Fanfare at 2025 College of Medicine – Tucson Faculty Teaching Awards Rewarding for All

[Images of Department of Medicine faculty who won 2025 College of Medicine - Tucson Faculty Awards presented Feb. 27 at the HSIB Forum on the U of A Health Sciences Tucson campus.]With 19 of 68 awards presented going to its faculty or programs, The Department of Medicine was well-represented at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson Annual Faculty Awards ceremony, Thursday, Feb. 27, in the Forum of the Health Sciences Innovation Building. See a mini-photo gallery below. Click images to enlarge.

The program that won was the Internal Medicine Clerkship, led by director Amy Sussman, MD, who also is the DOM vice chair of education, and the Division of Nephrology’s fellowship program director. It won the Outstanding Achievement in Teaching by a Clerkship Award. The department has won this Faculty Teaching Award several years in a row (since 2017).

Faculty from eight divisions won awards as well, including three each for the Division of Inpatient Medicine and Division of General Internal Medicine, Geriatrics & Palliative Medicine; two each for the Division of Hematology & Oncology, Division of Nephrology and Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine; and one each for the Division of Cardiology, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism and Division of Infectious Diseases.

Here’s a summary of the faculty award winners in the order they were presented:

  • Jennifer H. Stern, PhD, assistant professor, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism | Basic and Translational Investigator Award
  • Aaron J. Scott, MD, associate professor, Division of Hematology & Oncology | Clinical Investigator Award
  • Rachna T. Shroff, MD, MS, professor and chief, Division of Hematology & Oncology | WIMS GRACE Excellence Awards
  • Tushar Acharya, MD, MPH, assistant professor and Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship associate program director, Division of Cardiology | Mentoring Award
  • Laura E. Meinke, MD, associate professor, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine (PACCS), and director, Internal Medicine Residency Program – Tucson | Mentoring Award
  • Bekir Tanriover, MD, MPH, MBA, professor and chief, Division of Nephrology | Mentoring Award
  • Bujji Ainapurapu, MD, associate professor, Division of Inpatient Medicine, and Internal Medicine Residency associate program director | Excellence in Graduate Medical Education – Vernon and Virginia Furrow Excellence Awards in Teaching [Faculty, including Drs. Amy Klein and Jennifer Plitt, of the Division of General Internal Medicine, Geriatrics & Palliative Medicine, applaud an honored faculty member as their name is announced.]
  • Jennifer L. Plitt, MD, assistant professor, Division of General Internal Medicine, Geriatrics & Palliative Medicine (GGP) | Excellence in Innovation in Medical Education – Vernon and Virginia Furrow Excellence Awards in Teaching
  • Amy S. Klein, MD, assistant professor and Hospice & Palliative Medicine Fellowship program director, GGP Division | Excellence in Innovation in Medical Education – Vernon and Virginia Furrow Excellence Awards in Teaching
  • Saman Nematollahi, MD, MEHP, assistant professor and fellowship director, Division of Infectious Diseases, and IM Clerkship assistant director, DOM | Excellence in Basic Science Teaching – AMES Awards
  • Kristopher J. Abbate, MD, assistant professor, GGP Division, and Internal Medicine Sub-Internship associate program director, DOM | Excellence in Clinical Science Teaching, Undergraduate Medical Education – AMES Awards
  • Madhav Chopra, MD, assistant professor, PACCS Division | Excellence in Teaching Innovation – AMES Awards
  • Anthony Witten, DO, assistant professor, Division of Inpatient Medicine, and IM Residency associate program director | Outstanding Clinical Instructor at Banner – Outstanding Service During a Clerkship, Faculty Teaching Awards
  • Robert Kim, MD, assistant professor and internist, SAVAHCS | Outstanding Clinical Instructor at the VA – Outstanding Service During a Clerkship, Faculty Teaching Awards
  • Dalia M. Mikhael, MD, associate professor, Division of Inpatient Medicine, and associate track director for the Clinician Educator Pathway, IM Residency Program, DOM | Commitment to Quality Feedback - Outstanding Service During a Clerkship, Faculty Teaching Awards
  • Ali Mustafa Rasool, MD, resident, IM Residency Program | Resident/Fellow Educator of the Year – Outstanding Service During a Clerkship, Faculty Teaching Awards
  • Kristopher J. Abbate, MD, assistant professor, GGP Division, and Internal Medicine Sub-Internship associate program director, DOM | Specialty Advisor Awards – Faculty Teaching Awards
  • Amy Sussman, MD, professor and fellowship director, Division of Nephrology, and vice chair of education and IM Clerkship director, DOM | Specialty Advisor Awards – Faculty Teaching Awards

[Endocrinology faculty member Dr. Jennifer Stern (holding plaque) celebrates the recognition she received as recipient of the Basic and Translational Investigator Award.]Among award presenters from the Department of Medicine were: Kevin F. Moynahan, MD, a general internal medicine professor in the GGP Division, and vice dean of the college itself; Indu Partha, MD, a GGP associate professor, Internal Medicine Residency associate program director, and vice chair of the college’s chapter of the Academy of Medical Education Scholars (or AMES); and Lalitha Madhavan, MD, PhD, a neurology associate professor with a secondary appointment in the GGP division as a Parkinson’s disease researcher.

For a full list of awardees, see this site at the College of Medicine – Tucson.

Congratulations to everyone!

For a link to a larger photo album at the DOM’s flickr webpage, click here.

MINI-PHOTO GALLERY *
* Click on images to enlarge. Rollover image with mouse for captions.

[College of Medicine – Tucson faculty gather for the Annual Faculty Awards, including Neurology’s Lalitha Madhavan, MD, PhD (in green top), GGP’s Mindy Fain, MD (gray hair), Cellular & Molecular Medicine’s Sakthivel Sadayappan, PhD (in light blue shirt), and Stephen Dahmer, MD, director, Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine (in glasses).] [COM-T Faculty Award winners Bujji Ainapurapu, MD (center), Laura Meinke, MD (second from right), and Dalia Mikhael, MD (right).] [The awards ceremony gets under way, with COM-T vice dean and GGP Division’s Kevin F. Moynahan, MD, at the podium and Cardiology’s Tushar Acharya, MD, MPH, walking down the steps.] [COM-T vice dean and GGP Division’s Kevin F. Moynahan, MD, at the podium, introduces the first set of Faculty Award winners.]

[Dr. Kevin Moynahan (2nd from left) with Physiology’s Katalin Gothard, MD, PhD (left); Endocrinology’s Jennifer Stern, PhD; and Hem-Onc’s Aaron Scott, MD. Gothard and Stern won Basic & Translational Investigator Awards. Scott won the Clinical Investigator Award.] [Winners of the Women in Medicine & Science’s GRACE Excellence Awards: Hem-Onc chief Rachna Shroff, MD, MS; Emergency Medicine’s Amber Rice, MD; and Family & Community Medicine’s Alicia Allen, PhD, MPH.] [Find the eight Department of Medicine faculty members in this photo. Hint: one has a primary appointment in the Department of Neurology and a secondary appointment in the Division of General Internal Medicine, Geriatrics & Palliative Medicine as a geriatrics research studying Parkinson’s disease.] [Mentoring Award winners: Nephrology division chief Bekir Tanriover, MD, MPH, MBA; Cardiology’s Tushar Acharya, MD, MPH; Emergency Medicine’s Vivienne Ng, MD, MPH; PACCS Division’s Laura Meinke, MD; Surgery’s Louis Magnotti, MD, MS; Neurology/Immunobiology’s Anita Koshy, MD; and Emergency Medicine’s Richard Amini, MD.]

[Internist and GGP division’s Indu Partha, MD (at podium), presents the honors on behalf of the U of A College of Medicine – Tucson’s Academy of Medical Education Scholars, or AMES, chapter. Dr. Partha is the group’s vice chair.] [Jennifer Plitt, MD, a palliative medicine and emergency medicine specialist in the GGP division, approaches the stage after her name was called for a Vernon & Virginia Furrow Excellence in Teaching Award.] [Winners of 2025 Vernon & Virginia Furrow Excellence in Teaching Awards (left to right): Presenter Dr. Indu Partha; Inpatient Medicine’s Bujji Ainapurapu, MD; Physiology’s Zoe Cohen, PhD, COM-T director of Baccalaureate Programs; Emergency Medicine’s Garrett Pacheco, MD; and GGP’s Jennifer Plitt, MD, and Amy Klein, MD – specialists in hospice and palliative care.] [Winners of the 2025 AMES Excellence in Teaching Awards (left to right): Presenter Dr. Indu Partha; Infectious Diseases’ Saman Nematollahi, MD, MEHP; Emergency Medicine’s Martin Dement, MD; GGP’s Kristopher Abbate, MD (with daughter on hip); and Cardiology’s Madhav Chopra, MD.]

[Internist at the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System and Tucson VA Medical Center and a U of A assistant professor in the DOM, Robert Kim, MD, descends the steps at the HSIB Forum to receive his COM-T Faculty Award.] [Faculty Teaching Awards for Outstanding Service during a Clerkship (left to right): Surgery’s Monica Gustafson, MD, Outstanding Instructor at TMC; Anthony Witten, DO, Outstanding Instructor at Banner; and Robert Kim, MD, Outstanding Instructor at the VA.] [Faculty Teaching Awards for Outstanding Service during a Clerkship (left to right): OB-GYN’s Julie Tarry; Inpatient Medicine’s Dalia Mikhael, MD; DOM Vice Chair of Education and Internal Medicine Clerkship Director Amy Sussman, MD; Resident/Fellow Educator of the Year Ali Mustafa Rasool, MD, of the Internal Medicine Residency Program; COM-T Student Affairs’ Selma Adjanovic, MBA; and Surgery’s Monica Gustafson, MD (standing in for Donald Wathieu, MD).] [Specialty Advisor Awards (left to right): Presenter Richard Amini, MD; Ophthalmology’s Roy Swanson, MD; Nephrology’s Amy Sussman, MD; Pediatrics’ Kareem Shehab, MD; Emergency Medicine’s Elaine Situ-LaCasse, MD; Neurosurgery Chair Julie Pilitsus, MD, MPH, MBA; Family Medicine’s Sommer Aldulaimi, MD; and GGP’s Kristopher Abbate, MD.]

[Nephrology division chief Bekir Tanriover, MD, MBA, with his daughter after the COM-T Faculty Awards ceremony.] [Endocrinology researcher Jennifer Stern, PhD (center) with her family, including parents, celebrate her receiving a faculty award.] [Inpatient Medicine’s Bujji Ainapurapu, also Internal Medicine Residency associate program director, and Amy Sussman, MD, DOM vice chair of education, clerkship director and Nephrology Fellowship program director, comment on people taking selfies and other photos onstage after the ceremony.] [WIMS GRACE Excellence Award winners, including Hematology & Oncology division chief Rachna Shroff, MD, MS (in yellow dress), take their turn onstage to allow friends and family take their pictures together after the COM-T Faculty Awards ceremony – as Dr. Kevin Moynahan and others look on.]

(Photos courtesy of David Mogollon, Communications Manager, Department of Medicine)

ALSO SEE:
“DOM to take 2 of 3 research awards at College of Medicine – Tucson ceremony, Feb. 27” | Posted Feb. 18, 2025
“More than a quarter of 2025 College of Medicine – Tucson faculty awards to go to DOM” | Posted Jan. 30, 2025
“DOM wins 11 awards at 2024 College of Medicine – Tucson Faculty Awards” | Posted Feb. 28, 2024
“Department of Medicine Does Well Again at 2023 College Faculty Awards” | Posted March 9, 2023
“Winners Announced for 2019-20 Faculty Teaching Awards” | Posted Aug. 13, 2020
“Inaugural Clinical Excellence Award Winners Feted at COM – Tucson General Faculty Meeting” | Posted Nov. 8, 2018
“Department of Medicine Faculty to Take Quarter of Honors at 2018 College Faculty Teaching Awards” | Posted Oct. 21, 2018
“DOM Takes Third of College of Medicine – Tucson Faculty Teaching Awards” | Posted Oct. 25, 2017
“DOM Faculty Repeat as Winners in the 37th Annual College Teaching Awards” | Posted Nov. 3, 2016
“DOM Faculty Spotlighted in UA College of Medicine Teaching Awards Ceremony” | Posted Nov. 19, 2015

Release Date: 
03/01/2025 - 9:15pm
Media Contact: 
David Mogollon | Communications Manager, University of Arizona Department of Medicine