Upshur named director of research training and development
July 9, 2012
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| | Carole Upshur, EdD |
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Carole Upshur, EdD, professor of family medicine & community health, has been named director of research training and development for the Department of Family Medicine & Community Health (FMCH). Dr. Upshur has been a professor in the department since 2001.
“I first came to UMMS because of its wonderful spirit, and the commitment of the Department of Family Medicine & Community Health to deliver quality health care, especially to the most vulnerable citizens of Massachusetts,” she said.
Originally ‘borrowed’ by UMMS from UMass Boston (where she still holds a faculty appointment) for her expertise in evaluation research to inform health care and human services policy and program development, Upshur was tapped to serve as associate dean for the nascent Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences’ PhD Program in Clinical Population and Health Research (CPHR) in 2004. She was instrumental in establishing the program, and will continue to be closely affiliated with it.
In her new role, Upshur will promulgate and support research by FMCH clinical faculty and residents. In particular, she will cultivate a research concentration on medical home transformation efforts, facilitated by expanding the department’s Practice-Based Research Network—a group of outpatient primary care practices collaborating on clinical research to improve the quality of care.
She will also play a key role in developing future grants from the United States Health Resources Services Agency (HRSA). UMMS already receives substantial support from HRSA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services whose mission to improve health and achieve health equity for all Americans parallels UMMS’ commitment to primary care, public health and serving the underserved.
Upshur’s efforts will enhance an already robust FMCH research program, with numerous faculty blending a primary interest in research with their clinical and teaching responsibilities. Extensive departmental support of student research includes participation in the university-wide Senior Scholars Program, and a fourth-year elective in preventive medicine and public health.
“After helping the campus develop its extremely valuable clinical research training programs, I welcome the opportunity to return to working directly with primary care providers as they transform medicine,” said Upshur. “With the endorsement of the Affordable Care Act by the Supreme Court, we will be able to go full steam ahead to improve health care in the United States, and UMMS will continue to be one of the leaders in this transformation.”
Related link on UMassMedNow:
HRSA head convenes with faculty focused on underserved