Association of Biochemistry Educators

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Submissions are CLOSED

Deadlines

March 17: EXTENDED! Session proposal & abstract deadline*
March 25 - submitters notified
March 31: Early Registration ends
April 1-30: Late Registration

From Content Delivery to Identity Design: The New Mandate for Biomedical Science Educators

Biomedical Science Educators have traditionally been responsible for establishing the scientific foundations of medical and health professions education. However, modern healthcare demands more than knowledge alone. Graduates must think critically, navigate uncertainty, collaborate effectively and uphold professionalism under pressure. These capabilities begin forming in the earliest years of medical school, where the way science is taught shapes not only what students know, but who they become!

This plenary calls for a shift from content delivery to identity design: teaching and cultivating reasoning, reflection, teamwork and professional values, without compromising scientific rigor. Achieving this transformation requires intentional institutional support, meaningful faculty development and stronger partnerships between scientists, clinicians and academic leaders.

This session will explore practical strategies to support biomedical science educators in this transformation. How do we prepare them to facilitate discussion rather than deliver monologues? How do we help them design assessments that drive deep learning? How do we empower them to become educational leaders within integrated curricula? Biomedical science educators are not merely pre-clinical teachers; they help shape the future identity of the clinical practitioners and health professions.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Dujeepa Samarasekera is the Head of the Centre for Medical Education (CenMED) at the School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS) and Adjunct Professor of Medical Education in the School of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University, Australia. With over 20 years of experience, Dujeepa is renowned for his exceptional contributions to the field, including high-impact, transformational initiatives and innovative faculty development programs. He serves as the Academic Lead for Quality Improvement and Lead Examinations Auditor at the NUS School of Medicine and is a member of both the Undergraduate and Graduate Curriculum Committees. Additionally, he is part of the Singapore Medical School Review Committee at the Ministry of Health and provides his expertise as a quality assurance reviewer to several local and international Organisations. Dujeepa has an extensive publication record in health professions education and serves as the Editor-in-Chief of The Asia Pacific Medical Education Journal. He is an inaugural Fellow of the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) by invitation; inaugural elected President of the College of Clinician Educators at the Academy of Medicine, Singapore; President of the Western Pacific Association of Medical Education (2018 to 2023); Treasurer of Asia-Pacific Biomedical Sciences Educators Association and has held Board Memberships in AMEE Board of Governance, ASEAN-EU Higher Education Quality and Qualifications Framework Committee (Country Representative), Asia Pacific Medical Education Network and Board of Trustees of American University of the Caribbean. He is also the Chair of the Asia pacific Medical Education Conference (APMEC) which is the leading health professions education conference in Asia drawing more than 1000 participants globally. Dujeepa is an Honorary Professor at several international universities and editorial advisory boards.

virtual summit overview

The Association of Biochemistry Educators (ABE) Virtual Summit promotes professional development, sharing of education best practices, scholarship, and networking for health professions educators from schools of medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry. With the theme of "Adaptive Ascent: Advancing Excellence and Identity in Health Professions Faculty", the ABE Virtual Summit will provide you with new teaching techniques, ideas, and resources through the plenary session, workshops, short talks and posters.

Proposal Submission Instructions

All proposals must be submitted via the online form
References are NOT required for this submission.
All presenters listed must register for the meeting by March 31, 2026.
Any presenter not registered will not be shown in the program.

Registration Fees

	Early (by March 31)	Late (April 1-30)
Educator*	$60	$80
Student	$25	$35

*ABE members will receive a promo code for $20 off Educator rates

Registered attendees will be able to access the meeting link through EventBrite.

Click the Register button to view the event details, then under LOCATION you will see the Access Link, which will become live 15 minutes before the meeting starts.

1:00 - 1:10	MEET YOUR GUIDE: WELCOME REMARKS Sheri Fong, MD, PhD, ABE President, Associate Professor, Office of Medical Education, John A. Burns School of Medicine
1:10 - 2:10	PLAN YOUR ASCENT: PLENARY LECTURE From Content Delivery to Identity Design: The New Mandate for Biomedical Science Educators Dujeepa D. Samarasekera, MBBS, MHPE, FAMM, FAMS, FRCP, Senior Director, Centre for Medical Education (CenMED), National University of Singapore
2:10 - 2:50	START YOUR JOURNEY: POST-PLENARY SESSION Discussion facilitated by the ABE Board
2:50 - 3:00	BREAK
3:00 - 3:45	BUILD YOUR BASECAMP: EDUCATOR MASTERCLASS BREAKOUTS (Concurrent Sessions)
Room 1	MC-1 Brick Builders: Developing Case-Based Biochemistry Bricks for Medical Students Abigail Solitro, PhD and Jaide Woods-Dawson, MS, Western Michigan University; Raquel Ritchie, PhD, Michigan State University; Anamika Sengupta, PhD, University of Illinois; Aditi Kesari, MBBS, PhD, University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Room 2	MC-2 Leveraging AI in Curricular Mapping to Identify Gaps and Redundancies Peter J. Huwe, PhD, Holly Randa, PhD, and Pat Whitworth, PhD, Belmont University
Room 3	MC-3 Mentorship as a Catalyst for Professional Identity Formation: Roles, Relationships, and Pathways Renee Chosed, PhD, University of South Carolina; Marcie Cole, PhD, University of Louisville
Room 4	MC-4 From Pathway to Patient: A Scaffolded Approach to Teaching Metabolic Reasoning as Clinical Detective Work Paul Chastain, PhD, University of Illinois
Room 5	MC-5 From Static to Active: An AI-Assisted Approach to Redesigning Foundational Science Sessions for Health Professions Students Kathryn Eisenmann, PhD, University of Toledo
3:45 - 4:15	AROUND THE CAMPFIRE: BEYOND THE BIO SOCIAL SESSION Hosted by the Advancing Belonging and Connection Committee (ABC) for relaxed conversation beyond our professional identities
4:15 - 4:45	SELECTING THE RIGHT GEAR: POSTER SESSION poster videos and pdfs will be linked & viewable a few days prior to the meeting P-01:* Assessing the Performance of ChatGPT (GPT-3.5 and GPT-4) as a Study Tool in Histology and Medical Imaging Education Manisha Arora, PhD, Mercer School of Medicine P-02: Molecules in Motion: Enhancing Medical Student Understanding of Signal Transduction Pathways through Animation Isabel Clevenger, BS, Texas Tech University P-03: Bridging Basic Science and Clinical Practice: Standardized Patient Encounters to Enhance Application and Retention of Biochemistry and Cell Biology Nichole Crandall, BS, Texas Tech University HSC P-04: Evaluating Weekly Basic Science Review Objectives as a Strategy for Foundational Science Integration and Board Readiness Martha Faner, PhD, Michigan State University P-05: Enhancing Physiology Learning Through Interactive and Multimodal Pedagogical Innovation in Biomedical Sciences Ilham Mekkioui, PhD, University of Ottawa P-06: Student perceptions of gamified anatomy review during reproductive organ systems course - A phenomenological study Jane Newman, PhD, Oakland University P-07: EVEREST - A Longitudinal, Value-Embedded Research Curriculum Integrating Discovery and Community Impact Esther Nuebel, PhD, MS, University of Utah P-08: From Role to Identity: Transforming Medical Educators Through an adapted Educator Identity Integration Framework (EIIF) Shellon Thomas, MBBS, MHPE, St. Georges University, Grenada P-09: Transforming Self Directed Learning (SDL) with Kahoot!: Turning Learner‑Created Quizzes into Pathways for Critical Thinking Shellon Thomas, MBBS, MHPE, St. Georges University, Grenada P-10: From Minute to Mastery: Improving Student Performance, Retention, and Engagement with Short-Form Videos and Formative Quizzes Christian Wahl, BS, Texas Tech University
4:45 - 4:55	BREAK
4:55 - 5:55	ONWARDS AND UPWARDS: EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND INNOVATION ORAL ABSTRACTS
4:55 – 5:05	OR-01: Assessing AI Literacy in First-Year Medical Students Dylan Tran, BA, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
5:05 – 5:15	OR-02: Development of Biochemistry Workshop Activities for First-Year Physical Therapy Students Thomas Bodenstine, PhD, Midwestern University
5:15 – 5:25	OR-03: Bite-Sized Vitamins and Minerals: Using a Distributed Longitudinal Vodcast Approach to Teach Micronutrients to First-Year Medical Students Malvika Kaul, PhD, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
5:25 – 5:35	OR-04: The Impact of Medical School on the Nutrition and Lifestyle Among Preclinical Students Zeynep Gromley, PhD, LMU-DCOM
5:35 – 5:45	OR-05: Semi-Automated AI-Driven Curricular Mapping in a Pre-Clinical Renal Course Peter J. Huwe, PhD, Belmont University
5:45 – 5:55	OR-06: Employing AI to Develop a Biochemistry Question Bank Aligned with Clinically Oriented Learning Objectives for Health Professions Educators Lawrence Myers, PhD, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
5:55 - 6:00	REACHING THE SUMMIT: CLOSING REMARKS Sheri Fong, ABE President, Associate Professor, Office of Medical Education, John A. Burns School of Medicine
6:00 - 6:15	SUMMIT CELEBRATION: Q&A WITH THE BOARD AND COMMITTEE CHAIRS Board: Sheri Fong (President), Martha Faner (President-Elect), Gergana Deevska (Secretary), Edgar Diaz-Cruz (Treasurer), Kimberly Dahlman (Past President), Jesse Bakke, Marc Glucksman, Adam Morrow, Amanda Parker, Stephen Sharkady, Jaya Yodh Committee Chairs: Monica Kinde (Advancing Belonging and Connection Committee), Adam Morrow and Anamika Sengupta (ABE Communications Development Committee), Peter Huwe and Aditi Kesari (Education Resource Development Committee), Edgar Diaz-Cruz (Finance Committee), Martha Faner (Membership Committee), Kimberly Dahlman (Nomination Committee), Sireesha Mamillapalli (Professional Development Committee)

Educator Masterclass Breakouts

The purpose of the 45-minute Educator Masterclass Breakouts is to instruct attendees on a specific topic in an interactive format. The exact format for the session is chosen by the session leader(s) (i.e., module, workshop, discussion), as long as more than one-half of the time is used for interaction, active learning, and discussion. We plan to have concurrent Educator Masterclasses in breakout rooms, so breakout rooms within a breakout room will not be available. The topic should be aligned with the Virtual Summit theme and can include but is not limited to innovations in instructional methods, curriculum development, technology, student assessment, professional development, student support, or leadership.

The Program Committee strongly encourages submissions from multi-institutional and inter-professional teams; submissions from schools of pharmacy, dentistry, and other health professions in addition to medicine; and presenters/teams that include multiple viewpoints, including those underrepresented in science and medicine. The Program Committee also strongly encourages submissions from individuals who have not previously presented at one of our conferences or summits and from those whose perspectives and experiences can broaden learning, advance educational practice, or stimulate new lines of inquiry within our organization.

Criteria for review:

Importance/Significance of the Topic: Does the topic of the session address a significant issue?
Appropriateness of Topic:

Is the session topic aligned with the ABE Virtual Summit theme?
Does the session address an issue that will be of interest to attendees at the Virtual Summit?
Are the proposed session objectives feasible in the time permitted?

Approach: Does the proposed session adequately address the stated issue?
Clarity: Is the session well thought out and clearly presented in the abstract?
Plan to Promote Discussion/Interaction: Does the session present a clear and adequate
plan to promote discussion and interaction among attendees?
Intended Outcomes: Does the abstract outline clear outcomes that align with session plan?
Generalizability/Transferability: Can information learned at the session be transferred to other settings or institutions?

Oral Abstracts & Posters

Submissions can be either Education Research or Innovation. The most highly rated submissions will be chosen for a 5-minute talk, followed by a 2-minute Q&A. Those chosen for poster presentation will be asked to pre-record a 5-minute presentation and provide a poster PDF which will be available for registrants prior to the summit through a restricted page on our website with the link shared with conference registrants. During the poster session, presenters will be in individual breakout rooms for Q&A. The topic can include but is not limited to research or innovations in instructional methods, curriculum development, technology, student assessment, professional development, student support, or leadership.

The Program Committee strongly encourages submissions from multi-institutional and inter-professional teams; submissions from schools of pharmacy, dentistry, and other health professions in addition to medicine; and presenters/teams that include multiple viewpoints, including those underrepresented in science and medicine. The Program Committee also strongly encourages submissions from individuals who have not previously presented at one of our conferences or summits and from those whose perspectives and experiences can broaden learning, advance educational practice, or stimulate new lines of inquiry within our organization.

Although submission from teams is encouraged, only 1 person from the team will present at the Virtual Summit if chosen for an oral abstract. All other members of the team will be listed as co-authors in the program.