WORCESTER – UMass Chan Medical School professor Dr. Melissa Fischer has been named one of four recipients of the 2025 Alpha Omega Alpha (AΩA) Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Awards, a national honor presented by the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Fischer, professor of medicine and associate vice provost for interprofessional and instructional innovation, was recognized for her leadership in advancing medical education and training. She oversees the Interprofessional Center for Experiential Learning and Simulation (iCELS) at UMass Chan, which includes simulation programs, standardized patient education, and the school’s Innovation Lab.
According to the announcement, Fischer has been instrumental in two major curriculum reforms at UMass Chan: the Learner-Centered Integrated Curriculum launched in 2014 and the VISTA curriculum introduced in 2022. She also led development of the Opioid-Safe Prescribing Training Immersion and helped integrate new learning approaches such as simulation, reflection, and virtual reality into medical training.
“My goal has been to help launch new educational initiatives at UMass Chan and really push into new areas and explore things that are exciting and important, and then support other people to continue to move these ideas forward,” Fischer said in the university’s announcement.
Fischer joined the T.H. Chan School of Medicine faculty in 2002 and became associate vice provost for interprofessional and instructional innovation in 2025. Her previous honors include the Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Teaching in 2022 and the school’s Sarah Stone Excellence in Education Award in 2014.
She is the first UMass Chan recipient of the Glaser Award in more than 25 years, joining past honorees the late Dr. Guido Majno (1994) and Dr. Susan B. Gagliardi (1999).
“It is truly humbling,” Fischer said. “The previous awardees from UMass Chan are giants in the world of medical education. This award is a recognition of UMass Chan because I am only able to do the work that I do because of the people I work with and the place in which I work.”
The AΩA Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Awards, established in 1988, honor outstanding contributions to medical education. Each recipient receives a $10,000 prize, while their institution receives $2,500 to support teaching activities and an additional $1,000 for its Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society chapter.
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