Six Women Scholars Appointed to New Positions in Academia

Eva Aagaard has been appointed vice dean for education at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. She currently serves as the Carol B. and Jerome T. Loeb Professor of Medical Education and holds a university-wide appointment as vice chancellor for medical education. She previously served as the medical school’s associate dean for education.

Dr. Aagaard is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she majored in medical microbiology. She earned her medical degree from Cornell University.

Jennifer Adamski has joined the School of Nursing faculty at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland as an associate professor, director of the APRN/MSN degree program, and assistant dean of professional programs. She comes to her new role from the Emory University School of Nursing in Atlanta, where she was director of the adult gerontology acute nurse practitioner program.

Dr. Adamski received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Carlow University in Pittsburgh, a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Pittsburgh, and a doctor of nursing practice degree from the University of South Alabama.

Laura Mathews was recently appointed program director of nursing at John Wood Community College in Illinois. She began teaching at the college in 2013 as an adjunct instructor. Three years later, she joined the faculty full-time as an assistant professor of health sciences. Before transitioning her career to academia, she was a registered nurse at SSM Health St. Joseph’s Hospital in Lake St. Louis, Missouri.

After earning her associate’s degree in nursing from Hannibal-LaGrange University, Mathews received her bachelor’s degree in nursing and master’s degree in nursing education from what is now Chamberlain University in Addison, Illinois.

Jackie Mercer is the new general education coordinator for Youngstown State University in Ohio. She has been a faculty member in the university’s department of English and world languages since 2018. Earlier in her tenure, she was involved in the university’s academic senate.

Dr. Mercer is a four-time graduate of Youngstown State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in education, a master’s degree in English, a second master’s degree in professional communication, and a doctorate in educational leadership.

Ruth Ochia has been named director of assessment and evaluation for the College of Engineering at Temple University in Philadelphia, where she teaches as a professor of instruction in the bioengineering department. Dr. Ochia’s area of expertise involves the biomechanics of human injury, with a special emphasis on the areas of spine trauma and degeneration, and occupant kinematics in automobile collisions. She has also studies degenerative disc disease and low back pain.

Dr. Ochia holds a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and a Ph.D. in bioengineering from the University of Washington.

Marisa Ames has been elected president of the American Heartworm Society. She is an associate professor of medicine and epidemiology in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis and chief of the cardiology service at the university’s veterinary hospital. Her clinical specialities include cardiovascular medicine, physiology, and pathophysiology.

Dr. Ames received her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley and her doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Ohio State University.

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