Academic promotion marks an achievement for faculty members at the medical school. It honors the achievement of a new terminal degree; it acknowledges the spread of a faculty member's reach beyond the walls of WMed.
The WMed faculty members listed below have done these things. Associate professors and professors have expanded to regional, national and international arenas through their scholarship, clinical care and service.
Parker Crutchfield, PhD
Associate Professor, Program in Medical Ethics, Humanities and Law
Dr. Crutchfield received his bachelor's degree in philosophy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He completed his PhD in philosophy at Arizona State University, working in applied ethics, epistemology, and the philosophy of science. Following graduate school, he was an assistant professor of ethics and the inaugural director of research at the Missouri School of Dentistry and Oral Health at A.T. Still University, a school which he helped found. As Associate Professor in the Program in Medical Ethics, Humanities, and Law at WMed, Dr. Crutchfield conducts clinical ethics consultations, teaches medical students and residents, and conducts research in medical ethics.
Bonny Dickinson, PhD
Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences
Dr. Dickinson has a deep interest in training future physicians using active learning and learner-centered approaches grounded in adult learning theory. She also believes that medical students should be embedded as members of healthcare teams early in their training rather than playing passive roles as observers in an apprenticeship model. Early clinical experiences involving students provides them with the necessary real-life experiences and context that anchors their learning.
William Fales, MD
Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine
Dr. Fales is a board-certified emergency medicine physician. He is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, Pennsylvania. He earned his medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He completed an emergency medicine residency at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania.
In addition to his board certification in emergency medicine, Dr. Fales also has a board certification in emergency medical services. He serves the Department of Emergency Medicine as Chief of EMS and Disaster Medicine and as the Program Director for the EMS Fellowship program.
Catherine Kothari, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences
Dr. Kothari is a population health researcher within the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the Department of Biomedical Sciences. She conducts investigator-initiated research and program evaluation focusing upon social determinants of health, health services, and health outcomes for topics spanning racial-socioeconomic disparities, intimate partner violence, criminal justice involvement, and mental health.
Dr. Kothari is senior epidemiologist for Cradle-Kalamazoo, a collective impact community initiative to improve maternal-infant health and reduce racial and socioeconomic disparities.
Rashmi Kothari, MD
Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine
Dr. Kothari is a board-certified emergency medicine physician with Borgess Medical Center. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which is also where he earned his medical degree. He completed a residency in emergency medicine at the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Dr. Kothari is currently the Director of Emergency Medicine Research at Borgess Research Institute, a unit of Borgess Medical Center. In that role, he has been an investigator in clinical trials at Borgess Medical Center since 2000.
Charlotte Milnes, EdD
Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Education
Dr. Milnes is a learning skills specialist at WMed. She is a graduate of Spring Arbor University in Spring Arbor, Michigan. She earned a master's degree in reading from Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and a doctorate in educational leadership from Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
Dr. Milnes has research interests in undergraduate medical education, learning styles, educational motivation and competition, learner mindset, and student wellness.
Gitonga Munene, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Surgery
Dr. Munene earned his medical degree from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and completed a surgical residency at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC. He received fellowship training in surgical oncology from Tom Baker Cancer Center in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Dr. Munene is board certified in general surgery.
Dr. Munene's clinical interests include surgery for gastrointestinal cancers—gastric, hepatobiliary, pancreatic, and metastatic colon—as well as thyroid cancer, melanoma and soft tissue sarcomas. He is also trained to provide treatment for peritoneal-based malignancies using hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC).
Maria Sheakley, PhD
Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences
Dr. Sheakley is a physiologist with over a decade of experience educating medical students. Dr. Sheakley earned her PhD at Kent State University in the Department of Biomedical Sciences in the area of Molecular Physiology. She is currently a Professor of Biomedical Sciences at WMed with the area of expertise of cardiovascular physiology.
Neelkamal Soares, MD
Professor, Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine
As a fellowship-trained, board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatrician, Dr. Soares has expertise and experience in children and adolescents with a broad spectrum of learning, behavioral, and developmental disabilities. He has been involved in the clinical care (diagnosis and treatment) of children with these conditions for over 17 years, and has practiced in academic and community settings. He has been primary investigator and co-investigator on numerous studies involving this population with funding from federal, private, and international sources.
He has significant experience in telehealth activities (both clinical and research), and has published manuscripts on the subject. He was the medical director for a telehealth program of a large, regional integrated health system prior to coming to WMed.