What are your roles and responsibilities with Academic Medicine?

I am one of the assistant editors at Academic Medicine. In this role, I primarily review Innovation Reports, but I have also hosted a podcast, curated a collection of papers, and cowritten an editorial.

What do you enjoy most about your work with Academic Medicine?

I thoroughly enjoy the relationships I have built with other assistant editors. I appreciate (but perhaps not enjoy) being stretched by having to review very diverse content and to stay “ahead of the curve” in order tell what is (or is not) innovative.

Describe your work outside of Academic Medicine.

I am the director of research on pediatric education at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and associate professor of pediatrics at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. In my role, I get to support faculty and trainees in their pursuit of educational scholarship. I often provide consultation and mentorship for qualitative research methodology and scholarly evaluation of educational programs. My own scholarship tends to be longitudinal qualitative research, where I follow participants for years, not weeks or months. 

What was your first publication?

My first paper was actually from my first career in nutrition. My first medical education paper was Balmer D, Serwint J, Ruzek S, Ludwig S, Giardino AP. Learning behind the scenes: Perceptions and observations of role modeling in pediatric residents’ continuity experience. Ambul Pediatr. 2007;7:176-181.

What’s making you happy right now?

I’m taking a 4-week yoga immersion course at my favorite yoga studio.