LEADS Project: Increasing Research in a Resource Poor Environment

Bio: Merima Bucaj, DO, is the Academic Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Creighton School of Medicine–Phoenix, and Clinical Chair at District Medical Group/Valleywise Health. She has devoted her career to graduate medical education, serving as core faculty, associate program director, and program director.
Dr. Bucaj is deeply committed to advancing health equity and preventive care through family medicine. Her passion for serving underserved communities is rooted in personal experience—she continues to care for the Phoenix community that once welcomed her as a refugee. She believes family medicine is essential to building a more just and compassionate healthcare system.
 
In addition to her clinical and academic roles, Dr. Bucaj actively collaborates with leaders across Arizona to strengthen the primary care workforce. She works closely with both undergraduate and graduate medical education programs to build residency learning collaboratives and develop strategic initiatives aimed at addressing primary care shortages and supporting sustainable workforce development throughout the state starting with Family Medicine.
 
Dr. Bucaj earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Arizona, her medical degree from Midwestern University Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her Executive MBA at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

LEADS Project: Ambulatory primary care renovation

Bio: Margaret Day, MD, MSPH, is a Professor and Vice Chair of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Missouri – Columbia. She was awarded the Outstanding Clinical Faculty Educator in 2017 by the MU SOM Curriculum Board. She was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society, nominated by the School of Medicine Class of 2022. She was honored in 2023 as a Missouri Vaccine Champion as Co-Chair of MU Health Care Vaccination Committee by the Missouri Immunization Coalition for efforts to communicate important vaccine information to patients and the community.

Dr Day sees patients and teaches students at our Keene Street location where she served as medical director from 2013 – 2023. She served as medical director of ambulatory services from 2020 – 2024. She also supervises residents in one of our rural residency training sites. Clinical interests include the broad scope of outpatient family medicine, quality improvement, health information technology, health care leadership, and education. She earned a Certificate of Added Qualification (CAQ) in Health Care Administration, Leadership, and Management by the American Board of Family Medicine in 2024.

LEADS Project: NEUROSTRENGTHS: Developing a toolkit for recruitment and retention of faculty who identify as neurodiverse

Bio: Dr. Doubeni’s career has been dedicated to improving access to care for vulnerable populations including the care of the homebound, disabled, and people in resource-limited settings locally and globally with a focus on implementation research and education.

She was held leadership roles in population health as the director for population health, department of family medicine and community health, University of Pennsylvania; care management as a co-physician lead for the Penn Medicine Primary Care Service Line care management program; complex care as the director of Priority Access (an intensive primary care based care management program for patients with mental health needs) and as the medical director for Penn Medicine Home Health and, currently, in community health as the Vice-Chair of Community Health at The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.  Her clinical work has focused on delivery of primary care to underserved populations with a specific focus on homebound patients.  

She has held consultant roles with the National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs and ACCESS (a behavioral health organization) assisting with the development of a street medicine program.

Throughout all her work, her passion lies in improving health outcomes through coordination of care across the care continuum.

LEADS Project: P4CP: Podcasts for Community Preceptors

Bio: Margaret (Meg) Gibson, MD is a Professor and Vice Chair for the Department of Community and Family Medicine at the University of Missouri Kansas City. She oversees faculty development and scholarship and mentors new faculty members.  She is the Sports Medicine Fellowship Program Director and teaches fellows, residents, and medical students. Dr. Gibson is the Director of Faculty Development for the UMKC School of Medicine. Her focus includes faculty development with rural faculty at the UMKC School of Medicine St. Joe Regional Campus. She also serves as the Promotion Committee Chair for the SOM.

Dr. Gibson is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Medicine and the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM). She is active at the national level with AMSSM as the Chair of the Academic Interest Group and has presented faculty development sessions at the annual meetings. She is the editor for Best Practices in Sports Medicine.

Dr. Gibson received an undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis. She then attended the University of Pittsburgh Medical School. She remained in Pittsburgh completing a family medicine residency and sports medicine fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center St Margaret.

LEADS Project: Developing a Family Medicine Center

Bio: Susanne Jaques is the Vice Chair for Finance and Administration for the Department of Family Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), where she leads financial strategy and administrative operations. With over a decade of experience in academic healthcare, she has driven strategic growth and operational excellence across multiple divisions, including Hospital Medicine and Nephrology.

Susanne’s leadership has encompassed multimillion-dollar budget management, faculty recruitment, telehealth expansion, and alignment of clinical, research, and educational missions. As Director of Affiliate Operations for MUSC Health, Susanne spearheaded statewide healthcare partnerships, launched one of South Carolina’s first tele-hospitalist programs, and coordinated COVID-19 response efforts.

She holds a Master in Health Administration from MUSC and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a Management minor from Clemson University.

LEADS Project: Advancing Health Through The Indigenous Determinants of Health

Bio: Allison Kelliher, MD, Maanoyeedlakkon (Mother of Daylight), is an enrolled citizen of Nome Eskimo Community is Dena (Koyukon Athabascan). Dr. Kelliher is the first Tribal Doctor physician, board-certified in family and integrative medicine, and has practiced in Indian Health Service, Tribal, urban, and private practice settings. She is an advocate for public health, culturally grounded learning, and pathways toward medicine and having a BS in Indigenous Medicine from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, an MD from the University of Washington School of Medicine in 2005, and also completed the Alaska Family Medicine residency in 2009 she is also a diplomate of the American Board of  Integrative and Holistic Medicine since 2011. She completed formal apprenticeships with Alaska Native Tribal Healers: Rita Pitka Blumenstein and Francis Miller, and her practice includes osteopathic manipulation, acupuncture, botanicals, healing touch, and ceremony.  The central themes in Dr. Kelliher’s work are ethical and effective integration of Indigenous healing traditions into modern clinical practice, and further, relate the health of Indigenous Peoples to Planetary Health. She is affiliated with the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, where she is adjunct associate professor and has had affiliations with Johns Hopkins University, the University of Washington, University of Alaska Anchorage, and continues work with the United Nations and World Health Organization. She is currently the director for Indigenous Healing at Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center, owned and operated by Tanana Chiefs Conference in Fairbanks, AK. 

LEADS Project: Connecting and Advancing Our Faculty: A Scalable, Data-Informed System for Engagement and Academic Promotion

Bio: Dr. Christina M. Kelly, MD, FAAFP, serves as Vice-Chair for Faculty Development and Advancement and Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU). In this role, she supports faculty growth and leads initiatives to strengthen mentorship, advancement, and connection across a national network of military and civilian educators.

Christina chairs the Family Medicine Clerkship Competency Committee and serves on the USU’s Competency and Entrustment Committee, helping students and faculty navigate competency-based medical education. Nationally, she is active with the American Board of Family Medicine, the AAFP Foundation’s Emerging Leader Institute, and the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine’s Medical Student Education Committee.

She is deeply committed to relational leadership, psychological safety, and sustainable organizational change. Through her work developing people and teams, Christina seeks to strengthen the family medicine workforce by fostering inclusive, mission-driven environments where faculty and learners can thrive and by advancing leadership capacity that reflects the values of family medicine.

LEADS Project: Optimizing Transitions of Care from Hospital to PCP Setting

Bio:  Dr. Anjani Kolahi is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Family Medicine at University of California, Irvine.  She has dedicated her career to academic medicine and serves as core faculty.  Dr Kolahi specializes in hospital medicine and is the director for UCI's Family Medicine inpatient service.

LEADS Project: Conflict Engagement and Resolution for Academic Family Medicine Clinicians, Researchers, Educators, Staff and Trainees

Bio: Dr. Kost is a Professor and Vice Chair of Education and Faculty Affairs in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Washington. She attended medical school at the University at Buffalo and completed a Masters of Education at the University of Washington with a focus on educational research and statistics. After finishing her residency in family medicine at the University of Washington, Dr. Kost practiced at a community health center before joining the faculty. She served as the Director of Medical Student Education for the Department of Family Medicine, was elected to represent all UW faculty members as the Deputy Faculty Legislative Representative and was the Medical Director for the MEDEX Northwest Physician Assistant Program. Nationally, she has served on the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Committee on Medical Student Education, Research Committee, and was the conference chair for the 2020 STFM Medical Student Education Conference. She is an associate editor of Peer-Reviewed Reports in Medical Education Research (PRiMER) and served as the editor of the online resource Teaching Physician. Dr. Kost continues to practice family medicine at Harborview Medical Center where she serves as the Chief of Service for Family Medicine. 

LEADS Project: Assessing Primary Care Compensation for Gender Equity

Bio: Dr. Lochner is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (DFMCH) at the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.  She serves as a Clinical Service Chief, overseeing clinical operations at the four residency teaching clinics in the DFMCH.  She co-chairs the Clinical Knowledge Management Council for UW Health, a group that approves and maintains clinical care guidelines across a large academic health center.    As co-chair of the Primary Care Compensation Governance Group for UW Health, she helped design and implement a new compensation plan for all primary care physicians at UW in 2024.  

Dr. Lochner’s research interests include improving joy in practice, and the alignment of physician compensation with value-based care models.  She also believes in the importance of continuing medical education.  She works for the American Board of Family Medicine as a Knowledge Assessment Consultant, writing and editing examination and maintenance of certification materials.  Dr. Lochner also serves as an Associate Editor for the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine journal Family Medicine, helping to advance the knowledge base of our discipline, and support new and experienced authors to share their work.

She maintains an active clinical practice in rural Belleville, Wisconsin where she works alongside 12 family medicine residents per year.  She often learns as much from them as they do from her. 

LEADS Project: Advancing Research Capacity within the Texas A&M University Department of Primary Care and Rural Medicine

Bio: Jason R. McKnight, MD, MS, FAAFP currently serves as Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Primary Care and Rural Medicine within the Texas A&M University Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine, as Medical Director of the Texas A&M Human Clinical Research Facility and the TAMU Huffines Institute for Sports Medicine & Human Performance, and as associate Department Head for the Department of Primary Care and Rural Medicine. Jason’s role in departmental leadership centers around undergraduate medical education, graduate education, and advancing research activities of the Department. He is also a team leader for Texas C-STEP, a cancer prevention, screening, and education collaborative for rural and underserved populations across central and eastern Texas. Jason is board certified in family medicine and has been named a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Prior to medical school at the University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston Medical School (McGovern Medical School), he completed graduate training in nutrition, metabolomics, and amino acid biochemistry at Texas A&M University. 

Jason has served as Chair of the Texas Medical Association (TMA) Committee on Rural Health, as a member of the TMA Council on Member Experience, and provides consultation for the Texas Department of State Health Services as a member of the Cancer Alliance of Texas. He also serves as a steering committee member for a Texas colorectal cancer coordinating center to advance cancer screening across the state. Finally, Jason conducts lung, colorectal, and liver cancer prevention services and research in rural and underserved populations through grant support from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). His grant funded projects, totaling over $5 million, have aided thousands of rural and underserved patients by giving them access to free cancer screening services such as colonoscopy, fecal immunochemical testing (FIT), low-dose lung CT scans, Hepatitis C screening, and liver imaging/diagnostics. Individuals have also received education on appropriate cancer screening, cancer risk reduction, tobacco cessation counselling, and free nicotine replacement therapy as part of Texas C-STEP’s initiatives.  

Jason is married to a small-animal veterinarian (Sorin McKnight) and has 2 daughters. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with family, traveling, and relaxing on his family’s cattle ranch in rural east Texas. 

LEADS Project: Transforming clinical challenges into scholarly solutions: Creating a systematic approach to issue prioritization within a large academic family medicine department

Bio: Shawn Phillips, MD, MSPT is an Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine and Orthopedics and Rehabilitation at Penn State College of Medicine. He currently serves as Vice Chair of Clinical Operations for the Department of Family and Community Medicine, following five years as Associate Chief Medical Officer for Penn State Health’s Academic Practice Division.

Dr. Phillips is a core faculty member for the Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship and co-directs the sports ultrasound curriculum. He also serves as Team Physician for Millersville University and Elizabethtown High School, where he holds the role of School District Physician for the Elizabethtown Area School District. He is honored to lead medical coverage for the Special Olympics Pennsylvania State Summer Games and the Central Pennsylvania Fall Classic.

A recognized leader in clinical operations, Dr. Phillips played a pivotal role in coordinating Penn State Health’s primary care response and recovery efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is deeply committed to addressing the increasing administrative burden faced by academic family physicians. As Vice Chair, his mission is to drive system-level change that enhances faculty wellness, supports professional vitality, and promotes academic advancement within family medicine.

Dr. Phillips resides in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Sarah, and their two children, Luke and Mary. He enjoys quality time with his family, particularly exploring new hiking trails together.

LEADS Project: Psychological Safety promotion and rethinking institutional pathways for managing conflict

Bio: Dr. Christopher Smyre is the Associate Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Department of Family and Community Medicine and also serves as the Director of Research and Innovation in the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.  Dr. Smyre received a master’s from the University of Chicago Divinity School focused on theological ethics, and completed his residency training at McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University Family Medicine Residency Program-Humboldt Park. Dr. Smyre practice includes primary care, procedures, and obstetrical care. Dr. Smyre’s research interest include healthcare disparities, medical ethics, and psychological safety within medical education. Dr. Smyre chairs the medical advisory board for the Illinois Medicaid Certification Doula Program. Dr. Smyre is passionate about educating and equipping medical students and residents to become excellent clinicians and created an elective entitled, “Psychological Safety, and Socialization in Medical Education”.

LEADS Project: Enhancing Clinical Learning and Documentation Efficiency Through DAX Integration in Family Medicine Residency 

Bio: Shala Sundaram, MD, FAAFP serves as Program Director for the Family Medicine Residency at Carolinas Medical Center and Assistant Professor at Wake Forest School of Medicine in Charlotte, NC. She leads a mission-driven team dedicated to developing compassionate, community-minded family physicians.

With a career spanning clinical practice, education, research, and community engagement, Dr. Sundaram is committed to cultivating learner-driven frameworks and fostering inclusive, resilient teams. Her leadership experience includes designing and implementing new residency curricula, leading accreditation efforts for a newly established program, and championing initiatives in competency-based medical education, diversity and inclusion, and wellness.

A passionate advocate for teaching and mentorship, Dr. Sundaram is deeply committed to helping residents and faculty thrive—academically, professionally, and personally. She strives to create learning environments where every individual feels seen, supported, and empowered to lead.

LEADS Project: Continuous Lifelong Learning: A Key to Professional Development

Bio: Dr. Charles Webb is a Primary Care Sports Medicine and Family Medicine physician at Ochsner
LSU Health. He is a Clinical Professor and Director, Division of Sports Medicine within the
Department of Family Medicine at LSU Health Shreveport. He was born in Fort Worth, TX, and
grew up in Saginaw, TX. He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Biology from Texas
Christian University, in Fort Worth, TX. He completed his medical degree at The University of
North Texas Health Science Center, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. He then completed
his Family Medicine Osteopathic Internship at the Osteopathic Medical Center of Texas in Fort
Worth, before completing his Family Medicine Residency at Valley Baptist Medical Center in
Harlingen, TX. Dr. Webb then severed his military obligation with the U.S. Army by serving at Fr.
Sill, OK, Ft. Belvoir, VA, Ft. Benning, GA, and FT. Lewis, WA. While serving in the Army, Dr.
Webb accomplished his sports medicine training with the National Capital Consortium with
Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences and a Faculty Development Fellowship with
The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He is a 9-year Army veteran who has served
stateside, in Germany, Korea, and the Middle East. He is board certified in family medicine and
primary care sports medicine. He has founded both the Sports Medicine Divisions and Primary
Care Sports Medicine Fellowships at Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR and
LSU Health Science Center Shreveport, Shreveport, LA. He has over 50 sports medicine
publications and over 100 national and international presentations. He is considered an expert
in his field in pediatric sports injuries, injections both landmark guided, and ultrasound guided,
treatment of low back pain, osteopathic manual medicine, as well as obesity.