Want to incorporate community engagement in health research? Check out this short video to learn how in the PATIENTS Professors Academy!
Graduates of the PATIENTS Professors Academy play an instrumental role in lending their lived experience to research. Many graduates have gone on to serve on stakeholder advisory boards, present at industry conferences and events, and more.
Communities are tired of helicopter research – when academic and other research institutions “helicopter in” to a community for data or biospecimens, then fly away never to be seen again. The PATIENTS Program at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy provides a successfully proven approach to continuous engagement in patient-centered research.
We have built upon our success in conducting patient-centered research and replicate the nationally renowned work the PATIENTS Program has conducted in Baltimore in other cities and rural areas across the United States.
Why PPA?
Learn about the PPA from graduates and how it prepared them to engage their communities in research.
What You’ll Learn
Our PATIENTS Professors Academy teaches the PATIENTS Program 10-Step Framework for continuous patient and community engagement. This framework equips patients, communities, and care providers to drive health care research in their communities.
The 10-Step Framework instructs the learner how to incorporate patient-centeredness and their communities into a research plan.
How the Academy Works
The PATIENTS Professors Academy brings together patients, caregivers (both informal and professional), government representatives, researchers, pharmaceutical representatives, and more to learn from each other on how to conduct patient-centered and community-engaged health research guided by the PATIENTS 10-Step Engagement Framework.
The PATIENTS Professors Academy is a FREE 5-week program that is completely online with interactive components led by our patient advisors and content experts.
Coursework is weekly, with a 90-minute weekly online interactive seminar taking place on Monday evenings. There are also two other opportunities each week to further engage in deeper-dive sessions with our seminar leaders.
Each week, you'll write a reflection on what you have learned. You can think about how what you learned can be applied to your community. “Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From quiet reflection will come even more effective action.” – Peter Drucker
In addition to the one-hour weekly interactive seminar, our patient advisors and content experts recommend essential readings on our topics.
You also have a chance to interact with PATIENTS Professors alumni and your fellow participants through social hours and online message boards.
Graduates of The PATIENTS Professors Academy are able to advise companies, government agencies, community-academic partnerships, and other entities on ways to make clinical and translational research more relevant, appealing, and diverse.
At the conclusion, you will be a part of efforts with our team, our sponsors, and your fellow participants to create advisory positions in research studies.
Esther Labib-Kiyarash Ambassador and research advocate - the Parkinson's Foundation
"The PPA taught me a few things. First, that regardless of the specific health condition, we all share this frustration with the existing systems. That not being heard or seen as experts of our own bodies and the disease we live with every day is an obstacle to innovation. I learned there are many strong community leaders across the country and the globe, working to improve these systems and our lives. Since graduating, I completed the training required by the Parkinson's Foundation to become an official research advocate. I have participated in one focus group and have been asked to sit on a patient panel at Parkinson's Study Group (PSG) in December, to be a patient voice in research."
Brian Gutierrez PATIENTS Professor with the PPA and patient advocate – Spina Bifida
“The PATIENTS Professors Academy gave me the foundation of having a patient-centered perspective on how to best serve and advocate for the needs of the Spina Bifida community that I have been blessed to be a part of.”
Upon your acceptance into and registration for the PPA, we will help you prepare to make the most of this opportunity. Orientation sessions will be held June 30 - July 2 and July 9 - 11 to prepare you for the PPA. Accepted students will receive the full schedule and link to select an orientation.
Monday, July 14 – online kick-off with featured guest speakers
Monday, July 14 – August 15 – online training dates for the PATIENTS Professors Academy
Monday July 14, 21, 28, and August 4 and 11 – dates of the 1.5 hour-long online interactive seminar taking place in the evening as part of the weekly coursework
Monday, August 18 – online graduation with featured guest speakers
The lack of trust, diversity, and inclusion in clinical research reduces participation in research, contributes to health disparities, and results in poor health measures.
We offer a solution: authentically engaging patients’ communities in research. In doing so, we can rebuild trust and redesign clinical research to be more patient-centered. We can achieve better recruitment, greater diversity, and faster translation of results into clinical practice.
Graduates of the PATIENTS Professors Academy can impact research design and make clinical research more relevant, inclusive, and impactful to improve the health outcomes of all communities including those who would distrust research. Our graduates can make research results more understandable and share it widely, making it of greater value to their communities.
These future PATIENTS Professors will apply acquired skills to take leadership roles as consultants and advisors who can guide community-engaged clinical research and patient-centered outcomes research across a variety of public and private sectors involved in healthcare research, delivery, and policy.
The PATIENTS Professors Academy is informed by an Advisory Board, which includes other stakeholders who influence patients’ health care decisions, such as community health care providers, community leaders, or policy makers.
Mikhaela Dieudonne, patient advocate, 2023 PATIENTS Professor Academy graduate
Gail Graham, director of Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church HIV/AIDS Ministry-Outreach Services and HIV/AIDS activist
Brian Gutierrez, patient advocate, 2022 PATIENTS Professor Academy graduate
Elaine LaLone, patient advocate, 2022 PATIENTS Professor Academy graduate
DeJuan Patterson, director of The Bridge Advisory Group and patient advocate
Terri Winston, patient advocate, 2022 PATIENTS Professor Academy graduate
The Academy and online learning are free of charge.
How much work do I have to do each week?
Each week, our seminar leaders will ask you to put in 3-4 hours of work. These 3-4 hours can include:
Attending the Monday night seminar.
Attending a “Deeper Dive” into the topics discussed on Monday.
Reading or watching items selected by our Seminar Leaders to help you prepare for the seminar.
Completing a short, weekly assignment.
Who are the Seminar Leaders for this course?
PATIENTS Professors and trusted PATIENTS Program advisors and staff.
What if I can’t make a Monday Night Seminar?
We understand that life comes at you fast, and you may not be able to attend our main seminar on Monday night. We have opportunities during the week for you to make up your missed seminar. Our seminars will be recorded and shared with the PPA cohort. We want to be flexible so that you don’t miss a moment!
Will I be graded?
PPA graduation will take place on August 18, 2025. The deadline to complete all assignments is August 22, 2025.
I don’t like school. Is this like school?
Nope! It is an opportunity to learn from people who are doing the work of community-engaged research and patient-centered outcomes research. Our seminars will have brief presentations and rely on small group discussion to learn from each other.
We are grateful for the support of our 2024 returning sponsors Associated Black Charities, Sanofi, Bayer, CareFirst, Novo Nordisk. We welcome our new sponsors Genentech and Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Their support signifies their commitment to patient-centered research.
Patient Empowerment, Patient Engagement, and Patient Education! It begins with healthcare warriors like myself; who advocate for inclusion, which involves focusing on the keen insights that are highlighted by detailed and dedicated research. As a participant in the PPA program I was able to learn and teach on a truer definition of healthcare inclusion for all patients.
Sandra Washington, PPA graduate class of 2024, co-partner of Medi-Helpz LLC, founder & CEO C.H.L.M.S Medi-Helpz Foundation with 35 years as a senior subject matter expert in the health care industry
