The Augusta Webster Faculty Fellowship in Educational Research & Innovation
The Augusta Webster Faculty Fellowship in Educational Research & Innovation is an opportunity for career development through investigator-proposed, innovative projects in health professions education.
In 1991, a generous gift from Barbara Olin Taylor, PhD, endowed this fellowship in honor of Augusta Webster, MD. Since that time, numerous faculty members have used this support to improve the quality of medical education at Northwestern and beyond.
A member of Northwestern’s Class of 1934, Augusta Webster was the first woman to be named a full professor at the medical school and in 1960 became the first woman in the country to head a department at a major teaching hospital — the obstetrics and gynecology department at Cook County Hospital. It was there that she earned her fame as a teacher of medical students and obstetrical residents and as a dedicated physician and friend to the medically underserved of Chicago.
Application Process
Applications are currently closed.
- Applicant submits online application form.
- The selection committee reviews applications and approximately five to six applicants will be invited to move into an eight-week mentored proposal development program.
- Individuals accepted into the proposal development program must commit to a total of six hours of in-person meetings over an eight-week period. Meeting days and times will be determined after selection is complete.
- Final proposals for the two-year grant award are to be submitted at the end of the eight-week period.
- The committee will release final award decisions within four weeks following proposal submission.
- Funding for selected projects will begin starting in September, every other year.
- Ongoing mentorship and support will continue during the fellowship.
Click here for full application details and fellowship eligibility requirements.
Please email fame@northwestern.edu if you have any questions about this remarkable program
Fellows
2022-2024
- Maheen Quadri, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Advanced General Pediatrics and Primary Care)
Project: iTreat: A Novel Curriculum to Improve Pediatric Residents’ Ability to Treat Mental Health Conditions in the Primary Care Setting - Nicholas Zessis, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Hospital-Based Medicine)
Project: A Medical Student Mastery Learning Curriculum for Inpatient to Outpatient Handoffs
Past Fellows
- Kathryn Hufmeyer, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics)
Project: Responsible Electronic Documentation: A Mastery Learning Curriculum to Improve Trainee Progress Note Writing Skills in the Electronic Health Record (EHR) - James Walter, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Pulmonary and Critical Care)
Project: Development and Implementation of a Critical Care Ultrasound Mastery Learning Curriculum for Clinicians in the Medical Intensive Care Unit
- Zarina Dohadwala, MD, Instructor of Pediatrics (Hospital-Based Medicine)
Project: Development and Evaluation of an Innovative, Interactive Curriculum to Train Physicians to Address Vaccine Hesitant Families and Patients - Arika Gupta, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Neonatology)
Project: Mastery Learning of Neonatal Resuscitation Skills by Pediatric Residents Using Simulation Technology and Deliberate Practice - Bruce L. Henschen, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine (General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics)
Project: Can Medical Students, Acting as Health Coaches, Add Value to Primary Care and Improve Health Outcomes? Assessing the Clinical Impact of the Education-Centered Medical Home
- Brigid Dolan, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics)
Project: A Qualitative Analysis of Pre-clerkship Student Portfolios to Assess Teamwork Skills and Attitudes - Bernice Ruo, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine-General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics
Project: Improving the Assessment of Internal Medicine Residents
- Eric Schaefer, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics)
Project: Does a Faculty Development Project in Cardiac Auscultation Lead to Sustained Improvement in Cardiac Exam Skills for the Faculty, and does that Translate into an Improvement in the Cardiac Exam Skills of Medical Student Learners?
- Shari Meyerson, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery (Thoracic Surgery) and Medicine (Pulmonary and Critical Care)
Project: Utility of an Errors-Based Curriculum to Improve Advanced Skill Acquisition in Surgery - Rashmi Sharma, MD, MHS, Assistant Professor in Medicine-Hospital Medicine
Project: Developing and Evaluating a Mastery Learning Program for Code Status Discussion Skills - Mary McBride, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology) and Medical Education
Project: Teamwork and Communication in a Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit
- Jennifer Bierman, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine (General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics) and Medical Education
- Heather Heiman, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine (General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics) and Medical Education
- Sonya Rasminsky, MD
Project: Responsible Electronic Documentation (RED): A Needs Assessment and Curricular Intervention to Teach Medical Students Optimal Note Writing Skills Using the Electronic Health Record - Debra DaRosa, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Surgery
Project: Validity Evidence for a Competency Based Resident OR Instruction and Assessment System - David Salzman, MD, MEd, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Medical Education
Project: Assessment of Medical Student Achievement: Development of Simulation-Based Gateway Examinations for Implementation in the Feinberg School of Medicine Curriculum Renewal
- Daniel Evans, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics)
Project: Web-based Education for Beginning interns on Handoffs (WEB-Handoffs) - Marianne Tschoe, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Hospital Medicine)
Project: Improving Hospitalist Teaching Skills - Donna Woods, PhD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Project: Achieving Patient Safety Competence in Medicine: Testing Methods for Patient Safety Education and Evaluation - Heron Rodriguez, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery (Vascular Surgery) and Radiology
Project: An Engineered-Designed Time-Management System for Prioritizing and Actualizing Resident Clinical Learning Activities Based Upon Curriculum Goals and Objectives - Eytan Szmuilowicz, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine (Hospital Medicine)
Project: Development and Assessment of a Palliative Care Curriculum for Hospital Medicine Physicians
- Melissa Brannen, MD
Project: Using Simulation to Teach Leadership Skills to Pediatric Fellows - Christine Park, MD
Project: Training and Assessing Novice Anesthesiology Resident Competencies Using a Simulation-Based Curriculum
- Larry Cochard, PhD, Associate Professor of Medical Education and Cell and Molecular Biology
- Lori Goodhartz, MD, Associate Professor of Radiology
Project: A Website for the Integration of Radiology and Radiographic Anatomy in the First Two Years of the Curriculum at the Feinberg School of Medicine - Jon Lomasney, MD, Associate Professor of Pathology and Pharmacology
Project: Second Year Medical School Teaching-Learning Initiative
- Jeffrey Barsuk, MD, Professor of Medicine (Hospital Medicine) and Medical Education
Project: Use of Simulation Technology to Assess and Improve the Proficiency of Internal Medicine Trainees in Central Line Insertion - Alice Salzman, PT, EdD, Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences
Project: Analysis of a Summative Cross-Course Examination Using Standardized Patients and Creation of a Process to Develop Additional Cross-Course Evaluations
- Lee Lindquist, MD, MPH, MBA, Associate Professor of Medicine (General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics)
Project: Geriatrics Immersion Program for First Year Medical Students to Improve the Care of Elderly Patients - Peter Pang, MD
Project: Curriculum Re-Design Focused on Systems-Based Practice to Improve Patient Safety and Quality - Nancy Schindler, MD
Project: Collaborative On-Line Learning Modules (COLM)
- Patricia Garcia, MD, MPH, Associate Dean for Curriculum, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology (Maternal Fetal Medicine) and Medical Education
Project: Integration and Assessment of Computer-Facilitated Group Learning and Digital Cases in the PBL Curriculum - Carla Pugh, MD, PhD
Project: Evaluating Potential Uses of Simulation Technology in Teaching and Assessing Hands-On Technical Skills
- Douglas Reifler, MD
- Angela Nuzzarello, MD, MHPE
- Robert Golub, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine (General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics) and Preventive Medicine
- Rowland Chang, MD, MPH, Professor of Preventive Medicine (Epidemiology),Medicine (Rheumatology) and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
- Raymond Curry, MD
- Carl Waltenbaugh, PhD
Contact Us

Mark D Adler, MD
Director of the Augusta Webster Fellowship Program
Professor of Pediatrics (Emergency Medicine) and Medical Education