Peer Consultations

Dr. Anindita Deb is an educator dedicated to training the next generation of physicians across the continuum of medical education—undergraduate, graduate, and fellowship levels. As Director of the Pathways Program, she oversees the Worcester-based cohort of ~170 students throughout their four years in this longitudinal curriculum. Since 2018, she has directed the Population, Community & Global Health Pathway (formerly the Global Health Pathway), guiding students in exploring health at the population level while fostering impactful local and global experiences to advance their career paths. 

In addition to her work with medical students, she serves as Fellowship Director in Movement Disorders and co-leader of the Global Health Track for Neurology Residents, which includes monthly morning reports with 3 global partner sites, a program she helped create that has been presented at national conferences and published. She also directs the Global Health arm of the Collaborative in Health Equity (CHE), which strengthens connections between UMass Chan learners and the Worcester community. 

Melissa has enjoyed teaching, learning and leading at UMass Chan since her arrival directly from residency, chief residency and fellowship at Stanford University where she also obtained a Master's Degree in Education. In her over 20 years at UMass Chan she has led innovation in medical education and curriculum development for uni-and interprofessional learners across the continuum and in areas as diverse as medical error, integrative medicine, opioid prescribing and reflection for learning; utilizing interactive large and small group modalities, simulation and experiential learning, and technologies such as virtual reality and generative artificial intelligence. She works to build inclusion and representation across her curricular and team work. 

Sue Gagliardi, PhD, has taught at UMass Chan since 1973, focusing full-time on medical education for the past nearly 20 years. She has worked with colleagues to develop, present and evaluate integrated approaches to clinical neuroanatomy, producing various learning materials including interactive brain atlases. She led development of StrokeSTOP, an on line curriculum on stroke and stroke prevention designed specifically for undergraduate students (sponsored by the American Stroke Association). Sue’s scholarly work in education has investigated strategies to engage learners and to enhance understanding and problem-solving by connecting information. 

Lela Giannaris, PhD, has been a dedicated medical educator and academic leader at UMass Chan Medical School since 2010. She has led key initiatives in anatomy instruction and curriculum integration within the undergraduate medical education program, with a focus on innovation and learner-centered design. Dr. Giannaris holds multiple leadership roles, including directing the longitudinal anatomy curriculum and a foundational systems-based course, as well as overseeing the undergraduate medical education program. Nationally, she co-developed the DELTA Program to support faculty in their leadership and career advancement. Her scholarly work focuses on anatomy medical education, curriculum development, and faculty leadership development. 

Dr. Gitkind received his medical degree from the University of Massachusetts and completed internship and residency at Worcester Memorial Hospital.  He completed a fellowship in gastroenterology at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. His current clinical focus is obesity medicine and bariatric surgery. He has held multiple administrative positions at UMass Memorial Medical Center, including physician quality officer, associate chief quality officer and associate chief medical officer.  He is an experienced educator, having mentored over 100 quality improvement projects for faculty and trainees, and has developed and delivered curriculum on QI, patient safety, conflict resolution, and various clinical topics. 

In 2017, Dr. Gitkind was appointed as an assistant dean at UMass Chan Medical School.  He helped develop the new “Vista” UME curriculum and now holds the title of Assistant Dean for GME Quality and Safety Education.  In this role he is responsible for development and support of quality improvement, patient safety, and health care disparities curriculum for the school’s more than 700 residents and fellows. In addition, he is the director of the UMass Chan Interprofessional Trainee Quality Council and Co-Director of the Faculty Quality Collaborative.  In 2024 he was recognized as a “Distinguished Educator” by the UMass Chan Health Education Academy for Leadership and Learning (HEALL). 

An educator by training, Dr. Green has built a distinguished career in medical education over the past 25 years. In her current role, she oversees the design and delivery of professional development initiatives for the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing, and the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. She collaborates closely with faculty across all three schools on the promotions process and the development of promotion dossiers. Dr. Green also facilitates faculty development sessions on a range of educational topics, including workshop development, small group facilitation, educational theory, and academic presentations. She is the author of Healthy Presentations: How to Craft Exceptional Lectures in Medicine, the Health Professions, and the Biomedical Sciences, and frequently speaks to faculty about presentation skills, with a particular focus on evidence-based slide design.

Previously, Dr. Green served as Assistant Dean for Faculty Development at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Her areas of expertise include teaching methods such as lecturing, small group facilitation, and workshop design; subject matter expertise in educational theory; and a strong focus on education and academic advancement. Her educational scholarship emphasizes evidence-based academic presentations and the integration of reflective practices into teaching.