Getting Support From Your Chair: Tips for Securing Institutional Backing for Educational Research (Educational Research Interest Group-Sponsored)

Medical educators often face challenges in obtaining academic support, both in terms of time and funding, compared to traditional researchers. With limited funding options, we frequently rely on departmental support to sustain our research efforts. This session will feature a panel discussion on strategies for securing support from department chairs, including statistical and librarian support, research funding, and time buy-downs. Participants will gain a better understanding of opportunities and how to effectively present their needs to departmental leadership. For leaders in attendance, the session will provide guidance on developing and supporting faculty research interests, particularly those outside traditional research lines, and making informed decisions.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
  • Identify specific resources that may be available within the department (e.g. statistician, librarian help, protected time, resident support as co-investigators).
  • Discuss external and departmental sources for funding and how to pursue departmental support for these resources.
  • Create a framework to align their support needs and strengths with departmental resources and objectives.
  • Discuss how to evaluate educational research projects for funding ensuring alignment with departmental missions.

Presenters:

  • Alina Tsyrulnik, MD
  • Katja Goldflam, MD (she/her/hers)
  • Asit Misra, MD
  • Joshua J. Davis, MD
  • Michael Gottlieb, MD
  • James H. Paxton, MD, MBA
  • Suzana Tsao, DO
Authors

  • Alina Tsyrulnik, MD

    Associate Professor

    Yale University School of Medicine

    Alina Tsyrulnik, MD, attended Barnard College majoring in biology and minoring in psychology, graduating Suma Cum Laude in 2004. Thereafter, she pursued a medical degree at New York University School of Medicine and completed her residency at Yale University School of Medicine. She served as Chief Resident 2011-2012. Upon the completion of her residency, Dr. Tsyrulnik accepted a faculty position in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine. In 2013 she became the Assistant Residency Director for the department, and in 2017 she became the Associate Residency Director. Dr. Tsyrulnik is primarily in charge of the Emergency Department’s PGY2 class, taking a central role in mentorship, remediation, and clinical as well as academic development of 19 residents per year. In 2022, Dr. Tsyrulnik became the MD Director for the Interprofessional Longitudinal Clinical Experience (ILCE) course for Yale School of Medicine. The course centers on developing clinical skills in an interprofessional setting of MD, PA, and MSN students. In 2025 she became an Associate Professor at Yale University School of Medicine in the Clinical-Educator-Scholar Track. Her academic interests are in resident education and assessment as well as interprofessional education.

  • Katja Goldflam, MD

    Associate Residency Director

    Yale University

    Katja Goldflam, MD is an associate professor of emergency medicine and the Associate Residency Director at Yale. With expertise in competency assessment, feedback, ultrasound, and wilderness medicine, she is nationally recognized for excellence in teaching and leadership development.

  • Asit Misra, MD

    University of Miami Gordon Center

    Dr. Misra is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine/Surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Assistant Director of the Prehospital & Emergency Training Division of the Gordon Center for Simulation and Innovation in Medical Education.
    He has a Master’s in Medical Education from LECOM, Erie, PA. He has completed an ACS -AEI accredited surgical simulation fellowship at the Riverside Methodist Hospital - Columbus-Ohio (2019) and a Teaching Fellowship from the American College of Emergency Physicians, Dallas-TX (2018).
    Dr. Misra serves as an editorial board member, associate editor, section editor, and peer reviewer for numerous academic journals. He is also an advisory board member of the Core Curriculum & Education Committee for the International Federation of Emergency Medicine and a consultant/member of the international committee of the American College of Surgeons Accredited Education Institutes program.
    His areas of interest are healthcare simulation, disaster medicine, resuscitation, faculty development, and medical education research. His research focuses on demonstrating the outcomes and the impact of experiential learning, assessment, and program evaluation in simulation-based medical education.

  • Joshua J. Davis, MD

    Assistant Professor, Clinical Medicine

    Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine

    Joshua Davis, MD, is an emergency physician in Wichita, KS, who teaches as a faculty member instructor at the Simulation Center University of Kansas School of Medicine - Wichita and a Course Director and Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine. He is the Assistant Medical Director for Ultrasound, Quality, and Research with Vituity in Wichita, KS. His research interests are broad and include emergency medicine clinical topics along with patient safety, interprofessional communication, handoff communication, procedural competency, and medical education. He has published over 75 peer reviewed articles, given multiple national presentations, and written several book chapters. He is involved in developing several national guidelines and curricula.
  • Michael Gottlieb, MD

    Michael Gottlieb, MD

    Rush University Medical Center

    Michael Gottlieb, MD is the Vice Chair of Research and Director of the Emergency Ultrasound Division at Rush University Medical Center. He is Past-Chair of the ACEP Ultrasound Section and Past-Chair of the AAEM Ultrasound Section. He has authored over 500 peer-reviewed publications and is an Editor for Academic Medicine, The Annals of Emergency Medicine, The Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, and Academic Emergency Medicine Education and Training, as well as the Social Media Editor for Academic Emergency Medicine. He is Past-Chair of the CORD Academy for Scholarship, Past-Chair of the SAEM Education Summit, Past-Chair of the CORD Education Committee, Past-Chair of the CORD Best Practices Subcommittee, and a nationally-recognized speaker and educator. His academic interests include medical education, ultrasound, infectious diseases, heart failure, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

  • James H. Paxton, MD, MBA

    Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Research

    Detroit Receiving Hospital / Wayne State University Department of Emergency Medicine

    James H. Paxton, MD, MBA, is an associate professor and the Director of Clinical Research for Detroit Receiving Hospital / Wayne State University (WSU) Department of Emergency Medicine, and previously served as Chairman of the WSU MP2 Institutional Review Board (2015-2020). He is a senior member of multiple national emergency medicine research committees, and recently served as Chairman of the SAEM research committee (2021-2024). Dr. Paxton received both his MD and MBA from the University of Cincinnati and completed EM residency training at Henry Ford Hospital. He has been core academic faculty for the EM residencies at both Sinai-Grace Hospital and Detroit Receiving Hospital since 2011, and has mentored hundreds of medical students and residents at WSU during that time. He is an active clinical researcher and has served as PI for dozens of industry- and publicly-funded trials.

  • Suzana Tsao, DO

    University of Pennsylvania

    Dr. Suzana Tsao, DO, is a Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine, Vice-Chair of Education for the Department of Emergency Medicine, and the Co-Director of the Perelman School of Medicine Virtual Health System (PSOM VHS) program at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. She earned her undergraduate degree in Biology from The Evergreen State College and obtained her medical degree from the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Tsao completed her residency in Emergency Medicine at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, where she served as chief resident.Dr. Tsao began her academic career in 2009 at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, initially serving as the Clerkship Director for the Emergency Medicine core clerkship. In 2020, she became the inaugural Vice-Chair of Education for Emergency Medicine.

    Her scholarly work focuses on integrating extended reality (XR) into medical education to develop immersive and interactive learning experiences and the use of artificial intelligence-generated assessment modalities. Dr. Tsao’s research emphasizes XR’s role in enhancing self-directed learning and serving as an innovative tool for assessment and coaching. This work earned her and her team a grant from the Benjamin and Mary Siddons Measey Foundation to advance the development of XR in medical education. As Co-Director of the Perelman School of Medicine Virtual Health System (PSOM VHS), Dr. Tsao explores how XR technology can transform medical training, particularly through virtual reality (VR) applications.

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