Faculty

At USP, you’ll benefit from a highly educated faculty who are comprised of respected, involved members of the medical community. Gain insight from area practicing Physician Assistants. Shadow PAs and physicians who are experts in the fields of family practice, internal medicine, dermatology, occupational medicine, cardiac surgery, emergency medicine, orthopedics and gynecology.

Pre-Professional Phase Faculty

Janet DeSipio, MSPAS, PA-C, A board-certified Physician Assistant with a Master’s Degree in PA Studies, Ms. DeSipio acts as a didactic and clinical instructor. She practices dermatology in Philadelphia and allows students to shadow her. At USP, she is the director and advisor of the pre-professional phase of the PA program. E-mail: j.desipi@usip.edu

Adeboye Adejare, PhD, Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chair, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Dr. Adejare teaches PA students coursework in Pharmacology. He is deeply interested in drug discovery. USP recently filed a provisional patent application for his work to develop a drug for Alzheimer’s through NMDA receptors. E-mail: a.adejar@usip.edu

Michael Kirifides, PhD, Visiting Assistant Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology.  Dr. Kirifides teaches PA students coursework in Pharmacology. He is a sensory neurophysiologist doing research to understand the inflammatory causes of orofacial pain. E-mail: m.kirifi@usip.edu

William Law, PhD, Professor of Biology, Chair, Department of Biological Sciences. Dr. Law teaches PA students coursework in Anatomy and Physiology. In the lab he is exploring how a balance between enzymatic and allosteric (non-enzymatic) influences of adenosine deaminase on adenosine actions can play a role in regulating macrophage and cardiac cytokine signaling. This has implications in such diverse arenas as sepsis, ischemic and non-ischemic heart failure, and diabetes. E-mail: w.law@usip.edu

James McKee, PhD, Associate Professor of Chemistry. Dr. McKee teaches PA students coursework in Organic Chemistry. His current research involves developing methods of preparing difluorochloroketone and alcohols for use in heterocyclic ring synthesis. He is also the author of textbooks in biochemistry and organic laboratory techniques.

Trudy McKee, PhD. Dr. McKee teaches PA students coursework in Biochemistry.

Ray Miller, PhD. Dr. Miller teaches PA students coursework in Scientific Writing.

Margaret Reinhardt, MMA, Instructor in Biology and Director of the USP Medical Technology Program. Ms. Reinhardt teaches PA student coursework in Immunology and Hematology. She has taught Clinical Immunology, Human Parasitology, Hematology, Microbiology and Introductory Biology, has nationally published and presented, and serves on several clinical boards. Her research interests include invertebrate immune responses and reactions of earthworm coelomocytes to both naturally occurring and induced parasite infections. E-mail: m.reinha@usip.edu

Robert Smith, MS, Assistant Professor of Biology. Mr. Smith teaches PA students coursework in Microbiology. He is widely published and has presented nationally. His research interests have centered on plant tissue culture as a means of secondary metabolite production and developing models for organogenesis and embryogenesis in plant tissue culture. E-mail: r.smith@usip.edu

Professional Phase Faculty

For information about faculty in the professional phase of the PA program, please see the PCOM website.