Ahmed Memon, MD, Resident Physician, Department of Internal Medicine

“Dr. Memon cares for his colleagues and the well-being of his co-residents, medical students, and interdisciplinary staff in the hospital. He makes daily "chocolate rounds" where he stops by all of the work rooms to check in on everyone and spread good cheer. He and his ward team (interns and students) wore basketball jerseys over their scrubs while on long call so they'd be ready for a busy shift! He is a genuinely kind and caring guy, and we are so thankful to have him in our residency program!”

Nominated by: Molly Hillenbrand

Andrea (Andi) Oaks, Information Tech Manager, CoM Information Technology

“Andi is the mastermind behind MedOneStop. Due to COVID and a shift in the M3 student curriculum, Andi had to get the new rotation information into the system, an entirely different lottery since the rising M3’s were also going to have a change in their curriculum, and provide so many reports.  Andi thinks of so many details and is such a key player in the success of the medical school curriculum.”

Nominated by: Gina Burg

Angela Jackson, Administrative Assistant, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Health and Disease 

“Angela Jackson will help anyone with anything you need or she will find the person who can help out. She has a wealth of knowledge from her years of experience and is very involved with her team, working on AHA events and working temperature stations in UC offices. She is always willing to help new employees. Angela deserves this award because of the example she sets in her daily work contributing to the success of the COM and UC as a whole!”

Nominated by: Tina Ramey

Anita Flesher, Assistant to, CoM Dean’s Office

“Anita is an asset to the CoM. Since COVID began, I have come to her numerous times to find space for certain events that required an in-person meeting. She worked tirelessly to help accommodate our group and she does it with a smile on her face. She is just so unbelievably helpful and I truly appreciate all her efforts.”

Nominated by: Jillian Nolte

Art Pancioli, MD, Chair and Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine

“During COVID, Dr. Pancioli lead our department with compassion with weekly Webex meetings that kept us informed and provided a forum to address our concerns. He praised our teamwork and dedication. He reminded us of what was important and closed each meeting with "Take care of yourselves, family, and pets and hug the ones you love." We admire our leader who appreciates us as individuals rather than just a work force!”

Nominated by: Elizabeth Leenellett, MD

Barbara J. Walker, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience

"Dr. Walker has devoted effort to ensure the well-being of CoM as well as the Cincinnati community. She has reached out to CoM faculty and staff to teach strategies to minimize stress and anxiety associated with COVID. She has given talks throughout Cincinnati and the COM, emphasizing the importance of mental health and wellness during the pandemic."

Nominated by: Melissa DelBello, MD

Bette Young, Program Coordinator; Pathobiology and Molecular Medicine PhD Program

“Bette is the Program Coordinator for the Pathobiology and Molecular Medicine PhD Program. She manages the program while making the new students feel welcome. Students know they can go to Bette with concerns and she is willing to set up extra meetings to practice the students' presentations. She attends their presentations to show support. She is dependable and devoted.”

Nominated by: Leah Bischoff

Birgit Ehmer, Research Associate, Department of Cancer and Cell Biology

“Birgit took care of our departmental facilities since March when the pandemic began. She monitored the equipment, organized space to allow for social distancing, and prepared ethanol and sanitizer spray bottles. She also cherished us with beautiful wild flower arrangements on the lunch tables. It is good to know that there a  person who cares in difficult times.”

Nominated by: Maria Czyzyk-Krzeska, PhD

Bryan Mackenzie, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Systems Physiology

"Dr. Mackenzie is the lead for the Canvas transition for the Medical Sciences Undergraduate program. He organized Canvas seminars to help faculty and when COVID struck his efforts doubled helping numerous faculty rapidly convert to virtual courses. His efforts have not only saved faculty a lot of time, but his actions have directly led to a better learning experience for students."

Nominated by: Kevin Haworth, PhD

Charles Prestigiacomo, MD, Professor, Department of Neurosurgery

"In a specialty that is not known for being warm and approachable, Dr. Prestigiacomo stands out for abolishing this stereotype.  One case stands out to me, not due to its uniqueness but for its recency. It was a relatively routine surgery (carotid endarterectomy) where he went out of his way to teach the medical students and challenge the residents, but also invited the surgical staff. He explained the rationale for the surgery and called over each individual, pointing out the relevant anatomy and explaining why the surgery was important for the patient and how each person could help by providing certain instruments at different times, placing the bone wax in certain ways, etc.  Speaking with the circulating nurses and scrub techs afterward, it was obvious that this was not an isolated event.  The scrub tech mentioned how she always looks forward to surgeries with him because she gets to learn about what they are doing and feels like she is making a difference in someone's life.  She recalled him teaching the entire room the week before about cerebral aneurysms -- development, clinical course, and treatments."

Nominated by: Diana Le

Danielle Weber, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine

“Dr. Weber has been an essential member of the PPE committee in the hospital and works with residents and students to make sure they have sufficient access to PPE items and appropriate training. She is a leader in bedflow and interdisciplinary huddles. She is a co-teachers for the M1/M2 clinical skills course. She is a champion for learners in the medical school.”

Nominated by: Molly Hillenbrand

Erin Thase, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience

“Dr. Thase has been a beacon of light and support in our department. During the course of the pandemic she has advocated for wellness, hosted zoom happy hours for our therapists, and has helped psychologists navigate moment-to-moment changes with State Licensing Boards, UC Health guidelines, and EPIC with humor and quite helpful diagrams.”

Nominated by: Erica Birkley, PhD

Farzaan Kassam, MD Candidate, 2021

“Farzaan has advocated for students in his role as student body president. With COVID, he has taken on tasks for student betterment. He has met with clerkship directors to ensure student concerns are vocalized and new curriculum allows for adequate learning opportunities with limited in person contact. He also helped create a focus group related to virtual interviewing and presented findings that set the direction of most residency programs' recruitment.”

Nominated by: Al-Faraaz Kassam

George Smulian, MD, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

“Dr. Smulian has continued his legacy of leading by example during this pandemic. Obviously, this pandemic is especially demanding on infectious diseases physicians and their teams. George has taken on herculean tasks within the COVID Core Team in addition to his regular jobs. But, he has leveraged the talents of each of his faculty members to ensure that they felt integral to the battle against COVID, had the support they needed to thrive, succeed and shine. This is the definition of real leadership and why his faculty love working at UC and UC Health.”

Nominated by: Jennifer Forrester

Gina Burg, Program Director, Office of Medical Education 

“During the pandemic when all NBME/shelf exams were shifted virtually, Gina researched what needed to be done to complete this and proctored all shelf exams personally with each department staff. She was a huge resource during the transition. Gina also went out of her way to assist some of the new coordinators who needed help during COVID.”

Nominated by: Julie Karpe

Jack Kues, PhD, Associate Dean for Continuous Professional Development and CCTST

“I appreciate Dr. Kues’ availability during these times. To build unity, he has made sure we have at least 3-4 hours of virtual time together as a team each week. His regular schedule is packed tight but he still brings such warmth, humor, and inspiration to our meetings. It would be easy to lose the feeling of connection when everyone’s remote, but in some ways, I feel more connected to my coworkers than before, thanks to Dr. Kues’ leadership.”

Nominated by: Jackie Knapke

Jermaine A. Fields, UI/UX Developer, UC Information Technology

"Among staff who work on the CoM webpage, Jermaine is known for his helpfulness. He has been instrumental in helping web content-creators adjust/learn the new CoM webpage and layout. Despite his heavy work load and additional work responsibilities due to COVID, he is always willing to troubleshoot a web issue or guide someone through building a new webpage. He is accommodating to deadlines despite the many of his own. He does his best to help those around him be successful. Many times, he has put his own work aside to help me with my web projects "

Nominated by: Brieanne Sheehan

Kevin Haworth, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Health and Disease

“Dr. Haworth is extremely busy, but always ready to help anyone. He is extremely caring, genuine, and truly wants his students and mentees to succeed. He understands and cultivates the value of every individual person. For instance, Dr. Haworth took the time out of his day to sit down and talk me through my ideas. It was incredibly validating and just genuinely helpful to my growth as a scientist.”

Nominated by: Demi Fischesser, PhD

Kevin Milligan, MD Candidate Class of 2021

“Kevin was elected to be a member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society. He was an original creator of the UnsCripted podcast which serves as a resource to all CoM students. He was a consultant to our GME program to help develop best practices for remote interviewing. He is a valued Peer Mentor for undergraduate students.

Nominated by: Laura Malosh, PhD

Kim Hasselfeld, MS, CCRP, Clinical Research Manager, Department of Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine

“Kim has sewn masks for individuals within the department who needed one. She, along with her daughters, created "100 days of COVID with Charlie, their dog" poster to brighten everyone's day who walk past her office. Charlie dresses in a different themed outfit daily. The posts are shared on Facebook. Kim has been a valuable asset to the department supporting the surgeons with their research.”

Nominated by: Michael Kloby, MS

Lisa Arustamyan, Clinical Research Professional, Department of Internal Medicine

“Liz joined the regulatory team in March as we worked remotely due to COVID. As Liz was training remotely, two of our senior CRPs were out on extended leaves, leaving only myself and Liz to cover 160 active research studies using ARS services within the Department. She took initiative to reach out to researchers and offer help. She worked long hours to learn. Several researchers complimented her responsiveness and work ethic.”

Nominated by: Helen Shelton

 

Lisa Martin, Senior Research Assistant, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Health and Disease

“Ms. Martin stepped up to the challenges presented to our department due to COVID-19. She did a wonderful job of collecting PPE and hand sanitizers when the CoM was in need. She also made masks in her free time for our staff. She worked tirelessly on allocating work and space for researchers within our division. She is mindful of CDC recommendations and works to ensure compliance.

Nominated by: Sakthivel Sadayappan, PhD, MBA

Maggie Powers-Fletcher, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

"Dr. Powers has used her unique knowledge in microbiology, testing, and mathematical modeling to help many CoM programs. She has been an integral part of training ID fellows and has even developed a unique "game-like" platform to aid in simulation for learning microbiology, antibiotic stewardship and side effects of medications. She has played an important role in several COVID research studies and is an integral member of the Return to Campus Team. Also, she has arranged for CoM faculty to virtually mentor high school students interested in careers in medicine and science. Maggie has been a wonderful support system for other faculty members during this busy time."

Nominated by: Jennifer Forrester, MD

Maria Hooker, MD Candidate Class of 2023

“As Co-President of her class, Maria advocates for her classmates, addresses questions and concerns of students, and provide student feedback to the Office of Student Affairs & the Office of Medical Education. As a part of the curriculum workgroup, she has pushed for changes in the curriculum to improve student wellness and foster an inclusive environment. She has also played a key role in welcoming the incoming class to the CoM.

Nominated by: Wen Zhong

Michelle Saemann, Senior Clinical Research Coordinator, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

“Michelle has agreed to be the frontline supervisor for the Moderna Vaccine Trial. She has come in everyday at 6:30-7:00 AM. She has been working late into the night. She is training 6 new staff members and organized our operation to successfully enroll in the trial. She has gone above and beyond for individuals and has been consistent, kind and calm. Truly an amazing researcher and human being.”

Nominated by: Carl Fichtenbaum, MD

Mike Linke, PhD, Director of IRB, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

“Dr. Linke promotes CoM research, but never more so than during COVID-19. He ensures that our science is ethical while at the same time fostering the success of our research enterprise.”-Brett Kissela, MD

“Recently, the NIH asked us for specifics on an IRB for a R01. The program officer said we needed to move fast. We reached out to Mike and he made sure that we got an expedited IRB approval in a day. We got the NIH funding because of Mike.”-Achala Vagal, MD, MS

Sakthivel Sadayappan, PhD, MBA, Professor and Associate Chair, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Health and Disease

“Dr. Sadayappan has stepped up to meet the challenges of COVID-19. He has conducted research to understand the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the heart by securing intramural funding. He has also worked to review and approve Departmental Research Reopening Plans so that investigators could continue their research studies, meeting their respective priorities and deadlines.”

Nominated by: Litsa Kranias, PhD

Senu Apewokin, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

"Dr. Apewokin is part of the UC COVID Emerging Evidence task force and helped research emerging evidence and practices that guide to UC’s COVID effort. Dr. Apewokin has provided educational webinars to the Cincinnati community and informational sessions to churches. He does this all while caring for COVID patients and conducting an NIH funded grant award. Senu is an outstanding clinical scientist with exceptional skills and intelligence with helping hands."

Nominated by: Tes Mersha, PhD

Shawn Krishnan, MD Candidate, 2021

"Shawn took the initiative to deliver groceries to seniors who were at an increased risk of COVID, driving as far as 45 minutes to deliver groceries. He also went out of his way to talk to those individuals. He truly has a heart for the community with many ideas to support both his community and healthcare workers on the frontline."

Nominated by: Hyun Jun Kim

Stephanie Donnelly, Business Administrator, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Health and Disease

“Ms. Donnelly has been a breath of fresh air during the pandemic. Despite a heavy load, she has remained unfailing positive and has gone out of her way to assist with projects needed for the lab. She has a skill of clearing red tape so that faculty can focus on research and teaching. Whenever we interact, I receive her full attention. She also helped me source a high-quality masks for my young children as they were preparing to go back to daycare. “

Nominated by: Kevin Haworth, PhD, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology 

Stephanie Schuckman, Program Manager, Center for Clinical and Translational Science and Training

"These past few months have been very challenging--working hard but feeling disconnected from everyone.  Stephanie coordinates many of the virtual meetings that I have attended.  Not only does she handle the virtual meetings with skill and professionalism, her bright spirit makes every meeting better.  She brings the optimism and general good vibe to every meeting.  It's hard to explain, but just having her there makes the meeting better.  It's team members like Stephanie that make me happy to be working at UC."

Nominated by: Elizabeth Kopras

Tiffany Gray, Business Administrator, College of Medicine Operations and Finance

“Tiffany is the Business Administrator of the Basic Science team in Operations and Finance. She is a true leader of our team even in this time of uncertainty. She is willing to help when needed, offers a kind and listening ear, maintains a steady presence and a positive attitude. She creates an inspiring team environment and encouraging team building.”

Nominated by: Brandie Wagoner

Tracy Pritchard, PhD, Director, Office of Medical Education

“Tracy has always put the staff of our OME team first and foremost. When COVID hit and we began working remotely, she made a great effort to ensure everyone had all we needed to work effectively and efficiently from home. She also has for the past months, been attentive to our mental health. She suggests ideas on how we can keep mentally healthy.”

Nominated by: Victoria Stump

Victoria Stump, Program Manager, Office of Medical Education

“When our department started working remotely, Vickie didn’t even skip a beat with all of our office needs. Several of us did not have webcams or laptops and she made sure to order what we needed.  She has kept up with numerous WebEx, Teams and Zoom scheduling invites to keep the office functioning. She is always offering her assistance and going the extra mile.”

Nominated by: Gina Burg