Lou Cortina
About Yen-Pei Christy Chang, PhD, MS
Chang is an associate professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) who has a passion for teaching and mentoring. She is instrumental to how genetics is taught to UMSOM first-year PhD students in the Graduate Program in Life Sciences and PhD students from the School of Dentistry. She is a committed advocate for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty; directs the KL2 Mentored Career Development Program at UMB’s Institute for Clinical and Translational Research; and offers grant writing classes and workshops for students, faculty, postdocs, and administrators.
Impact
In recent years, Chang has worked on grant writing with 47 UMB faculty and assisted many of them in obtaining competitive National Institutes of Health funding. She has numerous accolades, including the UMSOM Faculty Teacher of the Year Award in 2015, 2016, and 2019 (Division of Endocrinology) and the Faculty Mentoring Award from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health in 2017.
Quotes
“One of my strengths as an educator is that I’m relatable and approachable. Students who are quiet in other lectures are more likely to ask questions in mine. It’s empowering for them to see a soft-spoken person of color holding everyone’s attention in a classroom and doing so with wit and compassion.” — Chang
“A junior faculty member whose native language is not English worked with Dr. Chang on improving his writing for grants and research papers. When I saw his most recent grant application, I was amazed. The change since the last grant was not just a minor improvement, but rather a large quantum leap. With Dr. Chang’s help, our junior faculty have a much better chance of receiving research support.” — John D. Sorkin, MD, PhD, professor, UMSOM
