News

#IAMSE26 Call for Focus Sessions Due September 1, 2025

The International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE) is pleased to announce the call for Focus Sessions for their 30th Annual IAMSE Conference to be held at the Marriott Augusta Convention Center in Augusta, Georgia, USA, June 6-9, 2026. The IAMSE Conference offers opportunities for faculty development and networking, bringing together educators from across the continuum of health sciences education. The theme of the IAMSE 2026 Conference is Flourishing Through Change: Adaptability, Innovation, and Growth in Health Sciences.

The purpose of a 90-minute Focus Session is to “focus in” on a specific topic in a small group interactive discussion format. Based on previous years, group size might vary between 10-70 individuals. The exact format for the session is at the discretion of the session leader(s), as long as not more than one-third of the time is being used for formal presentation and the remainder of the time is used for interaction, active learning in small groups, and discussion. The Program Committee welcomes a wide spectrum of submissions, such as multi-institutional and inter-professional collaborations and presenter teams consisting of junior and senior faculty and students. 

All abstracts must be submitted in the format requested through the online abstract submission form found here.

Submission Deadline is September 1, 2025.

Abstract acceptance notifications will be sent by November 1, 2025. Please contact support@iamse.org for any questions about your submission.

We hope to see you in Augusta next year!

Thank you,
Will Brooks
Chair, IAMSE 2026 Program Committee

Reminder* Call for IAMSE 2025 Virtual Forum Lightning Talk Abstracts Now Open!

As a reminder, the call for abstracts for Lightning Talk presentations for the fourth IAMSE Virtual Forum to be held October 22-24, 2025, is currently open. The IAMSE Virtual Forum is an entirely virtual synchronous event offering opportunities for faculty and student development and networking, bringing together medical sciences and medical education across the continuum of healthcare education.

Lightning Talks are short 7-minute live presentations followed by 7-minutes of questions and answers that will provide presenters a chance to share their work, including works in process. Abstracts for Lightning Talks must be submitted in the format requested through the online abstract submission site here.

The submission deadline is July 31, 2025, at 11:59 PM EDT.

There is no limit on the number of abstracts you may submit, but it is unlikely that more than one presentation per presenter can be accepted due to scheduling complexities. Abstract acceptance notifications will be returned in September 2025. Please contact support@iamse.org for any questions about your submission.
 
Looking forward to seeing you virtually this October!

You Can’t Miss the IAMSE Annual Conference in 2026!

IAMSE is pleased to invite you to join us in Augusta, Georgia, USA for our 2026 Annual Conference. Read on to learn more about this exciting event and keep your calendars open!

June 6 – 9, 2026
Augusta, Georgia, USA

Conference Program
The annual conference of the International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE) offers many opportunities for faculty development and networking, bringing together science and education across the continuum of health professions education. This year’s theme is Flourishing Through Change: Adaptability, Innovation, and Growth in Health Sciences. The 2026 Conference will offer Professional Development Workshops, Focus Sessions, Oral & Poster Presentations, and networking opportunities. In addition to the program, the IAMSE Medical Educator Fellowship, IM-REACH, and the Foundations in Health Professions Education course will be offered.

Who Should Attend?
The conference is designed for all those who teach and lead curricula in the sciences of medicine and health. Participants include basic scientists & clinical faculty, as well as educators from a variety of health care and educational disciplines. Students and trainees, likewise, are always represented and involved in the program. This international conference typically hosts over 25 nationalities from around the world.

About Augusta
Established along the Savannah River in 1736, Augusta is the state of Georgia’s second-largest city. The city is home to Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters golf tournament as well as the birthplace of legends like James Brown. A thriving arts community, plentiful outdoor activities, and locally owned restaurants add to its appeal for travelers. 

More information about Augusta, including things to do, restaurants, activities, and more can be found by clicking here or here.


More information about #IAMSE26, including plenary speakers, call for focus sessions, call for abstracts, and more will be sent in the coming weeks and months. Keep an eye on your inbox!

For more details and information on past conferences, click here!

Thank you,
Will Brooks
Chair, IAMSE 2026 Program Committee

Say Hello to our Featured Member Shauna Groven!

Our Association is a robust and diverse set of educators, students, researchers, medical professionals, volunteers and academics that come from all walks of life and from around the globe. Each month we choose a member to highlight their academic and professional career and see how they are making the best of their membership in IAMSE. This month’s Featured Member is Shauna Groven.

Shauna Groven
Medical Student
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

What encouraged you to become involved in IAMSE as a student?
I became involved with IAMSE after my research mentor, Dr. Simanton, encouraged me to submit an abstract for a poster presentation at the 2025 IAMSE Annual Conference. After learning about IAMSE’s mission to advance medical education through research and collaboration, I was driven to share the findings of my project, which examined how socioeconomics status influences admission metrics and academic performance in medical school. Considering the vast network of educators within IAMSE, this association felt like the ideal platform to connect with those committed to fostering equity in medical education.

Congratulations on receiving a Student Presentation Award (Outstanding Student Poster Presentation) at the Annual Conference! What interesting things are you working on next?
Thank you! After presenting our findings at the conference, I am working on developing our research into a manuscript for publication. Additionally, I plan on exploring other factors influencing student performance, such as if medical students with first-generation, low-income (FGLI) backgrounds demonstrate similar trends to students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. I am also conducting a clinical research project investigating the antioxidant effects of freeze-dried strawberry supplementation in individuals with prediabetes and writing a manuscript for publication.

What advice do you have for other students thinking about getting involved with IAMSE?
I would take the opportunity to engage with everything IAMSE has to offer. Whether you are attending sessions or presenting your own work, you will find a welcoming community eager to share their knowledge and ideas. While at the conference, I had the privilege of interacting with medical students, professors, and administrators from medical schools of many different countries. These discussions provided me with valuable insights into my own research, as well as exposed me to diverse perspectives on medical education. Overall, this conference was a great chance to network and truly showcased the supportive community IAMSE has to offer.

How does being a part of IAMSE support your future career goals?
IAMSE has broadened my understanding of medical education and strengthened my passion for researching how the system can better support students from all backgrounds, both during the admissions process and throughout medical school. In the future, I hope to collaborate with admissions and curriculum committees to help inform policies that promote inclusivity in medical education. Being a part of IAMSE offers the resources, mentorship, and connections for me to pursue these goals and contribute meaningfully to the field. 

Anything else that you would like to add?
I am grateful to IAMSE for recognizing our work and creating such a welcoming environment. I look forward to staying involved and continuing to collaborate with this inspiring community in the future. 

Congratulations to the #IAMSE25 Travel Award Winners

We would like to extend our congratulations to 9 Junior Faculty and 10 students who were awarded the 2025 IAMSE Travel Awards for the conference last month. These awards support junior faculty and aspiring educators to attend the IAMSE Annual Conference. Made possible in part by Aquifer and Elsevier, each award is meant to cover the expenses related to attendance at the IAMSE Annual Conference, such as conference registration, lodging, and airfare. 

The awardees for 2025 were:

Junior Faculty

  • Sara AllisonWestern Michigan University Homer Stryker, M.D. School of Medicine
  • Melissa ArmasNova Southeastern University
  • Flawendjee Djaweelentz JacquesHôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais
  • Aditi KesariUniversity of Tennessee Health Science Center
  • Christine Prater WoodTexas Tech University Health Sciences Center
  • Amberly ReynoldsRocky Vista University
  • Anna RicciUniversity of Vermont Larner College of Medicine
  • Laurence BoitetUniversity of Alabama, Birmingham (Sponsored by Elsevier)
  • Yamile PerezZanmi Lasante/Partners in Health (Sponsored by Elsevier)

Students (Sponsored by Aquifer)

  • Sreeja VaranasiUniversity of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia
  • Jack StombergerUniversity of South Carolina School of Medicine, Greenville
  • Corey ShaferOakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
  • Katherine Martinez CarmonaTecnologico de Monterrey
  • Sheila PiersonLewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
  • Japmehr SandhuGovernment Medical College, Amritsar
  • Ronaé McLinCase Western Reserve University School of Medicine
  • Gloria UrrutiaBoston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Ciara MadiganUniversity of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine
  • Eola SaltibusUniversity of Manitoba

Congratulations to this year’s winners! We look forward to seeing you in the future.

IAMSE Toolkits Available to You!

The IAMSE Toolkits provide the IAMSE Community a set of hands-on tools and applications on a topic that is relevant specifically to health professions educators. The toolkits are to be created and presented in a digital format in a unique way to be practical for users at their home institutions. 

To view the list of available IAMSE Toolkits, click here.

Please note that all of the listed toolkits at the link above are available to everybody except the “Interprofessional Education” and “Bioethics” toolkits. These are available only to IAMSE members, who are able to access these by logging in using membership credentials.

View the Available IAMSE Toolkits!

Registration is Now OPEN for the Fall 2025 Webcast Audio Seminar Series 

Climate emergencies have the potential to reshape disease patterns, disrupt health‑care systems, and widen health inequities. Recognizing this context, the Fall 2025 IAMSE Webinar Series, Environmental Disasters Affecting Health Professions Education…Surviving the Storm and After, brings together educators and clinicians who have navigated extreme weather, rebuilt disrupted institutions, and embedded planetary‑health competencies into educational programs. Across five sessions, the series will examine how those in health professions education can prepare learners to care for patients and the planet amid accelerating environmental change.

Join us this Fall to explore actionable strategies, share emerging scholarship, and learn how to educate future clinicians who can diagnose, manage, and prevent the health consequences of environmental disasters.

Questions regarding the registration process, specifically for institutions, or other FAQs about the Fall 2025 WAS Series can be found by clicking here.

Environmental Disasters Affecting Health Professions Education… Surviving the Storm and After

More Information About the Series

Join us for each one-hour session beginning Thursday, September 4, 2025 at 12 PM EDT. Sessions in the Fall 2025 series include:

  • September 4, 12:00 PM EDT – Are We There Yet? Climate Change and Health in Medical Educationpresented by Adrian Cois, Oregon Health Science University, and Karla Hampshire, Columbia University Irving Medical Center
  • September 11, 12:00 PM EDT – Environmental Crisis and Disasters…Surviving the Storm and Afterpresented by Sean Ochsenbein, Ballad Health
  • September 18, 12:00 PM EDT – Challenges in Rebuilding: Lessons Learned after Major Stormspresented by Julie Taylor, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, and Cecilia Sorensen, Columbia University
  • September 25, 12:00 PM EDT- Educating for Change: Education’s Role in Addressing the Climate and Health Crisispresented by Jyoti Mishra, University of California San Diego, Arianne Teherani, University of California San Francisco and University of California, Center for Climate Health and Equity
  • October 2, 12:00 PM EDT – Preparing Physicians for Planetary Changepresented by James Irlam, UCT Faculty of Health Sciences

More information about each of these sessions and presenters will be sent out a week before each session. Keep an eye on your inbox!

Questions regarding the registration process, specifically for institutions, or other FAQs about the Fall 2025 WAS Series can be found by clicking here.

Register Today!

As always, IAMSE Student Members can register for the series for FREE! 

If you are an IAMSE student member, please contact support@iamse.org for information about registering at no cost.

IAMSE CoG Meetings – July 2025

IAMSE Communities of Growth are ongoing groups of like-minded individuals who want to informally get together to connect over an area or topic of interest. A Community of Growth is not directly connected to any Committee and is self-organized. For more information on IAMSE CoGs, click here.

Three IAMSE Communities of Growth (CoG) will be meeting in July, and one meeting on Friday, August 1! The AI CoG, LGBTQ+ CoG, CORE CoG, and the Black Medical Educators CoG will all meet on Zoom . Below are the details for each meeting.

AI CoG

The AI CoG meeting on Zoom will take place at Noon (12 PM) EDT on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Regularly scheduled AI CoG meetings are the first Wednesday of each month, however, July’s meeting is a week later than usual to avoid the July 4 holiday conflict in the US.

July’s AI CoG meeting will feature four engaging and critical-thinking colleagues responding to a series of four fundamental questions about AI in HPE, specifically:

  1. Where and with whom should we begin to implement AI in HPE effectively?
  2. What AI in HPE content should we focus on teaching?
  3. What pedagogical approach is best to teach AI in HPE?
  4. What measurements are best to evaluate learning AI in HPE?

The four guest panelists are:

  1. Mari Hopper, PhD, Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Physiology, Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine 
  2. Amy Stone, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medical Education and Biochemistry/Microbiology, UNLV Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine
  3. Ian Murray, PhD, Professor of Physiology, Alice L.Walton School of Medicine
  4. Juan Leon, PhD, Assistant Provost for Faculty Development, Online Education and Assessment, Director, Online Learning for the College of Population Health, Thomas Jefferson University

IAMSE AI CoG meetings take place regularly at 12 PM ET on the first Wednesday of each month. For information on how to join the AI CoG meeting, email Doug McKell at douglas.mckell@gmail.com.

Please also take 5 minutes to complete the very brief 2025 IAMSE AI Needs Assessment Survey. This is the only sequential yearly survey that samples the needs, changes, and impact of AI on HPE. Each completed survey results in a $2 donation to the IAMSE Student Scholarship fund. Here is the 2025 AI Needs Assessment Survey link: https://forms.gle/7dLhSehkA242X8Qq9

To join the July AI CoG Zoom meeting, click here.
Meeting ID: 897 1837 0101
Passcode: 511007

LGBTQ+ CoG

The LGBTQ+ Community in Health Professions Education CoG meeting will take place on Zoom at 12:00 PM EDT on Thursday, July 10, 2025. The next LGBTQ+ meeting will be in October. For more information on the LGBTQ+ Community in Health Professions Education CoG, contact Cory Gerwe at gerwecd@odu.edu.

To join the July LGBTQ+ CoG meeting, click here.
Meeting ID: 891 0015 9051
Passcode: 593328

CORE CoG

The Community Outreach, Research, and Engagement (CORE) CoG meeting will take place at 11:00 AM EDT on Thursday, July 17, 2025. CORE CoG meetings then take place regularly on the second Thursday of the month at 3:00 PM ET, and the second Monday of the month at 11:00 AM ET every other month. The CORE CoG is led by Peter Vollbrecht and Natascha Heise.

To join the July CORE CoG meeting, click here.
Meeting ID: 878 6039 0726
Passcode: 159759

Black Medical Educators CoG

The IAMSE Black Medical Educators CoG meeting will take place at 12:30 PM EDT Friday, August 2, 2025. IAMSE Black Medical Educators CoG meetings take place quarterly at 12:30 PM ET on the first Friday in May, August, November, and February. If you are a Black medical educator interested in learning more about this CoG and/or how to become a member, please contact Jacqueline Powell at jpowell@msm.edu.

To join the July Black Medical Educators CoG meeting, click here.
Meeting ID:842 7537 9229
Passcode: 228487

For more information on these CoGs and the other active IAMSE CoGs, click here.

Call for IAMSE 2025 Virtual Forum Lightning Talk Abstracts

The International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE) is pleased to announce the call for abstracts for Lightning Talk presentations for the fourth IAMSE Virtual Forum to be held October 22-24, 2025. The IAMSE Virtual Forum is an entirely virtual synchronous event offering opportunities for faculty and student development and networking, bringing together medical sciences and medical education across the continuum of healthcare education.

Lightning Talks are short 7-minute live presentations followed by 7-minutes of questions and answers that will provide presenters a chance to share their work, including works in process. Abstracts for Lightning Talks must be submitted in the format requested through the online abstract submission site here.

The submission deadline is July 31, 2025, at 11:59 PM EDT.

There is no limit on the number of abstracts you may submit, but it is unlikely that more than one presentation per presenter can be accepted due to scheduling complexities. Abstract acceptance notifications will be returned in September 2025. Please contact support@iamse.org for any questions about your submission.
 
Looking forward to seeing you virtually this October!

Congratulations to the 2025 Poster & Oral Presentation Award Winners

This year, IAMSE showcased over 320 poster and oral presentations, with 12 posters and 5 oral presentations nominated for an award. These awards recognize the most outstanding medical education peer-reviewed presentations at the IAMSE Annual Conference. The first author on the winning poster receives a plaque, one year of IAMSE membership, and access to one series of the IAMSE Audio Seminars.

A full listing of this year’s Best Poster Presentation Award nominees and Best Oral Presentation Award nominees can be found at www.iamseconference.org.

Outstanding Faculty Oral Presentation
Leveraging Student Elevations to Enhance Faculty Development: A Framework for Effective Teaching in Medical Education
Presented by: Connie Gan – Stanford University (United States)
Click here for the abstract!

Outstanding Student Oral Presentation
Stress, Burnout, and Health Perception Amongst Medical Students and the Need for Facilitation of Healthy Management Strategies
Presented by: Grant Barber – Sam Houston State College of Osteopathic Medicine (United States)
Click here for the abstract!

Outstanding Faculty Poster Presentation
Contrasting Student and Faculty Perceptions of the Qualities of Effective Feedback in the Pre-Clerkship Curriculum
Presented by: Joshua Culberson – University of Central Florida (United States)
Click here for the abstract!

Outstanding Student Poster Presentation
Investigating the Role of Socioeconomic and First-Generation Status in Academic Performance of Medical Students: Insights From Step 1, Step 2, GPA and MCAT Data
Presented by: Shauna Groven – Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at University of Nevada Las Vegas (United States)
Click here for the abstract!

Please join us in congratulating the winners of this year’s awards. If you are interested in submitting an abstract for a poster or oral presentation for the 2026 Annual Conference, you may do so at the beginning of October. More information will be shared later this year.

IAMSE 2025 Virtual Forum Information

IAMSE is pleased to invite you to join us for the Fourth Annual IAMSE Virtual Forum. The Forum will take place October 22-24, 2025. Join us as we engage with a diverse network of international health science educators to gain insights from the global community. What are the similarities and differences in healthcare education globally? What can we learn from each other? How is access to technology and AI, and the changing landscape of health education aligned globally? This year’s event will explore three key sub-themes: Curriculum and Assessment, AI & Technology, and Career and Professional Development. The overall theme for the 2025 Virtual Forum is:

“A Global Vision for Health Education: Empowering an International Community of Educators”

Forum Sub-Theme Information

AI and Technology: AI is transforming health education—but with promise comes concern. Share how you’re using AI to enhance learning, administrative efficiency, and clinical decision-making—while addressing ethics, academic integrity, over-reliance, and data privacy. Let’s explore what AI can realistically offer—alongside proven tools. 

Career and Professional Development: Professional development is at the heart of the IAMSE. Share your strategies and insights to support the growth of educators, learners, and colleagues. Submit your abstracts and help shape the future of health professions education community!

Curriculum and Assessment: Share how you’re transforming curriculum and assessment to enhance learner outcomes. We welcome proposals on instructional innovations, continuous quality improvement, the use of tech and 3rd-party tools, interprofessional development education, culturally responsive strategies, and more – tell us what you’re doing, how and why.

Presentation Descriptions

  • Ignite talk: Throughout the forum, there will be three ignite talks. These sessions are intended to be highly interactive to ignite and inspire discussions around key ideas or emerging topics. Ignite Presenters are selected by the Virtual Forum Program Committee.
  • Lightning Talks: These short sessions, 7-minute presentations with 7-minutes of questions and answers, provide all scholars with a chance to share their works including works in process.

Important Deadlines

July 31, 2025 – Lightning Talk Abstract Deadline
August 2025 – Registration Open!
September 1, 2025 – Lightning Talk Notification Deadline
September 15, 2025 – Early Bird Deadline
September 15, 2025 – Presenter Registration Deadline*
October 2025 – Presentation Schedule Finalized
October 22-24, 2025 – IAMSE 2025 Virtual Forum

*Any presenter who is not registered by this date will have their name pulled from the forum program. If the presenter is the only presenter listed, their session will be pulled from the forum program.

Tentative Forum Schedule

Schedule subject to change, the finalized schedule will be listed on the Virtual Forum registration website when it opens later this year

DateSessionStart Time (EDT)End Time (EDT)
Wednesday, October 22, 2025Virtual Help Desk9:30 AM10:00 AM
Wednesday, October 22, 2025Welcome10:00 AM10:15 AM
Wednesday, October 22, 2025Ignite Talk10:15 AM11:15 AM
Wednesday, October 22, 2025Break11:15 AM11:30 AM
Wednesday, October 22, 2025IAMSE Update11:30 AM12:00 PM
Wednesday, October 22, 2025Lightning Talks12:00 PM1:00 PM
Thursday, October 23, 2025Virtual Help Desk9:30 AM10:00 AM
Thursday, October 23, 2025Welcome10:00 AM10:15 AM
Thursday, October 23, 2025Ignite Talk10:15 AM11:15 AM
Thursday, October 23, 2025Break11:15 AM11:30 AM
Thursday, October 23, 2025IAMSE Update11:30 AM12:00 PM
Thursday, October 23, 2025Lightning Talks12:00 PM1:00 PM
Friday, October 24, 2025Virtual Help Desk9:30 AM10:00 AM
Friday, October 24, 2025Welcome10:00 AM10:15 AM
Friday, October 24, 2025Lightning Talks10:15 AM11:15 AM
Friday, October 24, 2025Break11:15 AM11:30 AM
Friday, October 24, 2025IAMSE Update11:30 AM12:00 PM
Friday, October 24, 2025Ignite Talk12:00 PM1:00 PM
Friday, October 24, 2025Virtual Forum Close1:00 PM1:15 PM
Are you in a different time zone? Click here to see what time the sessions will be for you!

Registration Fees

All prices listed are in USD.

Registration TypeBefore September 15, 11:59 PM EDTAfter September 16, 12:00 PM EDT
Member$125$175
Non-Member$175$225
Student Member$45$60
Student Non-Member$60$75
Trainee$85$115
Trainee Non-Member$115$145

Congratulations to the 2025 IAMSE Grant Recipients

The International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE) wishes to encourage and support scholarship in medical science education and funds multiple research grants every year. At the 2025 Annual Conference, IAMSE, with the support of ScholarRX, awarded four student grants totaling $10,000. In addition, five faculty grants were given totaling $21,920.

Student Awards

IAMSE-ScholarRx
Aakash Gandhi
Windsor University School of Medicine
Evaluation and Improvement of a New Undergraduate Medical Simulation Curriculum

Stirling Argabright
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Domestic Global Health: Training Medical Students in Cross-Cultural Care to Serve the Immigrant and Refugee Patient Population

Sydney Elder
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Pharmacy
Pharmacy students utilizing Team-Based Learning for Exam Review Sessions: An Innovative Model to Enhance Engagement, Accountability, and Academic Success

Danielle Kapustin
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine
Transforming Embryology Education: Innovative Approaches to Interactive Medical Instruction

Faculty Awards

IAMSE-ScholarRx Curriculum Development
Bei Zhang
Robert Larner, M.D., College of Medicine at the University of Vermont
EmpowerMED: Navigating the Medical School Learning Odyssey

IAMSE Curriculum Innovation
Erica Malone
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
From Simulation to Application: The Design and Implementation of a High-Fidelity Simulation Model in Regional Anesthesia Education

Samiksha Prasad
Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine at Nova Southeastern University
Development and Implementation of a Multi-institutional Framework for Professional Development for Wellness for Medical Educators

IAMSE Educational Scholarship
Karen Nelson
Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Transforming Teaching Approaches for Breaking Bad News: Incorporating a Research Team-Developed Voice-Based Chatbot for Communication Training

Ahdeah Poojesh-Ganji
The George Washington University
And You Yourselves Are Also This Will o Power – and Nothing Besides!: Medical Students and the Purpose of Medical Education

Congratulations to this year’s grant award winners. We are eager to see and hear about your findings. More information regarding IAMSE Educational Grants, including information on submitting yourself for consideration, can be found on our website

Thank you,
IAMSE Educational Scholarship &
Student Professional Development Committees