Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s College of Osteopathic Medicine associate deans Luke H. Mortensen and Ryan Smith were invited participants for Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center’s 2026 Regional Research Symposium.
Mortensen is founding associate dean of pre-clinical affairs for IUP COM, and Smith is founding associate dean of clinical affairs and graduate education. Smith was a judge for the oral presentations at the event; Mortensen was a judge for the oral presentations in 2025.
The Regional Research Symposium was held May 28 at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center’s School of Nursing. It included seven research presentations from physicians and interns.
Luke Mortensen
Ryan Smith
This annual symposium, sponsored by the Graduate Medical Education program and presented by the Office of Research, highlights scholarly activity across multiple disciplines and levels of training. In addition to oral presentations, the event included poster displays, a multidisciplinary integrative care conference, and competitive awards recognizing outstanding research and quality improvement projects.
Designed to promote collaboration and the exchange of ideas, the symposium provides trainees and faculty with a platform to share research with a broader audience while fostering scholarly development and advancing evidence-based clinical practice in rural Pennsylvania.
Smith joined the IUP COM leadership team in July 2024. He is a National Academy of Osteopathic Medical Educators Fellow, an American Psychiatric Association Fellow, and an American Association of Osteopathic Examiners Fellow, serving as vice president of the organization until 2023. Prior to his IUP position, Smith had been practicing psychiatry at the New Hampshire State Hospital for the past 14 years and directed the mental health division of a rural federally qualified health center in Washington County, Maine, alongside his academic pursuits. He was also a founding psychiatry residency program director with Tufts University School of Medicine.
Mortensen joined the IUP COM leadership team in August 2024. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Osteopathic Medical Educators and is past chair of the Academy. He is also a fellow of the American Heart Association and has been in leadership positions for the International Association of Medical Science Educators and the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners.
Prior to his position at IUP, he was associate dean of educational development, innovation, and diversity and director of professional development and interprofessional education at Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine. He also served as ICOM’s Title IX coordinator and mediator and was chair of biomedical sciences and professor and director of professional development and director of interprofessional education.
Mortensen has a PhD in pharmacology and toxicology from Michigan State University and completed a National Institutes of Health post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center. His undergraduate degree is in chemistry and music from Westminster College in Missouri.
Miko Rose, a board-certified physician in psychiatry and neurology who is nationally known for wellness programming, was selected in November 2023 as the founding dean for the IUP COM. Rose is an elected fellow of the American College of Neuropsychiatrists by the Fellows of the American College of Neuropsychiatrists/American College of Osteopathic Neurologists and Psychiatrists.
IUP’s College of Osteopathic Medicine holds pre-accreditation status from the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation, which means that IUP can begin recruiting and admitting students to its College of Osteopathic Medicine and begin medical instruction within the approved osteopathic medical curriculum.
There are only three colleges of osteopathic medicine in Pennsylvania, all at private universities; IUP’s College of Osteopathic Medicine is the only college of osteopathic medicine at a public university.
Since its founding in 1875, IUP has evolved from a teacher-training institution into a doctoral research university recognized for its commitment to student success and achievement. IUP’s Impact 150 comprehensive campaign is designed to honor a legacy of educational excellence while looking toward a future of innovation, public service, and leadership in healthcare education, including the first college of osteopathic medicine at a public university in the Commonwealth.