Meet Our Team

Charles Prober, MD is the Senior Associate Vice Provost for Health Education and Founding Executive Director of the Stanford Center for Health Education. He is a Professor of Pediatrics, Microbiology and Immunology. He is an expert in pediatric infectious diseases with an academic career focused on the epidemiology, pathophysiology, prevention, and treatment of infections in children. Some of his seminal work has resulted in the improvement of international blood transfusion practices through the selection of CMV negative donors for immunocompromised hosts; the optimal duration of antibiotic therapy for serious bacterial infections, including osteomyelitis and meningitis; the use of antiviral agents in the management of serious herpes virus infections; and the standardization of care in the management of pregnant women with HSV infections. Prober has published extensively in peer-reviewed subspecialty, specialty, and general medical journals and he is editor of Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, one of the major textbooks in the field of pediatric infectious diseases. Dr. Prober has been involved in medical education throughout his career. He has directed a number of undergraduate and graduate student courses in the classroom and at the bedside, served as Associate Chair for Education for the Department of Pediatrics, and lectured locally, nationally, and internationally on infectious diseases and medical education. He served as Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education at Stanford from 2007-2017 and in that role he worked diligently to create a more diverse and supportive educational environment for our students and graduate medical trainees. Some of the initiatives developed under his leadership included: the highly successful Educators-4-CARE (E4C) program, the Office of Medical Student Wellness, expansion of combined degree programs, the creation of the Stanford Society for Physician Scholars for residents and fellows, the use of Multi-Mini Interviews as part of our medical school admissions process, and the creation of our Teaching and Mentoring Academy. In addition to being a national advocate for enhancing the richness of interactions between faculty and students in medical education, Charles has advocated for a more measured approach to the use of national examination scores in the selection of residents, working with the leadership of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Prober is the recipient of multiple teaching awards, including the 2016 Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Award for Outstanding and Innovative Contributions to Medical Education.

Aarti Porwal is Managing Director of the Stanford Center for Health Education where she leads the strategic, business, and financial aspects of the Center. Aarti works with Stanford faculty, students, staff, and external collaborators to build compelling educational programs that reach learners across the world. Aarti has worked at developing online and blended learning strategies, leading teams responsible for educational technology, instructional design, program implementation, and evaluation. She helped form and launch the Digital Medical Education International Collaborative, a global initiative aimed at advancing health education to improve lives. Aarti served as Director of Strategic Initiatives in Education for the Senior Associate Dean of Medical Education from 2014-2017, and worked in the Office of Institutional Planning from 2011-2014. Aarti received the Inspiring Change Leadership Award from the Stanford School of Medicine Dean in 2014 for her work improving the School’s MD program in preparation for external accreditation. She completed an Administrative Fellowship in Academic Healthcare at the University of Michigan Health System, and holds a Masters in Healthcare Administration and Bachelors in Business from the University of Michigan.

Victoria is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University’s School of Medicine, with a research focus in pediatric global health. Victoria serves as the Medical Director for Digital Medic, focusing on building effective digital health education. She additionally is the Director of Global Child Health for the Global Center for Gender Equality at Stanford, focusing on clinical research for premature birth and maternal child health programs in Africa and Asia. Victoria has extensive experience in the issue of human trafficking, having implemented large-scale awareness and prevention programs, and currently serves as the Chair of the Board for the non-profit organization, Made in a Free World, and as a key faculty member for the Stanford Human Trafficking Data Lab. Clinically, she works as a pediatric hospitalist for Stanford’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.

Kira-Leigh Kuhnert is the Digital Medic program manager in South Africa. Kira-Leigh leads the country team in the effective development and implementation of Digital Medic.

Through her experience Kira-Leigh brings a national, regional and global perspective to Digital MEdIC. She is strongly committed to facilitating positive social impact and addressing the challenges of inequality in southern Africa. Kira-Leigh is passionate about human rights in particular women’s rights and the rights of marginalised groups. In addition to these interests Kira-Leigh is a systems-orientated thinker.

Kira-Leigh has a Masters in International Relations from the University of Cape Town. She also has a Bachelor of Social Science in Gender and Women Studies from the University of Cape Town, and an Honours in Development Studies from the University of the Western Cape.

Jamie Johnston is the research and evaluation director for Digital Medic and a postdoctoral fellow at the Stanford School of Medicine. Her work focuses on the use of technology to improve educational access and instructional quality in under-resourced areas. Jamie completed her PhD in Economics of Education at the Stanford Graduate School of Education in 2017, where she was an Institute of Education Sciences (IES) doctoral fellow. She also holds a B.S. in Social Policy from Northwestern University, an M.P.P from the University of Chicago, and an M.A. in Economics from Stanford University.

Semay Johnston is the Learning Experience Designer at Digital Medic and specializes in the visual communication of scientific and medical information through a variety of media. She believes that creative visualization provides a rare power to engage learners, simplify complexity, and inspire research. Previously, Semay worked at Macmillan Learning developing HTML5 interactive science modules and created surgical and anatomical illustrations at Body Scientific International. She is a Certified Medical Illustrator and holds an M.S. in Biomedical Visualization from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Kat is the Senior Engagement & Strategic Initiatives Lead for Digital Medic and works to promote meaningful interaction with the global DM community. She is interested in partnerships, strategy, marketing, and all things public health. Prior to Digital Medic she worked in B2B technology marketing and as an internal consultant for various hospitals and nonprofits. She strives to combine her technical and creative skillsets to influence health at the systems level. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from UCLA, and a B.A. in Public Health and B.S. in Business Administration both from UC Berkeley.

Shân is a Medical illustrator. She graduated University with an Honours degree in Visual Art, majoring in Painting and Printmaking. While studying, she worked part-time in a tissue culture laboratory which led to her unusual career path, specialising in both entomology and medical illustration as well as illustrating content for children. Shân has 14 years of experience working in the publishing, gaming, TV and film industries as an illustrator, concept artist, lead background designer and visual development artist. She is a published children's book illustrator and has worked for the likes of Disney, National Geographic Kids and Penguin Random House Publishers. Shân also has teaching experience in Art and English, both in South Africa and Japan. A meticulous illustrator she believes that art and great storytelling are both vital in creating worlds people can believe in and escape into.

Nophiwe Job is a Study Research Analyst. She is a Nutritionist by profession, having obtained her Masters degree in Human Nutrition from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and currently registered as a PhD candidate in Human Nutrition with the University of Cape Town. She previously worked as a Nutritionist overseeing the implementation of the Integrated Nutrition Programme (INP) by the Department of Health in the rural sub-district of Umvoti in the KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. Before joining Digital Medic, she was a PhD Research trainee at the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa in their Population Health, Health Systems and Innovation (PHHSI) unit.

Donald is a Digital Media Specialist. He studied cinematography, editing and motion graphics at AFDA Cape Town, where he made short films and worked on feature films. He went on to freelance and has worked on content for TV, feature films, documentaries and online campaigns since 2010.

Carlos is a Digital Media Specialist at the Stanford School of Medicine. He studied film and media at UC Santa Barbara, where he made short documentaries for public-access TV, and proceeded to work at an exciting tech startup producing videos. Before joining Stanford, he found his way to cable television and designed graphics for MTV’s Catfish.

Katie Gleason is the Content Production Project Manager and specializes in the organization and delivery of multimedia projects. She believes that strong user interface and user experience (UI/UX) in a learning environment encourages overall learner engagement and retainment of subject material. Previously, Katie worked as a Senior Account Manager for a full-service digital marketing agency creating websites and eLearning courses for top-tier automotive manufacturers, nonprofits and other B2B companies. Katie also has experience in graphic design and video production.

Monika is a Learning Experience Designer at Digital Medic South Africa. She has an Honour’s Degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in the Psychology of Education. For over 15 years, she has been designing and developing digital and blended learning solutions in a variety of organizations and across diverse industries. By viewing the world through her learners’ eyes, she creates targeted, relevant and engaging, learner-centric solutions. Monika is curious by nature and passionate about learning. Her mission is to positively impact people’s lives and empower them to solve challenges, build critical skills and fulfill their potential.