Appointments

• Assistant Professor, Family and Community Medicine
• Director, Health Equity, Advocacy and Leadership (HEAL) learning communities
• Director, Education Research Focus Area (RFA)
• Co-Director, Accelerated Family Medicine Track (AFMT)

Bio

I am an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM), and director of the Health Equity, Advocacy and Leadership (HEAL) learning community, which is a College of Medicine Badge program.

My higher education career started at Kent State University, then the University of Akron, and now NEOMED. First, I managed a Comprehension, Learning, and Memory research lab at Kent State for four years. During this time, I also served as a practitioner counseling students with developmental disabilities. After working for several years, I decided to pursue my Master of Arts in Education and was offered a graduate teaching assistantship at the University of Akron, teaching Educational Psychology to pre-service teachers.

I joined NEOMED in January 2015 to provide educational expertise to initiatives in the COM, namely Rural Medical Education (RMED). Since then, my teaching, research and service roles have evolved, with an emphasis on rural and underserved communities.

Area of Expertise/Research Interests

• Student development theory (Self-authorship)
• Lifespan development theory (Emerging adulthood)
• Constructive developmental pedagogy
• Student-centered learning communities
• Medical education
• Instructional methods and pedagogy

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy, Cultural Foundations, Kent State University (KSU), Anticipated 2027
• Master of Arts in Education, Social and Philosophical Foundation of Education, University of Akron (UA), 2015
• Graduate Certificate, Higher Education Administration, UA, 2014
• Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, KSU, 2008
• Bachelor of Arts, Sociology, KSU, 2008

Courses

• Director, HEAL Seminar Series (Rural, Urban and Social Justice)
• Elective director, Culture of Medical Education (M4)
• Elective director, Rural Medicine (M3-M4)
• Course co-director, Primary Care Delivery Systems (M2)
• Medical Interviewing seminar leader, Practice of Medicine (POM, M1)
• Reflective Practice leader, Practice of Medicine (POM, M1-M4)

Academic & Professional Activities

• Admissions Committee, College of Medicine
• University Research Council
• University Mental Health Committee
• University Representative, Ohio Rural Pathways and Training Programs (RPTP)
• Community Advisory Board, Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative (CTSC)

Awards

• 30 for the Future Leadership Award, Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce
• Friend of Family Medicine Award, 2021, Ohio Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP)
• Educational Excellence Award, 2018, Department of Family and Community Medicine
• Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) Volunteer Faculty Award, 2018, NEOMED Leadership Awards
• Faculty Excellence Award, 2016, Area Health Education Center

Presentations

• Bostater, B., Fainer, M. & Appleman, M. Charting new paths: Exploring a pilot Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC). Annual Family Medicine Education Consortium (FMEC) Conference, Philadelphia PA, September 21, 2024.
• Heintzelman, A., Casapulla, S., Vossler, J. & Appleman, M. Diversity and collaboration of Ohio’s medical schools on rural programming: The Rural Physician Training Pathways (RPTP) model. Rural Training Track (RTT) Collaborative. Asheville NC, April 12, 2024.
• Appleman, M. & Heintzelman, J.A. Promoting meaningful faculty-student relationships: Bouncing back from virtual to hybrid educational contexts. Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Annual Medical Student Education Conference. New Orleans LA, January 28, 2023.
• Appleman, M., Vossler, J. Longenecker, R., Schmuki, S. & Hoersten, T. Pathways to rural practice in Ohio: A medical school collaborative. Ohio Rural Health Conference, Ohio Rural Health Association. August 12, 2021.
• Heintzelman, J.A., and Appleman, M. A model for integrating Social Determinants of Health: An interactive online course for fourth-year medicine students. Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Annual Medical Student Education Conference. Jacksonville FL, February 1, 2019.

Publications

• Jinka, S., Natarajan, J., Kubina, M., Glover, J., Nam, J., Mansoor, S., Leahy, C., Kotsch, T., Fischbein, R. & Appleman, M. (2023). A Survey of behaviors, beliefs, and perceptions of COVID-19 in rural Appalachian Ohio. Ohio Journal of Public Health, 6(1), pp. 1-7.
• Bracken, R., Fredrickson, M., Fredrickson, L.A., and Appleman, M. (2023). Generational situatedness: Challenging generational stereotypes in health professions education. Medical Teacher, DOI: 10.1080/0142159X.2022.2135428
• Appleman, M. and Sperling, D. (2020, March). Myth Busters: Family Medicine Edition. Ignite Magazine, 21(1), 20-22.
• Appleman, M. (2015). Emerging adulthood: The pursuit of higher education [Master’s thesis, University of Akron]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center.

See all on Google Scholar