Issue 98, June 2026

A Decade of Investment: Education at WashU Medicine
Over the past ten years, Washington University School of Medicine has made education a strategic priority worthy of sustained investment. Not all of you were here for the ride, so I thought it would be good to tell the story, this month, the last month of Dr. Perlmutter’s ten-year tenure as Dean of the School of Medicine.

The results speak for themselves: nationally recognized curricula, top ranked professional training programs, a thriving graduate medical education enterprise, and an infrastructure that supports both learners and educators at every level. None of this happened by accident—and none of it happened overnight. | Full Excerpt

Deadline: Sunday, June 21, 2026, 11:59pm | Academy Application
The Academy of Educators is now accepting membership applications for 2026. The Academy aims to foster a culture of educational excellence and community of leaders in health science education. The Academy is service-based, and attendance of/participation in Academy events is expected, including scheduled Academy meetings. Please review membership criteria and reach out with questions.

Application Deadline: July 10, 2026 | Apply to PD Bootcamp
Applications are open for the 2026-2027 Program Director Bootcamp. This certificate program is open to new, aspiring, and experienced residency and fellowship Program Directors from both accredited and non-ACGME accredited programs as well as current Associate Program Directors. This course aims to enhance GME knowledge, foster connections with other GME leaders, develop new skills, and tackle common PD challenges. | More About PD Bootcamp

Looking to enhance your research? Register now for Clinical Investigation courses offered by the WashU Medicine Clinical Research Training Center! The summer Bench Fundamentals for Translational Research course combines theory and hands-on application for 3 weeks of intensive training. Gain deeper knowledge in the core competencies of clinical research and investigation through Clinical Investigation Bootcamp or our other Fall 2026 courses. Eligible individuals not enrolled in a WashU degree program are able to enroll in up to 9 credits of coursework as a non-degree seeking scholar. Credits earned can later be applied to the Graduate Certificate or Master of Science in Clinical Investigation. Email crtcmsci@wustl.edu to learn more or enroll.

The Master of Population Health Sciences degree and certificates are designed to prepare current and aspiring public health leaders with the skills and knowledge needed to impact the health outcomes for patient populations. Through this program you will explore key public health issues in epidemiology, biostatistics, clinical effectiveness, and outcome research. | More Information

Connect in person with the interprofessional community this summer, all facilitated by the CIPE’s Master Interprofessional Educators. | Register to Attend

Foundations of IPE: Monday, June 8, 2026, 8:45AM-3:30PM OR Saturday, June 20, 2026, 8:45AM-3:30PM

Power & Positionality: Tuesday, June 23, 2026, 11:30AM-1PM

Creative Conversations: Tuesday, July 20, 2026, 4-6PM

View details & register for all events here. 

Teaching with Joy & Creativity Series

Educational Building Blocks

Education Scholarship Series

Enrollment is open for the National Board of Medical Examiners' fall assessment workshops. NBME workshops teach skills and strategies to create assessments that more effectively measure student knowledge. Topics include writing better test questions, ensuring assessments are reliable and valid, leveraging the principles of Evidence-Centered Design, and understanding how to interpret and apply learnings from item analysis. Although designed with medical school faculty in mind, these workshops can serve as valuable professional development opportunities for individuals from across institutions, educational backgrounds, and health professions. | Register 

WashU Medicine’s Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) chapter inducted its latest members last month. The GHHS is a community of medical students, physicians, and other leaders who have been recognized for their compassionate care. WashU Medicine’ GHHS chapter inducted 21 medical students and 6 residents. Medical student inductees are: Jesús Acevedo, Aya Ahmed, Mackenzie Bultman, Cynthia Chen, Alexandra Chukwuma, Mansi Garneni, Caleb Harsin, Pallavi Jonnalagadda, Lorena Lasso, Darby Le, Alexandra Merz, Karan Mirpuri, Jamie Moffa, Sydney Murray, Elika Nassirinia, Kavya Parekh, Amy Pham, Simona Sarafinovska, Grace Uwase, Sydney Wheeler and Jiwon Yi. Resident inductees are: Afaf Ahmed, Katie Granger-Howard, Alexandra Houston-Ludlam, Erin Johnson, Christopher Noda, and Karoliina Yang. Congratulations!

The 2026 Macy Faculty Scholars meeting marked a significant milestone as it convened in St. Louis for the first time, bringing together a dedicated community of educational leaders. Eve Colson, MD, MHPE, David Vermette, MD, MBA, Doug Larsen, MD, MEd, and Eva Aagaard, MD, were in attendance, representing our city with genuine pride and enthusiasm throughout the event. The group enjoyed the opportunity to showcase the local academic landscape to their national colleagues, contributing to a collaborative atmosphere focused on the future of health professions education. The successful gathering highlighted both the growth of the Macy program and the vibrant spirit of the St. Louis medical community. | Read More about Macy Faculty Scholars

Harris-Hayes Earns Lucy Blair Service Award and ICTS Grant
Dr. Marcie Harris-Hayes will receive a grant from the WashU Institute of Clinical and Translational Science to support her study, “Using Personalized Rehabilitation to Reduce Disease and Increase Activity of Patients with Polymyalgia Rheumatica: A Feasibility Randomized Clinical Trial.” The study will explore how personalized rehabilitation strategies may reduce disease burden and increase physical activity among individuals living with polymyalgia rheumatica. 
Harris-Hayes has also been selected to receive the Lucy Blair Service Award from the American Physical Therapy Association. This prestigious national award recognizes physical therapists and physical therapist assistants whose contributions to the association, at both the national and component levels, demonstrate exceptional value and impact. | View all APTA 2026 Honors and Awards Recipients

Dixon Earns New Tammy Burlis Clinical Education Award 
Makenna Dixon has been named the recipient of the newly established Tammy Burlis Clinical Education Award to recognize and celebrate the legacy of Dr. Burlis. Throughout her distinguished career as a faculty member and director of clinical education, she exemplified excellence, leadership and service, leaving a lasting impact on learners, colleagues and the profession of physical therapy. The award will be presented annually to an individual who reflects the values that define Dr. Burlis’ legacy. Congratulations, Makenna!

DBBS hosted the third iteration of Race to the Finish, a special event honoring our Spring 2026 graduates as they reached one of the most significant milestones of their academic journey, defending their dissertation. In recognition of their achievements, each student was presented with a monogrammed champagne flute. Graduates, faculty, and staff shared heartfelt remarks and reflected on the PhD journey. Additionally, students had the opportunity to connect with a representative for the Center for Career Engagement to learn about resources available to them as alumni. 

Toler Earns Doctorate of Public Health Degree
After years of studying, Associate Director Dr. Tomi Toler officially graduated from the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University with her Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) in Leadership, Advocacy, & Equity. She traveled to New Orleans in May for her formal hooding ceremony and graduation. She is excited to enrich the training of the students in the Program in Genetic Counseling with all she learned during her doctoral training.

Bradshaw Elected President-Elect of GCEA
Program Director Rachael Bradshaw was recently elected President-Elect of the Genetic Counselor Educators Association (GCEA). GCEA is the premier organization dedicated to excellence in the training of genetic counselors across the United States and Canada. By stepping into this leadership role, Rachael will help shape the standards and innovations that define the profession. | Read More about GCEA

Kristina Petersen, PhD, Associate Dean for Student Success and Access, recently published, in Academic Psychiatry, a multi-institutional, cross-sectional study that used the PHQ-2 validated screening tool to assess depression risk in medical students with and without disabilities.  This is the first study to provide quantitative evidence that students with disabilities were associated with increased risk of depression, regardless of whether they were registered with their institution to receive disability-related accommodations. Results suggest institutions should enhance mental health support systems for students with disabilities. Further research is warranted to understand the impact of disability type and accommodations on the mental health of medical students with disabilities. | Full Article

In this Wall Street Journal article, Moshe Bar, PhD, contends that modern life has become so optimized for comfort and convenience that we are losing the resilience, adaptability, and sense of vitality that come from facing manageable challenges. Drawing on neuroscience and behavioral research, Bar suggests that growth and long-term well-being are strengthened when we lean into uncertainty, effort, and discomfort rather than seeking ease and instant gratification. Bar concludes that intentionally embracing challenge—physically, mentally, and emotionally—can improve quality of life, increase resilience, and help people feel more engaged. | Full Article

In this Korn Ferry article, Liz Bentley argues that while empathy is widely praised as an essential leadership quality, it can also create bias by causing leaders to excuse poor behavior, play favorites, or unfairly judge employees based on personal comfort and similarity. Bentley explains how unchecked empathy can damage workplace culture, weaken accountability, and create blind spots that leaders themselves may not recognize. She suggests that less empathy is not the answer, but rather more balanced and growth-oriented empathy—paired with compassion and fairness—to support both people and organizational standards. | Full Article

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