Meet Our Team
Meet Our Team
PA Faculty, Staff and Clinical Associates
The Utah Physician Assistant Program couldn’t function without the people that keep our programs running. From the top-tier faculty who teach our classes to the dedicated staff members running our programs to the clinical associates and preceptors we interact with across Utah, the program is more than the sum of its parts. Use the menu above to learn more about the people that make the PA Program run.
Leadership
Division Chair & Associate Professor
Leigh Elrod, DPAS, MPAS, PA-C
Inaugural Holder of the Don Pedersen Endowed Chair
Email: leigh.elrod@utah.edu
Program Director & Associate Professor
Jared Spackman, MPAS, PA-C
Email: jspackman@upap.utah.edu
Associate Program Director and Director of Clinical Education & Assistant Professor
Shaun P. Curran, MPAS, PA-C
Email: shaun.curran@utah.edu
Medical Director & Associate Professor
Richard L. Backman, MD
Email: richard.backman@hsc.utah.edu
Director of Graduate Studies & Professor
Jennifer Coombs, PhD, MPAS, PA-C
Email: jcoombs@upap.utah.edu
Site Director & Assistant Professor
Chaz Whitbeck, BS, MMSc, PA-C
Email: chaz.whitbeck@utah.edu
Vice Chair for Advocacy, Success and Impact & Professor
Darin T. Ryujin, MS, MPAS, PA-C
Email: darin.ryujin@hsc.utah.edu
Vice Chair of Education, Director of Didactic Education & Associate Professor
Joanne Rolls, MEHP, MPAS, PA-C
Email: joanne.rolls@hsc.utah.edu
Assistant Professor
Charity C. Christensen, DScPAS, MS, PA-C
Assistant Professor
Jeanna T. Ryan, MPAS, PA-C, MSCIS, MS, RDN, PHD
Email: jeanna.ryan@hsc.utah.edu
