11 DOM physicians win Women in Medicine & Science Torchbearer Awards

Nearly a dozen female physicians from the Department of Medicine, the largest department in the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, will be honored on social media this month as Torchbearer Award winners.

They’re among 52 women being recognized with the awards to applaud their contributions to medicine and science as bestowed through the college’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion during Women in Medicine Month, which occurs every September.

These are the inaugural WIMS Torchbearer Awards. All but two of the Department of Medicine winners are from the Division of General Internal Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, also known as GGP.

The Department of Medicine winners include:

• Joy Beck, MD | Assistant professor, medicine (GGP), and director, Transition to Residency Bootcamp, Department of Medicine
• Meenakshi Dagar, MD | Assistant professor, medicine (GGP), and director, Ambulatory Geriatrics, Banner – University Medicine Tucson
• Julia Jernberg, MD, MBA | Clinical associate professor, medicine (GGP); director, Internal Medicine Ambulatory Clerkship; and director, Health & Societies Thread, Department of Medicine
• Saher Khalid, MD | Clinical assistant professor, medicine (GGP), and physician champion, E-Consults for Primary Care Physicians Program
• Amy Klein, MD | Clinical assistant professor, medicine (GGP); program director, Hospice & Palliative Medicine Fellowship; director, Palliative Medicine, Banner – University Medicine Tucson
• Laura Meinke, MD | associate professor, medicine (Clinical Scholar Track) – (Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine); program director, Internal Medicine Residency – Tucson Campus; and associate vice chair, Office of Education, Department of Medicine
• Dalia Mikhael, MD | Associate professor, medicine (Clinical Series Track) - (Division of Inpatient Medicine); associate track director for Clinician Educator Pathway, Internal Medicine Residency Program – Tucson Campus; and mentor, Health & Societies Thread, Department of Medicine
• Karen Parker, MD, PhD | Clinical assistant professor, medicine (Clinical Series Track) - (GGP), and director, Geriatric Inpatient Consult Service, Banner – University Medicine Tucson
• Indu Partha, MD | Clinical associate professor, medicine (GGP); associate program director, Internal Medicine Residency – Tucson Campus; and vice chair, Academy of Medical Education Scholars (AMES), UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson
• Serena Scott, MD | Associate professor, medicine (Clinical Scholar Track) - (GGP), and vice chair, Faculty Development, Department of Medicine
• Monica Vandivort, MD | Associate professor, medicine (Clinical Scholar Track) - (GGP); medical director, Home Care, Banner – University Medicine Tucson; and faculty, UArizona Reynolds Program in Applied Geriatrics

The awards are presented on behalf of the college’s WAM/WIMS Steering Committee, which includes Dr. Partha and Salma Patel, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of medicine and associate program director for the Sleep Medicine Fellowship, on its roster. WAM stands for Women in Academic Medicine, the group’s prior name, and WIMS for Women in Medicine and Science, it’s current moniker.

For the full list of WIMS Torchbearer winners, visit: https://diversity.medicine.arizona.edu/wims/wims-awardees.

Keep an eye on the college Twitter (X), Facebook, LinkedIn accounts for more on this.

For each individual banner of Department of Medicine winners, see below. The banners also adorn their COM-T/DOM profiles for this month! Click the image to view their profiles.