Professional Enrichment and Growth Grants

2025/2026

AI and Digital Literacy;

Donald Byars, MD | Emergency Medicine
Amount awarded: $4,905
Enroll in two courses in the AI in Healthcare Graduate Certificate Program at ODU

Heather Newton, EdD | Graduate Medical Education
Amount awarded: $4,941
Attend the AMEE International Conference and AI Track for Health Professions Educators pre-conference workshops.

Saad Mussarat, MD | Department of Medicine
Amount awarded: $4,995
Enroll in three Harvard Medical School Certificate in HealthCare Transformation courses

Alastair Thomson, MD | Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology
Amount awarded: $4,354
Attend the Harvard Macy Institute Program for Educators in Health Professions to create an AI-Enhanced Resident Teaching Elective

Lauren Paluch, DMSc, MPA | School of Health Professions, Physician assistant and Doctor of Medical Sciences Programs
Amount awarded: $3,200
Attend the Online Learning Consortium Accelerate Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Literacy

Team Approaches to Education and Research:

PI: Brooke Hooper, MD | Department of Medicine
Team: Salvatore Carbone, Ph.D.; Eva Forgacs-Lonart, Ph.D.
Amount awarded: $12,350
Development of a 4-Year Nutrition Thread for Eastern Virginia Medical School Students

PI: LaConda Fanning, PsyD | Graduate Medical Education
Team: Michael Martyak, MD; Agatha Parks-Savage, EdD; Shane Squires, RN; Valeria Mitchell, RN
Amount awarded: $10,500
Development of a training program: Managing Difficult Conversations with Patience, Families and Colleagues

PI: David Lieb, MD | Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology
Team: Rehan Qayyum, MD; Emily Cunningham, MD; Iulia Kovalenko, MD; Alastair Thomson, MD; Saad Mussarat, MD; Atiq Bhatti, MD; Angela Toepp, MS, Ph.D.; Helen Crompton, Ph.D.
Amount awarded: $12,000
Development of a training program: Integrating AI and Simulation: A Team-Based Model for Faculty Development and Educational Innovation

PI: Ismail El Moudden, Ph.D. | Faculty Affairs and Professional Development
Team: Mohan Dev Pant, PhD; Krzysztof J. Rechowicz, Ph.D.; Philippe J. Giabbanelli, Ph.D.; Hong Qin, Ph.D.; Messaoud Bahoura, PhD; Jose J. Padilla, Ph.D.; Erika Frydenlund, Ph.D.; Christopher J. Lynch, Ph.D.
Amount awarded: $13,500
Development of an advisory group: Expert Contribution Recognition Ecosystem: Performance-Based Support for AI Research Advisory Group

PI: Peter Netland, MD, Ph.D. | Department of Ophthalmology
Team: James D. Lauderdale, Ph.D.; Robert M. Grainger, Ph.D.; Albert Y. Cheung, MD; Patrick Sachs, Ph.D.; Janelle Collins; Michael Schain; Shari Krantz; Susan Wolfe; Kelly Trout, BSN, RN
Amount awarded: $12,000 
Development of an interdisciplinary initiative: Bridging Clinical, Research, and Advocacy Stakeholder Expertise to Transform Education and Research in Aniridia and other Congenital Eye Disorders

PI: Joanne Mendoza, MD | Hospital Pediatrics
Team: Kathryn Colacchio, MD; John Harrington, MD; Colleen Grose, MSN, RN, CPN; Chris Mangum, CSSBB
Amount awarded: $13,500 
Development of a conference: Advancing Healthcare Quality and Safety Through Continuous Learning: Inaugural Multidisciplinary Quality and Safety Conference for ODU/EVMS/CHKD/VHHA

PI: Ronald Flenner, MD | Medical Education
Team: Joshua Edwards, MPH; Chris Mazur; Krzysztof Rechowicz, PhD; Jose Padilla, Ph.D.; Erika Frydenlund, Ph.D.
Amount awarded: $12,000 
Development of a program: Bridging Disciplines: Building a Transdisciplinary Pipeline for Modern Medical Challenges

PI: Spiegel, MD | Psychiatry and Behavioral Health
Team: Renee Morales, MD
Amount awarded: $5,000 
Development of a program: Positive Intelligence (PQ) Program

2024/2025

AI and Digital Literacy:

Aditya Chakraborty, Ph.D. | Public Health (M.P.H.) 
Attend the Joint Statistical Meeting pre-conference workshops and the Bayesian Modeling workshop

Mohan Pant, Ph.D. | Public Health (M.P.H.) 
Complete Deep Learning Specialization, AI, and the AI Specialization online course

Lifang Yang, MD, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor, Microbiology and Molecular Cell Biology
NCI & NIAID-funded bioinformatics workshop: BigCARE 2024 Summer Workshop 

Team Approaches to Education and Research:

Anjeza Cipi, MD |Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine
Emergency Medicine Counsel of Residency Directors (EM-CORD) Residency Administration Fellowship 

John Harrington, MD | Professor, Pediatrics
Small Groups Effective Communication Training and Lola’s Song Workshop through On-Pitch

Matthew Jones, MD | Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine
National Board of Echocardiography (NBE) Examination of Special Competence in Adult Echocardiography (ASCeXAM)

Jondavid Landon, MD | Clinical Instructor, Emergency Medicine
Resuscitative TransEsophageal  Echocardiography (ResusTee) Workshop

Gavin Rogers, MD | Instructor, Emergency Medicine
Resuscitative TransEsophageal  Echocardiography (ResusTee) Workshop

Dorela Shuboni-Mulligan, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor, Pathology and Anatomy
10-day training from Dr. Cirelli and team at the Center for Sleep and Consciousness to learn the NeuroNexus system

Peter Volsky, MD, F.A.C.S. | Assistant Professor, Otolaryngology
American College of Surgeon Division of Education Surgeons as Educators course

Wellness:

Mark Caramore, MD | Assistant Professor, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Provide CME activities and monthly case lunches 

Jennifer Flaherty, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor, Pediatrics
CHKD Mental Health Service Line Faculty Commensality Groups

Hongyun "Tracy" Fu, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor, Pediatrics
Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (PPLM)Get Real Training of the Trainer for the department of Pediatrics

Jennifer Hanrahan, D.O., M.Sc. | Professor, Internal Medicine
Speak by Design personal coaching sessions to help with communication with in the department

Eric Werner, MD | Professor, Pediatrics
Resident and Faculty Commensality Groups for the department of Pediatrics

Funding available: Five to six grants of up to $5,000 each

The integration of AI and digital tools in healthcare presents unprecedented opportunities for enhancing patient care, research capabilities, and educational approaches. To leverage these technologies effectively, a foundational understanding of AI principles and digital competencies is essential for today's healthcare professionals. These initiatives aim to bridge the knowledge gap, ensuring our faculty are well-equipped to lead innovative research, deliver cutting-edge education, and provide the highest standard of technologically-enhanced care.
Scope includes but is not limited to:
•    Specialized training programs in AI applications for clinical decision support
•    Workshops on ethical implementation of AI in healthcare settings
•    Courses in advanced data analysis and visualization techniques
•    Development of AI-enhanced teaching materials for health professions education
•    Training in digital health technologies for remote patient monitoring
•    Skills development in natural language processing for healthcare documentation
•    Learning modules on AI bias recognition and mitigation strategies
•    Professional development in telehealth best practices and technologies
•    Eligibility: Faculty at the rank of Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor of the School of Medicine and School of Health Professions are eligible and encouraged to apply. 

AI and Digital Literacy Application Materials

Funding available: Two to three team grants of $15,000 each
In the dynamic environment of academic medicine, collaborative team approaches to education and research are essential for addressing complex healthcare challenges. This funding stream supports interdisciplinary teams committed to pursuing projects that enhance educational innovation or build new research collaborations.
Note: These grants support team development rather than direct research costs (reagents, equipment, personnel, etc.). The team PI must be a faculty member from the School of Medicine or School of Health Professions, but team members may include faculty from other ODU colleges or schools.
Example projects include:
•    Curriculum development/innovation across medical, biomedical and allied health programs
•    Creation of faculty learning communities focused on specific teaching methodologies
•    Establishment of research interest groups in emerging areas like precision medicine
•    Development of team-based clinical reasoning educational frameworks
•    Organization of faculty peer-observation and coaching programs
•    Organization of symposia or think tanks to elevate institutional visibility in translational research areas
•    Creation of collaborative networks for patient-centered outcomes research
Allowable expenses include:
•    Team retreat facilitation and planning costs
•    Travel for team members to visit exemplar programs or collaborators
•    Consultants or external advisors with specialized expertise
•    Technology tools to support virtual collaboration
•    Symposia or workshop organization expenses
Eligibility: Faculty at the rank of Associate Professor, or Professor of the School of Medicine and School of Health Professions are eligible and encouraged to apply. Other team members may include faculty at any rank from ODU schools/colleges, advanced learners (PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, residents and clinical fellows).

Team Approaches to Excellence in Educationand Research Application Materials