Alison Montpetit Shares Research on Global Scale Through Inaugural Faculty Development Seminar
Alison Montpetit, Ph.D., RN, assistant professor in the Department of Adult Health and Nursing Systems, had the opportunity to discuss her exhaled breath research on a global scale during a recent trip to Spain and Morocco. Montpetit was one of eight VCU faculty and staff who participated in the Global Education Office’s Inaugural Faculty Development Seminar, held May 11-25. The group met with students, professor and administrators at the University of Córdoba in Spain, University Abdelmalek Essaadi in Tétouan, Morocco, and Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakesh, Morocco. They also toured villages and metropolitan areas and participated in presentations and discussions with non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
In support of Quest for Distinction’s internationalization goals, the Faculty Development Seminar provides opportunities for faculty to explore collaborative research and teaching possibilities. The visits will rotate each year to different VCU global partners.
For Montpetit, the Spain trip represented many firsts, including her first global experience and first visit to Europe. But it also represented new opportunities.
“I was able to begin developing research collaborations that will help to expand and globalize my research program,” Montpetit said, referring to her study on detecting lung infection in exhaled breath of critically ill patients and the University of Cordoba’s exhaled breath biomarker study for lung cancer. “In the process, I hope to increase awareness of the valuable contribution that nursing science plays in translational research in a system where nursing science is relatively young,” she added.
The seminar has also motivated her to “actively encourage all students to engage in global education, service and research experiences and try to convey some of the rich perspectives I gained during this experience,” Montpetit said.
Click here to read the Global Education Office’s article about the Inaugural Faculty Development Seminar and Montpetit’s additional ideas on collaboration.
Categories Education, Faculty and Staff, Research, Uncategorized