Holly West, DHEd, MPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA

Holly West, DHEd, MPAS, PA-C, is a trained Physician Assistant (PA) with an advanced degree in Health Education. After years as core faculty in the UTMB PA Department, followed by a leadership role in the UTMB Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (clinical research administration), she joined the John Sealy School of Medicine’s (JSSOM) Office of Educational Development (OED) as a Senior Medical Educator in 2019.  In this role, she works closely with JSSOM faculty to provide expertise and consultation in the areas of curriculum development, active teaching pedagogies, and learner assessment. She also provides faculty development workshops and presentations at the school and university level as well as locally, state-wide, nationally, and internationally. Her faculty appointment as an Adjunct Associate Professor is in the PA Studies Department, where she assists with faculty development; appointment, promotion, and tenure (APT) processes; and lecturing. 

With a passion for supporting faculty educators across the continuum, she is excited to also serve in the role of Director of Education Mentoring Programs under the UTMB Office of Faculty Affairs. Since May 2024, she has worked on establishing a new Teaching Excellence and Mentorship (TEAM) Program for early-career faculty interested in advancing their educator skillset. Faculty fellows in the program will be provided with support and resources including mentorship, a teaching bootcamp, and educational pilot grants. 

In September 2023, Dr. West was honored to be elected as Director of the UTMB Academy of Master Teachers (AMT). She was inducted into the AMT in 2015, becoming a UT Distinguished Teaching Professor, and has held several leadership positions in the Academy, including Mentoring and Consultation Team Lead (2017-2019) and Membership and Standards Team Lead (2020-2023). She leads approximately 70 esteemed UTMB faculty in providing an array of faculty development opportunities for all UTMB faculty. 

Dr. West has been recognized with PA Department Teacher of the Year Awards in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012, the School of Health Professions Educational Excellence award in 2009, the Class of 1947 School of Medicine Memorial Professorship for Excellence in Education in 2019, the Hiram and Gloria Arnold Endowed Professorship for Teaching Excellence in 2020, and the A.H. Potthast Professorship for Teaching Excellence in 2023. She currently holds the Hiram and Gloria Arnold Endowed Professorship for Teaching Excellence in her role as Director of the Academy of Master Teachers. She was inducted into the University of Texas Kenneth I. Shine Academy of Health Science Education in 2021.