LINC Common IPE Initiative

Moshtagh Farokhi, D.D.S., M.P.H., leads the LINC Faculty Council’s Didactic IPE Initiative. Dr. Farokhi brings private practice and teaching experience to her research at the UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry. Her interests lie at the intersection of disease prevention, health promotion, and community engagement, with a focus on IPE, social determinants of health, refugee health, acculturation, and service learning. Her teaching is founded on principles of active learning and critical thinking, with an emphasis on cultural humility and empathy. Dr. Farokhi collaborates with various professions and partners within local community organizations, such as the Center for Refugee Services and Edgewood Independent School District, to address health disparities. She was recently appointed as a member of the UT System Shine Academy of Health Science Education. Dr. Farokhi was part of the QEP development team that pre-dated LINC, and she has represented the School of Dentistry on the LINC Faculty Council since June 2018. In 2021, Dr. Farokhi received the Academy of General Dentistry’s highest honor of Lifelong Learning and Service Recognition or LLSR, for her commitment to lifelong learning and service to the community and organized dentistry. ×

Coming Soon! ×

Bobby Belarmino, PT, D.P.T., Ph.D., CCS, is a member of the LINC Didactic Interprofessional Education Initiative representing the School of Health Professions. Dr. Belarmino is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy. He has been a physical therapist for over 28 years now. He received his bachelor’s degree in Physical Therapy at Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation in the Philippines and his master’s degree in Applied Physiology at Columbia University in New York. He completed his Doctor of Physical Therapy at MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston, Mass., and then completed Ph.D. in Physical Therapy at Texas Woman’s University in Houston, Texas. Dr. Belarmino is a Board Certified Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Clinical Specialist (CCS) from the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialty. His research interests are in ICU rehabilitation, reducing hospital readmission in cardiovascular and pulmonary populations and improving frailty in elderly population through rehabilitation interventions. ×

Emmanuel Iyiegbuniwe, PhD, MSPH, MBA is the Founding Director of the Master of Public Health (MPH) Program and an Associate Professor of Environmental & Occupational Health at the University of Texas School of Public Health San Antonio (UTSPHSA). He is an industrial hygienist with over 30 years of experience in academia, consulting, and industry. He received both MSPH and PhD degrees in Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences from the School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, and an MBA from Western Kentucky University. At UTSPHSA, Dr. Iyiegbuniwe provides leadership and administrative operations for the MPH program, program development, academic stewardship, accreditation and compliance, faculty and staff recruitment, and active research and scholarship engagement. He teaches MPH courses, including PHEA 6001:  Concepts in Public Health—From Person to Population.

Previously, Dr. Iyiegbuniwe served as the inaugural Director of the MPH at California State University San Marcos, providing oversight, vision, and leadership for the MPH program. Dr. Iyiegbuniwe has taught undergraduate and graduate courses and conducted research on environmental and occupational health, global health, and community-based participatory research. He has led several international service-learning programs and supported students in study abroad programs in Belize, Malaysia, Ghana, and Vietnam. His research focuses on environmental and occupational health evaluation and assessment of contaminants of significant public health importance including indoor air quality, lead, and noise exposure assessments.

Dr. Iyiegbuniwe is a Thomas Jefferson scholar and a fellow of several associations or organizations, including African Training for Leadership & Advanced Skills, the American Industrial Hygiene Association’s Future Leaders Institute, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s (CDC) Environmental Public Health Leadership Institute, and Japan Studies Institute/American Association of State Colleges and Universities Nippon Foundation Fellowship. He is a member of the American Public Health Association Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists. He previously served as the President of the San Diego Chapter of the American Industrial Hygiene Association. ×

Daniel Saenz, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor/Medical Physicist in the Department of Radiation Oncology at UT Health San Antonio and the Mays Cancer Center. Having joined the faculty in 2017 after previously serving as a resident medical physicist in the same department, he has since then participated in the clinical consultation and operation of the clinical enterprise, worked on several research initiatives including stereotactic radiosurgery and served as a mentor in several educational programs. He is an adviser for a Ph.D. student, teaches two courses in the Radiological Sciences graduate program and mentors students in the Doctorate of Medical Physics Program. ×

Cynthia L. Wall, Ph.D., M.S.N., APRN, PCNS-BC, CNE, is an Assistant Professor of Nursing with a Teaching Appointment, and her research program is focused on professional nurse identity formation and interprofessional learning. She was involved in the Quality Enhancement Program for UT Health SA which, led to the Interprofessional focus for UT Health SA. Dr. Wall brings clinical practice experience and formal training in education. She has been involved in interprofessional education and practice for many years. She served last year as a member of the UT Health SA School of Nursing IPE task group and guided the Common IPE Course for the nursing students in their 5th semester. She serves on the UT Health SA Didactic IPE Committee and is actively engaged in the revision and study of the Common IPE Course.

Dr. Wall has a broad background in nursing and as an Advanced Practice Nurse (Clinical Nurse Specialist) developed several interdisciplinary (early career) and interprofessional teams for collaborative team patient-centered care. She was a pioneer in development of the first two hospital-based Interprofessional Pediatric Transport Teams in San Antonio in 1993 and 1996, as well as the first interprofessional Inpatient Pediatric Palliative Care Service in Methodist Children’s Hospital in San Antonio in 2003. She currently serves as a leader on the inaugural UT Health SA, School of Nursing Committee on Interprofessional Education, the UT Health SA LINC Didactic IPE committee and collaborates on the Common IPE Experience. ×