|
|
GW School of Medicine & Health Sciences Center for Faculty Excellence
November 2024 Faculty Spotlight
Excellence in teaching & learning, scholarly endeavors, and leadership are all around us at GW Medicine. The Center for Faculty Excellence would like to Spotlight our faculty and staff contributions to SMHS, George Washington University, and beyond. Each month we will spotlight faculty and staff from across SMHS, MFA, and Children's. We want to thank our highlighted members for sharing with us their advice and perspectives!
- SMHS Center for Faculty Excellence
| |
Join the CFE as we highlight Dr. Manjari Dimri, MD, MAEd, a biochemistry researcher and health professions educator. Dr. Dimri discusses her career path and how she ended up at GW. She discusses her multiple teaching and leadership roles in MD, PA, and undergraduate and graduate biochemistry programs. She also previews some future work within the Department of Biochemistry and opportunities for collaboration across the GWU campus.
| |
Biography
Dr. Manjari Dimri, I trained as a physician and transitioned to a career in conducting basic science research shortly after obtaining my medical degree. I have been working in breast cancer research for the past 18 years and am committed to my interest in education. Currently, as an educator, I dedicate my time to teaching the Foundations sessions for our Medical School academic curriculum, Physician Assistant program, undergraduate courses, and the Master’s Biochemistry program. My long-term goal is to integrate my two interest areas- research and academic medical education, and extend my focus to medical education research.
In the past, my research interest primarily focused on the search for signaling molecules that might function as cooperative oncogenic lesions with polycomb group (PcG) proteins in breast cancer using global RNAi and expression screening approaches. Another area of focus was to identify and characterize novel microRNAs that control breast cancer progression, particularly metastasis. We used microRNA profiling studies using a BMI1 and H-RAS transformed human mammary epithelial cells (HMEC) To identify novel PcG-cooperating lesions and metastasis-regulating miRNAs in breast cancer therapy. The current research is focused on the role of Humanin, a mitochondrially encoded secreted peptide, as a novel regulator of tumorigenesis in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Here we are exploring the role of this peptide as a key player in the development of TNBC using mouse xenograft studies and if it could be targeted for therapeutic purposes. Besides breast cancer research, we are working on hepatocellular carcinoma where I'm focused on the role of HCV derived small noncoding RNAs that form RNA Parallel duplexes and act via cell-non-autonomous mechanisms and their role in modulation of hepatic stem cells.
| |
Interview Q/A
How long have you been at GW Medicine? What drew you to your current position?
Manjari: I joined GW in August of 2010, conducting basic science research on breast cancer. I have always had an interest in teaching, and at the time when I first joined, I was mentoring students, running a lab, and teaching in the laboratory setting. I was also looking for opportunities to engage in a more formal classroom setting where I could funnel my basic science research knowledge and educational background as a physician. In 2017, I had the opportunity to provide a few lectures for first-year medical students, and I enjoyed it! I obtained a Master's in Education & Human Development here at GW and was able to transition into a full-time educator role in 2021.
| |
Why did you decide to pursue a career in biochemistry? How did your degree and experiences bring you to GW?
Manjari: Initially, I started my career path as a physician; I obtained a medical degree and received training as a physician. After I completed my training, I started to take an interest in science and research. My husband, who was already in that field, would receive many science and nature magazines all the time. I would look through them; it sparked my interest in basic science research since it was my first exposure to the field and laboratories. I would often visit my husband's laboratory, where I learned a lot and enjoyed it. It was very intriguing!
At the same time, I was preparing myself to apply to residency programs - but I decided to take some time before applying to learn more and gain experience in the lab. I found a postdoc at Brigham and Women's Hospital at Harvard Medical School. Once I started this new career path, I never looked back and just continued.
I continued progressing in the field and held various other roles at other institutions, such as Northwestern University. I then joined GW in 2010 with the grant and funding I received independently as a PI. After joining, I kept doing research work and scholarly Biochemistry came naturally into basic science research, and my love for teaching students has brought me into my current role here at GW. As such, my approach to teaching biochemistry incorporates the ongoing basic and clinical research and scientific-technological advances into various coursework for my diverse audience in various programs.
| |
What are your major responsibilities here at GW?
Manjari: Currently, my primary responsibility as an educator is to teach most of the biochemistry in the MD program's Foundations of Medicine (FDN) block. I also teach biochemistry within the PA program and several other sessions in various premedical blocks. Within our department, I teach both in our undergraduate courses and our master's program as well.
In addition to my teaching responsibilities, I co-direct the FDN block and the Discipline for Nutrition, Genetics, and Biochemistry. Up until last July, I served as the Director for Graduate Studies at CCAS and was the Program Director for our Master's Program for about three years. I also serve on the preclinical subcommittee, CUMEC and MD Admissions, and other student initiatives.
| |
What is your favorite thing about your current role or responsibilities?
Manjari: This is easy to answer: The students and my interactions with them are my favorite aspects of what I do. Meeting and interacting with our students on various paths and learning many disciplines at multiple levels is rewarding. It reminds me of my own student journey and career path, and I like being able to help them along theirs. We also have a diverse graduate program that also brings in international students, and it's very interesting to learn more about them and their backgrounds. With my students, I like to listen to their goals and needs and work alongside them to help them in their academic development. I get to know them by first name, which is all so important to me.
I also really enjoy creating courses that can serve the student's needs. When working with students, I like to get their feedback on the course and use that feedback to help develop new courses. I have developed several courses here at GW, one for the MD program as an elective and a few for our department's master's program. I enjoy these things because they all aim to provide students with more knowledge and the necessary tools to prepare them for the real world and help them succeed.
| |
You mentioned that you co-direct the first year of the preclinical Foundations of Medicine course. What do you like about this course, particularly as you are one of the first faculty to meet the students?
Manjari: The biochemistry content within the FDN block is one of the areas that form the basis for medical education, which, of course, also includes other components, like anatomy, physiology, etc. Within the biochemistry content in the MD program, I teach aspects of biochemistry that students must understand before they start their pre-clinical and clinical education. It really sets the tone for the students for the next full four years to come, preparing the students for learning for our MD program.
I really enjoy teaching first-year medical students because they come in full of energy and excitement and are ready to learn. I hope to formally guide their foundational knowledge and experiences so that they can carry it into the years to come. I strive to keep my students motivated and excited about learning. One of my goals is to provide that guidance to the students and serve as a support system along the way.
I realize that for many students biochemistry is a challenging subject, and as such, they can be apprehensive about the content. Therefore, I try to teach it in a clear and logical manner, weaving in the clinical context. I aim to keep it fun and integrated with clinical content to keep the students’ interest high and help them retain the concepts better.
| |
You also mentioned being the course director for several undergraduate biochemistry courses. How have you had to change your teaching approaches for these students compared to the medical students?
Manjari: The real change in approach based on the different types of students is the level of detail we go into each subject and the focus. So, as an example, I focus more on the clinically relevant pathways, emphasizing the clinical correlation for medical students. For graduate students, I focus more on the appropriate research that would be helpful to them and that they could use within various industries and research fields. For undergraduate students, I add some clinical relevance “sprinkles” but focus heavily on each step of the pathways. I really focus on the basic nuts and bolts so that later on, they can take higher-level courses and build on that foundational knowledge as they move on to more advanced courses.
| |
What about the future of the Department of Biochemistry excites you?
Manjari: Our department has undertaken several new research and educational initiatives over the past several years, so I am excited about all the new things happening. While I have a deep interest in medical education, there are other student educational needs the department is trying to address, including initiating a potential major or minor in biochemistry, which would greatly cater to the undergraduate student's needs. Another initiative we are working on is restructuring the master's program in bioinformatics. We are trying to figure out different courses that fit well and cater to specific audiences - those interested in bioinformatics. We are also trying to develop a pre-medical program in the future, which I think would be very important and helpful to students who are here and may find it challenging to navigate all the course options. If we give them a pre-medical track to follow, it might be easier for them to select appropriate courses to apply for medical school. We have been working with the Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology on that, and it's very exciting.
| |
What impact do you hope to have on trainees, colleagues, and/or peers through these roles?
Manjari: Students are really my focal point, and so I do many different things, like developing different teaching strategies, case-based learning, discussions, and projects, all in an attempt to encourage their independent, critical thinking, and analytical ability. I hope that these initiatives will stimulate them intellectually and keep their curiosity going. I also think it's important that I provide them with a safe and comfortable learning environment so they can grow and learn. As for my colleagues, we work very collaboratively and learn from each other, so I hope I have had some positive impact on them as they have had on me. I hope to continue contributing to the department's education and research mission and that of the university.
| |
What are you looking forward to working on or doing here at GW?
Manjari: Within medical education, one of my future focuses is to better integrate the different aspects of biochemistry, such as nutrition and environmental influences. Another thing is potentially expanding biochemistry content outside of the preclinical phase. For the most part, biochemistry ends with the first and second-year students and doesn't go further into years three and four. Therefore, I'm hoping to identify where biochemistry content can be incorporated in the clinical phase. This incorporation could be a 5-minute review session of specific aspects of biochemistry and how it relates to what they are learning. It would also serve to refresh the students on why biochemistry is important and help them integrate clinical and basic science knowledge. For example, I developed an elective on aging that is offered twice in the spring for our third- and fourth-year medical students. Many students are enrolling in it, so it is very encouraging that students are taking advantage of it, but I'm also hoping to promote it more so more students learn about it and enroll.
For the undergraduate program, I want to establish a stronger collaboration between the departments and other schools because our undergraduate program is within CCAS and includes aspects of the School of Public Health. Therefore, I hope that in the future, I can encourage more collaboration and communication, harness different skills and strengths of various experts in different schools and departments, and set up different courses and programs. Having all these different departments come together to promote strong course and program offerings that provide our students with hands-on opportunities is a huge plus for GWU.
| |
How does this spotlight/recognition make you feel?
Manjari: It is such an honor to be highlighted! I was surprised and am thrilled to talk about my career and what I am working on now. This is certainly a privilege, and it makes me think back on my career journey and how thankful I am to those who have helped me along the way. I wouldn’t be who I am today without the support of my family, friends, students, and colleagues. Over the years, so many people have helped me grow so much, and how I have taken on challenges and used them to my advantage. My challenges have encouraged me to work better and harder and help my students and colleagues as well.
| |
What is one thing that keeps you motivated during the day?
Manjari: There are many things that are motivating for me. I'm blessed to have so much motivation around me. My family, friends, and students are all great sources of inspiration.
But there is one special driving motivational force behind my work. There is a Sanskrit verse from a holy book with teachings from Lord Krishna. It is known as The Bhagavad Gita. I'd like to highlight that verse. It is in the ancient Sanskrit language and goes like this- “Karmanye vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana, Ma Karmaphalaheturbhurma Te Sangostvakarmani”, The gist of the verse is that an individual only has the power over their own actions, and not on the outcome, So just do the best you can, and don't worry about the outcome - because the outcome is not in your hands. I really value this verse because it provides me with a focus on my work and promotes a continually evolving growth mindset. So as long as I do my best to teach, provide for, and encourage students to the best of my ability, I do not have to worry about any consequences - everything else is irrelevant as long as I have done my best. My karma or action is making a positive impact and positive difference in someone's life, and that's all there is to it, so if I can make a positive difference in one person's life, that is good enough. This is something I always carry with me in all I do and teach to my children as well. For my students, oftentimes they will come in distress about something, and I always guide them with this basic idea: as long as you have done your best, that is all you can do. Everything will be alright and fall into the right place.
| |
|
|
|
|
