Physicians with the University of Arizona Internal Medicine Residency Programs at Tucson and South Campus took three first places and a third place prize at the 2017 Arizona Chapter Scientific Meeting of the American College of Physicians over this past weekend, Oct. 20-22, at the DoubleTree Reid Park in Tucson.
From left: (back row) Drs. Bujji Ainapurapu and Tirdad Zangeneh, associate program directors for the South and Tucson campus UA Internal Medicine Residency Programs, and Tucson Campus residents (front row) Drs. Elly Varma, Sara Sani, Jawad Bilal, Alexander Peck, Jessi Vondrak and John Dicken
Awardees included: 
- Francisco E. Mora, MD, resident, South Campus — First Place, Research Poster
- Marlena M. Szewczyk, MD, resident, South Campus — First Place, PGY1 Research Poster
- Sara Sani, DO, resident, Tucson Campus — First Place, Case Report Poster
- Thomas P. Hanzlik, MD, resident, Tucson Campus — Third Place, Case Report Poster
“Congratulations to all of our residents,” said Amy Sussman, MD, DOM vice chair for education and director, DOM Clerkship Program and Nephrology Fellowship Program. “I was able to see some of the posters on Saturday and I thought our residents were excellent! Very polished and good turnout!”
Dr. Marlena Szewczyk (far left) by her winning research poster
South Campus residents (from left) Drs. Spencer Jasper, Rui Wen Pang, Mahesh Balakrishnan, Wina Yousman, Roberto Swazo, Marlena Szewczyk, Sarah Tariq, and chief resident Dr. Senthil Anand
In other resident physician competitions at the meeting, the South Campus program’s oral vignettes competitor was Emilio Power, MD, and its Doctor’s Dilemma™ gameshow-style knowledge contest team was made up of Sidra Raoof, MBBS, Supreet Khare, MBBS, and Balaji Natarajan, MBBS.
Also participating were Tucson Campus residents Rilwan Balogun, MD, in the oral vignettes contest and Bonnie Barbee, MD, Hasan Ali, MD, and Joshua Cox, MD, in the Doctor’s Dilemma™.
Kerith Lisa, Tucson Campus senior program director, added, “Dr. Balogun did a wonderful job presenting his vignette and our Doctor's Dilemma™ team of Drs. Barbee, Ali, and Cox also had a lot of fun.”
The above honors are in addition to already announced awards for UA Department of Medicine Chair Monica Kraft, MD, FACP, as Researcher of the Year and Kevin Moynahan, MD, FACP, deputy dean of education, UA College of Medicine – Tucson and a professor in the Division of Geriatrics, General Internal Medicine and Palliative Medicine, who was presented with the Laureate Award.
Megan Whitaker, a fourth-year student at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson, also won the Medical Student of the Year Award. She also is a research assistant in the UA Molecular Cardiovascular Research Program lab of Ankit Desai, MD, an assistant professor in the Division of Cardiology and member of the UA Sarver Heart Center.
Among presenters at the conference, UA College of Medicine Dean Charles Cairns, MD, and Kenneth Ramos, MD, PhD, PharmB, both spoke and served on a panel Saturday on different approaches to “Precision Medicine: Turning Sick Care into Health Care.” Dr. Ramos is associate vice president, precision health, UA Health Sciences; director, UA Center for Applied Genetics, and Genomic Medicine, and a professor in the UA Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine. Dr. Cairns also is a professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine.
Eugene Trowers, MD, MPH, FACP, South Campus residency program director, was chair of the ACP Arizona Chapter program committee for the meeting.
ALSO SEE:
“DOM to Take ACP Researcher of the Year, Med Student of the Year and Laureate Awards” | Posted Oct. 17, 2017
"South Campus Resident, Infectious Diseases Fellow Latest to Benefit from Bressler-Alpert Society Travel Fund" | Posted Sept. 12, 2017