Shepherd signs cooperative agreement with West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine

ISSUED: 13 May 2009
(Shepherd signs cooperative agreement with West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine)

Lewisburg, WV--West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) and Shepherd University recently announced a collaborative agreement between the two institutions to work together on future research and development projects.

The goal of the "memorandum of agreement" is to foster collaboration between WVSOM and the Shepherd University Research Corporation on research, analysis, development, and deployment of selected health information technology and other emerging technologies and clinical solutions.

"WVSOM believes this sort of collaboration presents wonderful opportunities to combine efforts and assist each other," said Michael Adelman, D.O., J.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean at WVSOM. "It creates possibilities for different institutions to become involved in the same project in multiple ways. It's definitely a win-win situation for everyone involved."

According to Dr. Adelman, future projects might include faculty and students from WVSOM and Shepherd working together on research papers, journal articles, and medical information curriculum. "We are focusing on electronic medical records as a first initiative," he notes.

Shepherd University president Dr. Suzanne Shipley thinks the agreement is a great opportunity to address the need for additional physicians in West Virginia.

"Because our students are increasingly indicating interest in health professions, we hope to create seamless pathways between our undergraduate science programs and WVSOM's preparation for careers in osteopathic medicine. Together, our two institutions can do much to prepare the medical professionals needed by the state of West Virginia," Dr. Shipley stressed.

"We at Shepherd University look forward to increased collaboration with WVSOM in the health-related research areas in which we share an interest, particularly in advancing the use of electronic medical records," she said.

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CUTLINE: Front (l to r): Richard Rafes, Ph.D., J.D., President of WVSOM, Suzanne Shipley, Ph.D., President of Shepherd. Back (l to r): Michael Adelman, D.O., J.D., VP for Academic Affairs and Dean at WVSOM; Diane Melby, Ph.D., VP for Advancement at Shepherd; Burt Lidgerding, Ph.D., Dean of Shepherd's School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics; Russell Porter, Ph.D., Dean of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education at Shepherd; and Peter Groen, Director of the Shepherd University Research Corporation.