Lolofietele Dr. Eti Enosa, DSM FRACS

Taffy Gould, Chairman
Elected a Director of Non Invasive Monitoring Systems, Inc. (NIMU) in December, 2000 and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors in April, 2002.
From 1977 to December, 2000, she was the President of Housing Engineers of Florida, Inc., a Florida real estate management company.
In December, 2000, she founded and is a managing member of Global Technology Agents.com, LLC, a Florida limited liability company which advises technology companies and end-users in the business, academic, and medical spheres, worldwide.

Marvin A. Sackner, MD, Vice Chairman

Oloipola Terrence Betham, CPA
Oloipola Terrence Betham is Principal, Betham & Co. Certified Public Accountants. Previously, he was Chief Accountant and General Manager for Polynesian Airlines and a Partner at the Apia office of the international accounting firm, Coopers & Lybrand. Betham earned his Bachelor of Commerce degree from Auckland University. He is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Samoan Institute of Accountants. A former Chairman of both the Central Bank of Western Samoa and the National Bank of Samoa, Betham is a current board member and Past President of the Samoa Chamber of Commerce.

Magele Tafafunai Mauiliua Magele, MEA, BE

Masoe Dr. Toga Potoi, DSM, FRACS, D AV Med

Palanitina Tupuimatagi Toelupe, AdDip Bus Mgnt, MHPers Ed, BEd, GDHth Ed, HEdu

Maiava Iulai Toma, LLB, DPA

Michel Weisz, Esq, attorney at law

Surindar Cheema, BScHons, GDM, PhD, ex-officio
Professor Cheema is a graduate of Monash University in Australia, having received both his BS degree with honours and his PhD from the institution. His early research interest was abnormal brain development after maternal exposure to teratogens. He is the author of more than 80 scientific publications in international peer-reviewed journals and more than 100 national and international conference abstracts. Professor Cheema has held numerous administrative and faculty appointments at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Melbourne, Monash University, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, and the Howard Florey Institute at the University of Melbourne. Professor Cheema directed a large ALS research laboratory, attracting more than $3 million in grant funding, and is the lead researcher in three patents for potential ALS treatment. He has extensive experience in curriculum development, online delivery of educational materials, and teaching medical, radiography, and behavioural neurosciences at the tertiary level. Professor Cheema was instrumental in designing the new five-year medical school curriculum introduced at Monash University. Since September 2004, Dr Cheema has served as OUM’s Vice Chancellor, chief executive officer of the University. He also founded and served as CEO of Medical Education Services Australia Pty Ltd (MESA), which has researched, written, and refined OUM’s curriculum.

Surindar Cheema, BScHons, GDM, PhD
Professor Cheema is a graduate of Monash University in Australia, having received both his BS degree with honours and his PhD from the institution. His early research interest was abnormal brain development after maternal exposure to teratogens. He is the author of more than 80 scientific publications in international peer-reviewed journals and more than 100 national and international conference abstracts. Professor Cheema has held numerous administrative and faculty appointments at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Melbourne, Monash University, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, and the Howard Florey Institute at the University of Melbourne. Professor Cheema directed a large ALS research laboratory, attracting more than $3 million in grant funding, and is the lead researcher in three patents for potential ALS treatment. He has extensive experience in curriculum development, online delivery of educational materials, and teaching medical, radiography, and behavioural neurosciences at the tertiary level. Professor Cheema was instrumental in designing the new five-year medical school curriculum introduced at Monash University. Since September 2004, Dr Cheema has served as OUM’s Vice Chancellor, chief executive officer of the University. He also founded and served as CEO of Medical Education Services Australia Pty Ltd (MESA), which has researched, written, and refined OUM’s curriculum.

Moananu Tyrone Laurenson, BA Man

Monalisa Punivalu, DSM, DRANZCOG, GDBMan
Dr Punivalu earned her medical degree from the Fiji School of Medicine and did post graduate training in obstetrics, gynaecology, and anaesthesia at Vaiola Hospital and Niu`ui Hospital in Tonga. She was a World Health Organization fellow, training in obstetrics and gynaecology at Liverpool Hospital in Sydney. As Head of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Unit at TTM National Hospital in Samoa, Dr Punivalu is involved in ongoing efforts to upgrade Pap Smear Screening Services and establish a national cervical screening program. She is a member of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and the Pacific Society for Reproductive Health. She also earned her Dip Business in frontline management.

Greg Tilley, MBA, CPA (USA), Chief Financial Officer/Bursar & Human Resources Manager
Greg earned his bachelor degree in accounting from Bentley University (USA) and his MBA from Yale University School of Management (USA). He is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the USA.

He has over 10 years of experience in tertiary education: The National University of Samoa as a lecturer and as the Acting Dean in the Faculty of Commerce, and in the United States as an operations consultant for the University of Hawaii system and then as the Director of Finance and Administration for a research centre at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Greg has also had time working as a CFO and/or Controller in several private sector organizations in both the internet/online and consumer products sectors, as well as an accountant in a CPA/CA firm.

Papalii Chellaraj Benjamin, MBBS, DMRT, DRACR, MD, FRACR (Asia Pacific)
A cancer specialist, Dr. Benjamin is the Clinical Director of Radiation Oncology at Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand. As OUM’s Associate Dean for Clinical Education (Asia-Pacific), Dr. Benjamin develops and evaluates OUM clinical clerkships in the Asia-Pacific region, supervises students during their rotations and works closely with physician preceptors. An undergraduate of St. Xavier College, Dr. Benjamin earned his MBBS at Tirunelveli Medical College in South India. He also earned his MD in Vellore, India.

Peter Horneffer, MD, FACS, (USA & Canada)
Dr. Horneffer is a cardiovascular surgeon in the Baltimore, Maryland area. He received his undergraduate degree at Yale and his medical degree at Johns Hopkins. He completed cardiac surgery fellowships in England and France, where he specialized in heart transplantation and cardiac valve repair. He has served on the faculty at Georgetown University School of Medicine. As OUM’s Associate Dean for Clinical Education (North America), Dr. Horneffer researches and establishes clinical clerkships, monitors student progress, reviews evaluations, and prepares student documents for each year’s National Residency Match Program.

Chris May, MBBS, FRACGP, FACEM (Australia)
An emergency medicine specialist, Dr. May is the Director of Emergency Services at Redland Hospital in Cleveland, QLD, Australia, Chair of the Southern Area Emergency Department Network, and District Director of Emergency Services, Southside Health Service District. As OUM’s Associate Dean for Clinical Education (Australia), Dr. May develops and evaluates clinical clerkships for students, supervises students during their rotations and works closely with physician preceptors. He is a graduate of the University of Queensland Medical School, where he has also been a senior lecturer.

Greg Raymond, BSc (Hons), PhD, PGDM (Basic Sciences 5 Yr MBBS Program)
Dr Raymond completed his Bachelor of Science degree with honours and a PhD in muscle physiology and pharmacology at Monash University, Clayton. His research area was smooth muscle contraction and relaxation, and his PhD thesis was entitled “Mechanisms Effecting Second Messenger Mediated Relaxation in the Rat Anococcygeus Muscle.” Dr Raymond spent five years teaching physiology to biomedical, science, and medical students at Monash University and four years in an Australian biotechnology company developing anticancer agents and pharmaceuticals aimed at preventing sexually transmitted diseases. Dr Raymond has been with OUM since 2005 as a senior curriculum consultant and honorary faculty member. He and his family live near the OUM campus in Samoa.

Thomas Bobbert, MSc (Hons), PhD, MD
Dr Bobbert earned his PhD from Free University, Berlin, Germany, completing his dissertation on "Thrombin-induced differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells." Since then he has taught basic sciences to medical students for the Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition at Free University’s medical school, the Charité, and at the German Institute of Nutrition, Potsdam. His peer-reviewed publications have been largely on the topics of adipocytokines, such as adiponectin and characterisation of the human metabolome.

Hans-Joachim Kabitz, MD
Dr Kabitz is a respiratory medicine specialist for the Department of Pneumology, University Hospital, Freiburg, Germany, with clinical expertise in mechanical ventilation, sleep medicine, asthma, COPD, interstitial lung disease, cystic fibrosis, and pulmonary hypertension. He is also a co-leader of the respiratory physiology research group at University Hospital, focusing on respiratory muscle function both at rest and during exercise, in an effort to address its clinical implications on health, disease and exercise performance. Dr Kabitz teaches OUM’s respiratory system module.

Rashmi Kasliwal, MD, MBBS
Dr Kasliwal earned her MBBS and MD degrees from Sawai Man Singh Medical College, Jaipur, India. She first worked as a family physician in the hospital of a large company, Hindustan Zinc Limited, located in Rajasthan, India. There she gained experience in emergency and general medicine, gynaecology, paediatrics, occupational health and safety, pathology laboratory work, hospital administration, and psychological counselling. Progressing from her initial post as medical officer to spending six years as the hospital’s medical superintendent, Dr Kasliwal now provides medical consultation services to her nearby community and teaches basic sciences at OUM.

Knut Mai, MSc (Hons), PhD, MD
Dr Mai completed his PhD in Berlin on “The Innervation before and after Coronary Revascularization Surgery by Quantitative 201-Thallium and I-123- Metaiodobenzylguanidine Scintigraphy.” Since 2000 he has taught medical students for the Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition at the Charité and at the German Institute of Nutrition, Potsdam. His scientific field of interest is the regulation of glucocorticoids and androgens in humans for which he has published more than ten peer-reviewed articles. Dr Mai is a medical education consultant at OUM.

Justin Moore, BMedSc (Hons), PGrdDip Srg Ant, LLB, MBBS (Hons)
Dr Moore graduated from Monash University, Australia with both his Bachelor of Medical Science and medical degrees in 2004, which were both awarded first class. He subsequently completed surgical training and is currently in the United Kingdom completing a PhD in neuroscience and genetics at Oxford University, in conjunction with a Master’s degree in health law. Dr Moore expects to complete both degrees by the end of 2009. Dr Moore enjoys teaching and has extensive experience with both basic science and clinical medicine instruction using traditional and online education models.

Igor Bondarenko, PhD, MD
Dr Bondarenko earned his medical degree and a PhD in biochemistry from the Military Medical Academy (MMA), St. Petersburg, Russia. His area of research was organ-specific (liver) mechanisms of free radical overproduction in viral and experimental hepatitis. Since then, he has taught biochemistry to undergraduate medical students, as well as laboratory diagnosis to post-graduate physicians at the MMA and the St. Petersburg Therapeutic Institute. He is also a consultant in clinical and nutritional biochemistry at a private clinic in Helsinki, Finland.

Neelam Gupta, MSc (Hons), PhD (Consultant)
Dr Gupta received a Master’s degree from Punjab University (Chandigarh, India) and PhD from the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (Chandigarh, India). Her research interest has focused on “The Role of Macrophages and Lymphocytes on In Vivo Suppression of Fibrosarcoma,” for which she was given the Cancer Research Award by the Indian Council of Medical Research. Dr Gupta has extensive experience teaching immunology and physiology, using both conventional face-to-face and online distance learning methods. Dr Gupta is a medical education consultant to OUM.

Shashi Mishra, MBBS (AMC Head Coach)
Dr Mishra completed his MBBS and clinical internship in India, first working as a medical officer in both inpatient and outpatient departments of a primary health center in the State of Gujarat. He completed a residency program in microbiology and infectious diseases at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow, where he completed a thesis entitled “Human Cytomegalovirus Infection in Immunocompromised Patients: Evaluation of pp65 Antigenemia Assay.” He has extensive experience as a resident medical officer and has worked in several laboratories covering the areas of bacteriology, mycobacteriology, parasitology, mycology, virology, serology and molecular biology. Dr Mishra has been with OUM since 2004 as a senior curriculum consultant and ITM instructor in Samoa.

Toleafoa Viali Lameko, BSc, MBBS, DPHC, DTBContr/Epid, M.Int.P.H. (Head)

Papalii Chellaraj Benjamin, MBBS, DMRT, DRACR, MD, FRACR (Visiting Professor)
A cancer specialist, Dr. Benjamin is the Clinical Director of Radiation Oncology at Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand. As OUM’s Associate Dean for Clinical Education (Asia-Pacific), Dr. Benjamin develops and evaluates OUM clinical clerkships in the Asia-Pacific region, supervises students during their rotations and works closely with physician preceptors. An undergraduate of St. Xavier College, Dr. Benjamin earned his MBBS at Tirunelveli Medical College in South India. He also earned his MD in Vellore, India.

Carmichael Patu, MBBS
Dr. Patu earned his medical degree from the Fiji School of Medicine and completed undergraduate clinical training at hospitals in both Fiji and Australia. He did internship and postgraduate study at TTM Hospital where he remains as an internist and OUM lecturer in cardiovascular disease. As coordinator of the school’s Clinical Skills Program, he will work closely with hospital administration and physician colleagues to schedule patient care training for both preclinical and clinical students. In addition, Dr. Patu will monitor student progress to assure that they are being exposed to and honing necessary patient care skills.

Jose Sardana, MD, BS (Consultant)
Dr Sardana earned his BS in Biology and his medical degree from De La Salle University, Philippines. He completed medical internship and specialty training in paediatrics at the Armed Forces of the Philippines Medical Center, where he taught medical students, clerks, interns and junior residents/registrars. During postgraduate training, his research focused on comparative testing for sepsis in neonatal patients, as well as teenage pregnancy outcomes. After completion of his specialty training, Dr Sardana became head of paediatrics at Cavite Naval Hospital. A member of the Philippine Navy Alert and Rescue Team, Dr Sardana trained medical corps officers in CPR and proper rescue technique. Since 2004, he has been with OUM as a senior curriculum consultant and honorary faculty member.

Leon Turnbull, MBBS (Consultant)
Dr Turnbull earned his MBBS from Monash University and is currently a medical officer at Geelong Hospital, Victoria. He has worked for OUM since 2006 as an instructor in the Renal and Behavioural Science modules, as well as reviewing and editing the medical school curriculum.
diabetes protocols and a diabetes registry.

Enasio Morris, MBBS, DipPeds, DipEM, MFM, MPH
Dr. Morris graduated from the University of the South Pacific, Fiji, in 1993 with an MBBS. He continued his academic studies to then complete a Postgraduate Diploma in Emergency Medicine from the University of Auckland, New Zealand in 2001 and a Postgraduate Diploma in Paediatrics from the University of Sydney, NSW in 2004. In 2005, he earned his Masters in Family Medicine from Monash University, Melbourne, and in 2008 a Masters in Public Health from the University of Sydney. Currently, a Fellow trainee of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, he is currently completing his fellowship training and a Masters in Health Management from the University of New South Wales. Dr. Morris joined the OUM faculty in December 2008 as a Lecturer, has extensive clinical medicine experience in Australia and enjoys teaching clinical medicine.

Matila Faapopo, DipSS, Librarian

Filipina Amosa, BAg, DipTAg, Assistant Librarian

Kevin Guske, IT Director

Else Talbot, BSc, Grad Dip Lib MBIT (Consultant)
Ms. Paeglis has a Master of Business degree in information technology from RMIT University in addition to a Bachelor of Science degree and a Graduate Diploma in Librarianship from Melbourne University. She has worked extensively in university libraries, focusing on several subject areas, including medicine. In addition, Ms. Paeglis has private sector work experience as a knowledge manager, workplace trainer, business development manager, information technology manager and company director in the internet training and computerized senior care management industries.

Greg Tilley, MBA, CPA (USA), Chief Financial Officer/Bursar & Human Resources Manager
Greg earned his bachelor degree in accounting from Bentley University (USA) and his MBA from Yale University School of Management (USA). He is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the USA.

He has over 10 years of experience in tertiary education: The National University of Samoa as a lecturer and as the Acting Dean in the Faculty of Commerce, and in the United States as an operations consultant for the University of Hawaii system and then as the Director of Finance and Administration for a research centre at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Greg has also had time working as a CFO and/or Controller in several private sector organizations in both the internet/online and consumer products sectors, as well as an accountant in a CPA/CA firm.

Phaedra Moors, BCA, Executive Officer

Angeline Alama, BA, Student Administrative Officer

Sam Held, MA (Edin), PGCert in Higher Education Leadership, Senior Lecturer in Medical Education

Tifai Luamanuvae, Campus Administrator

Judy McKimm, MBA, MA (Ed), BA (Hons), CertEd, SFHEA, FAcadMed, Professor of Medical Education

Marlon Tiumalu. B. Comm, Technical Assistant

Christopher Dudley, BS, MBA, Director of Administrative Affairs

Joy Braun, MBA, MA, Associate Director for Administration

Thomas Crowder, MLibn, BD, Student Advisor and Administrative Consultant, Student Advisor and Administrative Consultant

Melissa Llorens, BA, Admissions Administrative Assistant

Rebecca Morris, BA, Affiliate Coordinator and Communications Consultant

Tara Reyes, BA, MBA, Student Affairs Coordinator

Mitchell Rosenberg, MD, Admissions Committee Consultant

Justin de Lima, IT Administrator

Nilangi Dewapura, MBBS, MSc, MD, Curriculum Development Specialist, Curriculum Consultant
Dr Dewapura earned her MBBS in 1991 and completed internship training in paediatrics, internal medicine and surgery. While working in maternal and child health, she also earned a Master’s degree in community medicine. Dr Dewapura obtained her MD in 2000 and her board certification in 2001. While diabetes has been her practise and research interest, as well as the primary topic of her publications and presentations, Dr Dewapura has also researched hypertension, obesity, cancer, and osteoporosis. She was trained on evidence-based clinical practise (EBCP) at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and also worked at the International Diabetes Institute in Melbourne. Since 2004, Dr Dewapura has been a clinical curriculum writer/lecturer for OUM and is now an online tutor.

Fiona Grumbell, Dip Acc, Finance Manager

Zeinab Khalil, MBBS (Hons), MSc, PhD, Professor of Medicine

Elizabeth Lopes, A/Dip App Sc, Director of Student Recruitment Services (AP)