Paul Taheri, MD, MBA, earned his Bachelor of Science degree from St. Lawrence University
and graduated from the New York University School of Medicine. After completing surgical
residency training at Tulane University Medical Center in 1994, he joined the University of Michigan,
where he received a Master of Business Administration degree in 1999. After serving as Division Chief
of the trauma burn service at the University of Michigan for more than 10 years, he was appointed Vice Chair
of Surgery, where he served for four years.
In his role as Associate Dean for Academic Business Development at UM's School
of Medicine, one of his primary responsibilities was to develop a comprehensive 10-day leadership
development course for physicians, nurses, and administrators. He was also responsible for the
oversight of technology transfer and intellectual property management at UM, a role that involved
working with the University and physicians to help develop policies that fostered entrepreneurial
activities between the business community and the faculty. He also was responsible for shaping the
School of Medicine's relationships with commercial vendors.
Dr. Taheri joined Fletcher Allen Health Care in March 2007 as President of the Faculty Practice,
and Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs at the University of Vermont, College of Medicine.
He is a practicing general/trauma surgeon. As the practice president, he has responsibility for the
finances and operations of the 500-member physician practice with over $200 million in annual
clinical revenue. In his role as Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, he oversees the Office
of Clinical Trials Research and Graduate Medical Education for approximately 300 residents.
Dr. Taheri's professional and academic activities include leadership roles in the American
College of Surgeons, American Burn Association, American Association for the Surgery of Trauma,
and the Eastern Association for Trauma; and the publication of more than 60 peer-reviewed papers
in national and international journals. He participated in numerous healthcare projects, including
projects focused on optimizing operating room scheduling, enhancing Emergency Department throughput,
international health, technology transfer optimization, and many other areas of interest.
Deborah Harkins RN, MBA
Deborah Harkins received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Michigan.
She is a Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) and her positions at the University of Michigan Health System
include 7 years as Education Nurse Coordinator and 8 years as Trauma Systems Manager.
She received her MBA from Michigan's Ross School of Business in 2004. She has been instrumental
in hospital-wide projects ranging from implementation of a critical care documentation system,
creating an in-house acute care transport team, managing a trauma and burn database with over 25,000 patients,
to authoring a comprehensive state-wide trauma marketing and business plan.
Deborah frequently lectures on critical care and management topics and has orchestrated
the trauma performance improvement program for over 7 years. Deborah is an executive board member
for the Society of Trauma Nurses and has had extensive experience with Level 1 Trauma and Burn Verification
site reviews. Additionally she has been adjunct faculty at the UM Business School, UM Nursing School
and Eastern Michigan University.
After 18 years in nursing, Deborah joined MDContent as General Manager and Senior Consultant.
Her other areas of expertise include education, learning management systems, and marketing.
Deborah is active in professional societies and also continues clinical practice at the
University of Michigan Health System.
MDContent Staff 
