15th annual VCU School of Medicine Faculty Excellence Awards

Share this story

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine recognized dozens of educators, researchers and mentors Wednesday at its 15th annual Faculty Excellence Awards celebration.

The ceremony represents a high point in the academic year – a time to celebrate the accomplishments and dedication of faculty to the university community. Those who have contributed to the School of Medicine for many years, as well as faculty and colleagues at the McGuire VA Medical Center, were recognized.

“When I think about the significance of this institution as a School of Medicine and its contributions to the health care of the nation … I am incredibly impressed with the sincere dedication to education that our faculty possesses,” said Jerome Strauss, M.D., dean of the VCU School of Medicine. “I would argue that we stand alone amongst our peers in terms of the excellence of our educational programs.”

Strauss presented the School of Medicine’s highest recognition for teaching, the Enrique Gerszten Faculty Teaching Excellence Award, to two recipients this year. He called them “mainstays of both the basic science and clinical education programs.”

The award recognizes extraordinary accomplishment in all aspects of education.

The first recipient was Clive M. Baumgarten, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics.

“Getting to know so many bright and engaged students in the office and in my research lab, and having the opportunity to interact with them as they become faculty colleagues has been enormously satisfying,” Baumgarten said. “So to all the medical and graduate students who I’ve taught, thank you for your friendship and for your feedback. Both have made me a better teacher and have made teaching most gratifying.”

The second recipient of the Enrique Gerszten Faculty Teaching Excellence Award was Fidelma B. Rigby, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Rigby thanked her family and colleagues and shared two Irish quotes: “He who dares to teach must never cease to learn” and “There is no luck except where there is discipline.”

The Irby-James Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching recognizes superior teaching in clinical medicine taught in the last two years of medical school and residency training, and encourages excellence in an increasingly complicated and challenging educational environment.

Mary Anne Turner, M.D., professor in the Department of Radiology, was this year’s recipient.

Strauss read comments from Turner’s nomination, which was submitted by Malcom Sydnor, M.D., director of Vascular Interventional Radiology: “Mary Anne has the unusual ability to not only teach advanced practice to residents and fellows, but also to expertly teach basic concepts and imaging findings to third- and fourth-year medical students. She has an uncanny ability to teach in real time in front of the patient in such a way that the students learning is optimized and the patient is appreciative because of it.”

The Distinguished Mentor Award went to Aron Lichtman, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. It recognizes significant contributions to the career development of others, such as through mentorship to fellow faculty members, junior faculty, residents, fellows, graduate students, post-docs and medical students, or through other mentoring relationships.

“This award reflects more on my students, my post-docs and other colleagues whom I’ve had the privilege to work with over these past two decades here,” he said. “I love VCU; it’s the quality of the people and the scientists that makes this such a remarkable place.”

The Educational Innovation Award was presented to Ellen Brock, M.D., director of the Center for Human Simulation and Patient Safety, and the staff of the center, which includes Cheryl Bodamer, Ph.D.; Ted Carter; Moshe Feldman, Ph.D.; Mark Hix; Winter Horn; David Walton; and Shandra Willis.

The Educational Innovation Award recognizes an individual faculty member, a group or an academic unit for a significant educational innovation or educational research.

“These individuals have been on a journey to develop what I consider to be the most powerful simulation program in an American medical school,” Strauss said. “Dr. Brock took on the responsibility and led us through a three-phase process that culminated with the opening of the McGlothlin Medical Education Building.”

The other major awards presented were the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, presented to Susan E. Wolver, M.D., assistant professor, Department of Internal Medicine; the Women in Science, Dentistry and Medicine Professional Achievement Award, presented to Suzanne E. Barbour, Ph.D., professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; the MCV Physicians Distinguished Clinician Award, presented to Betty Anne Johnson, M.D., Ph.D., professor, Department of Internal Medicine; and the VCU/VCUHS Leadership in Graduate Medical Education (LGME) Award, presented to Stephen Cohen, M.D., professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Amber Cox, education administrator, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.

Other awardees were:

Best Teacher in the Course and Clerkship Awards

M-I Courses

Jeff Dupree, Ph.D.

Gross and Developmental Anatomy Course

John Bigbee, Ph.D.

Histology Course

Virginia Pallante

Human Genetics Course

Suzanne Barbour, Ph.D.

Medical Biochemistry Course

Raymond Colello, D.Phil.

Neurosciences Course

Linda Costanzo, Ph.D.

Physiology Course

Saba Masho, M.D., Ph.D.

Population Medicine Course

 

M-II Courses

Kenneth Kendler, M.D.

Behavioral Sciences Course

Kevin Sumption, M.D.

Cardiovascular Course

David Gardner, M.D.

Endocrine Course

Richard Sterling, M.D.

Gastrointestinal Course

Susan Roseff, M.D.

Hematology/Oncology Course

Kimberly Jefferson, Ph.D.

Microbiology Course

Beth Rubinstein, M.D.

Musculoskeletal Course Course

Christine Fuller, M.D.

Nervous System Course

Kimberly Sanford, M.D.

Pathogenesis Course

Edward Ishac, Ph.D.

Pharmacology Course

Susan DiGiovanni, M.D.

Renal Course

H. Davis Massey, D.D.S., M.D., Ph.D. 

Renal Course

Margaret Grimes, M.D.

Respiratory Course

Fidelma Rigby, M.D.

Women's Health Course

 

M-I and M-II Courses

Sarah Scott Breeden, M.D.

Foundations of Clinical Medicine Course-FM Preceptor

Brandon Wills, M.D.

Foundations of Clinical Medicine Course-IM Preceptor

Chris Hagan, M.D.

Foundations of Clinical Medicine Course-M1 Small Group Leader

Aimee Collins, M.D.

Foundations of Clinical Medicine Course-M2 Small Group Leader

Annmarie Tull, M.D.

Foundations of Clinical Medicine Course-Pediatrics Preceptor

 

M-III Clerkships

Sarah Bradford, M.D.

Family Medicine Clerkship

Georgia McIntosh, M.D.

Medicine Clerkship

Vera Genina, M.D.

Medicine Clerkship

Samuel Taylor, M.D.

Neurology Clerkship

John Pierce, M.D.

Obstetrics/Gynecology Clerkship

Clifton Lee, M.D.

Pediatrics Clerkship

Sherif Meguid, M.D.

Psychiatry Clerkship

Andrew Young, M.D.

Surgery Clerkship

 

Faculty with High Evaluation Awards

M-I Courses

Neil Sonenklar, M.D.

Behavioral Sciences Course

Melissa McGinn, Ph.D.

Gross and Developmental Anatomy Course

M. Alex Meredith, Ph.D.

Gross and Developmental Anatomy Course

Randall Merchant, Ph.D.

Histology

Colleen Jackson-Cook, Ph.D.

Human Genetics Course

Ronald Smeltz, Ph.D.

Immunology Course

Tomasz Kordula, Ph.D.

Medical Biochemistry Course

Carmen Sato-Bigbee, Ph.D.

Medical Biochemistry Course

Kathryn Holloway, M.D.

Neurosciences Course

Kimberle Jacobs, Ph.D.

Neurosciences Course

Clive Baumgarten, Ph.D.

Physiology Course

Gonzalo Bearman, M.D.

Population Medicine

Michael Edmond, M.D., M.H.A.

Population Medicine

 

M-II Courses

Michael Weaver, M.D.

Behavioral Sciences Course

Edmund (Trey) Wickham, M.D.

Endocrine Course

Stephanie Goldberg, M.D.

Gastrointestinal Course

David Williams, M.D., Ph.D.

Hematology/Oncology Course

Gonzalo Bearman, M.D., M.P.H.

Microbiology Course

Richard Marconi, Ph.D.

Microbiology Course

Julia Nunley, M.D.

Musculoskeletal Course

Lenore Joseph, M.D.

Nervous System Course

Elizabeth Waterhouse, M.D.

Nervous System Course

Richard McPherson, M.D.

Pathogenesis Course

Sandra Welch, Ph.D.

Pharmacology Course

Todd Gehr, M.D.

Renal Course

Joel Schmidt, M.D.

Respiratory Course

Christine Isaacs, M.D.

Women's Health Course

Susan Lanni, M.D.

Women's Health Course

 

M-III Clerkships

St. Francis Family Medicine Residency

Family Medicine Clerkship

Diane Biskobing, M.D.

Medicine Clerkship

Christina Chen, M.D.

Medicine Clerkship

Xinli Du, M.D.

Neurology Clerkship

Scott Vota, D.O.

Neurology Clerkship

Stephen Cohen, M.D.

Obstetrics/Gynecology Clerkship

Fidelma Rigby, M.D.

Obstetrics/Gynecology Clerkship

Madhu Gowda, M.D.

Pediatrics Clerkship

Edward Johnson, M.D.

Pediatrics Clerkship

Navita Kumar, M.D.

Pediatrics Clerkship

Linda Meloy, M.D.

Pediatrics Clerkship

Louis Duchin, M.D.

Psychiatry Clerkship

Christopher Kogut, M.D.

Psychiatry Clerkship

James Levenson, M.D.

Psychiatry Clerkship

Huan Vu, M.D.

Surgery Clerkship

 

Subscribe for free to the weekly VCU News email newsletter at http://newsletter.news.vcu.edu/ and receive a selection of stories, videos, photos, news clips and event listings in your inbox every Thursday.