PHILADELPHIA, March 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NBME is pleased to announce the new leaders and members elected to its Board of Directors (Executive Board). Elections occurred during NBME’s Annual Meeting on March 25, 2021, which was held virtually to support health and safety through social distancing for the second consecutive year. Positions elected include Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer and three new at-large members. The Executive Board is composed of health care professionals and other leaders hailing from influential institutions across the United States. Members share in NBME’s mission of protecting the health of the public through state-of-the-art assessment of health professionals.
The Executive Board oversees all activities of NBME and has full authority to act for NBME membership between the annual meetings. Other vital responsibilities of this group include appointing NBME’s President and CEO as well as reviewing and approving NBME’s budget and directing the policy and business of NBME. Lastly, the Executive Board ensures that the organization’s commitments, such as to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, are upheld.
“Members always bring innovative ideas, perspectives and enthusiasm to the work of the Executive Board,” NBME President and CEO Peter J. Katsufrakis, MD, MBA, said. “We have also interacted with all three new members in various roles, so I have some sense of them and their thinking, but joining the Executive Board creates a new context. I look forward to the different value each of them will contribute to the work of the Executive Board.”
The following individuals will help guide NBME’s strategy and vision in 2021 and through upcoming years.
Alfred F. Tallia, MD, MPH – Chair
Dr. Tallia was elected to his second term as Chair, having previously served as Treasurer. He is Professor and Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and a Fellow in the Rutgers Center for Organizational Leadership. In 2020, Dr. Tallia served on the NBME Finance and Audit Committees, the Governance Review Task Force, the Public Stakeholders Committee and the International Oversight Committee. He also serves on the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®) Composite Committee and previously was Chair. Dr. Tallia previously chaired the USMLE Step 3 Community-based Care Committee, the Post Licensure Assessment System Governing Committee and the Committee to Evaluate the USMLE program. He earned his medical degree at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
“I’m privileged and honored to be asked to serve a second term as NBME Chair. To say that the first term was everything that I expected would not be true given the COVID-19 pandemic, which changed everything for everyone everywhere,” Dr. Tallia said. “But I’m happy to say that, despite the pandemic, we’ve made substantial progress, maybe even more than would have happened without the pandemic, to advancing the strategic plans of NBME.”
Latha Chandran, MD, MPH – Vice Chair
Dr. Chandran was elected as Vice Chair, having previously served as Treasurer. She is the Executive Dean and the Founding Chair of the Department of Medical Education at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She also serves as President of the Academic Pediatric Association. In 2020, Dr. Chandran chaired NBME’s Finance and Audit Committees and served on the USMLE Budget Committee. She earned her medical degree at Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, India.
“I am delighted to serve in this role as Vice Chair for NBME. Having been associated with NBME for the past almost 27 years, and having been on the Executive Board for the past several years, I have personally witnessed the transformation of this organization,” Dr. Chandran said. “I am thrilled to serve NBME as it transitions through the COVID-19 pandemic, its digital transformation and its governance renewal to ensure ongoing success and innovations in high-quality assessments that ensure the protection of the health of the public.”
Reena Karani, MD, MHPE – Treasurer
Dr. Karani was elected as Treasurer, having previously served as an at-large member. She is Director of the Institute for Medical Education and a Professor of Medical Education, Medicine and Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She was the recipient of the National Award for Scholarship in Medical Education from the Society for General Internal Medicine and the Distinguished Educator Award from the Northeast Group on Educational Affairs of the Association of American Medical Colleges. In 2020, Dr. Karani chaired the Advisory Committee for Medical School Programs and served on NBME’s Finance and Audit Committees and the Strategic Education Enhancement Fund Oversight Committee. She also served on the USMLE Management Committee, the Computer-based Case Simulations Committee and the Interdisciplinary Review Committees. She earned her medical degree at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and her Master of Health Professions Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
“It is a privilege and honor to serve as Treasurer of NBME,” Dr. Karani said. “NBME devotes itself to the singular pursuit of creating transformative assessments and learning tools to ensure safe, compassionate, patient-centered, unbiased and evidence-based care of patients. I am committed to accuracy, transparency and financial stewardship as we strive to meet the organization’s mission of protecting the health of the public.”
Maya Hammoud, MD, MBA – At-large Executive Board Member
Dr. Hammoud was elected as an at-large member. She is Chief of Women’s Health Division, Associate Chair for Education, the J. Robert Willson Research Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Professor of Learning Health Sciences at the University of Michigan Medical School. She is the current principal investigator on an American Medical Association Reimagining Residency grant focused on transforming the undergraduate medical education to graduate medical education transition. Since 2016, Dr. Hammoud has chaired NBME’s International Foundations of Medicine® (IFOM®) Committee, and she currently serves on the International Oversight Committee. She earned her medical degree at the University of Michigan Medical School.
“I am honored and look forward to joining NBME’s Executive Board and contributing to the strategic governance of this important organization,” Dr. Hammoud said. “NBME does excellent work, and I could not think of a more exciting time to join the board of this organization as it takes fresh approaches to innovations to advance medical education and assessment.”
Danny M. Takanishi Jr., MD – At-large Executive Board Member
Dr. Takanishi was elected as an at-large member. He is Associate Chair for Academic Affairs and Professor of Surgery at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine. He has also served in several roles with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. In 2020, Dr. Takanishi served on NBME’s Hubbard Award Committee and International Oversight Committee. He also served on the USMLE Composite Committee, the USMLE Management Committee and the Interdisciplinary Review Committees. He earned his medical degree at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine.
“I am truly honored and excited to have been elected to the Executive Board of NBME, and I am truly humbled by the responsibility that comes with it,” Dr. Takanishi said. “I look forward to working with NBME and its stakeholders to ensure that NBME continues as the preeminent organization that protects the public through state-of-the-art assessment of health professionals.”
Zach Weismann, MPA – At-large Executive Board Member
Mr. Weismann was elected as an at-large member. He founded and launched the MAG Impact Collective in 2018. This branding, strategy and design agency has worked with clients around the world. In addition, he collaborated with UT Southwestern Medical Center and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network to launch the first-ever pancreatic cancer multidisciplinary clinic. In 2018, Mr. Weismann became an at-large member of NBME and a member of NBME’s Public Stakeholders Committee. He earned master’s degrees from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin and the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University.
“After losing my mom to pancreatic cancer just six years ago, the nomination to serve on the Executive Board continues to embody my commitment to not only contributing my experience and unique perspectives to NBME, but also my now lifelong journey to learn from and collaborate with leaders in health care, health education and health accreditation around the world,” Mr. Weismann said. “NBME embodies what it means to lead by example, and the organization’s history serves as a prime example. I look forward to my service and helping NBME usher in a new era.”
NBME looks forward to the year ahead as well as working with other members of its Executive Board, including: Suzanne T. Anderson, MBA; Marie Foley, PhD, RN, CNL; Peter J. Katsufrakis, MD, MBA; David Milling, MD; Karen Sanders, MD; Kamili Wilson.
About NBME
NBME offers a versatile selection of high-quality assessments and educational services for students, professionals, educators and institutions dedicated to the evolving needs of medical education and health care. To serve these communities, we collaborate with a comprehensive array of professionals including test developers, academic researchers, scoring experts, practicing physicians, medical educators, state medical board members and public representatives.
Together with the Federation of State Medical Boards, NBME develops and manages the United States Medical Licensing Examination®. In addition, we are committed to meeting the needs of educators and learners globally with assessment products and expert services such as Subject Examinations, Customized Assessment Services, Self-Assessments, the International Foundations of Medicine® and Item-Writing Workshops.
We also provide medical education funding and mentorship through the Latin America Grants Program, Stemmler Fund and Strategic Educators Enhancement Fund, which serve to advance assessment at educators’ and health professionals’ own institutions.
Learn more about NBME at NBME.org.