Our Team

Raj serves as the visionary and strategic leader for interprofessional education across U-M’s 10 health science schools on 3 campuses–-and increasingly in collaboration with other U-M schools (law, business, engineering, education, etc.) and UM-Health. He is the Marguerite S. Roll Professor of Medical Education, professor of internal medicine and learning health sciences, and former associate dean for medical student education at the Medical School. His academic work focuses on organizational leadership and innovation, and their interface with transforming health professions education at scale. He earned a degree in computer science with honors from U-M and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School.

Vani oversees the Center for IPE’s day-to-day operations and manages the committees, contracted projects, and campus collaborations that advance the Center’s efforts. Previously, she worked to foster collaborative practice to improve health care in primary care and school-based care settings nationally with Michigan Medicine’s Adolescent Health Initiative. She earned an M.P.H. in Environmental Health Sciences and Human Nutrition from U-M School of Public Health.

Amy leads development and execution of strategies to strengthen relationships between the Center and our community collaborators, aligning efforts with our mission and advancing health for all through partnership. Her expertise in public health provides the foundation for her leadership in teaching, scholarship, and practice. Amy has taught population health, global health, and public health nursing for over 15 years. As a methodologist, her program of scholarship is aimed at strengthening communities through community-based participatory research and community capacity building. In practice, Amy has extensive field experience in community health needs assessments as well as planning, implementing, and evaluating public health programs in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Haiti, Tanzania, and the United States.

Hannah leads the strategic development the IPE curriculum, facilitating collaboration among 10 health professional schools across UM Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint to ensure students are prepared for effective interprofessional collaboration. With a focus on both experiential learning and the IPE Core, Hannah integrates innovative pedagogical strategies and promotes leadership and professional development through curriculum initiatives. She also directs the Interprofessional Students: Innovating, Collaborating, Leading (ISICL) program, driving initiatives that cultivate student leadership and collaboration in healthcare education. She holds a Master’s in Healthcare Management (M.H.M.) with a concentration in Healthcare Innovation: Quality & Reliability, Market Strategy, and Entrepreneurship from the University of Arizona's Eller College of Management.

Karen leads the research initiative in the Center for Interprofessional Education and serves as Senior Associate Dean at the U-M College of Pharmacy, where she holds the Charles R. Walgreen III Professorship of Pharmacy. She is also Executive Vice-President of The Rho Chi Society. Farris’ research on medication management and pharmacists’ roles in healthcare includes recent work on symptom management and adherence to oral anti-cancer medications. A pharmacy services researcher for over 30 years, she has more than 175 peer-reviewed publications and received the American Pharmacists Association Tyler Prize for Stimulating Research in 2023. Farris earned her Ph.D. in pharmacy with training in social psychology and health behavior from the University of Michigan.

Johnny manages the Center for IPE’s communications strategy, including storytelling, social media and website content. He also serves in this role for RISE at Michigan Medicine. Johnny joined the IPE team in 2024 after previously working for WKAR Public Media at Michigan State University, where he partnered with PBS and NPR to advance educational outreach and community-focused projects. Johnny also led communications for MSU’s Department of Communication and served as the curator of TEDxMSU. He holds an M.A. in Communication from Michigan State University.

Laura leads the Engagement and Development strategic initiative and is one of the leaders of the Longitudinal Interprofessional Family-based Experience. Smith is an Associate Professor with tenure and the Associate Director for Post Professional Clinical Professional Development in the Physical Therapy Department at the University of Michigan-Flint. She has worked with diverse teams to contribute to the advancement of health care through interprofessional education and collaborative practice models. Smith is a Distinguished Scholar Fellow in the National Academies of Practice.

Lindsay coordinates administrative support to the director, staff, and various Center for IPE committees and workgroups, along with implementing and planning IPE activities and events. Before joining U-M, she worked as a human resources assistant for a large automotive corporation. She earned a B.A.A. in Business from Central Michigan University.