Educational Leadership

Vice Dean Academic Affairs
Associate Dean, Educational Affairs

Dr. Woods joined UTMB in 2015 and currently serves as the Vice Dean, Academic Affairs and is the Associate Dean, Educational Affairs in the School of Medicine. Over the course of her UTMB tenure, she has helped expand and support faculty development efforts related to the high delivery of quality medical education and collaborated with other schools to develop robust and consistent education systems.

Dr. Woods has multiple peer-reviewed publications and holds several professional memberships, including the Society for Directors of Research in Medical Education. In addition, she sits on the board of trustees for two schools and continues to donate her time and energy to multiple service organizations in Galveston.

Dr. Woods earned her PhD in educational psychology from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. She also holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in education from Baylor. Prior to entering the medical education arena, she had an active teaching career that spanned from public school to undergraduate education and graduate education.

Dr. Woods began her medical education career at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, where she worked with the Office of Educational Development and the Graduate Medical Education programs. She later moved to the University of Minnesota Medical School, where she became the Assistant Dean of Assessment, Curriculum and Evaluation, and Director of Medical Educator Development and Scholarship. During that time she gained valuable experience in curriculum redesign, accreditation processes, grant preparation, educational research, interprofessional education and faculty development.

Associate Dean, Student Affairs and Admissions

Dr. Levine grew up in Galveston, received her MD from UTMB, and completed an internship in Internal Medicine. She went on to Boston University where she completed a residency in Psychiatry and was also chief resident. She returned to UTMB in 1991 and joined the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry where she is currently the Clarence Ross Miller Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.    

Dr. Levine has held many administrative responsibilities at UTMB including course and clerkship director, inaugural director of the UTMB Academy of Master Teachers, Director of Undergraduate Education for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Assistant Dean for Educational Affairs, and Director of the Office of Clinical Education.

Assistant Dean for Educational Development

Assistant Dean for Educational Development Dr. Buck is director of the Office Educational Development and an Associate Professor of Family Medicine at UTMB. She completed a BS in Education at the University of Texas at Austin and received her MA and PhD in social psychology from the University of Houston. During twenty years in undergraduate and graduate medical education, her work has focused on faculty development, program evaluation, and educational research. She is a UT Distinguished Teaching Professor, a member of the Academy of Master Teachers and the Shine Academy of Health Science Education.

She has been engaged in research in the areas of professional identity formation and humanism in medical education. At UTMB, she serves as chair of the Education Research Committee for the School of Medicine, Associate director of the Physician Healer Track and enjoys serving as director for the Scholars in Education program. Within the broader medical education community, she is as an associate editor for Medical Education Online and reviews for numerous conferences and journals in medical education.

Assistant Dean for Educational Affairs and Director of Instruction Management Office

Dr. Lisa Elferink received her PhD in Biochemistry from Adelaide University, Australia in 1988. She completed her postdoctoral training at Stanford University in 1993, at which time she was recruited to Wayne State University, Michigan as an Assistant Professor.

She joined the UTMB faculty in the now Department of Neuroscience, Cell Biology and Anatomy in 2001, and assumed the role of Vice-Chair in 2008. She has significant teaching expertise with a wide range of learners including undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and medical students.

In 2015, she accepted the appointment of Assistant Dean for Educational Affairs and Director of the Instruction Management Office. She oversees years 1 and 2 of the medical school curriculum with interests in curriculum development and assessment.

Assistant Dean, Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, School of Medicine

Dr. Pérez, a Houston native, with dual citizenship, received her medical degree from the Universidad de Monterrey, Mexico, and completed her residency training in PM&R at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico, and began her clinical service in Monterrey, Mexico. She then returned to Houston to complete her doctorate in public health at the University of Texas, Houston, School of Public Health, Houston, before beginning her career in community-based participatory research.

Dr. Pérez is the Assistant Dean, Student Affairs and an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine – Geriatrics. She has served in the Office of Student Affairs and Admissions for over ten years where she been active in several academic committees, recreated the Hispanic Center of Excellence, developed the Bilingual Health Track and its curriculum, and created several academic opportunities for medical students. She now serves as a student advocate. Dr. Pérez also serves nationally as the president of Hispanic-Serving Health Professions Schools.

Assistant Dean for Educational Affairs

Dr. Szauter received her MD degree from Case Western Reserve University, completed a residency in Internal Medicine, and fellowships in Gastroenterology and Nutrition. She is an assistant dean in Educational Affairs and the Medical Director of the Office of Clinical Simulation. She is also Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine/Gastroenterology and Co-director of the Internal Medicine year-3 Clerkship.

Dr. Szauter works with the SP staff to ensure that medical aspects of the SP cases and portrayals are accurate. She also coordinates projects and research in the SP Center. Her areas of interest in addition to Standardized Patients include the teaching and evaluation of clinical skills, professionalism and professional development.