Professional Profile and Role
Christine Thatcher, EdD serves as the Associate Dean for Medical Education and Assessment and is an Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Connecticut (UConn) School of Medicine, part of UConn Health, located in Farmington, Connecticut. She also holds the title of Director of Medical Education at UCONN Health Center, with her academic office situated at Academic Affairs, 263 Farmington Avenue, Room AM044D, Farmington, CT 06030-1830. She can be reached at phone number 860-679-1225 and via email at thatcher@uchc.edu.
Her LinkedIn profile (http://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-thatcher-5208b073) confirms her current roles and location in Newington, Connecticut, United States.
Organizational Context: UConn Health
UConn Health is the premier academic medical center in Connecticut, renowned for innovative patient-centered clinical care, research, education, and community engagement. It serves as Connecticut’s largest single source for new physicians, surgeons, and dentists, with a curriculum deeply integrated into the state's healthcare workforce development. UConn Health supports extensive Continuing Medical Education (CME) programs accredited until July 2029, reflecting institution-wide commitment to advanced clinical training and lifelong learning.
Responsibilities and Leadership in Medical Education
Dr. Thatcher oversees the Continuing Medical Education program (CME) at UConn School of Medicine, directing the educational programming for faculty, trainees, and students. This CME program recently earned flawless reaccreditation from the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) in 2025, valid through 2029, demonstrating her leadership in maintaining regulatory compliance and high standards.
She is actively engaged in:
- Leading curriculum development and medical education assessment at UConn.
- Managing interdisciplinary educational initiatives integrating clinical practice advancements.
- Implementing innovations in CME delivery, including launching a new digital CME platform named EthosCE, which provides streamlined learning management, attendance tracking, and engagement enhancements.
- Enhancing CME program impact; a survey showed 77% of CME users report improved competence, and nearly half report changed patient treatment approaches based on learning activities.
Her role necessitates collaboration with various stakeholders, including curriculum directors, medical directors, and administrative staff, to ensure high-quality medical education and regulatory success.
Academic Qualifications and Expertise
Dr. Thatcher holds an EdD in Educational Leadership from the University of Hartford, with extensive expertise in:
- Medical education leadership and program assessment.
- Family medicine education.
- Curriculum design and learner competency evaluation.
She is an accomplished author and educator in geroscience, medical education, and team-based learning methodologies.
Scholarly Contributions and Thought Leadership
Dr. Thatcher has contributed significantly to scholarly discourse, with publications reflecting leadership in medical education and translational geroscience. Notable publications include:
- Bringing Geroscience into the Mainstream: From Education to Clinical Practice, What Will It Take? (2024) in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A, co-authored with leaders in aging research. This article explores the integration of geroscience education into clinical practice, emphasizing the educational strategies required to mainstream aging biology concepts within medicine.
- Building an Interdisciplinary Workforce in Geroscience: Aligning Perspectives and Educational Goals (2025), presenting jointly with national experts a framework for developing a medical workforce proficient in geroscience, highlighting multidisciplinary collaboration and educational milestone frameworks.
- Co-authorship of foundational papers on medical student education across the United States and Canada, contributing data-driven insights on education trends and competencies.
She is also involved in advancing milestone and competency frameworks adapted specifically for geroscience education, aligning with Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) standards, enabling structured learner development from novice to expert levels.
Key Professional Interests Relevant to Medical Education and Training
- Geroscience Education: Dr. Thatcher plays a pivotal role in incorporating geroscience—an interdisciplinary field focused on aging biology and its clinical application—into medical curricula, positioning UConn Health as a leader in emerging healthcare paradigms. She facilitates integration with national professional bodies such as the American Medical Association (AMA) and American Heart Association (AHA).
- Continuing Medical Education Innovation: She has led digital transformation initiatives in CME delivery, supporting enhanced user experience, performance tracking, and compliance, thereby supporting clinical faculty and providers’ professional growth.
- Interdisciplinary Workforce Development: Recognizing the complexity of aging-related diseases, Dr. Thatcher focuses on building educational programs that prepare learners for team-based, patient-centered care models, anticipating evolving healthcare demands.
- Curriculum Assessment and Milestone-based Learning: She applies advanced curricular assessment strategies, utilizing outcome milestones and competency-based education methods, ensuring the alignment of medical education with contemporary clinical and research needs.
Institutional Impact and Collaborations
Dr. Thatcher’s leadership in CME supports UConn Health’s reputation for excellence in patient care and medical education. She is a critical contributor to UConn’s capacity to provision 70% of Connecticut’s new physicians and over 50% of its dentists, impacting statewide healthcare quality and accessibility.
Her work engages a broad team comprising:
- Curriculum Director Christine McNally.
- Medical Director Melinda Sanders.
- Assistant Medical Director Sri Manickaratnam.
- Office administrative staff, Kim Person and Darice Schroeder.
Dr. Thatcher participates in national educational networks such as the Geroscience Education and Training (GET) Network, coordinating multi-institutional curricula and resources to broaden geroscience knowledge dissemination to medical students, researchers, and clinicians.
Contact Information
- Name: Christine Thatcher, EdD
- Title: Associate Dean for Medical Education and Assessment; Associate Professor of Family Medicine; Director of Medical Education
- Organization: UConn Health / UConn School of Medicine
- Address: 263 Farmington Avenue, Room AM044D, Farmington, CT 06030-1830
- Phone: 860-679-1225
- Email: thatcher@uchc.edu
- LinkedIn: [linkedin.com/in/christine-thatcher-5208b073](http://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-thatcher-5208b073)
This profiling synthesizes Dr. Thatcher’s educational leadership, scholarly contributions, and strategic role within UConn Health’s academic medical structure, underscoring her influence on medical education innovation, particularly in geroscience and continuing education domains, which are crucial for advancing modern healthcare training and delivery.
