October faculty and staff features 2015

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Michael D. Fallacaro, D.N.P., chair, Department of Nurse Anesthesia, School of Allied Health Professionals

Michael Dominic Fallacaro, D.N.P.
Michael Dominic Fallacaro, D.N.P.

Of the more than 3 million licensed practicing nurses in the United States, Fallacaro has been chosen as one of the select 163 nurses to be named a 2015 fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, joining the more than 2,300 nursing leaders who make up the academy.

Fallacaro’s induction took place during the academy’s annual meeting on Oct. 17 in Washington, D.C.

New fellows are eligible to use the Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing credential after the induction ceremony. The AAN’s mission is to track national and international trends in health care and to create and execute policy-related initiatives to help reform America’s health care system. Selection criteria to be inducted include evidence of significant contributions to nursing and health care and sponsorship by two AAN fellows.

“Dr. Fallacaro’s patient safety expertise is evidenced in the two simulation centers he developed, seven peer-reviewed studies and scores of national presentations,” said Maura McAuliffe, Ph.D., professor and director of East Carolina University’s College of Nursing, in her nomination letter to AAN. “Dr. Fallacaro’s educational outreach to rural Appalachia resulted in a pipeline preparing nurse anesthetists for medically underserved areas and increasing access for those in desperate need of anesthesia and pain management services.”

“This honor rightly belongs to my family, mentors, colleagues and graduate students, past and present, who have provided me with opportunities to engage in a meaningful craft making patient safety real,” Fallacaro said.

 

Jessica M. Utt, advanced practice provider, Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center

Jessica M. Utt
Jessica M. Utt

Utt is the first advanced practice provider in the Parkinson’s and Movement Disorder Center. She has a master’s in physician assistant studies from George Washington University and a bachelor’s in health sciences, pre-physician assistant concentration, from James Madison University.

“After my first experiences with movement disorder patients early in my training I knew immediately that this is where I wanted to focus my career, and am so happy to be the first advanced practice provider at the Parkinson's and Movement Disorder Center,” Utt said. “As a physician assistant, I am trained in a caring-for-the-whole-patient philosophy. I look forward to contributing a lot to patient care here.”

 

 

 

Bruce Parkinson, Ph.D., neuropsychologist, Parkinson’s and Movement Disorder Center

Bruce Parkinson, M.D.
Bruce Parkinson, M.D.

Parkinson was named a neuropsychologist for the Parkinson’s and Movement Disorder Center. His primary role is to provide neuropsychological evaluations for patients with movement disorders, including Parkinson’s disease. Additionally, he will conduct evaluations for patients with other neurological conditions, including epilepsy, dementia, multiple sclerosis and other diseases. Parkinson is one of two neuropsychologists in the center.

“Helping a person better understand the cognitive and emotional effects of their disease through our specialized testing can often be a valuable step in helping them cope with these challenges, and can also help their doctors determine appropriate treatments,” Parkinson said. “It is my privilege to work with patients and their families during this process, and I am inspired by the many fine people I meet who persevere despite difficult circumstances.”

 

Lisa Freiman, Ph.D., director, Institute for Contemporary Art

Lisa Freiman, Ph.D., director of the ICA
Lisa Freiman, Ph.D., director of the ICA

Freiman, inaugural director of the ICA, has been named to the grand prize jury of the seventh annual ArtPrize, an independent, international art competition held in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

As part of the three-member jury, Freiman will help select the $200,000 prize winner from among 20 finalists.

Freiman is an internationally recognized curator and leader in the contemporary art field. As senior curator and chair of the contemporary art department at the Indianapolis Museum of Art for 11 years, Freiman transformed the experience of contemporary art in Indianapolis. She created a dynamic and widely renowned contemporary art program that has become an influential model for encyclopedic museums as they engage with the art of our time. Actively seeking out the works of emerging and established international artists, Freiman has provided a platform to support artists’ work through major traveling exhibitions, commissions, acquisitions and publications.

Freiman served on the ArtPrize Artist Seed Grant panel in 2014 and on the 3-D jury in 2012. She replaces Brooklyn artist Wangechi Mutu, who was unable to attend this year.

 

Richard Binder, M.D., professor of internal medicine, School of Medicine

Binder was appointed by President Barack Obama to the National Disease Prevention Advisory Panel. The Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health includes 21 non-federal members appointed by the president. 

Binder is currently a consultant to the Department of Medicine at Inova Fairfax Hospital and a professor on the faculties of both the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and the Georgetown University School of Medicine.

Binder served as a medical director from 2010–2013 at McKesson/US Oncology, an oncology practice management firm, where he was a medical practice adviser and mentor to oncology practices throughout the country. In addition, he is a consultant to the Federal Aviation Administration where he evaluates the appropriateness of cancer patients to pilot an aircraft.

From 1965–2005, Binder was in the private practice of hematology and oncology.

From 2005–2010, he worked in an advisory capacity in the Office of the President of Inova Health System.

 

Timmerie Cohen, Ph.D., assistant professor and clinical coordinator of radiation therapy, School of Allied Health Professions

Jeffrey Legg, Ph.D., associate professor and chair, Department of Radiation Sciences, School of Allied Health Professions

Timmerie Cohen, Ph.D.
Timmerie Cohen, Ph.D.

Cohen and Legg have been selected as winners of the Journal of Allied Health’s 2015 J. Warren Perry Award for their manuscript, “Factors Associated with HPV Vaccine Use among Hispanic College Students,” which appeared in the winter 2014 issue.

The pair studied HPV vaccination rates and possible barriers to vaccination among a sample of U.S. college-aged Hispanic women. They determined that having health insurance, using preventive care and maintaining good health status are significantly associated with HPV vaccine use. In the journal article, they recommended tailoring health promotion activities to specific racial populations such as Hispanic women in order to decrease disparities in HPV vaccination rates. 

Jeffrey Legg, Ph.D.
Jeffrey Legg, Ph.D.

The late J. Warren Perry was a founding member of Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions, became the association’s second president, and was the founder of the Journal of Allied Health in 1972.

The awards will be presented on Oct. 28 during the ASAHP’s annual conference in Scottsdale, Arizona.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marcia L. Buck, Pharm.D., affiliate clinical professor, School of Pharmacy

Marcia L. Buck, Pharm.D.
Marcia L. Buck, Pharm.D.

Buck has been named president-elect of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy. She will assume the office of president-elect during the 2015 ACCP Global Conference on Clinical Pharmacy in October in San Francisco. The American College of Clinical Pharmacy’s purpose is to advance human health and quality of life by extending the frontiers of pharmacy practice and research.