In Sept. 2026, Heersink School of Medicine hosted its 2026 Educational Research & Innovations in Clinical & Health Sciences (ENRICH) Week. The annual conference brings together healthcare educators to discuss and promote innovations in teaching skills, curriculum development, and healthcare research. It is organized by UAB’s Healthcare Educators Academy (HEA), which provides faculty development and mentorship for early career educators in Medicine, Public Health, Health Professions, Optometry, Dentistry, and Nursing at UAB.
"ENRICH week demonstrates the importance of education as a key mission area at UAB," said Lisa Willett, M.D., MACM, vice chair for Education and Faculty Development and member of HEA's leadership team. "It’s inspiring to see so many educational innovations by our interprofessional teachers. Their impact on learners ensures outstanding clinical care will continue at UAB and beyond."
Monday and Tuesday featured project presentations from the current cohort of mentees in the Healthcare Educators Academy. Wednesday featured the event’s keynote speaker, Diana McNeill, M.D., MACP, associate dean of Duke AHEAD (Academy for Health Professions Education and Academic Development) with her presentation, “ENRICHing the Next Generation: Educators as Leaders of Change.” Thursday offered two Emerging Educator Workshops and the annual ENRICH Week poster session.
"One of the key benefits of ENRICH week is gathering interprofessional healthcare educators from across the UAB enterprise," noted Dawn Taylor Peterson, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Medical Education and Department of Health Services Administration and member of HEA's leadership team. "The events throughout the week provide an opportunity for faculty to share educational projects and success stories. We can learn a lot from each other’s experiences."
This year’s poster session in the West Pavilion included poster presentations from 21 individuals. The three categories were Clinical Vignette, Innovation, and Research & Scholarship. The winners were:
Clinical Vignette
Olivia Keenum, M.D.
Use of RoPE and PASCAL Scores to Decide on PFO Closure After Ischemic Stroke
Innovation
Natasha Workman Morris, DNP
Laughing Through the Gut: A Comedic Innovation to Enhance Learning of Gastrointestinal Concepts in Undergraduate Nursing Education
Research & Scholarship
Joseph Jackson
Transforming Biomedical and Clinical Research Leaders Into Empowering Leaders Through a Short Intervention
Congratulations to these three winners. All poster presenters who participated in this year’s session are as follows:
- Sumayah Abed, M.D.
- Bagneten Bakoyema
- Emily Plumage Boyd, M.D.
- Jessica Brouillette
- Reshu Chandra
- Neil Chaudhary
- Izabella Dente
- Andrada Diaconescu, M.D.
- Anna Dickson, M.D.
- Hannah Goymer, M.D.
- Joseph Jackson
- Cole Keenum, M.D.
- Olivia Keenum, M.D.
- Isabela Lamadrid
- Bhekumusa Lukhele, Ph.D., MPH
- Natasha Workman Morris, DNP
- Ashley Parish, PT, DPT, Ph.D., CRT, CCS
- Esereoghene Mowoe, M.D.
- Alexandra Rios
- Ritika Samant