WesternU Oregon hosts bimonthly research presentations to promote interdisciplinary collaboration
Western University of Health Sciences Oregon is working to improve interdisciplinary collaboration through the development of regular faculty research presentations. These research presentations, known as WOW Wednesdays, provide research faculty from the College of Health Sciences-Northwest (CHS-Northwest) and the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest (COMP-Northwest) an opportunity to present their findings with faculty, staff, students, and community partners.
WOW Wednesdays was introduced by COMP-Northwest faculty in 2024 as a tool to promote communication between departments and colleges and celebrate the innovative research being performed on campus. Beyond sharing knowledge, WOW Wednesdays aims to foster a culture of collaboration and campus unity.
“It was intended to be informational for just COMP-Northwest faculty and staff initially. The idea was that the researchers would, one Wednesday a month, give a 30-minute presentation at a general audience level about what they’re doing,” said Michelle Steinauer, PhD, COMP-Northwest Associate Professor of Microbiology and Assistant Vice President for Research. “There was a lot of interest in our own community from faculty, staff, and our students. It then expanded to include CHS-Northwest and Samaritan researchers.”
In addition to increased communication between research faculty, WesternU staff who do not perform research now have the opportunity to learn more about the diverse areas of study happening on campus.
“I find it fascinating to learn about the amazing research happening right in our school. WOW Wednesdays give us the opportunity to step away from our daily responsibilities and hear from our faculty who are passionate about what they do,” said Kim Ketcham, Associate Director of Clinical Education at COMP-Northwest. “I’ve enjoyed all the WOW Wednesday sessions I’ve been able to attend. Even if the content is far above my head, it’s so fun to experience the personality of each lecturer/researcher. There is almost always some humor in the room and there is always great respect for the research itself.”
Research is an integral part of WesternU’s mission to educate compassionate health care professionals and to create healthier communities. At WesternU, faculty have access to state-of-the-art facilities and resources to perform research. Through seed grants and intramural and internal grants, faculty and students work side-by-side to explore a variety of research areas, including community health, drug discovery, neuroscience, and more.
“Everything we know about medicine and health care comes from science; it comes from research that is ongoing. We can’t move forward in any sort of medical way without relying on research to uncover answers, new treatments, or to understand the basic science that underlies our bodies,” said Dr. Steinauer. “It’s important for our students as physicians to continue to grow. To be able to care for their patients well, they need to be able to at least understand research, be able to consume research, and read it properly. Hopefully, they will be part of moving the field forward and expanding our knowledge baseas well.”
Those interested in learning more about WesternU research should visit our website here.
