Deans of the School of Medicine
Stephen Ray Mitchell, MD, MACP, FAAP, FACR
Irma Frank, DDS
Princy Kumar, MD
Russell Wall, MD
Joy P. Williams
James F. Duffy, SJ, MD
Diana M. Kassar
Jett McCann, MS
Jamie S. Padmore, MSc
Steven Schwartz, MD
Shyrl Sistrunk, MD
Peggy Weissinger, EdD
Linda Gwinn
Cameron Jones, MSc
Eileen Moore, MD
David Pollock
Brandon C. Schneider
David Taylor, MEd
Stephen Ray Mitchell, MD, MACP, FAAP, FACR
A Dreyfuss National Merit Scholar at the University of North Carolina, Dr. Mitchell completed training and certification in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the North Carolina Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill. He completed Rheumatology subspecialty training at Georgetown University.
In 1988, he accepted a faculty position to provide rheumatology teaching and service in adultand pediatric rheumatology at Georgetown University Hospital, where he opened the Childhood Arthritis Center. He served as Residency Program Director in Internal Medicine from 1992 to 1999 and initiated an innovative Medicine Pediatric Residency at Georgetown in partnership with Kaiser Permanente in 1996 under the sponsorship of Partnerships for Quality Education and the Pew Charitable trusts. He has served on the Council and Secretary Treasurer of the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine (APDIM) from 1996-2002. He served as Associate Dean for Clinical Curriculum at Georgetown University School of Medicine from 1998-2000 and as Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 2000 until May 2002. He currently serves as the Joseph Butenas Professor of and Dean of Medical Education at Georgetown.
Dr. Mitchell has been honored with multiple Golden Apple awards and has been inducted then into the Golden Orchard twice for medical student education. He has received the Kaiser Permanente Award from the faculty for the outstanding Clinical Teacher in the medical center. Dr. Mitchell has received every residency teaching award in the Department of Medicine, including induction into the Sol Katz Society. He was awarded a Laureate Award from the Washington Metropolitan Chapter of the American College of Physicians/American Society of Internal Medicine in 2002. In 2004, he was inducted into Mastership of the College, the highest honor bestowed only on 600 living members of the 150,000 member organization.
Dr. Mitchell completed the Stanford Faculty development program in Clinical Teaching in 1994 and has delivered that clinical teaching model in many venues around the country. In 1996 he completed the Harvard Macy Institute as Clinician Educator and in 2000 completed the Leaders course. In 2005 he hosted the third reunion of Harvard Macy Educators in Washington, DC in an international conference on “a Global View of Medical Education.”
CURRENT WORK:
The school remains vigorous with over 10,000 annual applicants to seat a class of 190 making it one of most selective schoosl in the US, and placing 85% of students into first or second choices and 40% into top quarter USNEWS programs. He has developed a competitive faculty development grant program for curricular innovation that funds faculty members with $25,000 annually in salary support and direct costs for curricular innovations. The CIRCLE (Curricular Innovation, Research and Creativity in the Learning Environment) grant program has entered its seventh year and funded a total of 26 faculty members out of nearly 90 applicants in a peer reviewed, highly competitive process.
This past year the program has been joined by a Hospital Funded STAIR grant program (Student Teaching And Innovation by Residents and Fellows) which is also administered by the Dean’s office. In addition, the process of curricular integration has been advanced with the creation and opening in August 2004 of a new “Integrated Learning Center” that incorporates a standard Patient program, and Clinical Skills center centrally in a seminar based teaching facility for pre-clinical and clinical science education. These rooms allow use of the Clinical Exam rooms for teaching clinical skills using projection from otolarrngology, ophthalmology, and video-colposcopy to the surrounding seminar rooms.
In addition, we have endowed the W. Proctor Harvey Center for excellence in Clinical Teaching using FM transmission to project live, binaural auscultation of the cardiac exam from teaching patients in the clinical skills center to learners in surrounding small group rooms. It will also house the CAMELOTT project, using full clinical simulation of disease management modules around high impact diseases, including Electronic Health Records and E-prescribing for standard patients. Building on the Jesuit concept of cura personalis (care of the whole person) the school also continues to build a curriculum rich in ethics teaching, recognition of the value of a patient’s spirituality, and a unique required curriculum in advocacy for those patients.
Irma Frank, DDS
Dr. Irma Frank serves as the Senior Associate Dean for International Programs at Georgetown University Medical School. She chairs the International Programs Committee, which oversees all Medical School International Programs.
Dr. Frank is a graduate of the Javeriana University in Bogota, Colombia, S.A. She received Pediatric Dentistry training at Harvard School of Dental Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts, and training in Cleft Palate at Tufts University. Dr. Frank’s career with Georgetown began over twenty five years ago as a professor of Pediatric Dentistry in the Georgetown University School of Dentistry. With the closing of the Dental School, Dr. Frank assumed her current duties of personally directing the Medical School’s international electives through which first and fourth year medical students are sent to Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe for practical experiences with academic supervision.
During her time at Georgetown, Dr. Frank has actively served on many projects and committees. She was one of the initiators of the NASA Telecommunications Project for Distance Education, which linked Georgetown with universities in Latin America. The project carried out many programs in medicine, business, law and political science. Dr. Frank also serves as Consultant for International Programs in the Office for Federal Relations at Georgetown University, and has been a member of the Medical School Admission Interview Committee, Georgetown’s Distance Education Initiative Committee, the Committee for Education Abroad Risk Assessment, the International Initiatives Committee, the Arrupe Scholarship Committee, and the Georgetown Global Initiatives Committee. Dr. Irma Frank has been a member of the American Dental Association, the American Society of Dentistry for Children, Pan American Medical Society, American Association of Dental Schools, Mid- Atlantic Society of Pediatric Dentistry, Metropolitan Society of Pediatric Dentistry, American Academy of Pedodontics, and the International Health Medical Education Consortium. She has served on the Board of Directors of the International Life Sciences Institute, the Xaveriana Professional Association, and the Victoria and Albert Gildred Foundation for Health and Education in Latin America. She is also a board member of the Santa Fe de Bogota Foundation for Health and Education in Latin America. Dr. Frank was elected to the Omicron Kappa Upsilon Honorary Dental Society. She received Georgetown University’s Silver Medal for services to the Medical Center. Dr. Frank was also the recipient of the highest honors of “Orden de Comendador” and “Orden de Dama” from Javeriana University. She has received the Founder’s Day Award, and has also received awards in recognition of excellence for her contribution to international medical cooperation from the Pan American Medical Society, Salvador University, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the University of Santa Amaro, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Princy Kumar, MD
Dr. Princy Kumar serves as the Senior Associate Dean for Students at the School of Medicine, and has held this position since 2000. In this role, she mentors students with a wide variety of academic interests, and also meets with students facing challenges or concerns about health, well-being, or personal issues impacting their academic performance. In addition, she is the Chief of Infectious Diseases at Georgetown University Hospital, the Vice Chair of the Department of Medicine, and a Professor of Medicine, and Microbiology. Dr. Kumar received her medical degree at Kasturba Medical College in India, and completed her residency at Englewood Hospital in New Jersey. Dr Kumar trained as a Fellow in the Department of Infectious Diseases at Georgetown University Hospital, and currently serves as the director of that fellowship program. She has a broad research and scholarly portfolio, and serves as the principal investigator, AIDS Clinical Trials Group for National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases at Georgetown University Medical Center. Her public service work includes serving as consultant to the FDA’s anti-viral drugs committee, and a consultant to the Peace Corps. Dr Kumar lives in Potomac, MD with her husband, daughter, and son.
Russell Wall, MD
Russell T. Wall, MD, serves as the Senior Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Services at Georgetown University School of Medicine. He served as Chairman of the Committee in
Admissions for 5 years prior to becoming Associate Dean. He is a Professor of Anesthesiology and Pharmacology in the School of Medicine. He is Vice-Chairman and Program Director in the Department of Anesthesiology at Georgetown University Hospital. He has received over 20 Golden Apple Teaching Award nominations from the student body of the School of Medicine and is a member of the Golden Apple Orchard, reserved for faculty who have won 3 or more Golden Apple Awards. He is a member of the Magic Society of Outstanding Teachers at Georgetown and is a member of the national Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He is a member of the Board of Directors at Georgetown University Hospital. Dr. Wall has been a Board Examiner for the American Board of Anesthesiology for over 20 years and has been a Visiting Professor at over 25 universities in the US, lecturing on anesthesia for endocrine diseases. He has authored or co-authored a number of publications and book chapters on various anesthesia topics.
Joy P. Williams
Joy Williams is the Senior Associate Dean for Students and Special Programs and the Director of the Office of Minority Student Development and Special Programs, the Georgetown Experimental Medical Studies (GEMS) Program, and the Greater Washington Metropolitan Area Junior Science and Humanities Symposium. She currently serves as the Team Leader for Eastern Senior High School Health and Medical Science Academy’s Service Learning Project and on the Advisory Committee for the National Institutes of Health SciLife Program . Employing a variety of strategies, all of these programs share the common goal of developing the capability of minority and on Student Affairs and the AAMC Committee on Diversity Affairs. She is the Liaison to the AAMC Careers in Medicine Program and contributed to that program’s development as a member of its Advisory Committee. In November 2009 she was invited to join a small working group to explore possibilities for other disadvantaged students to excel in science and math and prepare for careers in medicine. While at Georgetown, Dean Williams has served as the principal investigator and program director of numerous training programs for high school, premedical, post-baccalaureate and medical students. She serves on the GEMS Admissions Committee and the GEMS Academic Advisory Committee and represents the school of medicine in the Association of American Medical Colleges’ (AAMC) Group including measures of integrity, dependability, empathy and other personal characteristics on the next version of the MCAT. Joy Williams oversees and coordinates the School of Medicine’s Pre-Clinical Advising Program and serves as one of the pre-clinical advisors. Pre-clinical advisors provide advice and counsel for medical students primarily during their first two years of medical studies and as /desired thereafter. Prior to joining the faculty of the Department of Family Medicine in 1979, Joy Williams was instrumental in the development of outreach and education programs under the sponsorship of the League of Women Voters Education Fund and the Office of Economic Opportunity. Dean Williams is a graduate of the University of Chicago and has three children and four grandchildren. Her hobbies include organic gardening, quilting and hand weaving.
James F. Duffy, SJ, MD
Fr./Dr. James F Duffy, SJ, MD is a board certified internist that has recently joined the Office of Medical Education. A former graduate of both the Georgetown University School of Medicine (M’92) and the Internal Medicine Residency Program (R’00) at Georgetown University Hospital, Fr. Duffy has returned to the Georgetown University School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine on the Medical Educator Track. As an HPSP recipient in the US Navy Medical Corps, Fr Duffy served for three years as an Undersea Medical Officer for the USS Simon Lake (AS-33), homeported in La Maddalena, Sardegna. Throughout his Jesuit formation, he acquired an M.A. in Health Care Ethics from Loyola University in Chicago, IL and an M.Div. from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley in Berkeley, CA, while continuing to practice Internal Medicine in the inner city health care setting. In addition to his administrative duties as the Assistant Dean of Clinical Education, Fr Duffy is actively involved in teaching Clinical Ethics Rounds for M3’s, Physical Diagnosis I/II, and Ambulatory Care at the Spanish Catholic Center. He routinely serves on the Ethics Consultation Service for Georgetown University Hospital and the 10 PM Dahlgren Chapel Mass schedule for the University.
Faculty Web Page: http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/duffyj/
Diana Kassar
Diana Kassar, a native Washingtonian, received her undergraduate degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in accounting, from The George Washington University. She has been working for Georgetown University for the past 14 years and was recently appointed Associate Dean for Finance and Administration. The Office of Finance and Administration is responsible for managing the School of Medicine finances and budget, and providing operational support to the Deans and managers in carrying out the mission of the school.
Jett McCann, MS
Dean McCann has a BA from Elon College, an MS in Library/Information Science from the University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill, and holds a certificate in knowledge management [CKM]. He has been a Distinguished Member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals since its creation in 1988. In addition to running the research/public library at McMurdo Station, Antarctica while on active duty in the Navy, over a 30 year academic health sciences library career he has held faculty / library management positions at East Carolina University, the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, the Medical College of Georgia and the Medical University of South Carolina. Additionally, he worked for seven years as an executive with EBSCO Information Services, at their international offices in Birmingham. He currently serves on the Committee on Medical Education and the Committee on Student Life, as well as a PreClinical Adviser to 10 first year, 10 second year, and 10 third year medical students.
Jamie Padmore, MSc
Jamie S. Padmore, MSHA, serves as the Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Eeducation(GME) and Educational Scholarship at Georgetown University School of Medicine. In addition, she is an adjunct associate professor in the department of surgery at GUMC. Having served as assistant vice president for academic affairs at MedStar Health since 2002, Padmore was recently promoted to vice president for academic affairs.
Dean Padmore works to strengthen the graduate curriculum, as well as resident teaching, as well as works with the academic training programs to develop innovative GME curricula for MedStar’s 1,000+ residents and fellows at its seven teaching hospitals, including Georgetown University Hospital. MedStar Health is the clinical partner for GUMC. Moving forward, Padmore will mentor the Pellegrini Scholars, an endowed group of medical students who conduct research projects in clinical quality improvement and patient safety.
Steven Schwartz, MD
Dr. Schwartz serves as the first Associate Dean for Informatics in the Office of Medical Education at the Georgetown University School of Medicine since 2009. He is an Associate Professor and former Director of Predoctoral Education in the Department of Family Medicine. He joined the faculty in 1998 and became Assistant Predoctoral Director and Clerkship Director in 1999. He remains an active teacher in all 4 years of the medical school curriculum. He has been nominated for 3 Golden Apple Teaching award nominations and won one and has been nominated for the Estelle Ramsey Mentorship award by the Georgetown University Women in Medicine.
The role of the Associate Dean for informatics is to:
• Develop and integrate clinical informatics into the School of Medicine curriculum
• Identify needs and develop informatics solutions for the School of Medicine administrative functions
• Support student driven informatics initiatives
• Serve as liaison for the School of Medicine for collaborative informatics projects
His academic interests include, medical error reduction and medical informatics particularly the use of handheld computers in clinical practice and education. He was a leader in establishing a handheld computer (PDA) requirement in the Medical school in 2004, and has lectured nationally on the use of PDA in clinical medical practice. Dr. Schwarz divides his time between his academic duties and his private group practice Potomac Physician Associates, PC where he serves as an officer on the on the Board of Directors and leads their EMR initiatives. He is also the Chief Medical Advisor to Human Science Inc. developer of PatientCarenet a solutions to improve inter physician communication through technology. Additionally, he serves on several advisory committees for institutional and private companies involved with medical information technologies and electronic prescribing. He has additional interest in Complementary and Alternative Medicine. He completed Mind-Body-Spirit Medicine Professional Training and Advanced professional training in 2002. In addition to leading Mini-Body Skills groups for students, he has lectured at the Nation Capital Conference Board Review in Washington, DC on this topic. Dr. Schwartz graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine and completed his Family Practice residency training in the Georgetown/Providence Family Practice Residency Program. He received a certificate in Medical Informatics from the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) 10x10 program at University of Chicago, November of 2009.
Shyrl Sistrunk, MD
Dr. Sistrunk serves as the Associate Dean for Curriculum Assessment in the Office of Medical Education at the School of Medicine. She is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine. She also serves as the Senior Clinical Advisor for Georgetown Experimental Medical Studies (GEMS). Dr. Sistrunk serves on many University committees including, but not limited to, the Committee on Medical Education, the Strategic Planning Committee, the Committee on Appointments and Promotions, and the Committee on Admissions. She has also served as a member of the United States Medical Licensing Examination Step-3 Item Writing Committee since 2007. Dr. Sistrunk received her medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina and completed her Residency in Internal Medicine at Georgetown University Hospital. Dr. Sistrunk also completed a Fellowship in Geriatrics in Primary Care at Stanford University and she was a fellow in Geriatric Medicine at Johns Hopkins University Hospital.
Peggy Weissinger, EdD
Dr. Peggy A. Weissinger, Associate Dean of Educational Assessment, also has an appointment as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the Georgetown University School of Medicine. Along with her work with assessment, she is an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at The George Washington University and serves as an assessment consultant with Military Installation Volunteer Education Review (MIVER) program, a sub-unit of the American Council on Education (ACE).
Dr. Weissinger has worked in higher education since the 1990s. Earlier experience includes positions as director of the Extended Learning Institute Distance Learning Center at Northern Virginia Community College and director of Instructional Design and Development at the Center for Teaching & Learning at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis (IUPUI). She has also served as Assistant Director of Developmental Studies at the IUPUI School of Education. Dr. Weissinger earned her doctorate in Higher Education Administration with a minor in Instructional Systems Technology at Indiana University; a masters degree in education from DePauw University; and a bachelor of arts degree from Purdue University. Her research interests include problem-based learning, critical thinking, and distance education.
Linda Gwinn
Linda A. Gwinn has been at the School of Medicine for 21 years, and was appointed the Assistant Dean for Curriculum Management in July, 2000. She received her undergraduate degree at Georgetown University. In her current position she is responsible for overseeing the development and management of student scheduling for approximately 800 medical students. She advises students on issues surrounding career choices, residency placements, and appropriate scheduling options. Additionally, she is responsible for staffing the Committee on Medical Education. Linda works with the Associate Deans to develop policy for curricular programs, and monitors student academic performance to ensure that graduation requirements are met. She manages the Office of Medical Education, working closely with the Educational Coordinators. The goal of that office is to provide guidance and support to students, departments, module, course and clerkship directors, and individual faculty to assure that the curriculum reflects the General Educational Objectives of the School of Medicine. She lives in Olney, MD and has two married daughters, and a grandson.
Cameron Jones, MSc
Cameron Jones, MSc, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs has worked in the Dean's Office at the School of Medicine since 2006. Cameron is a graduate of the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill where she received her degree in Communications and is a Lambda Pi Eta Honor Society member. She also holds a Masters of Science in Cultural Studies from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She is a trained Lean Six Sigma Green Belt for Process Improvement. She received her Professional Management Certificate from Georgetown University in 2008.
Eileen Moore, MD
Dr. Eileen Moore completed her HRSA Primary Care Fellowship at Georgetown from 1998 to 2000 and has been on the faculty since that time. Dr. Moore is a clinician–educator with an exciting clinical practice in General Internal Medicine and a keen interest in progressive medical education. Her interests include access to care and quality of care for underserved and vulnerable populations.
Brandon C. Schneider
Mr. Schneider completed his undergraduate at Youngstown State University and graduate work at Georgetown University. He joined the Office of Admissions in 2004.
David Taylor, M.Ed
Since 1990, David Taylor, M.Ed. has been an Administrative and Academic Professional in the Office of Special Programs at Georgetown University School of Medicine. In his role as the Assistant Dean for Student Learning, Dean Taylor is responsible for initiatives that promote the retention and advancement of medical students through the four year curriculum. He utilizes knowledge and skills in educational philosophy and research, student and instructor interrelationships, advising and counseling, and learning and study strategies to implement academic support services essential to students’ academic success, the medical education mission and the quality of the learning experience.
Dean Taylor also has a critical role in teaching and mentoring students enrolled in the Georgetown Experimental Medical Studies (GEMS) program which targets under-represented and disadvantaged students. GEMS serves as a rich, viable pool of future medical students in support of Georgetown’s commitment to diversity in the health professions. Essential educational services include supplemental instruction in anatomy, biochemistry and physiology, and other structured activities designed to enhance the knowledge, skills and academic outcomes for these promising students. Dean Taylor serves as a member of the Subcommittee on Evaluation and Assessment; member, Sub-Committee on Students, Liaison Committee on Medical Education Accreditation; member, GEMS Academic Advisory Committee; Pre-Clinical Advisor to freshman and sophomore medical students; Careers in Medicine Advisor to junior and senior medical students; and, Facilitator, Study Skills & Strategies Workshop for USMLE, Step 1. He is the recipient of the John C. Rose Award (2009) for outstanding service to the Georgetown University School of Medicine; the Crystal Award (2004, 2007, & 2008) for extraordinary support and commitment to the students of Georgetown University School of Medicine; the Arthur Hoyte, MD Award (2001 & 2009); the NAMME-NE Director’s Award (2002); and, the NAMME-NE Distinguished Service Award (2008). Prior to Georgetown University, Dean Taylor was employed by National Clinical Research Centers where he managed patient recruitment for Phase I – III clinical trials. He received the Bachelor of Science in Biology from Howard University in 1986, and completed the pre-clinical curriculum at the Howard University College of Medicine from 1986-1988. He obtained the Master of Education from George Mason University in 2007. Dean Taylor is pursing his doctorate in Education Psychology at George Mason University, with a concentration in Assessment, Evaluation and Testing.