Research, mentorship, and collaboration celebrated; Wong wins Watts Award

Accolades, applause, and awards - combined with plenty of optimism and pride - were the centerpieces of the MGH Institute’s Fall 2024 Convocation, held Tuesday in 1 CW, where approximately 120 faculty and staff gathered to celebrate accomplishments across programs and schools. 

Provost Reamer Bushardt kicked things off by reminding all that convocation symbolically begins the academic year. 

“Today, as we celebrate the achievements of members of the Institute community, let it remind you of the awesome, transformative power of education, research, and service,” said Bushardt. “Let it remind you that when we work together, share our talents, and live our values, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.”

After a video that welcomed each of the 42 new faculty and staff who have joined the IHP over the last year, attendees heard from Boston Mayor Michelle Wu in a video message. 

“Boston is home to world-class healthcare and academic ecosystems, and the Institute is a critical part of both,” said Wu. “The work you do here at the IHP not only sets the industry standard but keeps our city on the forefront of innovating care…Thank you all for your partnership, collaboration and hard work here at the MGH Institute of Health Professions.” 

Elsie Taveras, inaugural Chief Community Health and Equity Officer at Mass General Brigham, gave the keynote address, touching upon what MGB is doing to eliminate health inequities and improve health outcomes for marginalized and underserved populations. 

“Knowing that the Institute not only embraces justice, equity, diversity and inclusion values,” Taveras told convocation attendees, “but is also committed to equipping all its students with the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to advance health equity makes today's invitation to speak with you particularly inspiring for me.”

Nancy T. Watts Award for Teaching Excellence

The accomplishments and awards recognized on this day were many, including the most prestigious: the Nancy T. Watts Award for Teaching Excellence, the highest honor a faculty member can receive, was named for Professor Emerita Nancy T. Watts, who helped found the Institute and later served as a faculty member, administrator, and mentor.

John Wong, Distinguished Teaching Associate Professor of Nursing and Occupational Therapy took the honors, but he wasn’t there to personally accept the award because he’s in China on sabbatical. Nevertheless, Wong was more than pleased at his accomplishment. 

“I am pleasantly surprised and utterly thrilled to hear about the award while I am on sabbatical,” Wong emailed from China. “I feel so lucky to have the support of so many colleagues at the IHP, who took the time to put together the nomination package and the video.”

During the video that was played to reveal the winner, plenty of Wong’s colleagues heaped praise on who he is. 

“I found that the topics that he teaches are quite stressful sometimes for our students in research and biostats,” said Pat Reidy, interim dean for the School of Nursing, “but he has found very innovative ways to teach that and is really a favorite professor among our students because of his innovative ways of teaching a tough topic.”

“There’s a really deep integrity and openness on both the way he led the Faculty Senate and the way he teaches classes,” said Alex Hoyt, Associate Professor in the School of Nursing. 

“John’s teaching practices have really enriched the students’ learning experiences and he meets the student where they’re at,” said Regina Doherty, Dean of Interprofessional Education and Practice, “whether the student is a post professional student and a practicing clinician or the student is an entry-level student and just entering the profession.”

“He wants the student to be seen, he wants the student to be heard,” said Margie Sipe, Assistant Dean of Leadership Programs in the School of Nursing. “He wants them to understand because he knows these students are going to be the people who are going to go out in our healthcare environments and really change them and he wants to give them the basis to do that in the very best way.” 

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Leadership Award

Keshrie Naidoo, Chair of the Physical Therapy Department, took home the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Leadership Award. 

“I am honored to receive this award for leading the important work that the physical therapy department has been engaged in,” said Naidoo. “I look forward to continued collaboration with the faculty and our alumni to advance justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in physical therapy education and practice.”

Naidoo’s colleagues spoke glowingly of her contributions to this space in the reveal video. 

“Keshrie has been a leader in developing, implementing, and evaluating our cross-curricular thread, social justice and health equity,” said School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Dean Laura Plummer. “This thread expands the entire three years of the program.”

Jane Baldwin spoke of Naidoo’s early experience in life growing up in South Africa during apartheid as contributing to her drive to change the world. 

“She’s one to hold people accountable, she’s certainly held me accountable and it’s not always comfortable in those situations, but dissonance causes change and that’s what we have to look for and I think Keshrie does that in a respectful but yet challenging way…. So many of our students under Keshrie’s leadership and mentorship are doing phenomenal things.” 

A former student, Kamaria Washington, ’21 Physical Therapy, said as much. 

“Keshrie has contributed to my own understanding of JEDI through the idea of patience,” Kamaria Washington, ’21 DPT said with a laugh during her video recording. “For me, it was just a lesson of, when you see something that’s valuable or when you want to share education of something, especially when it comes to the JEDI principles, it takes patience and persistence. You have to keep putting in that work even when you meet a roadblock.”

Other Faculty Are Recognized

Several other faculty and staff members were recognized with awards: 

New Investigator Award, which honors IHP faculty who have achieved distinction in the early stages of their research career: Kathryn Connaghan, Assistant Professor, Communication Sciences and Disorders

Faculty Award for Excellence in Research, which honors a faculty member who has a distinctive program of research that is recognized nationally for creating new knowledge and advancing the research mission of the MGH Institute: Kathleen Lyons, Director, Cancer Rehabilitation (CaRe) Lab

Excellence in Research Mentoring Award, which goes to faculty who has excelled as a mentor which can include research mentoring, professional development and research networking, and guidance on integrating teaching and research. There were two awardees:  Teresa Kimberley, Director of the Brain Recovery Lab, and Margie Sipe, Assistant Dean of Leadership Programs in the School of Nursing. 

TEAL Fellows

Teaching Excellence Academy for Learning, or TEAL, is an honorary society for faculty members who demonstrate sustained contributions to the teaching mission of the Institute. Three new fellows have been elected to the sixth cohort:

  • Midge Hobbs, Center of Interprofessional Education and Practice and the Department of Occupational Therapy
  • Jason Lucey, School of Nursing
  • John Wong, School of Nursing, and the Department of Occupational Therapy

Provost Collaboration Award

New to the MGH Institute, the Provost Collaboration Award recognizes individuals or teams who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to advancing the academic excellence of the Institute through collaborative efforts. There were three winners of this inaugural award:

  • Mike Monteiro, Director of Enterprise Software Applications and Systems: For expert contributions to data integration for enrollment efficiency
  • Greg Moore, Instructional Technology Manager: For creative and collegial implementation of continuing education and EdX learning activities
  • Mass General Brigham’s Workforce Development Team: For partnership in expanding and enhancing equity in pathways into health care careers

Onramps

Onramp Groups are collaborative teams led by an experienced investigator to disseminate scholarship. Over the 2023–2024 school year, five faculty and staff members served as Onramp group leaders: 

  • Jean Bernhardt, Associate Professor, School of Nursing: Influence of social determinants of health in the context of climate-change related excessive heat
  • Eleonor Pusey-Reid, Distinguished Teaching Associate Professor, School of Nursing: Should Emotional Intelligence be a Selection Metric for Prelicensure Nursing Programs? 
  • Kimberly Truong, Chief Equity Officer; Callie Watkins Liu, Director of JEDI Education and Programs; and Laura Wolford, Assistant Professor, Communication Sciences and Disorders: An Evaluation of the Power, Privilege, and Positionality Program

Promotions

Seven faculty were promoted; here are their new titles: 

Assistant Professor

Associate Professor

Professor

Before the event ended, Associate Provost Peter Cahn reminded faculty and staff of their day-to-day impact. 

“What Dr. Taveras and Mayor Wu have so vividly illustrated is that our sometimes quiet, academic efforts resonate loudly across the community,” noted Cahn. “It’s clear that the teaching, learning, service, and scholarship we engage in makes the city we live in healthier.”

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