The mission of the Academy of Medical Education Scholars (AMES) at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson is to create and sustain a diverse community of scholars dedicated to excellence and innovation in medical education.
Congratulations
AMES Medical Research Grants
Bhupinder Natt, MD
Department of Medicine
Project: Use of Real-Time Feedback device to improve the technique of Bag-Mask Ventilation
Maxwell Hart, MD, MEd
Department of Medicine
Project: Utilization of ChatGPT for the Assessment of Medical Student-Written Histories of Present Illness
Tejal M. Parikh, MD
Department of Family & Community Medicine
Project: Enhancing Pelvic Anatomy and Reproductive Physical Examination Skills through Handheld Endocavitary Ultrasound
Katherine Robbins, MD
Department of Medicine
Project: Dermoscopy Performance and Educational Phone Application
Julie Armin, PhD
Barbara Eckstein, MD
Colette Scott, MEd
Department of Family & Community Medicine
Project: Developing Patients-as-Educators to Promote Health Equity: Leveraging Patients’ Lived-Experience Expertise to Educate Medical Students
AMES Development Travel Grants
Eva Wilson, DO
Department of Emergency Medicine
Katelyn Fellows, MD
Department of Psychiatry
Elaine Situ-LaCasse, MD
Department of Emergency Medicine
Yamne Callejas
COM-T Office of Financial Aid
Omowunmi Oluwo, MD
Department of Surgery
Anna Alkozei, PhD
Department of Family & Community Medicine
Michelle Abbate, MD
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
AMES Travel Grants
Claudio Cheuquen
COM-T Office of Student Affairs
David Neiling
COM-T Office of Student Affairs
Vivienne Ng, MD
Department of Emergency Medicine
Rebecca Whitmer
COM-T Student
Steven Dudick, MD
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Lonnie Lybarger, PhD
Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine
Katelyn Anderson
COM-T Student
Elaine Situ-LaCasse, MD
Department of Emergency Medicine
AMES Medical Research Grants
Elaine Situ-LaCasse, MD
Department of Emergency Medicine
AMES Development Travel Grants
Richard Amini, MD
Department of Emergency Medicine
Anirudh Gururaj, MD
Clinical Teaching
Elaine Situ-LaCasse, MD
Department of Emergency Medicine
Amy Klein, MD
Department of Medicine
Amanda Goodwin, MD
Resident/Fellow
Vivienne Ng, MD, MPH
Department of Emergency Medicine
Evelyn Alexander, MD
Resident/Fellow
AMES Travel Grants
Katelyn Fellows, MD
Resident/Fellow
Yumi Shirai, PhD
Department of Family and Community Medicine
Thomas Nguyen, MD
Resident/Fellow
Ahmed Elkamel, MD
Resident/Fellow
AMES Medical Research Grant
Aarjav Pandya
Medical Student
Jason Wheeler
Medical Student
Sigrid Williams, MD
Department of Pharmacology
AMES Development Grants
Michelle Abbate, MD
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Amy Klein, MD
Department of Medicine
Alexandra Stump
Medical Student
Christina Marie Zarraga, MD
Department of Pediatrics
Elaine Situ-LaCasse, MD
Department of Emergency Medicine
AMES Travel Grants
Paul Gordon, MD
Department of Family & Community Medicine
Department of Pharmacology
David Pogosyan
Medical Student
Amreeta Jammu, MD
Resident/Fellow
Naimisha Badri
Medical Student
Adefolarin Adeyemi, MD
Resident/Fellow
Current Opportunities
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Medical Education Research Grant
As part of its commitment to excellence and innovation in medical education, the Academy of Medical Education Scholars (AMES) will fund a new round of grants to support medical education-related research at the College of Medicine-Tucson. Eligibility includes College of Medicine-Tucson faculty members, fellows, residents, and medical students who are sponsored by a faculty member. AMES expects to award up to four grants in 2026-2027.
These grants are intended to support medical education research. Topics may include, but are not limited to, student assessment and evaluation, clinical skill trainings, and teaching modalities (see https://www.aamc.org/media/24771/download for resources). Successful applications will include quantitative or qualitative evaluation of outcomes from this research and demonstrate the actual or potential impact of this work.
Funds may be requested for technical/analytical support (e.g., software development, statistical support) and for well-justified supplies and equipment, but not for travel or for investigators' salaries. Applicants are encouraged, but not required, to consult or collaborate with an AMES member (listed below) when preparing their proposals.
Each proposal must include:
1. Name, degree, position/title, and department of the applicant(s). If the applicant is a medical student, a signed letter of sponsorship from a College of Medicine faculty member must be included in the application.
2. A proposal, no longer than 3 pages, describing the research plan, its context, and an assessment plan.
3. A proposed budget for the project. Budgets are limited to $5,000.
Submit materials here: https://uarizona.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8CSYmAaRZ2HYEQu
Deadline to submit is noon on Monday, September 14th.
All applicants will be notified in late September on results
Upcoming Opportunities
Fall Travel Grant
The Academy of Medical Education Scholars (AMES) at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson (COM-T) promotes excellence and innovation in medical education. To this end, AMES announces the availability of travel grants for faculty, staff (Appointed Personnel), and trainees (fellows, residents, medical students) of the College of Medicine-Tucson to present their research in medical education at regional and national conferences.
Research in medical education is defined per AAMC Cultivating Excellence in Medical Education | AAMC Applications that do not meet these criteria will not be considered.
An applicant must be an author on an accepted abstract or talk and must play a substantial role in presenting the work at the meeting. Applications from residents, fellows, and students must be sponsored by a COM-T faculty member. Travel grants will not be awarded for attendance only.
AMES will consider requests for up to $750 per applicant toward the expenses of presenting research (poster, talk, workshop, etc.) at an in-person meeting.
A complete application for an AMES travel grant must include the following:
Your name, primary department or section, and position or type of appointment.
A copy of your abstract and letter of acceptance.
A brief explanation of your role in presenting the work if you are not first author
A brief explanation of how your presentation is medical education research
COM faculty sponsorship letter, if applicable for trainees (see above)
An estimate of your expenses (registration, travel, lodging)
Applications will open in October 2026. Check your email or back here for the deadline & the link to submit your application.
Fall Development Grant
As part of its commitment to excellence and innovation in medical education, the Academy of Medical Education Scholars (AMES) will fund grants to support medical education-related development activities for educators at the College of Medicine. Eligibility includes College of Medicine-Tucson faculty members, fellows, and residents.
These grants are intended to support the cost of attending educational development activities for trainees and faculty seeking to improve skills within medical education. Appropriate activities include seminars, series, workshops, or other meetings that provide medical education-specific educator development toward improving teaching, curriculum development, scholarship, educational research, and leadership. Funds may be requested for meeting registration, necessary travel, and lodging (for in-person meetings).
AMES will consider requests for up to $1000 per applicant for an in-person meeting and $500 for virtual attendance. Educators are required to present major highlights of the experience at a monthly AMES meeting.
Travel expenses must be submitted for reimbursement before June 15, 2027. Reimbursements should be submitted within 90 days from the date the expenses are incurred. Failure to submit reimbursement within the 90 days will result in tax implications to the grant recipient. If a grant is awarded retrospectively, the 90-day limit also applies.
A complete application for an AMES Educational Development award must include the following:
Your name, primary department or section, and position or type of appointment.
Information about the educational development activity, workshop or seminar, and letter of acceptance if applicable
A brief explanation of how attending this conference will help you to meet your medical education goals and contribute to excellence in medical education at the University of Arizona (<300 words)
COM faculty sponsorship letter, if applicable (recommended for resident and fellow applicants)
An estimate of your expenses (registration, travel, lodging)
Applications will open in October 2026. Check your email or check back here for the link and deadline to submit materials!
Members
History
Based upon the recommendations of an advisory committee chaired by Dr. Joseph Alpert in 2007, Dean Keith Joiner approved the formation of an Academy of Excellence in Education at the University of Arizona College of Medicine (COM-T). That organization, now called the Academy of Medical Education Scholars (AMES), was created in 2008 based on a concept originating at UCSF and Harvard and becoming widespread among American medical schools. The idea was to recognize and support the most accomplished teachers and educators at COM-T and, in return, draw on those faculty members for advice and service to the college’s education programs. It was recommended initially that the Academy would:
- Recognize excellent teachers and educators at COM-T
- Work to provide financial support for the recruitment, recognition and retention of outstanding teachers
- Create a body of educationally oriented faculty who would assist the college with activities such as
- faculty development for teaching
- mentoring junior faculty with an interest in education
- peer review of faculty teaching
- Foster research in medical education
- Heighten recognition of the educational mission of the college.
Initial members of AMES were identified by nominations from all departments at COM-T, based on demonstration of educational expertise, educational scholarship and outstanding record of professionalism. Today, those leading medical educators at COM-T continue in their efforts to recruit, mentor and retain outstanding educators and promote excellence in teaching and educational scholarship at all COM-T teaching sites. The Academy also is responsible for selecting the Vernon and Virginia Furrow Awards and awarding annual research grants for educational scholarship. An exciting new effort by the Academy is the creation of an Educators’ Fellowship program, promoting academic faculty development at both the College of Medicine – Tucson and College of Medicine – Phoenix.
Publications
2018
Waterbrook AL, Ellinwood KCSpear, T Pritchard G, et al. “Shadowing emergency medicine residents by medical education specialists to provide feedback on non-medical knowledge-based ACGME sub-competencies.” Adv Med Educ Pract. 2018;9:307-315. PMCID: PMC5942177 PMID: 29765259
2015
Nematollahi S, St John PA, Adamas-Rappaport WJ. “Lessons learned with a flipped classroom.” Med Educ. 2015;49(11):1143. PMID: 26494072
Resources
The Academy of Medical Education Scholars supports the scholarship of education in several ways, including mentorship, funding and providing resources for those wishing to conduct scholarship in education. Such resources include links to funding groups and a bibliography of journals with a focus on academic education topics, which can be accessed here. This annotated bibliography was created by a group of scholars from the AAMC Research in Medical Education Section.
A key source of resources for faculty development is the College of Medicine – Tucson Office of Faculty Affairs.