John Dougherty, DO, FACOFP, FAOASM, FAODME
Founding Dean & Chief Academic OfficerAfter an undergraduate degree in education Dr. Dougherty graduated from medical school from Kansas City University. He is board certified in Family Medicine and holds a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Sports Medicine. He is recognized as a fellow in both Family and Sports Medicine as well as two Academic Leadership colleges. Dr. Dougherty is past President American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine (AOASM), an Organizational Physician for the Kansas City Royals serving in the Dominican Republic in collaboration with the Kansas City Royals and Dominican Republic Ministry of Health since 2008.
Immediately before coming to Provo, Dr. Dougherty had been serving as Dean of the medical school for Touro University in Henderson, Nevada. Prior to that he served in a variety of senior leadership roles at his alma matter in Kansas City for 20 years.
Dr. Dougherty is a Certified Physician Leader in Administration. He was selected for and completed a Senior Leadership Development Program, a National Health Policy Fellowship and holds a Certificate in Finance from the University of California, San Diego – Rady School of Management. He was voted Family Physician of the Year for Missouri in 2014, named Education Health Care Headliner by VegasInc Magazine in 2018 and was recently selected to serve as a Governor for the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce.
Alice Akunyili, MD
Assistant Dean of Clinical AffairsDr. Akunyili grew up in Enugu, also known as Coal-city, in eastern Nigeria and received her Medical Degree from the Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Timisoara, Romania. After a career in research and pharmaceuticals, Dr. Akunyili joined Kaplan Medical in 2010, most recently as the Associate Director of Clinical Academics. In addition, she was an Assistant Professor of Cell Biology and Pharmacology at the Florida International University – Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine where she led the creation of both asynchronous and synchronous online content for Basic Sciences courses.
Dr. Akunyili moved to Utah in 2020 and is currently the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs at the Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine in Provo. She is passionate about helping students achieve success and interested in pioneering novel ways to teach medicine to the next generation that incorporates both technology and andragogy.
When she is not on campus, working on research or at a community event to support health care access for the marginalized, she is usually playing diablo or enjoying the mountain air!
Kyle Bills, DC, PhD
Associate Dean of ResearchDr. Bills is a researcher, clinician, inventor, and published author. He holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Brigham Young University in Provo and a D.C. from Parker University in Dallas. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Brigham Young University, funded by the NCCIH division of the National Instituted of Health and an internship at the Dallas VA Medical Center. His clinical and research work focus on chronic migraine, traumatic brain injury, opioid-use disorder, and artificial intelligence. Dr. Bills is certified in manipulation under anesthesia, is an Industrial Disability Evaluator, a Qualified Medical Evaluator, and has served as a subject matter expert for both the State of California and Utah in Physical Medicine and Chiropractic. Dr. Bills works regularly as an expert witness in legal cases involving neurotrauma. Dr. Bills holds affiliate and adjunct faculty appointments in the Department of Psychology at BYU, Clinical Neuroscience at Parker University, Neuroscience in the College of Medicine at Roseman University, and Research at Rocky Mountain University. He has taught and developed courses in physiology, neuroanatomy, neurobiology, neurology, sensorimotor integration, and manual medicine.
Jennifer Brown, MS Ed
Associate Dean of Academic AffairsDean Brown attended Harvard University, and served as Senior Director for Kaplan Medical’s Institutional Programs before joining Noorda-COM. She holds a Master’s in Higher Education Administration. At Kaplan she managed teams for over 130 partner institutions including all US and Caribbean allopathic and osteopathic medical schools, dental schools, pharmacy schools and physician assistant schools. Ms. Brown was selected as Curriculum Director for the Kaplan Medical Advisory Council in 2016 and had been a Faculty Development lead since 2006. She brings an in-depth knowledge of licensing exam standards and trends to the Associated Dean for Academic Affairs position. She has received certificates in leadership from Columbia Business School, in Healthcare Innovation from the Harvard Macy Institute, and is a Nutrition Therapist.
Lynsey Drew, DO, FAAFP
Assistant Dean of Clinical EducationA graduate of Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, CA, Dr. Drew is a native Utahn. She completed a Faculty Development Fellowship and has served as residency program faculty since 2013 for the Family Practice residency at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo. Dr. Drew has developed curriculum and assessment for medical students and residents for both the outpatient clinical and hospital setting, including obstetrics. She has been a member of the Utah Osteopathic Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing for 8 years and spent the last year acting as Chair. She currently serves as Treasurer for the Utah Academy of Family Physicians Board of Trustees.
Steve Embley, DO, MBA
Assistant Dean of Clinical Sciences & Chair of Primary CareDr. Embley obtained a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Utah and followed that with an MBA with a finance emphasis at Brigham Young University. After completing his MBA, Dr. Embley worked for many years with Intel Corporation and other companies in several locations through the world. He received his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his residency in family medicine at Utah Valley Hospital in Provo, serving his final year as chief resident. After residency, Dr. Embley practiced in Gunnison, Utah as a small town full-scope doctor. Dr. Embley comes to Noorda-COM most recently from a family medicine and urgent care clinic in Eagle Mountain, Utah. During that time in Eagle Mountain, he also served as Chief Medical Officer for Revere Health, which is the largest independent multispecialty physician group in Utah.
Casey Himmelsbach, MBA, MSML
Associate Dean of Student AffairsDean Himmelsbach grew up in a small, rural town in Southwest Missouri and has over 15 years of experience in supporting student success. Her previous experience working with students interested in healthcare careers from a wide variety of backgrounds and her passion for helping every student achieve their own personal goals are what led her to Noorda-COM’s unique environment to provide the best platform for supporting medical students through every step of their medical education journey. She enjoys bringing creative solutions to Student Affairs in a rapidly changing undergraduate medical education environment.
Alexa Levine, PsyD, MA
Assistant Dean of Institutional EffectivenessDr. Levine grew up in San Diego, California and is approaching ten years of experience in higher education. She completed an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies with a minor in Solar and Renewable Energy from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Dr. Levine holds a Master’s in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and Doctor of Psychology in Human and Organizational Psychology. She is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration in Accounting and Health Administration Management. She is the Assistant Dean for Institutional Effectiveness and served as the Executive Director at Noorda-COM. Immediately before coming to Provo, she served as the Executive Assistant to the Dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Touro University in Henderson, Nevada.
Steve Prinster, PhD
Chair of Biomedical SciencesSteven Prinster, Ph.D., earned a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from Brigham Young University in 1997 and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Emory University and in 2006 joined the faculty at the Nesbitt School of Pharmacy in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. In 2009 he began teaching pharmacology to students in the Medical and Physician Assistant Studies Programs at Touro University, Nevada. In 2014, his passion for student education and success led to his appointment as the Program Director for the Medical Health Sciences Program, managing the admission and progression of the students in the program.
Michael Rhodes, MD
Associate Dean for Clinical AffairsDr. Michael Rhodes brings over 25 years of medical education experience to his role as Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs. He received his B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Georgia, his MD from the Medical College of Georgia, and completed his residency in Family Medicine in Rome GA. Dr. Rhodes practiced Family Medicine with Intermountain Healthcare in Layton UT before moving to Provo in 1998. He served as faculty and then the Residency Program Director at Utah Valley Hospital for 17 years. He subsequently served as the Associate Medical Director for Utah Valley, Orem Community and American Fork Hospitals. He has completed the National Institute for Program Director Development course and Leadership Development courses for Health Care Executives from both the University of Utah, David Eccles School of Business and the Center for Domestic Preparedness, FEMA, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In 2009 Dr. Rhodes was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society, and in 2016 was recognized as the Doctor of the Year for the State of Utah.
