Junior Faculty Development Program (JFDP) 2022 graduates and mentor

Congratulations to our faculty members Drs. Tianxiao Huan, Karen Jeng-Miller and Bo Tian, who graduated from the UMMS JFDP 2022 class on May 19! 

Dr. Shlomit Schaal was invited as the special guest speaker and mentor in JFDP 2022!

The JFDP is designed to accelerate the academic and professional development of junior faculty and provides a foundation for the success of junior faculty. To nurture and cultivate junior faculty, Dr. Schaal as the Chair, encouraged Drs. Huan, Jeng-Miller and Tian to apply JFDP last fall to advance their career through a program targeted and tailored to the specific needs. There are two components of JFDP: a comprehensive curriculum and a project guided by a senior faculty mentor. After an intensive, year-long training, Drs. Huan, Jeng-Miller and Tian have successfully completed their projects which were presented during this April and May with their mentors and Dr. Schaal in attendance.

Projects:

Dr. Tianxiao Huan, PhD- Identify DNA methylation sites in association with AMD and understand the underlying molecular regulatory mechanism

Dr. Karen Jeng-Miller, MD, MPH- Development of a Pediatric Retina Service at University of Massachusetts Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science

Dr. Bo Tian, MD, PhD- Accumulation of damaged DNA fragments in retinal pigment epithelium in age-related macular degeneration

To cultivate the ability of JFDP trainee applying the economics principles to health care systems and research, Dr. Shlomit Schaal was specially invited to present her knowledge and experience regarding fiscal organization, departmental budget as well as faculty research budget etc., from her perspective as the President in UMass Chan Group and Associate Dean. In addition, Dr. Schaal was invited to serve as the JFDP mentor for Dr. Clare Humphreys, Assistant Professor from Department of Psychiatry, and guided Dr. Humphreys completing her project entitled “Development of an adult ADHD assessment clinic in Outpatient Psychiatry”.

Dr. Schaal expressed her appreciation to JFDP co-directors, Dr. Susanne Muehlschlegel and Pranoti Mandrekar, “Thank you both so much for your inspiring leadership of JFDP. I really love the concept of participation of clinical faculty and basic science faculty in the same faculty development program. I believe this concept aligns our junior faculty to our missions and provides a priceless opportunity to connect and to create meaningful relationships and collaborations.” Dr. Schaal also extend her thankfulness to Dr. Mary Ahn and to Dean Flotte: “I’d like to take this opportunity to extend my thanks to Dr. Mary Ahn and to Dean Flotte for their sustained solid support of this program. I Know it means a lot to our faculty to see the strong commitment and the continued investment of our institution in their future career!”