Faculty & Staff
As a student in the Master of Science in Healthcare Simulation Education program, you’ll study with distinguished faculty, researchers and simulation experts from UW and Seattle-area academic and medical institutions. Our program directors and core faculty are national leaders in healthcare simulation and medical education.
We'll post more information here soon about additional teaching professors, course instructors and research mentors.
Core Faculty
Dr. Robert Sweet
Program Director
Dr. Robert Sweet is the chief of the UW Medicine Division of Healthcare Simulation Science. He is also executive director of UW’s WISH, CREST and healthcare simulation academic programs. Sweet is a joint professor in the Department of Urology and the Department of Surgery, as well as medical director of the UW Medicine Kidney Stone Center.
Sweet is the principal investigator for all CREST programs, including the Advanced Modular Manikin (AMM) project. Sweet previously founded the University of Minnesota’s SimPORTAL and helped develop the Surgical Simulation Fellowship Accreditation Program for the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Division of Education. Sweet earned his doctorate of medicine from the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Austin Baird
Dr. Austin Baird is a research assistant professor in the UW Medicine Division of Healthcare Simulation Science. His research focuses on mathematical modeling of biological systems, specifically models in physiology in the context of whole-body patient responses. He aims to create a picture of the larger patient response to injury by connecting multiple spatial and time scales which determine dynamics of biological systems at the molecular and system levels.
Baird is on the leadership circle in the healthcare systems modeling and simulation affinity group of the Society of Simulation in Healthcare (SSH), and he’s a member of the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) and the NIH multiscale modeling group. Baird earned his doctorate in applied mathematics as it relates to heart tube electrophysiology and fluid dynamic modeling at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
David Hananel
David Hananel is the director of the Center for Research in Education and Simulation Technologies (CREST) and an assistant teaching professor in the UW Medicine Division of Healthcare Simulation Science. He is the overall architect of the Advanced Modular Manikin (AMM) project at the CREST lab. He is co-chair of the Technologies and Simulation Committee of the American College of Surgeons Program for the Accreditation of Education Institutes and an affiliate member of the American College of Surgeons Academy of Master Surgeon Educators™.
Hananel has 25 years of experience in healthcare simulation, including 10 years at CREST, as well as industry projects and startup companies. He earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Technische Universität Berlin and bachelor’s degree in computer science at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.
Dr. Sara Kim
Dr. Sara Kim is the associate dean for educational quality improvement in the UW Medicine Division of General Surgery, where she also holds the George G. B. Bilsten Professorship in the Art of Communication with Peers and Patients. Her work focuses on creating and implementing novel research and teaching programs in communication skills, with an emphasis on healthcare conflict management, speaking up skills, and negotiating power hierarchy.
Kim’s work to examine workplace conflicts within a range of clinical, administrative and educational stakeholders is supported by the UW Medicine Patient Safety and Innovations Program (PSIP) and the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. Her team has generated pilot training models designed to improve healthcare professionals’ knowledge, attitude and interpersonal skills. Kim earned a doctorate in educational technology from the University of Washington.
Dr. Victoria Roach
Dr. Victoria Roach is the director of evaluation and assessment for the WWAMI Institute for Healthcare Simulation (WISH) and a research assistant professor in the UW Medicine Division of Healthcare Simulation Science.
Roach aims to optimize training, working and receiving care in the healthcare setting by supporting the cognitive and physical work of professionals and trainees. Roach’s medical education research focuses on human factors that govern learning and performance in simulation, including physical, cognitive, emotional/motivational and sociocultural concerns, such as environmental design and layout, judgment, decision making, burnout and stress, teamwork, communication, and interactions between healthcare workers and their environment. She earned a doctorate in anatomy and cell biology from The University of Western Ontario.
Adjunct Faculty
Dr. Anjum Anwar
Dr. Anjum Anwar is an assistant professor in the UW Medicine Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine. An anesthesiologist, educator and patient safety advocate, she specializes in the management of perioperative, pain and anesthesia of women during pregnancy and the peripartum period.
Anwar has a background in clinical quality improvement and patient safety and has worked for system and patient care improvements in numerous areas. She’s collaborated with tech startups to bring innovative solutions for interactive learning in medical education. Anwar earned a bachelor’s of medicine, bachelor’s of surgery degree from the King Edward Medical College in Pakistan and completed advanced medical fellowships at Stanford University and University of Florida Health.
Dr. Taylor Sawyer
Dr. Taylor Sawyer is a neonatologist and director of the Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Program and a professor of pediatrics at UW Medicine. He’s also the director of medical simulation at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Sawyer’s academic interests are in medical education and the use of simulation to improve clinical skills and patient outcomes. His research involves the use of simulation for neonatal resuscitation and procedural skill training.
Sawyer has received certification as a Healthcare Simulation Educator-Advanced (CHSE-A) from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare and serves as the chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on Simulation and Innovative Learning Methods. Sawyer earned a doctorate of osteopathic medicine at the Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Staff
Farrah Leland
Farrah Leland is the graduate program adviser for the UW Master of Science in Healthcare Simulation Education program. She's the associate director for the WWAMI Institute for Simulation in Healthcare (WISH), where she leads administrative and financial management for simulation efforts.
Leland is a TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer and a non-clinical faculty member for UW’s Regional Training Center for the National Implementation of TeamSTEPPS, an on-demand national training program. She earned a law degree from Gonzaga University and a bachelor’s degree in cell and molecular biology from the University of Washington.
Tonya Martino
Tonya Martino is the clinical director for team performance at the WWAMI Institute for Simulation in Healthcare (WISH), where she leads efforts to improve the function, efficacy and safety of healthcare teams. Martino serves as lead faculty for local and national TeamSTEPPS Master Training programs. She also partners with entities such as the American College of Surgeons and the Society for Simulation in Healthcare to share how effective team performance can enhance patient outcomes.
Martino is active with Interprofessional Education (IPE) activities for the UW Schools of Pharmacy, Nursing, Social Work, Dentistry, Rehabilitation and Medicine, where she focuses on applying interprofessional team training simulation to train future generations of healthcare providers. Also a registered nurse, Martino earned a doctorate of naturopathic medicine from Bastyr University.
Megan Sherman
Megan Sherman is associate director for operations for the WWAMI Institute for Simulation in Healthcare (WISH) at the University of Washington. Megan began her career in healthcare simulation in 2007, and she's since gained a passion for using simulation to improve healthcare education, safety practices and patient outcomes. Megan's experience includes various roles across operational management, education, and serving as a consultant and mentor in both academic and healthcare settings.
With a background in educational development and organizational leadership, Megan has been heavily involved in Team Training for healthcare providers. Megan currently serves as non-clinical teaching faculty for the University of Washington’s TeamSTEPPS Regional Training Center (RTC) and on-demand national training program. She also serves on several local and national teams to advance the field of healthcare simulation. She holds a master’s in education and human development from The George Washington University.