Awards and Recognition

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Awards and Recognition

The UMMC GWIMS chapter will present four awards this year to outstanding UMMC faculty members. These four awards will be designated for early, middle, and late-career faculty members.  

2023 honorees

AwardHonoree
LouAnn Woodward, MD Late-Career Faculty AwardSara Gleason, MD
Professor and Interim Chair
Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior
School of Medicine
Mid-Career Faculty AwardDenise Cornelius, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology
School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences
Early-Career Faculty AwardLorena Amaral, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology
School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences
Trainee AwardElizabeth Gordineer, Graduate Student
Neuroscience PhD Program
School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences

2022 honorees

AwardHonoree
LouAnn Woodward, MD Late-Career Faculty AwardBabette LaMarca, PhD
Chair
Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology
School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences
Mid-Career Faculty AwardKedra Wallace, PhD
Associate Dean of Academic and Faculty Affairs
School of Population Health
Early-Career Faculty AwardAna Palei, PharmD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Surgery-Trauma/Critical Care
School of Medicine
Trainee AwardLohitha Kalluri
School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences

2021 honorees

Click here to view the video announcement of the 2021 GWIMS Awards awardees. 

AwardHonoree
LouAnn Woodward, MD Authentic Leadership AwardNita Maihle, PhD
Assoc. Director of Basic Science Research
Cancer Center & Research Institute
Professor
Department of Cell & Molecular Biology
School of Medicine
Helen Barnes, MD Diversity and Inclusion AwardMichelle Owens, MD
Medical Director
Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Professor
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
School of Medicine
Innovation AwardMohadetheh Moulana, PhD
Director
Curriculum Development
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior
School of Medicine
Resilient Spirit AwardBhagyashri Navalkele, MD
Medical Director
Division of Infectious Diseases
Department of Medicine
Assistant Professor
School of Medicine
Emerging Star Award (Student/Residents/Fellows)Megha Satpathy
Graduate Research Assistant
PhD Candidate
Department of Biomedical Materials Science
School of Dentistry
Rising Star Award (Early-Career Faculty)Caroline Compretta, PhD
Co-Director
Community Engaged Research Core
Assistant Professor
Department of Preventive Medicine
School of Population Health
Shining Star Award (Mid-Career Faculty)Crystal Lim, PhD
Director
Psychology Internship Program
Associate Professor
Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior
School of Medicine
Trailblazer Award (Male Faculty)Vikas Majithia, MD
Chief
Division of Rheumatology
Department of Medicine
Professor
School of Medicine

Trainee Recognition Award

Mary Nittala, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Department of Radiation Oncology
School of Medicine

2020 honorees

AwardHonoree
LouAnn Woodward, MD Authentic Leadership AwardPhyllis Bishop, MD
Professor
Department of Pediatrics
Chief
Children's Gastroenterology
Chief Quality Officer
Chief Medical Office 
Helen Barnes, MD Diversity and Inclusion AwardKimberly Crowder, MD
Professor and Chair
Department of Ophthalmology
Innovation AwardHana Nobleza, MD
Assistant Professor
Department of Neurology
Medical Director
Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit
Resilient Spirit AwardJoy Akanji, DNP
Nurse Manager
UMMC Student and Employee Health
Emerging Star Award (Student/Residents/Fellows)Catherine Lowe, MD
Fellow
Department of Medicine - Cardiology
Rising Star Award (Early-Career Faculty)Denise Cornelius, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Emergency Medicine
Shining Star Award (Mid-Career Faculty)Lillian Joy Houston, MD
Associate Professor
Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Director
Psychiatric Emergency Service 
Trailblazer Award (Male Faculty)Jerry Clark, PhD
Assistant Professor
Chief Student Affairs Officer
Associate Dean for Student Affairs
School of Medicine
 

2019 honorees

LouAnn Woodward, MD Authentic Leadership Award - Loretta Jackson-Williams, MD
Helen B. Barnes, MD Diversity and Inclusion Award - Felicia Tardy, MD
Innovation Award - Barbara Alexander, PhD
Resilient Spirit Award - Julie Schumacher, PhD
Emerging Star Award - Erin Taylor, PhD
Rising Star Award - Felicitas Koler, MD
Shining Star Award - Jennifer Sasser, PhD
Trailblazer Award - Alan Jones, MD
Photo of 2019 awards recipients

Back row (L-R): Jennifer Sasser, Felicia Tardy, Alan Jones, Loretta Jackson-Williams
Front row (L-R): Barbara Alexander, Erin Taylor, Julie Schumacher

2018 honorees

LouAnn Woodward, MD Authentic Leadership Award - Jane Reckelhoff, PhD
Helen B. Barnes, MD Diversity and Inclusion Award - Juanyce Taylor, PhD
Innovation Award - Alexandra Castillo, PhD
Resilient Spirit Award - Penni Lowery, NP
Emerging Star Award - Ashley Albert, MD
Rising Star Award - Anju Sukumaran, MD
Shining Star Award - Mobolaji Famuyide, MD
Trailblazer Award - Abhay Bhatt, MD

Photo of 2018 awards recipients

(L-R): Ashley Albert, Anju Sukumaran, Abhay Bhatt, Juanyce Taylor

2017 honorees

LouAnn Woodward, MD Authentic Leadership Award - LouAnn Woodward, MD
Helen B. Barnes, MD Diversity and Inclusion Award - Helen B. Barnes, MD
Innovation Award - Merry Lindsey, PhD
Resilient Spirit Award - Bettina Beech, MD
Emerging Star Award - Kristine DeLeon-Pennell, PhD
Rising Star Award - Sarah Sterling, PhD
Shining Star Award - Pia Chatterjee Kirk, DM
Trailblazer Award - Robert Brodell, MD