The biomedicine program prepares students for careers in medicine, hospital administration, teaching and other fields. Many of the current students did not pursue majors in college that would lead to healthcare careers but decided later that’s what they wanted. Fewer than half of the students came directly from undergraduate studies.

This graduate program offers three tracks – biomedical science, biomedical teaching and biomedical leadership.

The consulting team, led by longtime Richmond physician Joseph Longacher, will provide 91����Ƶ’s biomedical professors and students with “real-world experience, insights and advice,” says Roman Miller, PhD, director of the MA in biomedicine program. If all goes as expected, the team members will serve as resources for, and connectors to, the larger clinical and medical-academic worlds, leading to interesting research projects and clinical practicums. The team held its first meeting in December 2014.

The seven team members are (in alphabetical order by last name):

• J. Robert Eshleman: He has been a professor for some 50 years at the school where he earned his degree as a dentist − the School of Dentistry of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Virginia. For nine of those years he chaired the restorative dentistry department. A member of the class of 1956, he received the school’s “outstanding service award” in 2009.

• Joseph Longacher: For most of his career he was a practicing gastroenterologist in Richmond who also taught the subject at the McGuire Veterans Administration Medical Center. Beyond his medical work, he frequently served in roles supportive of his community and church. He is a 1959 graduate of 91����Ƶ. In addition to chairing 91����Ƶ’s biomedicine consulting team, he is the program’s scholar-in-residence on a volunteer basis.

• Randall Longenecker: A longtime family physician and program director for a rural residency program in Bellefontaine, Ohio, he is now assistant dean of rural and underserved programs at Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine in Athens, and executive director for The RTT Collaborative, a nationwide nonprofit network of rural medical education programs. A 1975 91����Ƶ graduate, he earned his MD from the School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

• Joseph B. Martin: former dean of the School of Medicine at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and professor of neurobiology. Earlier he was dean of the medical school at the University of California at San Francisco, followed by a term as chancellor of the entire university. He completed his bachelor’s degree at 91����Ƶ, where he met his wife, and then returned to his native province to earn an MD from the University of Alberta. He also holds a PhD in anatomy from the University of Rochester.

• J. Phillip Moyer: He was a cardiologist for many years in Sellersville, Pennsylvania, affiliated with Grand View Hospital. A graduate of Goshen College, 91����Ƶ’s sister Mennonite school in Indiana, he earned his MD from the School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Following retirement, he has worked as a volunteer physician in India and a high school biology teacher in Albania.

• John D. Wenger: He is a family physician at the Integrative Medicine Center of Sentara RMH Medical Center in Harrisonburg. A 1985 graduate of 91����Ƶ, he got his DO from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Later he studied integrative medicine at the University of Arizona.

• Teresa Boshart Yoder: As director of women’s services at Sentara RMH Medical Center in Harrisonburg, she spearheads the services at the new Funkhouser Women’s Center. Opened in 2013, the center offers treatment for breast cancer and other diseases as well as educational seminars and support groups. A registered nurse, she also has a master’s degree in nursing.

[Randall Longenecker majored in biology at 91����Ƶ; he is a 1975 graduate who went on to earn his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania.]

The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) presented its 2014 Outstanding Educator Award to Dr. Longenecker on Thursday, April 24, during NRHA’s 37th Rural Health Conference in Las Vegas. The NRHA is a 21,000-member nonprofit organization that focuses on rural health issues.

In bestowing the honor, the NRHA noted Dr. Longenecker’s work as a longtime rural physician, his efforts in bringing together students from all of Ohio’s medical schools for rural health retreats, and his success in connecting students with opportunities for networking, leadership and advocacy through trips to the nation’s capital.

Dr. Longenecker has spent the past 15 years helping to develop and implement rural training programs, including developing and directing a rural training track (RTT) residency program in West Liberty, Ohio. Through a grant from the federal Office of Rural Health Policy, he has helped create a network of medical education programs, called the RTT Collaborative, aimed at sustaining health professions education in rural areas such as Appalachian Ohio.

Since joining the Heritage College as its first assistant dean for rural and underserved programs in 2012, Dr. Longenecker has helped develop and oversee its Rural and Urban Scholars Pathways program, which prepares primary care physicians for practice in medically underserved settings, both rural and urban. Participants in the program complete rural and urban clinical experiences in underserved areas and receive individualized education planning.

“Although I’ve received other awards for my work as a medical educator, this is the first time the award was initiated by students – and that’s special to me,” said Dr. Longenecker, who was nominated for the award by two Heritage College students.

Earlier this month, Dr. Longenecker helped organize a gathering of about 70 medical educators in Athens whose goal was to develop healthcare strategies for underserved populations and create a sustainable rural physician workforce.

“This was the first time that osteopathic and allopathic rural medical educators from around the nation have met to explore common ground, and at the same time share their unique perspectives in strategically growing a future rural workforce from that foundation,” Dr. Longenecker said.

Funding for the Heritage College’s Office of Rural and Underserved Programs comes in part from the Osteopathic Heritage Foundations’ transformational 2011 gift to the college. The $105 million gift supports Heritage College initiatives that enrich primary care medical education, enhance research that addresses our most pervasive health issues and improve community health.

Courtesy of the , April 24, 2014