For over 20 years, MSAG has been a well-recognized and trusted partner for schools and other organizations in medicine and the health professions.
Offering support with accreditation, strategy, and leadership.
Our success stems from our deep expertise and customized approach. Our teams draw on:
MSAG’s deep experience
Every consulting engagement includes members of MSAG’s core team, who have extensive experience in medical and health professions education, LCME and higher education accreditation, certification, and other professional regulation.
MSAG’s extensive network of subject matter experts
Every team includes hand-selected professionals who have the content expertise and experience to understand your institution.
Our model helps ensure that you get the expertise you need for the challenges and opportunities you are facing.
Our goal? Helping you achieve your goals.
meet the team
MSAG’s core team includes:
Lois Margaret Nora, MD, JD, MBA, President
Dr. Nora began working on accreditation-related activities as an assistant professor and assistant dean at Rush Medical College. Her work has focused heavily on professional self-regulation and accreditation, including her role as faculty accreditation lead at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine; her work with LCME and state, and national accreditors as president of two institutions and as a board member; and her service on the LCME itself.
She is professor of neurology and family & community medicine, president emeritus, and dean of medicine emeritus at Northeast Ohio Medical University. Dr. Nora is also the former president and chief executive officer of the American Board of Medical Specialties. Since assuming leadership of MSAG in 2018, she has been privileged to support over two dozen institutions through her consulting work.
As a 2018 Fellow in the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University, Dr. Nora focused on accreditation as a lever for positive change in education, both nationally and internationally. While there, she also continued work on a history of women in medicine through the lens of medical education and professional self-regulation. Read more.
Virginia Hunt, MUA, Senior Consultant
Ms. Hunt is a senior consultant with MSAG. Ms. Hunt has more than 30 years of academic medical center experience in the areas of strategy and accreditation. She served as the liaison between the Medical University of South Carolina and Tidelands Health System. While there, she led Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital, a GME-naĂŻve hospital, through the successful startup of a family medicine residency program, including the development of an innovative leadership curriculum.
Before her work in South Carolina, Ms. Hunt participated in the startup of what is now known as Geisinger Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where she served as vice president and associate dean of planning. Her work included preparing the school for state, LCME, and higher education accreditation.
Ms. Hunt’s work in medical education accreditation includes providing administrative leadership through preparation for and execution of site visits, interim document submission for the LCME, and participation in the Gap Analysis program to identify potential issues and in the development of action plans to address accreditation issues. She is a Green Belt in Lean/Six Sigma techniques and works to strengthen schools’ CQI programs.
Susan M. Perlis, EdD, Senior Consultant
Dr. Perlis has more than 35 years of experience working in higher education, including leadership roles at two of the nation’s newest medical schools. She began her career in medical education as the assistant dean of evaluation and assessment at Commonwealth Medical College, now Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, before serving as associate dean for curriculum. Dr. Perlis went on to join the leadership team at the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University as associate dean for curriculum and innovation, and then associate dean for medical education with leadership responsibilities for the office of medical education, the clinical skills and simulation center, and the medical library.
Dr. Perlis has played a key role in higher education accreditation processes throughout her career, including strategic planning, document preparation, and team leadership. Prior to her work in medical education administration, she was a tenured faculty member in the Education Department at Marywood University. She also held tenure in the Department of Clinical Sciences at Commonwealth Medical College.
Dr. Perlis holds a doctoral degree in educational administration from Temple University. Her doctoral area of specialization was higher education administration. She has completed LEAN/Six Sigma Green Belt training, the Harvard Macy Institute Program for Educators in Healthcare Professions, the Association of American Medical Colleges Medical Education Research Certificate, and a fellowship with the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Program.
Meryl Newell, RN, BS, Operations Manager
Ms. Newell manages MSAG’s operations and serves as a key point of contact for the institutions, consultants, and partners with whom the firm works. She prioritizes collaboration and responsiveness in her work, and relies on leadership, communication, teaching, and management skills honed during an extensive career as a nurse in hospital settings.
In addition to her successful career, Ms. Newell has a long history of community involvement and spent years serving the Atlanta community as a volunteer at Trinity School, Pace Academy, and The Atlanta Ballet. She continues to bring her leadership and organizational skills to volunteer work, now as part of her community in Hilton Head Island, S.C.
Emery Wilson, MD, Founder and Senior Advisor
Dr. Wilson is dean emeritus of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine after serving as dean of the College of Medicine for 18 years. Under his direction, the medical school became nationally recognized for educational innovations and biomedical research.
Dr. Wilson received a BA from Emory University and graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. After completing a residency in obstetrics and gynecology and serving in the Air Force, he held a faculty position and a fellowship in reproductive endocrinology at Harvard Medical School. He returned to the UK College of Medicine faculty in 1976 where he was a professor of obstetrics and gynecology, in addition to his leadership roles.
Dr. Wilson served on the Executive Council of the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Council of Deans Administrative Board, and he is past chair of the Medical School Section of the American Medical Association. Dr. Wilson chaired the LCME and co-founded MSAG to support medical school accreditation, organizational change, and curriculum improvement.
Reach out today to learn how our team can help yours.
the msag philosophy
MSAG is committed to improving the care of patients, families, and communities. We believe that excellent medical education turns out healthcare professionals who are better equipped to deliver the care we want for our families and others in our communities.
We believe thoughtful standards in the medical profession help ensure the integrity of our educational programs and clinical practice, and that these standards improve the quality of care provided to people.
We believe that institutions and professionals that embrace high standards and continuous quality improvement are better positioned to achieve their strategic priorities. We see value in leveraging the work that has to be done to accomplish institutional goals that you want to meet, and we believe in building systems to make it all happen.
The MSAG team takes pride in remaining accessible to committed schools regardless of their means, and we price our services accordingly.
We strive to empower the professionals we serve and arm them with tools that work during and beyond their engagement with us. We work hard to leave institutions better for having partnered with us.
We are committed to the quality or our work and invest in the CQI needed to ensure we provide the level of service and support you expect.
Quality is our North Star. In education, in professional practice, in patient care.
how we give back
MSAG is committed to advancing the medical profession through our consulting work. We also believe in the value of supporting important goals for medical education and the practice of medicine well beyond our business aims. Among our priorities:
The Women in Medicine Project
The Women in Medicine Project focuses on the history of women in the medical profession, with a particular emphasis on the unsung heroes of medical professional regulation and medical education. Our current focus in this work is to elucidate the contributions of women in the evolution of medical licensure and certification.
Advancing international medical education accreditation
We believe high standards for medical education are critical to efforts to advance health around the world. We contribute time and expertise the World Federation of Medical Education’s international program for recognition of medical education accrediting organizations.
Supporting organizations that make a difference
MSAG makes an annual contribution in honor of the people and institutions with whom we have worked. Our 2020 contribution was a gift to the CDC Foundation to support that organization’s educational and service efforts during the pandemic.