This year the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences Office of International Medicine Programs (IMP) had a number of staff changes with the departure of two long-term staff members and the introduction of several new members of our team.
Janan Sarkis, MPH, director of academic operations, retired in the spring 2019 after 16 years working at IMP. Jesse Pines, MD, MBA, will also be leaving us at the end of the year after 10 years of serving as program director of the Medical Research Fellowship Program; Pines was presented an appreciate plaque from IMP on his last day. We thank them both so much for the work they did for IMP; our success has largely been due to their passion and commitment for IMP’s mission.
We are also happy to share that we had four new staff members join us this year. Shafiah Firoz is IMP’s new director of educational programs. Patricia “Patti” Niles is the new director of finance and operations and previously served as the administrative director of two research centers at the GW School of Business. Genevieve “Genna” McKenna is our newest program manager and was one of our former graduate research assistants while earning her master’s degree at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at GW. Kristin Vail also joined the IMP team this year as the office manager.
Ali Pourmand, MD, is now the new program director for the Medical Research and Fellowship Program. Currently, Pourmand serves as the director of educational technology and media for the Department of Emergency Medicine at GW Hospital. For the first time, IMP also has a part-time research director, Fernando Vidal-Vanaclocha, MD, PhD, who is also a research professor for the GW SMHS Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine. Vidal-Vanaclocha came to GW having previously served as professor of cell biology and human histology and vice dean for research and international affairs at the CEU-San Pablo University School of Medicine (Madrid).