According to the Fellows of the ASPET Academy of Pharmacology Educators (FAAPE) website, members “have made exemplary contributions to pharmacology education in one or more of the following areas: student-teacher interaction, innovative contributions, scholarly endeavors and/or professional development and service.”
“Being accepted to the academy shows I am on the right track, I am doing the right thing, and it’s worth it,” Dr. Restini shared. “With this title, I can open more doors for our students and faculty. I can make more connections with more people who help us grow while simultaneously developing their own careers in a win-win partnership.”
Dr. Restini is wasting no time on this front. She’s busy meeting with faculty from other colleges at MSU and beyond and connecting them with pharmacologists worldwide to improve pharmacological education opportunities for students.
Restini’s and MSU’s shared values: education and outreach
In 2016, Dr. Restini, who had taught at a Brazilian medical school for nearly a decade, embarked on a unique journey from her home country to the United States. She arrived at Michigan State University as a visiting professor to develop her cardiovascular and renal pharmacology research project, which was supported by a grant from the Brazilian government. She was sure she would only be staying for a year.
“After six months, we fell in love with the United States,” shared Dr. Restini. “My husband and my daughter all wanted to stay. Luckily, four months before the end of my sabbatical year, MSU had an open position for a faculty member at the College of Osteopathic Medicine. We should have been packing to return to Brazil, but here we are!”
Since then, Dr. Restini has taught countless future and current osteopathic physicians while supporting student research and outreach projects at the college’s Macomb University Center and Detroit Medical Center sites. These initiatives range from street medicine teams and free clinics, which serve community members experiencing homelessness, to outreach programs with high school and middle school students.
“There’s a strong connection between education, services and the future,” Dr. Restini said. “I see my students as future physicians and leaders in their communities. Through the education and evidence-based information we provide to our students, they can inform their peers and communities.”
Dr. Restini supports student research by forging new pathways including the creation and expansion of summer programs and scouting opportunities for individual students. She also prioritizes outreach programs for students – such as her partnership with the Medical Outreach Clinic of McLaren Macomb Hospital – which offer additional opportunities for community-based research. In addition to her teaching and research duties, Dr. Restini is an advisor for the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Macomb County Street Medicine Program and the American Physician Scientists Association.
Read more about Dr. Restini’s work and new appointment in the MSU Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology’s story.
This story was originally published by the College of Osteopathic Medicine.
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