Dean’s Faculty Appreciation Dinner

• By Jolene Turpin
• May 14, 2019

Over 170 School of Medicine faculty were honored for their role in medical education, research, patient care, and administration on May 2nd. Awards included:

Recognition of Outstanding Leadership

Starting the program, Dr. Steven Berk, Executive Vice President, Provost and Dean of the School of Medicine was presented with a plaque from the School of Medicine faculty for his outstanding leadership and development of the SOM over the last 13 years.

Unsung Hero Awards

These awards are nominated by the Chair of the Department.  Recipients are considered 'go to' persons that can always be relied on. The recipients are:

• Elizabeth Rivas, M.D. – Department of Anesthesiology
• Gail Cornwall, Ph.D. – Department of Cell Biology & Biochemistry
• Hongjun (Henry) Liang, Ph.D. – Department of Cell Physiology & Molecular Biophysics
• Randall Sheets, M.D. – Department of Family & Community Medicine
• Abdul Hamood, Ph.D. – Department of Immunology & Molecular Microbiology
• Neha Mittal, M.D. – Department of Internal Medicine
• Gurvinder Kaur, Ph.D. – Department of Medical Education
• Henrik Wilms, M.D., Ph.D. – Department of Neurology
• Charles Thompson, M.D. – Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
• Lingkun Kong, M.D., Ph.D. – Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
• Brendan MacKay, M.D. – Department of Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation
• Winslo Idicula, M.D. – Department of Otolaryngology
• Kirsten Robinson, M.D. – Department of Pediatrics
• Madu Narasimhan, Ph.D. – Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience
• Sarah Wakefield, M.D. – Department of Psychiatry
• Edwin Onkendi, M.D. – Department of Surgery
• Pranav Sharma, M.D. – Department of Urology 

Dean’s Faculty Awards

99 Club – These recipients are clinical faculty who received a 99 percentile rank with at least 30 patient responses on the Press-Ganey Ratings for the 2018 year.  The recipients are:

• Mirla Avila, M.D. – Department of Neurology
• Dale Little, M.D. – Department of Internal Medicine
• Alita Loveless, M.D. – Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology

Appreciation Award – Kamlesh Varma, M.D.

Distinguished Courage Award – Randy Atkins, M.D. – Department of Dermatology

Lifetime Achievement Award
The two recipients below have made significant contributions to the School of Medicine spanning their entire careers.

• James Hutson, Ph.D. – Department of Medical Education – 43 years of service
• Kimberli Peck, M.D. – Department of Family & Community Medicine– 37 years of service

Dean’s Teaching Awards

Recipients have several years of sustained excellence in teaching as demonstrated in student and peer evaluations, evidence of strong commitment to the educational process, innovation and/or originality in teaching. The recipients are:

Dean’s Basic Science Teaching Award – MS I

• Brandt Schneider, Ph.D. – Department of Medical Education

Dean’s Basic Science Teaching Award – MS II

• Cassandra Kruczek, Ph.D. – Department of Medical Education

Dean’s Clinical Teaching Award – 3 faculty were recognized for this award

• Elisabeth Conser, M.D. – Department of Pediatrics
• Lukman Tijani, M.D. – Department of Internal Medicine
• Brad Snodgrass, M.D. – Department of Internal Medicine – Covenant Branch Campus

Dean’s Educational Innovation Award

• Vadivel Ganapathy, Ph.D. – Department of Cell Biology & Biochemistry
  
  This award recognizes a faculty member who has developed and introduced a new program or process that has contributed significantly to helping the Medical School meet its educational mission.

Dean’s Douglas M. Stocco Scholarship/Research Award

• Susan Bergeson, Ph.D. – Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience
  
  This award recognizes a faculty member for their accomplishments in research/scholarship demonstrated by original, high-impact publications, external funding, national/international peer recognition, and research awards.

Dean’s Distinguished Faculty Service Award – 3 faculty were recognized for this award

• Alan Peiris, M.D., Ph.D. – Department of Internal Medicine
• Cloyce Stetson, M.D. – Department of Dermatology
• Richard Winn, M.D. – Department of Internal Medicine
  
  This award recognizes a faculty member for their outstanding service to the institution and the community that exceeds performance of normal responsibilities and has greatly contributed to the development and progress of the School of Medicine.

Departmental Awards

• Outstanding Achievement in Teaching – Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
  This award is based upon medical student feedback received by the Dean during the past year.

• Outstanding Achievement in Research – Department of Pediatrics
  This award is based upon grant dollars received by the Department during the past year.

• Outstanding Achievement in Patient Satisfaction – Department of Neurology
  This award is based upon Press-Ganey ratings received by the department during the past year.