Sept. 12, 2013
15th annual VCU School of Medicine Faculty Excellence Awards
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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 |
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