Current Members & Spotlights

Dr. Louis-Jacques also serves as the Co-Chair for the CEE Teaching Committee. 

What attracted you to working in academic medicine? What attracted me to and keeps me in academic medicine is the opportunity and privilege to work with the next generation of physicians. I hope that my work and effort will in some way contribute to improved patient care in the future.

What made you decide to call UVA your home? I was drawn to UVA by its commitment to medical education, particularly the Foundations in Clinical Medicine course.

What do you enjoy most about teaching? I think teaching is so much fun. I love the interaction with students, watching them develop skills and confidence.

How would you summarize your philosophy of teaching? I view myself as a guide who helps students become the best versions of themselves. I think it’s important to work with the student in front of you- helping them to leverage their strengths.

How do you spend your free time outside of work? I enjoy spending time with my dog Neko and traveling (next trip is to Ireland in July). I have also been trying to get back to reading for pleasure.

What advice would you give to a new faculty member getting involved in education in the UVA SOM? Join the AEE! It’s probably one of the easiest ways to get connected to med ed at UVA.

What are the benefits for you being an active member of the Academy? The main benefit to being an active member of the Academy the opportunity it gives to be immersed within the medical education community here at UVA which can lead to being involved in initiatives that help elevate the quality of medical education at the institution.

Dr. Shah also serves as the Chair for the CEE Membership Committee.

What attracted you to working in academic medicine? During my internal medicine chief resident year, I realized that I absolutely love teaching medical students and residents.  This pushed me to seek out academic medicine jobs after fellowship.  The variety in my work with patient care, clinical research, medical education, and curriculum development has kept every aspect of my job exciting to me for all of my years at UVA.

What made you decide to call UVA your home? I originally came here to join the exceptional liver transplant group by doing a fellowship in transplant hepatology, when I discovered the opportunities in medical education too.  Through all these channels I found the collegiality of the faculty, the strong trainees, and the academic focus unbeatable from any other place I had trained or worked.  My wife grew up in Charlottesville and her father started the practice she joined (Pediatric Associates), so it became an easy decision to stay.

What do you enjoy most about teaching? I think one of the most rewarding things for me is to meet the first years before they start the GI system, and realize how little they know about clinical medicine.  By the end of our course, I love having deep conversations about very complicated GI topics that they hardly knew about 4 weeks prior.  Then a year later, I can see those same students on the wards as we work together on a team to take care of these complex cases.  Watching this growth over time is something that is very rewarding to me.

What interests do you have in educational research and scholarship? I am interested in the use of technology in medical education and the development of resources that reduce cognitive load.  I have found that learners prefer resources that provide quick take home points in a graphical format.  From this interest, I was fortunate to develop the first set of 600 infographics that are now available as a textbook / e-book.  I have been expanding the topic areas encompass all clerkships.  I am fortunate that these infographics are available in over 90% of medical schools in the US and used in more than 70 countries.  I hope the use of my infographics can reduce the cognitive load for trainees and learners.

How would you summarize your philosophy of teaching Building connections – I think the best learners build connections with their patients, colleagues, and between the diseases and science.  These scientific and humanistic connections are essential to making good physicians.

How do you spend your free time outside of work? My favorite thing to do outside of work is spending time with my wife and our daughters.  I also love photography and taking photos to capture the moment.  Sometimes, I try to mix the two, but my daughters often get frustrated when I am trying to capture the perfect shot – so I have learned to love candids!

What advice would you give to a new faculty member getting involved in education in the UVA SOM? UVA is one of the most collegial places I have ever worked.  Everyone I have met has always been so helpful in trying to help me succeed.  It is important to find the right person to mentor you through this process as you start on faculty, and try to look beyond your own division or department.  Set up times to chat with people over the phone, over zoom, or when we are able….meet for coffee.  I have found informal chats to be the basis of some exceptional projects.

What are the benefits for you being an active member of the Academy? Being an active member of the Academy allows faculty and trainees to expand their connections beyond their own Division/Departments.  It promotes collaboration and mentorship for educators at UVA.  The opportunity to apply for grants to fund research focused on medical education is a unique opportunity only available to Academy members.  I have met many people across UVA Health and expanded my network extensively through the Academy.

What attracted you to working in academic medicine?

My family has a long history of serving in academics.  My great-grandfather immigrated to the United States from The Netherlands to start a school system for recently arriving Dutch in America.  My father served his entire career as a college sociology professor and he always talked of his joy of teaching and his work in service for the community. From a young age, I dreamed of being a physician and working in academics, helping to teach new generations in medicine.

What made you decide to call UVA your home?

In 1999 I was hired by the first Department of Emergency Medicine chair, Dr. Marcus Martin, to start a new program – The Division of Medical Toxicology.  I spent the first 3 years on 24/7/365 call for the new clinical toxicology service, building the consult service, expanding the call service to 54 other hospitals covered by the Blue Ridge Poison Center, and expanding the teaching, research, and forensic arms of the new envisioned division.  In 2002, I started the Medical Toxicology Fellowship with our first fellow graduating in 2004.  The Division of Medical Toxicology has grown since and we now have 5 full time and 2 part-time faculty in the Division with 4 fellows per year. UVA has provided an opportunity to grow my work in clinical care, teaching, scholarship, and service.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the multiple collaborations that I have had since starting here. I look forward to future work and our training of new generation of quality healthcare providers.

What do you enjoy most about teaching?

I have always thoroughly enjoyed teaching and my true reason for staying in our academic setting.  The students, residents and fellows are a privilege to teach.  They keep me attuned with new developments in this rapidly changing world of scientific discover. The 4^th year medical students can elect to rotate with our service, an elective started by me the month the 9/11 attacks. I teach the basics of pharmacology to review the pertinent mechanisms that clinicians should know as competent physicians nearing graduation.  I find the student and trainee questions during teaching invigorating as we delve deeply into such mechanisms and the effects of the medications that we prescribe.

What interests do you have in educational research and scholarship?

I am most interested in the research on education pertaining to proper drug prescribing and retention of that knowledge for our students and trainees. As medical doctors, we should have a clear knowledge of our medication management and assure no harm to patients in what we prescribe. Our practice is getting more complex with new amazing drug discoveries which also can lead to more risk of complications and interactions.  Times are also becoming more complex with the plethora of novel substances being abused and misused and the growing market in alternative and herbal therapies.  We need to assure our graduating students and trainees are proficient in their medication management and aware of appropriate resources to help them in practice.

How would you summarize your philosophy of teaching?

As a faculty member, we are serving our students and trainees to assure they have the necessary knowledge to serve the public with quality care.  In the current environment, I stress the importance of evidence-based medicine as there is much misinformation on various therapies currently in society.  As a clinical toxicologist, I too often witness complications from such inappropriate therapies.

How do you spend your free time outside of work?

I refresh by spending time outdoors and engaging with my wife, 6 children, and 2 grandchildren.  My Samoyed and I hike routinely together.  We are fortunate for where we live, as there are numerous locations nearby Grounds and throughout Virginia to engage in unique natural settings.  We are currently working to better educate our students and trainees to the myriad of outdoor opportunities nearby and expand their engagement with the outdoors. I have a number of studies that are about to launch on the impact of engaging nature on the well-being of our students in partnership with university colleagues.

What advice would you give to a new faculty member getting involved in education in the UVA SOM?

One of the wonderful aspects of the University is the large number of quality faculty both within the SOM and in the other 11 schools. New faculty should strive to collaborate not only in your own department, but also within the SOM and with the other University faculty in different schools.  It helps to make for a richer career in teaching and in research.  I continue to be amazed at the unique work that is being done throughout the University and the ability to generate novel ideas to better educate.

What are the benefits for you being an active member of the Academy?

The Academy allows for collaboration outside of our departments.  There are unique educational models being developed and the Academy enables further dissemination of such work by our fellow colleagues.  The Academy provides a place to discover mentorship, especially for faculty early in their careers.  The Academy also enables funding of concepts for unique medical education that otherwise would be difficult to launch due to financial limitations.

Dr. Parsons also serves as the Co-Chair for the CEE Educational Research Committee. 

What attracted you to working in academic medicine? I have always enjoyed teaching, but what drew me to academic medicine was the opportunity to help shape how we develop clinical reasoning in future physicians through innovation and scholarship. I am especially motivated by efforts to coach struggling learners and build assessment systems that support their advancement.

What made you decide to call UVA your home? I came to UVA for residency and quickly realized that this was a place where education is truly valued. I chose to stay because of the collaborative people who make each day enjoyable. Also, Charlottesville is a great place to raise a family and enjoy the outdoors.

What do you enjoy most about teaching? I enjoy working alongside learners as they make sense of problems and apply what they know to patient care, both in the classroom and clinical environment. It is meaningful for me to see their thinking become clearer and their confidence grow.

What interests do you have in educational research and scholarship? My research focuses on clinical reasoning, particularly management reasoning—the process of navigating uncertainty to make and implement care decisions in complex settings with finite resources. How do we teach this? How do we assess this? I also focus on coaching approaches that support struggling learners. More recently, I have explored how generative AI can enhance medical education in these areas.

How would you summarize your philosophy of teaching? I believe in providing graduated autonomy by giving learners greater responsibility as they grow – asking questions that encourage reflection on the why (not just the what). My role is to provide structure and feedback that helps them navigate uncertainty and build confidence over time.

How do you spend your free time outside of work? Most of my time outside of work is spent with my family, watching my daughter play soccer or exploring the outdoors together. I also enjoy local restaurants in Charlottesville and attending UVA sporting events.

What advice would you give to a new faculty member getting involved in education in the UVA SOM? Be open to experiences outside your immediate clinical group. Say YES to early opportunities so that you can learn new skills. UVA has a uniquely collaborative culture, and the more connections you make across the School of Medicine, the more rewarding your educational work can become.

What are the benefits for you being an active member of the Academy? The people—seriously. The Academy offers a committed, supportive community of educators. It has provided opportunities for mentorship and collaboration that have strengthened my work in clinical reasoning education and scholarship.