Faculty Day: A Celebration of Service & Scholarship
By Jennifer PersonsThe University-wide event recognized faculty accomplishments, inside and beyond the classroom.
Hundreds of Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) faculty were recognized for their achievements during the University’s annual Faculty Day, held May 6 on the Worcester campus. Sponsored by the Office of the Provost, the event provided an opportunity for faculty across campuses to connect, share their work, and celebrate academic accomplishments from the past year.
As part of the celebration, University leadership presented several awards recognizing outstanding contributions to teaching, research, and mentorship across MCPHS.
Faculty Day also featured the annual Scholarship Showcase, where participants presented innovative research spanning a range of topics—from comic book reading habits to robotic navigation in lung ultrasound and genetic causes of vision loss.
Dr. Anthony Lacina, Assistant Professor of Health Sciences, and Craig Hricz, Associate Professor of Physician Assistant Studies, were honored with the Trustees’ Award for Teaching Excellence. This award is presented annually to two faculty members—one from the Boston campus and one from the Worcester or Manchester campuses—who demonstrate exceptional dedication to teaching.
Dr. Bathri Vajravelu, Associate Professor of Physician Assistant Studies, received the Gail P. and Edward A. Bucher Trustees’ Award for Excellence in Faculty-Student Research Collaboration, recognizing outstanding joint research between faculty and students. Dr. Vajravelu was also named the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Research Faculty Mentor Award recipient.
Dr. Crystal Ellis, Associate Professor of Biology, was selected as the inaugural recipient of the Center for Research and Discovery’s Research Mentor of the Year Award. Dr. Matthew Metcalf, Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, received honorable mention. This community-nominated award highlights exceptional commitment to mentoring students through research.
In addition to their teaching responsibilities, MCPHS faculty engage in scholarship that advances their respective fields. Four faculty-led projects received Faculty Scholarship Awards during the event, recognizing excellence in research and scholarly contributions. The recipients are:
- Scholarship of Integration: Saravanan Subramaniam, PhD, School of Pharmacy—Boston
"Challenging the notion of endothelial infection by SARS-CoV-2: insights from the current scientific evidence.” - Scholarship of Teaching & Learning: Bertha Lee, PhD, RN, Katherine Adams, DNP, RN, CSCS, CHSE, School of Nursing
“Mapping competencies and recommendations for educating nursing students (CARES): Reviewing palliative care in a baccalaureate nursing program (Featured article).” - Scholarship of Discovery or Creative Work: Brian Rittenhouse, PhD, Tewodros Eguale, MD, PhD, MS, Alissa Segal, PharmD, RPh, CDCES, CDTC, FCCP, School of Pharmacy—Boston, Joanne Doucette, MS, MSLIS, Library & Learning Resources
“Metformin in the Diabetes Prevention Program 3-year trial: The cost-effectiveness that never was.” - Scholarship of Application: Roseann Donnelly, PharmD, FCCP, BCPS, School of Pharmacy—Boston
"Decoding pharmacogenomic test interpretation and application to patient care.”
After the Scholarship Showcase, nine additional projects were recognized with awards:
Scholarship of Application
- Evelyn Graeff, DHSc, MEd, Nancy Hurwitz, DScPAS, PAC, School of Physician Assistant Studies—Boston: “A Second Successful Season of Teaching DEI with a Panel Approach”
- Matthew Konieczka, PhD, MA, Kate Bresonis, PhD, Susan Gorman, PhD, School of Arts and Sciences: “Prioritizing the Critical Role of Loop-Closing in Making General Education Visible”
Scholarship of Discovery & Creative Work
- Mahesh Shivanna, PhD, MS, FAAO, School of Optometry: “Consequences of Knockdown of Retinitis Pigmentosa GTPase Regulator (RPGR) Gene on Retinal Photoreceptors and Glial Cells”
- Jeffrey Hill, MSc, ACS, FASE, AACC, School of Medical Imaging and Therapeutics: “Guiding the Last Centimeter: Novel Anatomy-Aware Probe Servoing for Standardized Imaging Plane Navigation in Robotic Lung Ultrasound”
Scholarship of Integration
- A David Lewis, PhD, School of Arts and Sciences: “The Shape of Comic Book Reading”
Scholarship of Teaching & Learning
- Matthew J. McDonald, DScPAS, MS, PA-C, Lisa Riley, MPH, PA-C, DFAAPA, Bathri Vajravelu, PhD, MBBS, MPH, School of Physician Assistant Studies: “Palpation Lab Enhances Clinical Readiness: Three Years of Data on the Impact of a Hands-On Palpation Lab for PA Students”
- Karen Britt, DNP, RN, MEDSURG-BC, CNE, Amanda M. Morrill, PharmD, BCPS, Cheryl Abel, Cheryl Abel, PharmD, CLC, Cheryl Babin, Cheryl Babin, PT, DHS, MHA, C.A.G.S., FNAP, Karen Lenehan, Kaelen Dunican, Kaelen Dunican, PharmD, Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education: “Opioid Use Disorder (OUD): An Interprofessional Approach to Educating Future Pharmacists about this Public Health Challenge”
Assessment
- Janna Kucharski Howard, PT, DPT, MSM, Cheryl Babin, PT, DHS, MHA, C.A.G.S., FNAP: “Using Practical Exams to Determine Student Readiness for Full-Time Clinical Education Experience”
Interprofessional Practice & Education
- Evelyn Graeff, DHSc, MEd, Bertha Lee, PhD, RN, Matthew Machado, PharmD, Carolyn Hall, PharmD, BCPS, Rita Morelli, PharmD, BSP, BCACP, Nancy Stern, RPh, BA, BS, Yulia Murray, PharmD, BCPS, Jennifer Prisco, PharmD, RPh, BS: “Integrating team objective structured clinical encounters (TOSCEs) utilizing standardized patients to evaluate team-readiness and clinical-readiness”
Scholarship Showcase Award Recipients
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