The third cohort of the Leadership and Innovation in Academic Medicine (LIAM) program completed an 11-month course to develop faculty leaders by presenting their projects designed to improve academic work or health care at the University of Louisville. LIAM is one of the most popular programs offered by the HSC Office of Faculty Development.

The 25 members of the class of 2019-2020, organized in five teams, outlined plans for improving faculty research productivity, patient access, employee recognition, communication and active learning in July. This was the first LIAM class to include faculty from the Belknap Campus.

The mission of the LIAM program is to develop the next generation of leaders at UofL by teaching them the skills needed first to lead themselves, then lead with others and finally, lead an organization. Faculty members enroll in an 11-month training program that includes regular discussions and the capstone team projects.

“Leadership is a set of skills that you can practice. It’s not something you are born with or not born with, but there is a set of definable skills, and with any skill, if you practice it, you get better at it,” said Gerard Rabalais, M.D., M.H.A., who developed and directs the LIAM program with Staci Saner, M.Ed.

LIAM originally was designed as a program for faculty in the School of Medicine, but has evolved quickly to include faculty members across the university.

“Our five-year goal is for 15 percent of the faculty at the Health Sciences Center campus to complete this program. Once you get to that tipping point, synergy is going to start to kick in,” Rabalais said. “That is the result of the cross-disciplinary relationships that develop, meeting and working with people they would never have worked with before from different departments or across colleges. Now that we have increased interest from faculty on the Belknap Campus, with 16 people completing the program by July 2021, we likely will set the same target for Belknap Campus.”

During the event, the program’s fourth cohort of 40 faculty members was introduced. It is the largest class in the program’s history and includes 11 members from Belknap Campus and 9 from Health Sciences Center schools other than the School of Medicine.

Projects and team members in the LIAM class of 2019-2020:

Improving Faculty Research Productivity:
David Brown, Ph.D., Linda Fuselier, Ph.D., Brandon McCormack, Ph.D., Susan Ryan, Ph.D., Siobhan Smith-Jones, Ph.D.

Patient Access at UofL Physicians:
Jennifer Daily, M.D., Luz Huntington-Moskos, Ph.D., Marija Sasek, D.M.D., Maria Mendoza, M.D., Rodolfo Zamora, M.D.

Employee Recognition:
HimaBindu Dukka, B.D.S., M.S.D., M.P.H., Arpita Lakhotia, M.D., W. David Lohr, M.D., Suzanne McGee, M.D., Michael Sweeney, M.D.

Communication:
Brit Anderson, M.D., Tamer Mohamed, Ph.D., Kimberly Pate, M.D., William Tse, M.D., Ph.D.

Driving Active Learning:
Michael Egger, M.D., James Harrison, D.M.D., Chithra Ram, M.D., Jennifer Stiff, M.D., Tracy VanMeter, M.D., Beverly Williams-Coleman, D.N.P., A.P.R.N., FNP-C

LIAM program class of 2020-2021:

• Jason Gainous, PhD                                              Arts & Sciences
• Kandi Walker, PhD                                                Arts & Sciences
• Regina Roebuck, PhD                                            Arts & Sciences
• Benjamin Mast, PhD, ABPP                                  Arts & Sciences
• Kevin Gawley                                                        Arts & Sciences
• Dawn Heinecken, PhD                                          Arts & Sciences
• Amy Flint, PhD, MEd                                             Education and Human Development
• Douglas Craddock, PhD                                        Education and Human Development
• Andrew McCart, PhD, MBA                                  Education and Human Development
• Ishwanzya Rivers, PhD                                          Education and Human Development
• Brigitte Burpo, PhD, MEd                                     Education and Human Development
• Jill Steinbach-Rankins, PhD                                  Speed School of Engineering
• Matthew Fox, MD                                                 Medicine
• Adam Ross, MD                                                    Medicine
• Ashley Iles, MD                                                     Medicine
• April Herrity, PhD                                                  Medicine
• Beatrice Ugiliweneza, PhD                                   Medicine
• Timothy Ford, DPM                                               Medicine
• Siddharth Shah, MD                                             Medicine
• Becca Hart, MD                                                     Medicine
• Kelly Jackson, MS                                                  Medicine
• Sunnye Mayes, PhD                                              Medicine
• Jeff Meyer, MD                                                     Medicine
• Courtney Smith, PhD                                            Medicine
• Joshua Sparks, MD                                                Medicine
• Rebecca Starr Seal, DO                                         Medicine
• Amanda LeBlanc, PhD                                           Medicine
• Leslie Sherwood, DVM                                          Medicine
• Samuel Carson, MD                                              Medicine
• Clayton Tyler Ellis, MD                                          Medicine
• Kellen Choi, DO                                                     Medicine
• Cynethia Bethel-Jaiteh, DNP, APRN, CPNP, CLC   Nursing
• Muna Hammash, PhD, RN                                    Nursing
• Imelda Wright, PhD, RN, CNOR                            Nursing
• J'Aime Jennings, PhD                                            Public Health and Information Sciences
• Brian Marrillia, DMD                                             Dentistry
• Lavina Myers                                                         Dentistry
• Juhi Bagaitkar, PhD                                               Dentistry
• Gill Diamond, PhD                                                Dentistry
• Ashley King-Tinsley, DMD                                     Dentistry