Moeller and Talwalkar Appointed to Medical Education Leadership Positions < Pediatrics
Associate Professor of Neurology Jeremy Moeller, MD, MSc, has been appointed associate dean for curriculum for the MD Program at Yale School of Medicine (YSM), effective March 1, 2025; and Associate Professor of Internal Medicine (General Medicine) and Pediatrics Jaideep Talwalkar, MD, has been appointed as the inaugural associate dean for education technology and innovation at YSM, effective Feb. 15, 2025. YSM Deputy Dean for Education Jessica Illuzzi, MD, MS, stated she was “delighted” to make this announcement in a January 14, 2025 communication to the YSM community. She also noted that Moeller and Talwalkar will play important roles in advancing the YSM Strategic Plan for Medical Education.
Associate Dean for Curriculum for the MD Program
In her announcement, Illuzzi stated “Moeller brings a passion and enduring commitment to medical education to this important role.” Moeller received his MD degree from Dalhousie Medical School, where he also completed his neurology residency. He completed a fellowship in neurophysiology and epilepsy at Columbia University in 2011, and subsequently received an MSc in clinical education from the University of Edinburgh, where he completed a thesis that focused on using the framework of threshold concepts to understand how complex skills are taught and learned. He has served as the YSM Department of Neurology’s vice-chair of education since 2023 (associate vice-chair from 2017-2023), and as program director of the adult neurology residency program since 2014.
Moeller has taught in multiple undergraduate medical education settings at YSM, spanning the pre-clerkship, clerkship, and advanced training periods, including Connection to the World, Across the Lifespan, Clinical Skills, Medical Clinical Experience, the Medical Approach to the Patient core clerkship, the Health Equity Thread during the clerkship year precede, and the Capstone course. Last semester, Moeller facilitated a successful pilot of a high-engagement, high-yield workshop for second-year medical students, along with other faculty ‘consultants’ in our pre-clerkship Connection to the World and Across the Lifespan courses. The pilot was designed to promote the development of skills in critical thinking, clinical reasoning, teamwork, and communication.
Moeller is a founding editorial board member of the journal Neurology: Education, and has served on national committees through the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) and the American Epilepsy Society, focusing primarily on curriculum development and assessment. From 2014-2020, he was a member of YSM’s delegation for the Core Entrustable Professional Activities for Entering Residency pilot through the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
Clinically, Moeller is a member of the Division of Epilepsy and EEG and served as interim clinical chief of this division from 2023-2024. He also provides general neurological care in the inpatient and outpatient settings, where he is extensively involved in the supervision of trainees—medical students, residents, and clinical fellows.
Moeller has received numerous teaching-related awards, including: the Rosemarie L. Fisher, MD, Excellence in Graduate Medical Education Award from Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH) in 2023; the YSM Leah M. Lowenstein Award in 2021; the YSM Charles W. Bohmfalk Award for Teaching in Clinical Sciences in 2018; and the Residency Program Director Recognition Award from the AAN in 2021.
In the associate dean role, Moeller will be a member of the senior education leadership team and will lead the MD Program’s Office of Curriculum. He will be responsible for the oversight, development, and continuous improvement of our medical curriculum, ensuring the curriculum meets the highest standards of medical education and accreditation requirements, aligning with the mission and vision of the medical school. Additionally, he will collaborate closely with faculty, staff, and students to foster an innovative and effective learning environment.
Associate Dean for Education Technology and Innovation
In her message to the YSM community, Illuzzi said Talwalkar “brings deep experience as an innovative leader in undergraduate and graduate medical education to this new position.” Talwalkar is a graduate of Tufts University School of Medicine and completed his residency at YNHH, before serving as chief resident at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital in 2005, and joining the full-time faculty at YSM in 2010.
As director of clinical skills since 2014, and assistant dean for education since 2022, he played a central role in the LCME re-accreditation process and the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Medical Education, including extensive involvement in curriculum mapping, optimizing the use of YSM learning management software and platforms, and developing new methods to assess and track student progress. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he quickly leveraged simulation and videoconferencing to ensure ongoing clinical skills training for medical students and has continued to promote the use of flipped-classroom and other innovative approaches to teaching and learning utilizing technology.
Currently, Talwalkar is championing multiple pilot projects involving AI, including the use of ambient listening technology to improve student assessment during student-faculty interactions, large language models to streamline existing didactic content and develop assessment questions, and the deployment of simulated humans (i.e., avatars) to teach medical interviewing to Yale medical students. Talwalkar runs an Artificial Intelligence in Medical Education workgroup and represents YSM on the Yale University Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and the Poorvu Teaching and Learning Center Advisory Board. Recognized as a leader in education technology on the national platform, Talwalkar was invited to lead a highly attended session titled, “Artificial Intelligence in Clinical Skills Education” at the 2024 AAMC Annual Meeting.
Clinically, Talwalkar provides primary care for patients of all ages, as well as specialty care for adults with cystic fibrosis. He has received numerous teaching-related awards including the YSM Alvan R. Feinstein Clinical Skills Teaching Award in 2021, and the YSM Charles W. Bohmfalk Teaching Award in 2016.
Talwalkar will continue to be a member of the school’s senior education leadership team in his new role, where he will be responsible for leading YSM in identifying and thoughtfully integrating emerging technology in all aspects of our undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education programs, with the goal of enhancing teaching and learning, increasing learner engagement, and promoting collaboration in classroom and clinical settings. These technologies include evolving learning management systems, platforms, and software in simulation, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence, with the potential to be integrated into new or existing pedagogies in medical education and across other educational domains, such as curriculum mapping and learner assessment.
Gratitude
Illuzzi thanked the search committees for both positions, which included, for the associate dean for curriculum position: Susan Baserga, MD, PhD; John Solomon Francis, MD, PhD; Mehra Golshan, MD, MBA; Janet Hafler, EdD; Angela Kang-Giaimo, MD, MPH; Sarah May; William Rando, PhD; and Beverley Sheares, MD, MS, as well as student members Amber Acquaye, Frankie Carr, and Anne Elizabeth Sidamon-Eristoff. The members of the committee for the associate dean for education technology and innovation role were: David Brissette, MMSc, PA-C; Leigh Evans, MD; John Gallagher, MLS; Stephen Huot, MD, PhD; Kathleen Omollo, PMP; Wies Rafi, PhD; Allison Rentfro, PhD; Lee Schwamm, MD; and Peter Takizawa, PhD.
Illuzzi also express her gratitude to Michael Schwartz, PhD, for his willingness to extend his time as associate dean for curriculum and director of innovation in medical education until Moeller and Talwalkar begin their roles. She noted Schwartz will serve in an advisory capacity to both new associate deans until March 31, 2025.
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