Academic Advising

The goal of Academic Advising is to ensure each student optimizes their path to the MD degree by taking full advantage of the resources of Stanford University and the School of Medicine. Each student is assigned a primary academic advising dean with whom they will work closely throughout medical school. Students are required to meet with their primary advising dean, either in-person or by teleconference, a minimum of two times annually.

General advising questions or scheduling issues can be directed to Ray Jackman, Associate Director for Academic Advising, at (650) 724-9622 or rayj@stanford.edu.

Our Team of Advising Deans

  • N. Nounou Taleghani, MD, PhD
  • Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine; Associate Dean for Academic Advising 
  • (650) 723-6576   nounou@stanford.edu
  • Yasmin Owusu, MD
  • Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry; Assistant Dean for Academic Advising
  • (650) 498-7586   yowusu@stanford.edu
  • Darren Salmi, MD
  • Clinical Assistant Professor, Surgery- Anatomy; Clinical Assistant Professor, Pathology; Assistant Dean for Academic Advising
  • (650) 723-6265   dsalmi@stanford.edu
  • Sumit A. Shah, MD, MPH
  • Clinical Assistant Professor, Medicine, Division of Oncology; Assistant Dean for Academic Advising
  • (650) 498-600   sas7@stanford.edu
  • Michael Gisondi, MD
  • Professor of Emergency Medicine; Assistant Dean for Academic Advising
  • (650) 498-8569   mgisondi@stanford.edu
  • Susan Knox, MD, PhD
  • Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology; Assistant Dean for Academic Advising
  • (650) 725-2720   sknox@stanford.edu
Schedule a Meeting with Your Academic Advising Dean
  • Student Life Advising
  • Dr. Rebecca Smith-Coggins, MD, Associate Dean for Medical Student Life Advising, (smithcog@stanford.edu), provides a confidential resource to help student resolve personal issues that are affecting their academic life. Dr. Smith-Coggins is a point of contact for students who wish to discuss sensitive or personal topics or to obtain advice of a non-academic nature.
  • Learning Strategies
  • Lisa Medoff, PhD, Learning Strategies Specialist, (lmedoff@stanford.edu), supports students registered through the Office of Accessible Education, as well as any student who would like to improve study skills, time management, organization, and/or test-taking skills. Students may work with Learning Strategies services to create a study plan for an exam, discuss their learning style and test-taking strategies, or figure out how to prioritize tasks to reduce stress.