OMED - Key Persons
Aaron is the Assessment Coordinator for OMED. His duties include overseeing the administration of all computer-based assessments; distributing USMLE Step 1 and 2 score reports; and preparing and posting MS-1 and MS-2 course and block grades. Aaron also serves as the ExamSoft Key Administrator and the Executive Chief Proctor for the School of Medicine with the National Board of Medical Examiners.
Prior to joining the OMED staff, Aaron most recently was a Content Editor for Franklin University, converting undergraduate courses from their previous learning management system to Canvas. Aaron worked as a graduate assistant coach for the Slippery Rock men's basketball team while earning his master's degree. He has continued coaching basketball at the collegiate level, both at the Community College of Beaver County and currently at Point Park University.
Job Titles:
- Ex - Officio Member
- Associate Dean for Student Affairs / Associate Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics
Job Titles:
- Classroom Support Technologist
Alexi is our Classroom Support Technologist for the School of Medicine. His responsibilities are managing and maintaining the classroom technology used by the School of Medicine.
Alida O'Neill is responsible for overseeing instructional support for medical student courses and events and manages Elentra (LMS). In addition, she provides support for longitudinal educators and other faculty leadership as well as provides administrative oversight of faculty programs.
Alida graduated from Dickinson College with a B.A. in History and later earned her Pennsylvania Secondary Teacher Certification in Social Studies from Duquesne University.
Prior to joining OMED, Alida worked in curriculum development and assessment for Pennsylvania cyber-schools with an emphasis on creating accessibility and exceeding state and national standards. In addition, Alida brings experience in corporate administration and training including facilitating testing and certification programs for a large engineering firm.
Job Titles:
- Standardized Patient Training Specialist
Allison is the Standardized Patient Training Specialist. In this role, Allison assists in the support of the Standardized Patient (SP) population and the administrative, academic, and creative needs required for SPs to be included in program activities. This includes SP communication, role play and training, skill coaching, editing of training materials, case assignments, and support of the administrative functions surrounding SP management.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine
Job Titles:
- Ex - Officio Member
- Associate Dean for Continuing Medical Education
Job Titles:
- Ex - Officio Member
- Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid / Professor of Medicine
Job Titles:
- Coordinator
- Evaluation Coordinator
Bilge Civi is an Evaluation Coordinator for OMED. Bilge oversees the online course and faculty evaluations for the first and second year courses, as well as the required clerkships. She also works on a number of special projects for the Associate Dean for Medical Education.
Bilge graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science in Biobehavioral Health. She was involved in many health-related research projects during her college years. After graduating, she worked on Gateway Health's Community Resource Connection project in the Research and Development department.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Job Titles:
- Standardized Patient Program Manager
Catherine serves as the Standardized Patient Program Manager. She manages the collection and dissemination of information for events to include detailed communication regarding learning objectives, logistics, materials development, and standardized patient hiring and training parameters for all clients of the Standardized Patient Program. She also reviews and edits SP cases and training materials and participates in the communication, administration, and human resource functions related to the SP program.
Originally from NYC, Catherine holds a BA in History and Literature from Harvard, and an MFA in Acting from The Old Globe/University of San Diego. Catherine has a background in performance and performance education. She has performed as an actor and puppeteer throughout the US and abroad, and taught movement, acting, and devising at the university level. She comes to this position after years of working as a standardized patient, and a trainer of standardized patients. She is passionate about embodied communication and the pursuit of empathy.
Christine oversees the day to day operations of the Office of Medical Education and its staff. She is responsible for purchasing, payments to community educators, and room scheduling for teaching spaces in Alan Magee Scaife Hall. In addition, she assists with strategic initiatives and planning and provides advanced level administrative support to OMED leadership.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Neurology
Job Titles:
- Director of Medical Student Assessment
- Director of Medical Student Assessment / Professor, Department of Medicine
- Professor
Dr. Elnicki is professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He received his MD from Pitt, completed an internal medicine residency at the University of Rochester and a general internal medicine fellowship at the University of North Carolina.
Prior to returning to Pittsburgh, he was on the faculty at West Virginia University School of Medicine for 10 years. While there, he served as director of the Medicine Clerkship and the Evidence Based Medicine Course and chaired the School of Medicine curriculum committee.
Since returning to the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Elnicki has directed the section of General Internal Medicine at UPMC Shadyside and the Combined Ambulatory Medicine Pediatrics Clerkship. He chaired the Academy of Master Educators and Phase 2 of our Curriculum Reform effort. His primary are of scholarship is medical education.
Nationally, he has served as chair of the AAMC's Research in Medical Education (RIME) committee. He was President of the Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine (CDIM) and served on the Board of the Alliance in Academic Internal Medicine. He served on and chaired several committees for the National Board of Medical Examiners. He serves as Editor in Chief for the journal of General Internal Medicine. He was selected as a Master of the American College of Physicians and as an expert in clinical hypertension by the American Society of Hypertension (ASH).
He is involved in teaching and mentoring students, residents and fellows and has received numerous awards for both teaching and research in medical education.
Job Titles:
- SP Curriculum Specialist
- SP Program Curriculum Specialist
Darrell is an SP Curriculum Specialist and Media Support for the Standardized Patient Program. he operates on the Technology side of team events: maintaining upkeep and monitoring of the department laptops, zoom meetings, acquiring and implementing new technology. He also assists with internal ultrasound events involving standardized patients and medical students.
Darrell comes to us with years of audio visual and multi-media experience working both freelance and non profit organizations; often times at the same time! He has used his multi media experience to also build instructional e-courses for remote teams while working with driverless tech companies.
Job Titles:
- Patient Centered Care ( PCC ) Coordinator
- Patient Centered Care Coordinator
Denise Downs is the Patient Centered Care (PCC) Coordinator. She oversees all courses and events within the Patient Centered Care block in the Foundations phase of the curriculum. She also provides support to the Longitudinal Alliance Program (LAP) by working directly with the students and matching them with patients within our community.
Denise has an Associate of Science and previously worked as a board certified Diagnostic Vascular Sonographer. She has also worked as a staff member at the School of Medicine with the Standardized Patient Program and the Department of General Internal Medicine. Prior to moving to Pittsburgh in 2000, she worked as a Legal Librarian and Paralegal in Portland, OR.
Job Titles:
- Ex - Officio Member
- Professor & Vice Chair of Medical Education, Professor & Vice Chair for Medical Education, Associate Dean for Medical Student Research
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Obstetrics
- Director of Program Evaluation
Dr. Allison Serra is an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences in the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine. She earned her undergraduate degree in English at Duke University, her MPH in Health Policy from Emory University, and her MD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Serra completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of California, Irvine, and came to UPMC for her Maternal Fetal Medicine fellowship in 2015. She joined the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh in 2018. She has served as an Advisory Dean since 2021 and is the Director of Medical Student Mentoring and Advising in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. She has received numerous awards, including the Clerkship Preceptor of the Year and the prestigious Donald S. Fraley Award for Mentoring. Most significantly, back-to-back in 2022 and 2023, "House Serra" won the "House Cup," which is awarded to the Pittmed advisory house with the highest level of student participation. Dr. Serra is grateful for the House Serra community and all the ways her students show up for each other.
As the Faculty Director of Program Evaluation, Dr. Serra is responsible for tracking measurable outcomes and identifying areas for improvement in the PittMed curriculum and was a member of the Curriculum Form Task Force that developed the Three Rivers Curriculum. Dr. Serra also leads CCQI, the Curriculum Committee's Continuous Quality Improvement subcommittee, and in this role works closely with the OMED deans, faculty, staff, and students to evaluate and ensure quality in our curriculum. Dr. Serra has been involved in LCME accreditation since her time as a medical student at UNC, and loves to ask and answer the questions "How are we doing?" and "How can we do better?"
Dr. Serra is an active clinician in the division of Maternal Fetal Medicine within the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences and specializes in the care of people with complicated or "high risk" pregnancies.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Ex - Officio Member
- Assistant Dean for Clinical Education / Professor of Medicine
- Associate Dean for Clinical Education
Dr. Raquel Buranosky serves as the Associate Dean for Clinical Education of OMED. Additionally, she is a Professor of Medicine, the Director of Internal Medicine Residency Advising Program, and Medical Director of Pittsburgh's Underserved Women's Center Clinic.
She has a fascinating and diverse educational background. Dr. Buranosky first earned her undergraduate degree in Psychology at Georgetown University in 1990. She continued her education at Duke University Medical School in 1994. Lastly, she received her MPH at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health in 2000.
She has extensive training, which includes an Internal Medicine Residency Training Program completed in 1997. Dr. Buranosky also served as Chief Medical Resident in 1998 and continued on to complete her General Medicine Fellowship in 2000. Her training was all completed at the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Buranosky's educational interests are in direct teaching of medical students and internal medicine residents as well as in curriculum development for these programs. On a national level, she has contributed to many task forces, working groups and committees on membership and leadership levels that focus on improving internal medicine residency training and career development. She is known nationally for expertise in innovation in medical education. On a local and regional level, she is known for her curricular work on intimate partner violence, prevention and intervention.
Job Titles:
- Ex - Officio Member
- Assistant Dean for Equity and Justice
- Assistant Professor of Medicine
Dr. Eloho Ufomata, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine, in the Division of General Internal Medicine. She earned her undergraduate degrees in Biology and Psychology, as well as her MD at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Ufomata came to UPMC for her internal medicine residency and following residency, she completed a fellowship in General Internal Medicine as an Academic Clinician Educator Scholar. Lastly, she received her Master's in medical education from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She has served as an Advisory Dean since 2019 and is also a current course director for Advanced Medical Interviewing. She has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award and the Golden Apple Award.
As the Assistant Dean for Equity and Justice, she oversees curriculum development, delivery, and management on both diversity/equity and inclusive teaching/learning across our program. She works closely with other OMED Deans and UPSOM Offices, as well as course/clerkship directors, to ensure that our curriculum is representative, inclusive, and just. In addition, she co-leads the social medicine thread, helping to implement expanded content in the new curriculum. She works on faculty development projects, helps design curricular materials, meets with students, and works with staff as part of this role.
An active clinician, Dr. Ufomata is a general internist who has a special interest in LGBTQ+ health - specifically Gender Affirming Care for transgender and gender diverse individuals, Women's Health, and care for the underserved. On a local and national level, she is known for expertise in medical education on antiracism, LGBTQ+ health, bias, and communication skills.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Ophthalmology
Job Titles:
- Information Technology Lead
Greg Wagner is the Information Technology Lead. Greg's duties include overseeing the maintenance and operation of all the technology in OMED's lecture rooms and small group classrooms and overseeing other technology-related projects. He is also a primary contact for Poll Everywhere and ExamSoft.
Greg graduated from CCAC with a degree in Information Technology. Before joining OMED, Greg worked as a help desk analyst for global law firm Reed Smith and has provided technology consultation services to IBM and UPMC.
Job Titles:
- Director of Program Evaluation
- Director of Program Evaluation, CQI, and Accreditation
Greg directs program evaluation and accreditation initiatives at the School of Medicine. He creates, executes, and monitors continuous quality improvement processes, and collects and monitors compliance data. He also contributes to OMED's intiative to improve faculty teaching and to conduct medical education research.
Greg was an Education Policy Fellow with the Education Policy and Leadership Center in Harrisburg, PA. He earned an MA in Adult and Community Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a BS in Secondary Education from Slippery Rock University.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences
James is the Bridges Coordinator and supports courses and events both in the Three Rivers and Legacy curriculums. He manages advanced level and longitudinal coures within the School of Medicine by building relationships with physicians, clinics, and other sites to cultivate placements for courses, providing instructional support for courses and events, serving as a first point of contact for medical students within these courses.
James did his undergraduate studies at Florida State University before enlisting in the Marine Corps. He graduated from Pitt's Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences with a master's degree in Japanese Language and Literature.
Janice serves as the SP Program Administrator. She is responsible for overseeing human resources, budgeting, outreach, event coordination, and daily operations for the SP Program.
Janice majored in photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology and previously worked in medical publishing and in the music poster import and distribution business.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Associate Dean for Medical Education
- Associate Dean for Medical Education / Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
- Director of Medical Student Education for the Department of Psychiatry
- Professor
Jason Rosenstock, MD, is a professor of psychiatry in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He earned an undergraduate degree in history from Brown University, where he also received his MD. In 1992, Dr. Rosenstock came to Pittsburgh for a residency in general psychiatry at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (WPIC).
Since joining the faculty in 1996, his work has focused on schizophrenia: providing direct clinical care for patients; teaching students, trainees, and health professionals about the illness and its management; and helping to develop and administer services on behalf of patients and families affected by this illness.
Since 2005, Dr. Rosenstock has served as director of medical student education for the Department of Psychiatry and was among the inaugural inductees of the School of Medicine's Academy of Master Educators. He has won numerous awards for teaching and humanism, and he has been involved in international collaborations around medical education. Since 2011, he has served as the Chair of the school's Curriculum Committee.
Job Titles:
- Ex - Officio Member
- Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs / Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics
Job Titles:
- Information Technologist
- Instructional Technologist
Josh is an Information Technologist. His duties include overseeing the maintenance and operation of all the technology in OMED's teaching space, and overseeing other technology-related projects. He is also a primary contact for in-studio video and audio capture and post-production within Health Sciences IT.
Josh graduated from California University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor of science in Commercial Music Technology. Before joining Pitt, Josh worked as an audiovisual tech for The Omni William Penn and as an events tech for The Senator John Heinz History Center as well as being a former video lead for the History Center's educational video series Steel City Grooves: Celebrating Western Pennsylvania Jazz.
Job Titles:
- PCAT Associate Coordinator
Karen is the Primary Care Accelerated Track (PCAT) Coordinator. She provides administrative support to the PCAT Program by overseeing the admissions process, managing student courses and clinical placements, tracking student milestones, and serving as a liaison between the School of Medicine and the UPMC residency programs.
Karen graduated from Saint Vincent College with a B.A. in Psychology and Elementary Education. Her experiences have led her through case management, retail management, and Drug & Alcohol counseling.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Office of Medical Education
- Member of the Association of American Medical Colleges Curriculum Committee
Katie is a member of the Association of American Medical Colleges Curriculum Committee, Group on Institutional Planning, and Group on Business Affairs.
Job Titles:
- Ex - Officio Member
- Assistant Dean for Foundations
- Professor of Immunology
Dr. Borghesi is a Professor of Immunology and the Assistant Dean of Foundations with primary responsibilities in the pre-clerkships (MS1-2) curriculum.
She is deeply committed to medical education in a thriving academic environment. Dr. Borghesi's pedagogical leadership and innovations are recognized with the Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award (2021) and membership in the Academy of Distinguished Medical Educators (2022). Her accomplishments in education have been recognized through invited lectures that profiled her curricular materials.
Dr. Borghesi joined the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 2004, leading an NIH funded research program in B lymphocyte development and function, and serving as Director of the Unified Flow Cytometry Core. She has secured >$7M in NIH direct funds to advance her immunology research and procure new instrumentation technologies that elevate the impact of biomedical research across the university.
Nationally, Dr. Borghesi served as Section Editor for the Journal of Immunology, was a standing member or co-chair of NIH study sections and was appointed to the Faculty of 1000 (F1000). In her six years as a member of the Public Affairs Committee of the American Association of Immunologists, she advocated for immunologists' interests to Congress and met with elected officials on Capitol Hill. Locally, Dr. Borghesi collaborated with the Women's Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, spearheading an IRB-approved study to identify programs that best assist women. She is active in voting rights and election awareness.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
Job Titles:
- Standardized Patient Scheduling Specialist
Michael serves as the Standardized Patient Scheduling Specialist. His work includes scheduling and coordination of the standardized patients within the SP Program and its activities.
Michelle supports the data management needs related to program evaluation and curriculum mapping and integration. She works closely with senior leadership to support accreditation and continuous quality improve processes as well as overall operational planning and development. Additionally, she modifies and updates the OMED website.
Michelle graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Master's in Public Health. In addition, she received her Bachelor's degree in Rehabilitation Science, a Minor in Administration of Justice, and a Certificate in Pathokinesiology in Rehabilitation.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Cell Biology
Job Titles:
- Ex - Officio Member
- Associate Dean for Medical Student Research / Co - Director, Dean 's Summer Research Project
Job Titles:
- Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery and Critical Care Medicine
Dr. Van Deusen is an associate professor in general internal medicine and pediatrics. Originally from Pittsburgh, he went to the University of Cincinnati for medical school and residency. He was excited to come back home for a general internal medicine-pediatrics fellowship focusing in medical education, which he completed in 2008.
He has served as the associate program director for the combined internal medicine-pediatrics residency from 2009 to 2016, and he enthusiastically joined the Office of Medical Education in 2016 as the Medical Director of the Standardized Patient Program. Prior to accepting this position, he was involved in education at the medical school in multiple venues. His greatest educational passion is teaching doctor-patient communication skills. He became the Assistant Dean for Human-Based Simulation Education in 2019.
His clinical work involves caring for patients of all ages. He practices inpatient and outpatient medicine for adults and outpatient medicine for children. His clinical niche is providing primary care for patients with complicated pediatric-onset illness who are too old to be seen by their pediatricians. This program is called the Progressive Evaluation and Referral Center (PERC). Pediatricians from across the region refer their patients who are transitioning to adulthood to PERC for longitudinal primary care and care coordination.
Renée is responsible for overseeing instructional support for medical student courses and events and manages Elentra (LMS). In addition, she provides support for longitudinal educators and other faculty leadership as well as provides administrative oversight of faculty programs.
Renée graduated from Chatham University with a B.A. in Human Services Administration, Minor in Psychology, as well as earned her Pennsylvania Elementary Teacher Certification.
Prior to joining OMED, Renée worked at UPMC as a Clerkship Coordinator for Neurology, Administrative Assistant in Neonatology, and GME Manager for the Fellowship Program in Anesthesiology.
Job Titles:
- Ex - Officio Member
- Associate Dean and Director of MSTP / Associate Professor of Medicine
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Family Medicine
Job Titles:
- System Administrator
- SP Program Curriculum Specialist
- Specialist for the Standardized Patient Program
Ryan serves as a Curriculum Specialist for the Standardized Patient Program. Ryan's responsibilities involve organizing, scheduling, and running all internal medical school standardized patient activities. He works closely with students, faculty, and health sciences staff to prepare for and facilitate standardized patient events at all four levels of curriculum.
Additionally, Ryan is the system administrator for OMED's online test and event management software, CAE LearningSpace, which is also utilized to collate data and generate detailed grade reports for students and faculty. He serves as the undergraduate student worker coordinator for the SP Program.
Ryan earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Edinboro University. Before joining the SP Program, he served as a full-time Graduate Assistant in Edinboro University's Department of History, Anthropology, and World Languages. His responsibilities included event scheduling, grant research, editing of undergraduate papers, tutoring, and work at the Edinboro Area Historical Society.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Medicine
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Cell Biology
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Medicine
Job Titles:
- Director, Standardized Patient Program