Physician Assistant Faculty and Staff

Department Chair, Program Director

Gerald (“Jerry”) Glavaz earned his Bachelor of Science from Eastern Illinois University and his Physician Assistant Certificate from Northeastern University in Boston. He completed his Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree at the University of Nebraska, and received his Doctor of Health Sciences degree in 2013. Dr. Glavaz joined the department in 2003 and served as a Clinical Coordinator until he was appointed the Department Chair/Program Director in 2014 . He is a past member of the Physician Assistant Education Association’s Clinical Education Committee. He continues to practice clinically in Occupational Medicine and Orthopedics.

Associate Program Director

Catherine Oms was raised locally and graduated from Loma Linda Academy in 1997. She received an Associate's Degree in Nursing from Southwestern Adventist University in 1999. She obtained her Bachelor's Degree in Kinesiology from Cal State University, San Bernardino in 2003 and Master's Degree in Physician Assistant Sciences in 2007 from Loma Linda University. Since that time, she has worked in pediatrics, women's health, and family practice. She completed the OB/GYN Residency Program for PA's from Arrowhead Medical Center in 2009. She returned to Loma Linda University in 2011 as full time faculty and was a Didactic Coordinator for the Physician Assistant Program for 6 years.  She is currently the Associate Program Director for the Physician Assistant Program. Her responsibilities include assisting with program assessment/accreditation/grant, administrative duties, and teaching Women’s Health and Cultural Immersion.

Medical Director

Wessam Labib graduated from the University of Illinois, Chicago, Family Medicine Residency program in 2008. Simultaneously, he received a Master’s of Public Health in Health Policy and Administration that same year.  In 2009, he completed a Geriatric Medicine Fellowship at UCLA and a Medical Student Education Fellowship from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine in 2012. Currently, he practices Family/Geriatric Medicine at the Loma Linda University Family Medical Group. He is also Director of the Adult Specialty Clinic (ASC) - Memory clinic.  He is an Assistant Professor for the Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine and School of Nursing. He is also the Geriatric Medicine Rotations Director – Family Medicine Residency.  He is the Director of Medical Student Education – Department of Family Medicine and was appointed the PA program Medical Director in 2016.  He is passionate about education and believes strongly in the value of the multidisciplinary approach to education and to healthcare.

Director of Education Assessment

Rasha Abdrabou received her Master’s in Public Health in 2002 and her Doctorate in Public Health in 2009, both from Loma Linda University.  She has since taught in undergraduate and graduate programs at various universities, including Cal Baptist University, Cal State Dominguez and West Coast University. She has also worked in the field of community nutrition for various public health programs such as Healthy Smiles, Early Head Start and Champions for Change.  She returned to Loma Linda University in 2018 as full-time faculty for the Physician Assistant Department.  Dr. Abdrabou is also Director of Education Assessment, a position that focuses on ensuring the delivery of quality education standards and the continuous improvement of the clinical and didactic curricula. Dr. Abdrabou’s research interests include applying public health practices in clinical settings and development, implementation and dissemination of interventions to combat chronic disease.  She is also interested in pedagogical research centered around practices of learning and teaching assessments.

Didactic Director

Mark received his Bachelor’s in Biology from the University of Redlands in 1976.  One year later, he completed a Master’s in Genetics at the University of California in Riverside.  This was followed by four years of PhD studies in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia.  Mark taught high school and university classes for 25 years before returning to southern California and entering the LLU PA program.  His clinical experience includes Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, and Urgent Care. Mark is currently the Didactic Director for the PA program, with responsibilities for instruction and curriculum delivery.

Didactic Coordinator

Erin Gysbers was born and raised in Pennsylvania where she earned her bachelor's degree in Biology from Pennsylvania State University in 2004. She went on to earn her master’s degree in Physician Assistant Studies from St. Francis University in 2007. Upon graduation, Erin moved to California to participate in the OB/GYN residency for PAs at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. She graduated from the residency in 2008. Since that time, Erin has worked in women's health and orthopedics. She joined the Loma Linda Physician Assistant program in 2017 as full time faculty and is a Didactic Coordinator.  Her responsibilities include coordinating and teaching Clinical Medicine, Physical Diagnosis and Primary Care Pediatrics.

Clinical Director

Courtney McConnell received her Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology with a concentration in Clinical Exercise Science and Minor in Sociology from California State University, Fullerton in 2009. She obtained her Master's degree in Physician Assistant Sciences in 2014 from Loma Linda University and has worked in General Pediatrics since graduation.  She returned to Loma Linda University in 2015 as full time faculty, were she has worked both didactically and clinically for the Physician Assistant Department.  Courtney currently serves as the Clinical Director, where her duties include overseeing the clinical phase of the program and coordinating courses. Additionally, she provides lectures in Preventive Medicine, Physical Diagnosis, Clinical Medicine and PA Professional Issues. Professor McConnell also facilitates the Inter-Professional Education Workshop during the didactic phase of the program. She plans to pursue her doctorate degree in 2018.

Clinical Coordinator

Lauren Bolda received her Bachelor of Science degree in Health Science with a concentration in Pre-Physician Assistant from California Baptist University in 2014.  She obtained her Master’s degree in Physician Assistant Sciences in 2017 from Loma Linda University and has worked in the high acuity Urgent Care setting since graduation. She returned to Loma Linda in 2018 as part-time faculty and then transitioned the same year to full time faculty on both the Clinical and Didactic teams.  More recently, Lauren has made the transition to full time Clinical Coordinator. Her duties are longitudinal, and involve coordination of CASPA, didactic and clinical courses, missions, and alumni relationships.  In addition, she serves as a coordinator for advanced clinical skills courses in both the didactic and clinical year.  She plans to pursue her doctorate degree in 2019.

Assistant Professor

William J. Wilson earned his Bachelor of Science from Jackson State University in 1999 and his Medical Doctorate from University of Kansas in 2005. He completed his Master of Physician Assistant Sciences degree in 2014 from Loma Linda University. In 2017, he was brought on board as department faculty. His primary responsibility is coordinating and teaching the Pharmacology courses offered during the didactic portion of the program. William also assists as needed with other courses taught during the didactic year.  He currently works full-time in Urgent Care and Occupational Medicine.