Melissa McCarron
PhD
Associate Teaching Professor of Spanish
Affiliate Faculty
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
- Digital Scholarship Studio and Network
Recent Awards and Grants
- PI: "The Botánica Model: Traditional Neighborhood Care Systems and Cultural Competence in Navigating Social and Structural Determinants of Health in Western NY’s Latinx Population." UB Office of International Education Faculty Grant. 2024-2025.
- 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).