Health Educators and Academic Leaders
The Health Educators & Academic Leaders curriculum provides a foundation in best teaching practices, educational scholarship and academic leadership to UNMC's health professionals in training.
HEAL is the first competency-based interprofessional health educator track in the nation. With involvement from many UNMC colleges and departments, HEAL is designed to allow health professional trainees the opportunity to develop essential skills as educators before transitioning into their careers.
Objectives & Overview
- To facilitate clinical educator excellence through mentorship, coaching and self-determined learning
- To foster an interprofessional community of practice among health professionals in training
- To develop future leaders, scholars and change agents in health professions education
The HEAL curriculum is divided into two tiers to accommodate variability in learner interest, career aspirations, and time.
- The Foundations program includes four 1-credit courses comprised of a series of seminar-workshops, faculty mentorship, relevant readings, and contributions toward a teaching portfolio.
- The Advanced program adds three asynchronous courses from the Masters of Health Professions Teaching and Technology program. Upon completion, participants will have earned the program’s Professional Certificate (12 MS credits).
The Need for HEAL
HEAL was a grass roots initiative that gained traction in 2019 due to increasing interest from residents and fellows to have formalized training in medical education. Jon Hall, a fourth-year medical student at the time, and Dr. Cory Rohlfsen, who was internal medicine chief resident at the time, laid the groundwork for HEAL.
Read more about how HEAL came to be, its current impact and plans for the future.
Dr. Rohlfsen was inspired by the work of nurse educator Susan. B. Bastable, EdD, RN, who has been quoted as saying "... health professionals are expected to assume the role of teaching others in their daily practice, whether their audience consists of patients and families, fellow colleagues, or students as prospective members of a given profession. However, very few members of the health disciplines have ever been educated on the principles of teaching and learning to successfully and securely carry out their role as educator."
Application Information
Applications for the 2026 HEAL cohort are due March 20, 2026. Apply here.
Inquiries about application fee waivers can be emailed to Jill McIntosh-Carnes but must be done before you submit payment through the application link. A limited number of vouchers are available each year to offset this fee.
Program Coordinator: Jill McIntosh-Carnes
Current Health Educators and Academic Leaders
Kaci Griffin, MD
Internal Medicine Resident
Jennifer Grigsby, MD
Internal Medicine Resident
Nicole Kusnik, MD
Infectious Diseases Fellow
Simone Jacoby, MD
Internal Medicine Resident
Nila Jones, MD
Pathology/Microbiology Resident
Kathryn Kim, MD
Internal Medicine Resident
Morgan Newlun, DO
Cardiology Fellow
Gabriella Rizzo, MD
Neurology Resident
Abigail Rohr, DO
Family Medicine Resident
Taylor Vogel-Bladt, DO
Emergency Medicine Resident
Luis Zuniga, DO
Internal Medicine Resident
Natalie Bristol, MD
Internal Medicine Resident
Samantha Cox, MD
Emergency Medicine Fellow
Karen Ernst, MD
Pediatrics Resident
Mitchell Floura, MD
Neurology Resident
Kaylee Griep, MD
Internal Medicine Resident
Rotem Hass, MD
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Resident
Margaret Hutson, MD
Internal Medicine Resident
Spencer Jones, MD
Internal Medicine Resident
Nicole Kent, MD
Internal Medicine Resident
Saad Khan, MD
Anesthesiology Resident
Jackson Martin, MD
Family Medicine Resident
Jacob Middleton, MD
Internal Medicine Resident
August Miller, DO
Internal Medicine Resident
Monica Nava Frenier, MD
Psychiatry Resident
Austin Ragland, MD
Internal Medicine Resident
Elena Roberts, MD
Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Resident
Marilee Schaner, MD
Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Resident
Zachary Vinton, DO
Internal Medicine Resident
Zachary Walkenhorst, MD
Anesthesiology Resident
Successes of Select HEAL Graduates
At the end of the 2025-2026 academic year, more than 70 UNMC learners will have graduated from HEAL. We recognize the successes and highlight the career trajectories of a few alumni below.
- Kathleen Borghoff, MD - Associate Program Director, UNMC Nephrology Fellowship
- Amy Dreessen, MD - Associate Program Director, UNMC Internal Medicine Residency
- Conor Dass, MD - Associate Program Director, UNMC Department of Emergency Medicine
- Kaitlin Dougherty, MD - Associate Program Director, UNMC Department of Emergency Medicine
- Madeline Cloonan, MD, (2024 HEAL graduate and former UNMC general surgery resident) was selected as one of five resident co-chairs for the 2025 International Conference on Residency Education. ICRE is the largest international conference for graduate medical education in North America. Dr. Cloonan was the first UNMC resident to be named to this position. She has also been named to the ICRE Resident Co-Chair team for 2026.
- RemyGrace Sass, MD, (2025 HEAL graduate and former UNMC Department of Internal Medicine chief resident) was awarded the American College of Physicians Herbert S. Waxman Chief Resident Teaching Scholarship. Dr. Sass is one of only six chief residents nationwide to be recognized with this scholarship.
Cory Rohlfsen, MD
HEAL Track Leadership