker, MD, PhD
Associate Dean for Curriculum, Professor of Neurology
Alexandria Spurgeon, MD
Resident, Neurology
Professional Formation and Clinical Excellence
Carla Dyer, MD (Co-Chair)
Professor of Medicine
Dena Higbee, EdS, MS (Co-Chair)
Executive Director of Simulation
Carlo Barth, BA, Paramedic
M3 student, Springfield Clinical Campus
Elizabeth Borland, BSW
Lead Clinical Program Coordinator, Springfield Clinical Campus
Clayton Butcher, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Stephen Colbert, MD
Professor of Surgery
Nikki Cronk, PhD
Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Frank DiVincenzo, MD
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine
Mark Ellis, MD
Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine, Springfield Clinical Campus
Kevin Kane, MD, MPH
Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education, Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Jim Koller, MD
Professor of Medicine
Peter Koopman, MD
Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Jana Lee, MS
Director of Rural Scholars Program
Whitney LeFevre, MD
Assistant Dean for Rural Programs, Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Diane Lipscomb, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Springfield Clinical Campus
Natalie Long, MD
Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Nancy Mabe, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Kari Martin, MD
Professor of Dermatology
Kate McGough, BS
M4 student, Columbia campus
Adam Orf, BS
M4 student, Rural Scholar
Chris Sampson, MD
Professor of Emergency Medicine
Joel Shenker, MD, PhD
Associate Dean for Curriculum, Professor of Neurology
Aneesh Tosh, MD
Professor of Pediatrics
Celso Velazquez, MD
Professor of Medicine
Nicole Walker, BS
M3 student, Springfield Clinical Campus
Christine Wilson, DO
Assistant Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Drivers of Health Outcomes
Dima Dandachi, MD, MPH (Co-Chair)
Associate Professor of Medicine
Bruce Horwitz, PhD (Co-Chair)
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Fares Alahdab, MD
Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics, Biostatistics, and Medical Epidemiology and Cardiology
Mohammad Alkhateeb, MD
Resident, Medicine
Lea Brandt, PhD
Professor of Medicine
Megan Coburn, DNP
Assistant Teaching Professor of Nursing
Christopher Hardin, PhD
Professor of Exercise and Nutrition Physiology
Laura Henderson Kelley, MD
Associate Dean for Preprofessional Programs, Associate Professor of Medicine
Whitney LeFevre, MD
Assistant Dean for Rural Programs, Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Diane Lipscomb, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Springfield Clinical Campus
Natalie Long, MD
Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Reiana Mahan, MD
Assistant Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Abdoulie Njai, MD, MPH
Resident, Orthopaedic Surgery
Cody Roberts, DO, MBA
Resident, Medicine
Morgan Shahan, DNP
Associate Teaching Professor of Nursing
Veronica Sievert, MD
Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Lindsay Sorbo, MA, LPC
Behavioral Science Faculty, Springfield Clinical Campus
Crystal Spangler, RD
Registered Dietician, Springfield Clinical Campus
Jeffrey Stein, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine
Scholarly Inquiry and Lifelong Learning
Fares Alahdab, MD (Co-Chair)
Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics, Biostatistics, and Medical Epidemiology and Cardiology
Kristi Smalley, EdD (Co-Chair)
Academic Assistance Coordinator, Office of Medical Education
Jim Stevermer, MD (Co-Chair)
Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Audrey Abeyta, MA
Program Evaluation and Assessment Coordinator, Office of Medical Education
Bill Folk, PhD
Professor of Biochemistry
Maya Greenquist, BS
M2 student
Colleen Hayden, EdD
Associate Dean for Program Evaluation and Assessment
Scott Kinkade, MD, EdD
Assistant Dean for Clinical Curriculum, Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Holistic Student Success
Trish Parsons, PhD (Co-Chair)
Learning Specialist, Office of Medical Education
Jill Wiggins, MBA
Director of Student Affairs, Springfield Clinical Campus (Co-Chair)
Sara Adams, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Kristina Aldridge, PhD
Assistant Dean for Accreditation, Associate Professor of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences
Stephanie Bagby-Stone, MD
Faculty Director of Medical Student Well-Being
Carlo Barth, BA, Paramedic
M3 Student, Springfield Clinical Campus
Nathan Beucke, MD
Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Kristen Deane, MD
Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Audrey Gruse, BS
M2 student
Heather Miles, MEd
Senior Program Manager of Student Support Services, Office of Medical Education
Pete Ozias, EdD
Administrator, Office of Medical Education
Laine Young-Walker, MD
Professor of Psychiatry
