SWAT/OME Fellowship Program

Submission Deadline: May 15, 2026

The UT Southwestern Academy of Teachers (SWAT), in partnership with the Office of Medical Education (OME) is sponsoring its annual SWAT/OME Fellowship. This Fellowship will support a year of faculty development in medical education, which may include activities such as attendance at an education conference and support development of new campus educational projects in the realm of undergraduate medical education (UME). Educational proposals from the School of Health Professions, the Graduate of Biomedical Sciences, and the O'Donnell School of Public Health will also be considered. The Fellowship will support approximately 10% of salary (excluding fringes and benefits) at the assistant or associate professor level.

The Fellowship will provide up to $20K of support, which can be applied to salary (excluding fringes and benefits and honoring NIH salary caps) as well as equipment, software, simulation resources, and tuition to receive education training pertinent to the project. We are unable to support travel expenses. We are able to provide some statistical support.

Applications that are augmented by in-kind departmental resources will be viewed favorably.

Eligibility Criteria

1. Full time UT Southwestern faculty member
2. Rank of assistant or associate professor

Application Process

1. Request a letter of support from your division chief or department chair.
2. Email the letter of support and a letter of application in a single PDF to: Dr. James "Brad" Cutrell, Faculty Development Committee Chair.
3. In your letter, address:
   1. The domain of the project (UME, SHP, SGS)
   2. The criteria for evaluating applications (below)
   3. A proposal for one’s own educational development (e.g. a conference to attend, course to take, etc.)
   4. A proposal of a campus educational project, including;
      1. The identification of a project mentor
      2. A timeline (should be completed in one year)
      3. A budget

Criteria for Evaluating Applications

1. Applicant’s current level of engagement in education
2. Applicant’s level of training in medical education
3. Proposed project’s alignment with current educational priorities:
   1. Assessment of Learners and Teachers
   2. Competency-Based Education
   3. Curriculum Mapping
   4. Educational Quality Improvement
   5. Simulation

Applications are due by close of business on May 15, 2026. If you have any questions about the fellowship or the application process, please direct those questions to the SWAT Faculty Development Committee Chair, Dr. James "Brad" Cutrell.

• 2025 Awardees
  • Natalie Bavli, M.D.; Department of Medicine
    Project: “Building the Blueprint: Scaling Case-Based Collaborative Learning Through Generative AI and Collaborative Design”
  • Ngoc “Kim” Van Horn, M.D.; Department of Pediatrics
    Project: Enhancing Competency-Based Medical Education thru Simulation and AI-Based Assessments
• 2024 Awardees
  • Indira Bhavsar-Burke, M.D.; Department of Internal Medicine
    Project: IMPACT (Improving Academic Clinical Teaching): A Competency-Based Coaching Curriculum for Clinician-Educator Faculty Development
  • Judah Gruen, M.D.; Department of Internal Medicine
    Project: Using Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Learning Models to Evaluate Medical Student Clerkship Simulations
• 2023 Awardees
  • Hina Mehta, M.D.; Department of Internal Medicine
    Project: Integrating Customized Podcasts into Undergraduate Medical Education
  • Ryan Dumas, M.D; Department of Surgery
    Project: Development and implementation of a new MATCH Masters mentoring curriculum
  • Reuben Arasaratnam, M.D.; Department of Internal Medicine
    Project: A qualitative analysis to explore faculty development needs of physician-educators at a large Veterans Affairs facility
• 2022 Awardees
  • Jaini Sutaria, M.D.; Department of Internal Medicine
    Project: Medical Escape Room- A curricular innovation to prepare medical students for Transition to Residency
  • Shumon Dhar, M.D.; Department of Otolaryngology
    Project: Creation of a comprehensive stroboscopy atlas
• 2021 Awardees
  • Brett Cooper, M.D.; Department of Pediatrics
    Project: Improving objective grading and narrative assessments by volunteer faculty via tailored faculty development
  • Caitlin Siropaides, D.O.; Department of Internal Medicine
    Project: Pilot of a communication skill competency assessment in Undergraduate Medical Education
• 2019 Awardees
  • Thomas Dalton, M.D.; Department of Internal Medicine
    Project: Evaluating Medical Students’ Clinical Reasoning Development Through Documentation 

  • Shan Luong, M.D.; Department of Internal Medicine
    Project: Enhanced Simulation Activities in the Residency Essentials Course
• 2018 Awardees
  • Adriane M. dela Cruz, M.D.; Department of Psychiatry
    Project: Neuroscience in Frontiers in Medicine and Brain and Behavior Courses
  • Karuna M. Raj, M.D.; Department of Radiology
    Project: Online Radiology Modules for Residency Essentials
• 2017 Awardee
  • Christiana Renner, M.D.