Administrative Structure of the Office of Interprofessional Programs
Dr. Yekaterina (Kate) Opsha, Pharm D., AACC, FHFSA, HF-Cert
Clinical Associate Professor at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy (EMSOP)
Interim Vice Chancellor for Interprofessional Programs at Rutgers Health
Dr. Opsha earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree with honors from Long Island University and completed her PGY-1 and PGY-2 residencies in pharmacotherapy and cardiology at The Brooklyn Hospital Center (NY) and UMass Memorial Medical Center (MA), respectively. In addition to her role at EMSOP, she is a Clinical Associate Professor and a cardiovascular clinical pharmacy specialist at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, where she trains pharmacy students, residents, and learners from other health professions. She is also extensively involved in service and scholarship.
A nationally recognized leader in interprofessional education and cardiovascular care, Dr. Opsha is active in several interprofessional organizations, including the American College of Cardiology and the Heart Failure Society of America, where she is a Fellow and served on the Heart Failure Certification Council. She has also been recognized as New Jersey Society of Health-System Pharmacists’ Preceptor of the Year.
At Rutgers, Dr. Opsha has played a central role in advancing interprofessional education. She has served as co-chair of the EMSOP IPE Committee since 2016 and became Director of IPE in 2024, overseeing interprofessional programming across the pharmacy curriculum. In this role, some of her responsibilities included creating, assessing, and facilitating multiple programs throughout the academic year. She helped shape multiple IPE events and has facilitated numerous interprofessional education initiatives across Rutgers Health. Dr. Opsha continues to work closely with discipline leads to create meaningful opportunities for students to learn with, from, and about one another. Additionally, she is involved in engaging faculty in various IPE initiatives to ensure that all students receive a robust IPE experience and are prepared to practice on an interprofessional team. She has been a long-standing member of the PharmD/MD integration committee, supporting the innovative dual-degree program with Robert Wood Johnson Medical School which is designed to prepare students for a new model of health care by fully integrating both professions after graduation.
As Interim Vice Chancellor, Dr. Opsha will lead the development of a cohesive, university-wide framework for interprofessional education, expand collaborative learning opportunities across disciplines, and represent Rutgers Health nationally as a champion for IPE.
Interprofessional Programs Coordinator – Caroline E.S. Harris, MPH
Caroline E.S. Harris is the Interprofessional Programs Coordinator at the Office of Interprofessional Programs at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. As Program Coordinator, she works closely with the Interprofessional Education Faculty Advisory Council and its sub-committees, as well as the Interprofessional Education Student Council.
Prior to joining the Office of Interprofessional Programs, Ms. Harris was a Project Manager at the North Jersey Community Research Initiative where she managed two New Jersey Department of Health grants and collaborated with other local community-based organizations to provide client services. She later worked at the Rutgers School of Public Health where she was responsible for the study coordination of an evaluation of a March of Dimes initiative to reduce preterm birth.
Ms. Harris received a Bachelor of Arts from Douglass College, Rutgers University and a Masters Degree in Public Health from Rutgers School of Public Health.