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 Chairman's Corner Hello,
I am Nissar A. Darmani, chair of the Department of Basic Medical Sciences (BMS) in the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP) at Western University of Health Sciences (WUHS). I joined COMP in February, 2004 to help further develop and organize the well established teaching mission of the department and to expand basic research in biomedical sciences. The department of BMS is one of two basic science departments currently operating at COMP, the other is the Department of Anatomy. With fourteen faculty members in the Department of BMS and seven in the Department of Anatomy, the two departments cover the COMP curricular and research needs in medical biochemistry, microbiology, immunology, pharmacology, physiology and anatomical sciences. Teaching, as well as basic and clinical research, are conducted in close collaboration between the two departments. COMP, established in 1977 with its two basic science departments, was the first and founding college of the university. In the 1980s and 1990s, four additional, independent colleges (Allied Health Professions, Pharmacy, Graduate Nursing and Veterinary Medicine) were established, making the five present colleges of WUHS. WUHS is deeply invested in the future and is rapidly expanding its campus in downtown Pomona, CA.
With the pioneering vision of the founding president of COMP, currently the president of WUHS, Dr. Philip Pumerantz, expansion of WUHS is in a steadfast advance. We anticipate the opening of four new colleges: Dentistry, Optometry, Podiatry and Graduate Studies. The departments of BMS and Anatomy are uniquely positioned to serve the basic science needs of these colleges. Indeed, in addition to the current COMP professors, up to 40 new basic-science faculty will be hired to establish and conduct the educational and research programs in these colleges in a new medical building currently under construction.
Education is one of our department's primary academic missions. Our approach to medical education is grounded in the philosophy that physicians must be well prepared, life-long learners who keep pace with the new advancements in the life sciences. We believe that this philosophy is the platform upon which future health care excellence is built.
Anatomy and BMS faculty members have adopted a systems-based medical curriculum to integrate the basic and clinical sciences. This curriculum provides a firm scientific foundation for the medical education of our students and introduces our osteopathic medical students to the clinical world in their first two years of education through interactions with in-house and guest clinicians. BMS faculty continue their engagement with the students electronically during their clinical rotations in the 3rd and 4th years. COMP is uniquely positioned to prepare well-educated and compassionate physicians and medical scientists who will develop into highly skilled future practitioners and innovators that will not only deliver effective health care but also become leaders of medicine. |
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