Faculty Factory

The Faculty Factory Podcast is back for its Year 7/Season 7 debut this week, and we couldn’t be more excited! Lilly Marks, a respected voice and distinguished leader in our field, is our featured guest, with Susan Chubinskaya, PhD, MS, joining alongside to add insights and further questions that ultimately provide a deep-seated exploration of several leadership traits and styles that are essential for success and building a healthy culture. Among the leadership topics we dive into: Communication Adapting to change and challenges Transparency Lilly Marks is a frequently sought-after national speaker on topics regarding medical school economics, healthcare practices, clinical practice management, and leadership in academic medicine. She was the longtime Vice President for Health Affairs at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and has spent more than 25 years in academic medicine in various administrative and leadership positions.  Dr. Chubinskaya is the Senior Vice President, Provost, and Chief Academic Officer at the University of Texas Medical Branch. She also serves as a Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery & Rehabilitation in the John Sealy School of Medicine. Her previous two appearances on our podcast can be found here: Episode 11 – A Faculty Factory Interview with Susan Chubinskaya, PhD Episode 160 – Pearls of Wisdom for Faculty to Build a Career with Susan Chubinskaya, PhD "If you want faculty to trust and respect you, you have to trust and respect them. And that means sharing information, because black box decision-making doesn't work. I think it's critical to give faculty good data and information that is timely, accurate, relevant, and understandable," Lilly said. We want to thank Dr. Chubinskaya for her unwavering support of the Faculty Factory, as our hearts are filled with gratitude to be entering Year 7 with such incredible momentum ushered in with this episode.

Join Jochen Reiser, President of UTMB and innovative physician-scientist, as he discusses how early research shaped his journey. Explore Ludy Shih's intriguing transition from academia to biotech and back, highlighting the teamwork and learning experiences that refocused her mission. Janet Bickel offers insights into late-career transitions, addressing the psychological challenges and the importance of mentorship for a fulfilling next chapter. Together, they navigate the complex paths of academic medicine and the growth through change.

This week, we're airing a Faculty Factory conversation featuring our friend Stuart Ray, MD, as he discusses triaging and competing demands. This episode originally aired in July 2023. Happy holidays to all of you! We wish you a very happy and healthy 2026. Learn more about this podcast episode with Dr. Ray: https://facultyfactory.org/stuart-ray/ 

As a leader, the more you show your human side and reach out to others for help, the stronger the chance that the people around you will start to do the same. There are plenty of leadership lessons for early-career faculty and beyond in this week’s Faculty Factory Podcast interview, just in time for the holidays, with our new friend Nicole Jarrett, MD, FACS. We hear about her journey and the transition from faculty member to a formal leadership role as Division Chief. Dr. Jarrett serves as Division Chief of Hand Surgery in the Department of Plastic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She is also an Assistant Professor and the Hand Surgery Fellowship Director at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The confidence to ask questions is an important sign of a confident leader. We all have days when we need help, and displaying the confidence to ask questions is essential. "It's okay to ask for help. We're all going to find ourselves in situations where we feel overwhelmed or where things aren't going right, and we need support,” she said. Midway through the discussion, Dr. Jarrett talks about the art of purposeful socializing. It’s crucial to allocate time for social functions in our lines of work, especially in leadership roles, and taking a very strategic and efficient approach to how we engage in these functions pays dividends. It can also save time. “It’s not all fun at these parties; you have a job to do. I’m very glad someone gave me that lesson, and I’m happy to pass it along to my faculty,” Dr. Jarrett discussed.

Elevating professionalism is key to much of the day-to-day work of Ellen M. Friedman, MD, FACS, FAAP, and we knew we had to have her join the Faculty Factory Podcast to learn more. Dr. Friedman serves as Professor of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery and is the Senior Associate Dean of Professionalism and the Director of the Center for Professionalism at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. The end result of the Center for Professionalism, which we discuss at length in today’s episode, is a warm and positive professional climate at Baylor College of Medicine. We also dive into the concept of professionalism in general. More about the Center: https://www.bcm.edu/education/academic-faculty-affairs/center-for-professionalism  While promoting professionalism is the core service of the Center, it also has systems in place to report instances where professionalism is lacking. The problem with traditional wellness programs is that they often place the burden on the individual while systematic issues at the institution remain unresolved, as Dr. Friedman points out. The Center at Baylor aims to address those systematic issues so they don’t stand in the way of wellness and progress. More than anything else, however, the Center exists to acknowledge and recognize acts of positive professionalism. “It’s a very small number of individuals who are perceived to have lapses in professionalism, but unfortunately, that small group of people tends to receive the most attention,” she says. For that reason, the Center is dedicated to honoring professionals who demonstrate exemplary professionalism. More resources: https://facultyfactory.org/ 

Many leaders in the healthcare system and academic medicine, by default, manage their day through transactional leadership. However, as we learn in this week’s episode of the Faculty Factory Podcast, there may be a better way. We are thrilled to welcome Martin Zeier, MD, visiting us from Germany this week on the podcast to discuss transformational leadership. Dr. Zeier leads the Division of Nephrology at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. He recently traveled to the United States and attended the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Nephrology, which took place in Houston. You can learn more about the University of Heidelberg here: https://www.nierenzentrum-heidelberg.com Transformational leadership helps us build trust between one another, which is one of its core principles and plays a key role in mentoring the next generation of leaders. This leadership style can strengthen our teams to advance our institutions and the missions we serve. It also challenges us to lead through intellectual stimulation, because academic professionals are not at their best without the opportunity for growth. “I have always been curious about how I could build and enhance teams and how I could improve as a medical professional and leader,” Dr. Zeier stated at the interview's outset. His own intellectual curiosity over the years served as an impetus for him to study organizational psychology in his advanced studies, as he also shared with us. Learn more about the Faculty Factory: https://facultyfactory.org/ 

Whether you refer to it as “imposter syndrome” or the “imposter phenomenon,” one thing is abundantly clear: you are not alone when it comes to dealing with it as a professional in academic medicine. This week on the Faculty Factory Podcast, we are blending together two incredible interviews from our archives that dissect this phenomenon with the precision and evidence-based arguments we cherish here on our podcast for a very special “best of” episode. First up, we hear from Cynthia Rand, PhD, who discusses imposter syndrome and how it can impact leadership roles in academia, including the tendency for individuals to make dispositional attributions to others and situational attributions to ourselves—which can exacerbate feelings of being an imposter. Next up, it's Donna L. Vogel, MD, PhD, who joined the Faculty Factory to share timeless advice on dealing with imposter syndrome, centered around her succinct takeaways for overcoming it over the long term as a faculty member. Both interviews we've clipped for this “best of” broadcast can help faculty members (especially those who are transitioning into a new role) and this advice is applicable to overcoming imposter syndrome in any environment. Interested in hearing the full conversations from these episodes? Click on the links below to explore each episode in its entirety: Episode 197 – Imposter Syndrome and Leadership Roles in Academia with Cynthia Rand, PhD Episode 84 – Overcoming Imposter Syndrome with Donna L. Vogel, MD, PhD

Susan Matulevicius, MD, MSCS, a national expert on resilience and work-life integration, joins the Faculty Factory Podcast this week for a discussion to help us better deal with life’s inevitable stumbling blocks. Dr. Matulevicius serves as Associate Dean of Faculty Wellness and is a Professor of Internal Medicine, Cardiology, at the UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. To help us think about how to create professional well-being in academic medicine, she discusses the 5 Ps: Person Purpose Path Prioritization Permission “When you get down to it, our values generally align with our purpose, and it helps us refocus when we encounter those little stumbling blocks that life puts in our way,” she said. She also touches on the value of understanding your purpose in relation to Self-Determination Theory, which is an important paradigm related to this conversation. With reassurance, Dr. Matulevicius warmly reminds us midway through the conversation of something we all need to hear occasionally: “Sometimes it’s okay to not be okay." “Life and work are not always predictable, and sometimes your emotions aren’t predictable in the moment. It’s okay to recognize that you need more support to help you through that moment,” she said.  Learn More: https://facultyfactory.org/Susan-Matulevicius

This week on the Faculty Factory podcast we welcome Vicki Freeman, PhD, MASCP, MLS(ASCP)cm SCcm, FACB, for an exploration for staying professionally active alongside some common challenges to at least be aware of in retirement from full time faculty life. Dr. Freeman is a professor emeritus and former tenured chair in the Utmb Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences. She's also the former associate dean for faculty development for the School of Health Professions. She was also a Distinguished Professor and a former Minnie Stephens Piper Professor. She was the director of the renowned UTMB Academy of Master Teachers among her many other contributions and positions held through her illustrious career in academic medicine. Her decision to retire was influenced by family and the challenges posed by COVID-19. She doesn’t see retirement as an endpoint but as an opportunity to pivot toward rest and other meaningful activities. It also serves as a nice way to avoid some of the workplace politics she no longer is obligated to navigate. “I’m just not interested in putting up with the politics anymore and when the politics start getting involved, I know it is time to check out,” she told us. Learn more: http://facultyfactory.org/vicki-freeman 

Joseph E. Losee, MD, MBA, FACS, FAAP, is Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and a leading pediatric plastic surgeon. He discusses the Four R's of leadership: responsibility, regulation, resilience, and relationships. Losee emphasizes the importance of emotional intelligence and executive presence in effective leadership, highlighting how charisma can shape first impressions. He advocates for work-life integration and continuous self-improvement, urging listeners to invest in their personal growth across these essential dimensions.