Faculty Assembly

June/July 2026 Meeting Recap:

Subject: Monthly Faculty Assembly (FA) Recap

Dear SOM Faculty,

Subject: Monthly Faculty Assembly (FA) Recap

Dear SOM Faculty,

Below is a brief update from the June FA meeting:
- LCMC contracts: Dr. DiCarlo shared an update on contract negotiations, planning to include benchmarks and thresholds for potential bonuses or reductions. Proposed models incorporate research, administrative, and educational efforts, with productivity incentives. The model is expected to roll out July 1, with refinements to follow.
- Department Head Searches: the search committee met for the first time last week and is reviewing:
- 12 candidates for Microbiology, Genetics & Immunology (MGI)
- 22 candidates for Pharmacology, Biochemistry & Experimental Therapeutics (PBET)
- Faculty Assembly Elections: please watch for an email from SOMFA@lsuhsc.edu with an electronic ballot, you can also vote here: Faculty Assembly Elections – Fill out form. Faculty may vote for:
- Up to 4 basic science faculty nominees
- Up to 8 clinical faculty nominees
If you have topics for the Faculty Assembly to bring forward, please contact your FA delegate or reply to this email.

Thank you for staying engaged.

Best regards,

Maria Reinoso, MD

Dean's Quote of the Month

Every month the Faculty Assembly Executive Committee meets with Dean DiCarlo to discuss issues that are important to LSUHSC-SOM faculty. This month, in a discussion about our efforts to achieve our collective goals of excellence in patient care and research.

"Our faculty want the SOM to be known as an innovative institution that makes advances in research, in addition to providing outstanding education and producing great doctors."

Congratulations to our 2025 Faculty Assembly Award Winners!

Outstanding Mentor

Thomas Lallier, PhD, Department of Cell Biology & Anatomy

Thomas Lallier

Outstanding Service to the Institution

Timothy Foster, PhD, Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Parasitology

Timothy Foster

Outstanding Service to the Community

Tiffany Ardoin, MS, Department of Internal Medicine-Baton Rouge

Tiffany Ardoin

Outstanding Junior Faculty Member

Antonia Traina, MS, MD, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology

Antonia Traina

Outstanding Service in Community Engagement and Health Equity

Lisa Harrison-Bernard, PhD, Department of Physiology

Lisa Harrison-Bernard

2025 Copping Award Winner

Basic Science Teaching Award

Andrew Catling, PhD (Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology)

2025-2026 Faculty Assembly President Message

M. Reinoso
Welcome to the School of Medicine (SOM) Faculty Assembly website! The Assembly is composed of 38 Delegates that represent SOM Clinical and Basic Science faculty and who were elected by SOM faculty. The Delegates serve the SOM faculty by representing them as a collective voice to both the Administration of the SOM and the entire LSU Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC-NO). To accomplish this purpose, the Assembly has monthly scheduled meetings and works closely with the Dean of the School of Medicine. Furthermore, the Assembly elects 8 Senators to represent the SOM faculty and Assembly on the Faculty Senate of the LSUHSC.

Faculty Assembly meetings are open to all faculty of the SOM and approved Minutes are posted on this website. SOM Faculty are encouraged to participate in Assembly activities by attending meetings and/or identifying issues of interest. This can be done by attending a meeting in person, via a Delegate, or the link on the right-hand side of this website page. The list of Assembly Delegates can be found on this website under the "Roster" tab.

This year, the Faculty Assembly anticipates working on a number of initiatives, including:

Keeping faculty up-to-date on the renovation of the Medical Education Building (MEB) and the Center for Advanced Learning and Simulation (CALS);
Addressing issues impacting basic science and clinical faculty that arise throughout the year;
Updating faculty on the LCRC relationship with LSU, other local institutions, and the State;
Continuing the tradition of giving Faculty Assembly Awards to recognize outstanding SOM faculty (Awards include: Outstanding Service to the Institution, Outstanding Service to the Community, Outstanding Mentor, Outstanding Accomplishment by a Junior Faculty Member and Outstanding Service in Community Engagement and Health Equity. Nominations for these awards are solicited in the Spring).

The Delegates of the Faculty Assembly are proud to serve the SOM faculty as their voice to the administration and welcome participation by all SOM faculty members. We hope to hear from you about your ideas. At this time, Assembly meetings are being held on first Thursday of the month in person and via Zoom. If you would like to attend an Assembly meeting, please contact us at SOMFA@lsuhsc.edu for information.

Please continue to visit this webpage for updates on the Assembly's work. We look forward to working with the SOM faculty!

Maria Reinoso, M.D., Associate Professor Clinical Ophthalmology

Faculty Assembly President

Next Meeting:

August 6, 2026

4PM

In-Person: Place and time (TBA):

Email SOMFA@lsuhsc.edu for information

Interested in becoming a Faculty Assembly Delegate?

A call for self-nominations will occur in May 2027 & Elections June 2027!

Email SOMFA@lsuhsc.edu for more information!