Our association is a robust and diverse set of educators, students, researchers, medical professionals, volunteers and academics that come from all walks of life and from around the globe. Each month we choose a member to highlight their academic and professional career and see how they are making the best of their membership in IAMSE. This month’s Featured Member is Kirsten A. Porter-Stransky.

Kirsten A. Porter-Stransky, PhD
Assistant Professor
Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, USA

How long have you been a member of IAMSE?
I joined IAMSE in 2018.

What brought you to IAMSE? Why did you decide to join and how did you get more involved with the Association?
When I began as a faculty member at WMed, I transitioned from full-time behavioral neuroscience research to medical science education. When I inquired about professional development, a colleague told me to join IAMSE. I attended my first IAMSE meeting in Roanoke in 2019 and thought, “I’ve found my people!” A few years prior, I did not know that medical science education was a career path option for PhDs. Through IAMSE, I have met hundreds of fellow medical science educators, many of whom have become colleagues, mentors, and friends.

For subsequent annual meetings, I presented posters and focus sessions. During the pandemic, I stayed connected to colleagues and the association through the IAMSE Cafe. To become more involved and give back to the society, I joined the Membership Committee and the Virtual Forum Planning Committee. I am completing the IAMSE Fellowship program and am looking forward to receiving my certificate in Cancun this June!

Looking at your time with the Association, what have you most enjoyed doing? What are you looking forward to? 
The annual meeting is my favorite IAMSE event each year. Getting to reconnect face-to-face with colleagues, meet new medical science educators, present my research, and participate in engaging professional development sessions makes me a better educator, scholar, and mentor.

In between the annual meetings, I enjoy staying connected to the association through professional committee work. On the Membership Committee, we are working to retain current IAMSE members, broaden the membership base internationally and across health professions, and build community among members. Compared to other associations, I truly believe that there is significant value to IAMSE membership, and I hope that all members can take advantage of the opportunities that IAMSE membership entails.

While it is no secret that I love in-person conferences, there are undeniable advantages to virtual meetings, such as accessibility, inclusivity, and affordability. Therefore, I was honored to join the inaugural IAMSE Virtual Forum Planning Committee. This is not your basic online conference: with support from IAMSE leadership, the committee has worked hard to develop an engaging and innovative format with ignite talks, lightning talks, workshops, and an anti-oppression in healthcare education panel. 

What interesting things are you working on outside of the Association right now? Research, presentations, etc.
Right now, I am gearing up to direct our behavioral science course next month and am putting the finishing touches on new TBLs and a lab. As co-chair of WMed’s Women in Medicine and Science (WIMS) group, I enjoy designing events to support women in academic medicine and science both for professional development and for building communities of support. 

My medical education research focuses on the integration of biomedical and clinical sciences in medical curricula and uses qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. I am fortunate for great collaborators. And I am thrilled that a recent paper with collaborators Bonny Dickinson, Kris Gibson, Kristi VanDerKolk, Edwina Smith, Lisa Graves, and Roger Edwards is now in press in IAMSE’s association journal Medical Science Educator.

Anything else that you would like to add?
IAMSE has many opportunities for health professions educators. I encourage all members to get involved whether through presentations, publications in Medical Science Educator, attendance at conferences, or committee work. (And if at first you don’t succeed, try again. It may take a few tries to find the right fit, but there is room for all of us to grow within IAMSE.)

Finally, I want to express gratitude to the many IAMSE members and leaders who have welcomed me into the association, provided mentorship, and opened doors for scholarship, collaboration, service, and professional growth. I will not list names out of fear of leaving someone out, but please know how immensely thankful I am for you! And to those I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting, I hope we can connect at an IAMSE event soon!

Our association is a robust and diverse set of educators, students, researchers, medical professionals, volunteers and academics that come from all walks of life and from around the globe. Each month we choose a member to highlight their academic and professional career and see how they are making the best of their membership in IAMSE. This month’s Featured Member is Inaya Hajj Hussein.

Inaya Hajj Hussein
Associate Professor of Anatomical Sciences
Oakland University William Beaumont (OUWB) School of Medicine (USA)
Chair, IAMSE Public Affairs Committee

How long have you been a member of IAMSE?
I have been a member since I joined OUWB School of Medicine in 2012

What brought you to IAMSE? Why did you decide to join and how did you get more involved with the Association?
Prior to joining OUWB School of Medicine, I was mostly a molecular biology researcher in addition to teaching Anatomical Sciences. My background was in immunology and microbiology and was mostly involved in bench research on Inflammatory Bowel Disease. After my move to OUWB in 2012, I became involved in medical education and started to engage in scholarly activities focused on medical education. This new line of research took me to a new domain. I am very grateful to our Foundational Medical Studies department, which made the OUWB School of Medicine an institutional member of IAMSE.

IAMSE, with its international aspect, provided me with the opportunity to meet pioneers in medical education. I have gained a lot of experience from my participation in IAMSE’s Annual Conference and have met colleagues with similar passions and interests from all over the world that further promoted collaboration at the national and international levels.

Looking at your time with the Association, what have you most enjoyed doing? What are you looking forward to? 
I always look forward to the next Annual Conference! Where will the next meeting be held? What will be the theme? What is trending now or what’s new in medical education and how can I get more involved with anticipation to get inspired and bring back exciting new ideas? I also look forward to connecting with new colleagues, creating more collaborations, developing new initiatives in medical education, and increasing my engagements with the association. 

I have been involved in many ways such as presenting at the annual meeting either as a poster, oral, or focus session presenter, and being a committee member of the Student Professional Development Committee (SPDC), EnGAGE Committee, and the Publications Committee. Currently, I serve as the chair of the Public Affairs Committee. I still look forward to more involvement in the annual meetings programs and workshops. 

Tell us a little bit about the Public Affairs Committee. What benefits does the monthly Public Affairs Report provide to IAMSE members? How can members contribute to this resource?
The Public Affairs Committee monitors the latest and most important developments in medical education around the world, then summarizes them, gives a general overview, and provides these to the membership in regular monthly reports. The Public Affairs Committee consists of 4 members including the chair and vice chair. The chair is an IAMSE member and reports to the Publications Standing Committee. Such an exchange is very enriching and stimulating.

IAMSE members can contribute by contacting me at hajjhuss@oakland.edu at any time with suggestions, comments, and special announcements that may be of interest to the membership and that may help improve the report. Members can also send us inspirational quotes to be included as “quote of the month” in the monthly report and other relevant material. 

What interesting things are you working on outside of the Association right now? Research, presentations, etc.
On March 11, 2020, when the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic, the academic world abruptly shifted into a remote virtual realm. At OUWB, we sought to leverage this unique situation. With the use of Zoom™, we removed the geographic hindrances posed by the pandemic and assembled a passionate Global Community of Anatomical Sciences Educators (GCASE) from the five continents with the aim of continuing scholarly activities and increasing a network dedicated to education and scientific exchange. The GCASE was approved as a new member society of the International Federation of Anatomy Association (IFAA). We meet regularly and currently we are editing a special issue that highlights various aspects of anatomical sciences in the Journal of Academic Development and Education (JADE). I am one of the Co-editors.

I am also passionate and interested in adopting and developing new teaching strategies that stress co-creation and interactive self-directed learning, taking advantage of the most recent advances in information technology.

Anything else that you would like to add?
I would encourage the international members to get more involved in IAMSE. I believe IAMSE is a unique organization that will help educators to connect worldwide and grow into a community focused on medical education. Of most importance to me, being an immigrant from Lebanon and featured as an IAMSE member, I hope to attract more women in the field from the Middle East to join the IAMSE organization. Education in general is a critical area of empowerment for women and this is often neglected in the Middle East. I would like to seize this opportunity to be part of strengthening the connection between education, health, gender equality, and empowerment in line with the vision and mission of IAMSE.