Faculty & Staff Listing
Faculty
Carl Fasser, PA
Program Director
Mr. Fasser served as a medical corpsman in the Air Force and worked as a dialysis technician before becoming a student in the Physician Associate Program at Duke University Medical Center where he graduated with honors. His long career in PA education began shortly following graduation when he assumed the position of academic coordinator for the Duke PA Program and faculty member in the Department of Community Health Sciences, while practicing as a PA in the Faculty Health Clinic. In 1971, he was recruited to Houston to establish Baylor's Physician Assistant Program. Prior to rejoining the faculty of Baylor College of Medicine in August 2002, Carl served as founding dean of the School of Health Sciences, and chairman of the Department of Physician Assistant Studies at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Boston.
He brings a unique perspective on PA education and practice that includes being a founding member of both the American Academy of Physician Assistants and Texas Academy of Physician Assistants, and having served as president of the AAPA, TAPA, and the Association of Physician Assistant Programs. Over the period of three decades, he has received numerous awards recognizing his contributions to PA education and the profession, and has published extensively on various aspects of PA practice.
His academic interests encompass student instruction, interdisciplinary education, and health services research. His favorite academic subjects continue to be gross anatomy, problem solving in medicine, evidence-based medicine, issues in aging, professional role responsibilities, and public health. From a curriculum design standpoint, his interests center on team training in geriatrics, primary care genetics education, and faculty development. The focus of his research is on factors affecting the consultation and referral practices of primary care providers.
Stephanie DeSandro, MS, PA-C
Academic Faculty.JPG)
Mrs. DeSandro joined the Baylor faculty in July 2008. She graduated cum laude from Texas Tech University in 1995 with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Cell and Molecular Biology and then moved to California where she worked in Alzheimer Disease research for 5 years. She received her Master’s of Science degree as a physician assistant in 2002 from Baylor College of Medicine.
Prior to becoming faculty, she practiced full time in Emergency Medicine at Houston’s Lyndon B. Johnson community hospital as a physician assistant and the assistant director to the emergency medicine midlevels. While still practicing in emergency medicine, her academic role here at Baylor includes coordinating and instructing the Physical Diagnosis and Pediatric courses, coordinating the clinical pediatric rotations, and advising students.
Mrs. DeSandro’s medical interests are in the fields of Adult and Pediatric Emergency Medicine.
Katherine Erdman, MPAS, PA-C
Assistant Director
Ms. Erdman joined the faculty in April of 2001. She graduated with high honors from the University of Texas Medical Branch Physician Assistant Program in 1995, and earned her Master’s degree with a specialization in Internal Medicine from the University of Nebraska in 2002. She began her PA career in Family Medicine and Sports Medicine. For the past several years she has practiced in general Internal Medicine and continues clinical practice. She has served as clinical preceptor for many students from the Baylor College of Medicine and University of Texas Medical Branch PA Programs. She was named the Texas Academy of Physician Assistant "Physician Assistant Educator of the Year" for 2005.
Prior to her entry into the PA profession, Ms. Erdman worked as a medical illustrator, as an art teacher for grade school, junior high and high school students, and as a graphic artist and illustrator for the Houston Post.
Ms. Erdmans' medical interests include rheumatology, psychopharmacology, and sports medicine.
Elissa Love, MS, PA-C
Academic Faculty
Ms. Love received her Master's degree as a physician assistant in 1996 at Baylor College of Medicine. Prior to her return to Baylor, she practiced in a general internal medicine clinic in Katy, Texas for over eight years. During this time, she also served as a clinical preceptor for Baylor PA students. Ms. Love joined the faculty in September 2005 as an instructor in the Physician Assistant Program and clinician at the Baylor Family Medicine clinic. Ms. Love’s academic responsibilities include didactic instruction and advising, as well as coordinating the Community Medicine practicum during the clinical year.
Her special interests include: women's and children's health issues, preventive care, and effective caregiver/patient communication.
Dana Nadalo, MHS, PA-C
Academic Faculty
Mrs. Nadalo joined the faculty full-time in March 2004. She is a 2002 graduate of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Physician Assistant Program, where she served as student society vice president. She began her career in family practice, and continues clinical practice in occupation medicine and family practice.
Her medical interests include preventive medicine, women's health, endocrinology, and medical jurisprudence. Mrs. Nadalo is the course coordinator for the Clinical Prevention course during the didactic year and the Professional Roles and Responsibilities II course during the clinical year. A former SAAAPA chief delegate, she currently serves as advisor to the Robert Luchi Student Society.
Wendi Stewart, MS, PA-C
Academic Faculty
Mrs. Stewart received her Master’s degree as a physician assistant in 1996 from Baylor College of Medicine. She joined the faculty as a full time instructor in July 2008. Prior to joining the faculty of the PA Program, Mrs. Stewart practiced in the discipline of orthopedic surgery for 13 years and taught the orthopedic module within the Clinical Medicine course of the BCM PA Program for the past seven. Mrs. Stewart’s academic responsibilities include didactic instruction in Problem Solving in Medicine =, student advising, as well as coordinating and supervising the Surgery and Emergency Medicine rotations during the clinical year of the curriculum. Mrs. Stewart’s medical interests are in the field of surgery and clinical orthopedics.
Laurel Spence, MS, PA-C
Academic Faculty
Ms. Spence graduated summa cum laude from Texas Tech University in 1993 with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Communication Disorders. Due to her interest in audiology, Baylor College of Medicine recruited her for the pilot program offering the first Doctorate in Audiology (Au.D.). During her three years of study in the audiology program, Ms. Spence worked with innovative technology such as digitally programmable hearing aids and cochlear implants. She served on a research team that investigated sound localization and auditory attention. Through courses taken with physician assistant and medical students to meet the requirements of the audiology curriculum, Ms. Spence acquired more knowledge about the scope of practice and training of physician assistants. She transferred to Baylor College of Medicine’s Physician Assistant Program from which she graduated with a Master’s of Science degree in 1999.
Ms. Spence has five years clinical experience in the field of obstetrics and gynecology and coordinated the Women’s Health Course as an adjunct faculty member during Spring 2005. She later joined the academic faculty of the School of Allied Health and Physician Assistant program at Baylor College of Medicine July 2005. As the Maternal Child Health Director, Ms. Spence coordinates both the Women’s Health and Pediatric courses and serves as co-director of the Prevention course during the didactic year of study. In addition, she coordinates the clinical rotations in the fields of obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics.
Ms. Spence volunteers her time with the Mental Health Association of Houston in an effort to further understanding among health care professionals and the public regarding mental illnesses in women. Research interests include fetal growth parameters and ultrasound, psychotropic medication usage in pregnancy, and mood disorders in women.
Vicki Waters, MS, PA-C
Assistant Director for Experiential Learning
Ms. Waters joined the faculty full-time in May of 2000 after serving as a preceptor, adjunct lecturer, and student society advisor since 1997. She is a graduate of the Baylor College of Medicine Physician Assistant Program. She practiced in emergency medicine at Lyndon Baines Johnson Hospital in Houston prior to her faculty appointment.
Ms. Waters is interested in organizational, health policy and leadership issues. A former Student Academy board member, she currently serves on the AAPA Leadership Advisory Commission and the Physician Assistant Foundation's Programs Committee.
Staff
Jeannette Adams, B.B.A.
Executive Assistant
Jeannette Adams is executive assistant to the Senior Vice President and Dean, School of Allied Health Sciences. In this role, she coordinates the Allied Health Education Executive, Allied Health Curriculum, Allied Health Student Promotions, and Allied Health Faculty Appointments and Promotions Committees. She monitors the School’s budgets and completes necessary SAP entries for monetary transactions. Ms. Adams serves as liaison between the Child Psychology, Nurse Anesthesia, and Physician Assistant Program faculty, staff, and students.
Yvonne Baier, B.B.A.
Senior Administrative Coordinator
Yvonne has been with the PA Program since 1998. She started at BCM in 1988, working in the Office of Student Affairs with PA students. She works closely with the PA students during their first year of the program and schedules the didactic lectures and workshops.
Debbie Lopez
Administrative Coordinator II
Debbie Lopez serves as administrative coordinator for the School of Allied Health Sciences and the Physician Assistant Program. She is responsible for coordinating the PA Program’s Spanish Elective Course. In addition, Ms. Lopez oversees the PA Program’s admission interview process and White Coat Ceremony, as well as the School’s annual commencement activities. She assists with SAP financial and human resource transactions by entering time and vacation hours, and completing purchase orders, check requests, and travel reimbursements.
Patrica Kelly, B.A.
Lead Project Coordinator
Patricia “Pat” Kelley has been an employee of Baylor College of Medicine since 1990. She came to the Physician Assistant Program with eight years experience working with resident physicians and post-doctoral fellows. Pat works with the clinical PA faculty coordinating the clinical phase of the PA student training. This involves communication with private community physicians across the state of Texas, as well as with providers, clinics and hospitals in greater Houston and in the Texas Medical Center.
Diana Romero
Administrative Support Coordinator I
Diana Romero provides administrative support for the faculty and staff of the School of Allied Health Sciences and the Physician Assistant Program. She performs a variety of duties that include answering the office phone lines, monitoring office supply inventory, preparing reports and correspondences for faculty members, and completing data entry for accreditation purposes.