Melissa McCarron

PhD

Melissa Mccarron.

Melissa McCarron

PhD

Melissa McCarron

PhD

Teaching and Research Interests

Languages for Specific Purposes (LSP); Spanish for the Health Professions; Medical Spanish; Spanish for Pharmacy; community-engaged experiential learning; generative-AI applications in advanced pedagogical tool development; transdisciplinary approaches to language education; applied humanities; health humanities; proficiency-based language instruction; assessment methods in LSP domains; intersections between linguistic proficiency and culturally competent medical education in navigating social and structural determinants of health.

Education

  • PhD, University at Albany, SUNY
  • MA, Spanish, New York University
  • MA, Anthropology, Yale University
  • BA, Spanish and Anthropology, University at Albany, SUNY

Courses Taught

  • SPA104, Transitional Elementary Spanish
  • SPA152, Intermediate Spanish, 2nd semester
  • SPA207, Spanish Conversation and Language Workshop
  • SPA208, Spanish Composition and Language Workshop
  • SPA215, Intermediate Review of Spanish Grammar
  • SPA314, Advanced Communication for Students of Spanish
  • SPA324, Medical and Health Spanish
  • SPA151 HRP, Intermediate Spanish for the Health Professions I
  • SPA152 HRP, Intermediate Spanish for the Health Professions II
  • SPA522, Introductory Spanish for the Health Professions

Affiliations

  • National Association for Medical Spanish
  • Center for Information Integrity

Recent Awards and Grants

  • PI: “Measuring Trust among Older Adults in Erie County: A Multidisciplinary Collaboration between UB’s Department of Romance Languages and Literatures and the Erie County Department of Senior Services.” UB Civic Engagement Research Fund. 2024-2025
  • PI: Bridging Cultures Through AI: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Ethical Health Communication. UB Office of Curriculum, Assessment & Teaching Transformation (CATT) AI Seed Grant. 2024-2025.
  • PI: "Promoting Culturally Competent Communication in Spanish Across Healthcare Professions: A Mobile Application Utilizing AI Conversational Tools” SUNY Innovative Instruction Technology Grants (IITG) 2024.
  • Co-I: "Teaching Social Determinants of Health Through Patient Interview and Virtual Simulation" SUNY Innovative Instruction Technology Grants (IITG) 2024. (PI: William Prescott, Jr., PharmD, UB School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences).