The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology honored outstanding faculty, residents, and students during the 89th annual Kane King Dodek Obstetrical Honor Society reception on May 13.
This year’s awards and induction ceremony featured keynote speaker Jennifer Lesko, MD, MPH, section chief of complex family planning and associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Virginia Commonwealth University Health.
In welcoming remarks, Nancy Gaba, MD ’93, RESD ’97, Oscar I. and Mildred S. Dodek and Joan B. and Oscar I. Dodek Jr. Professor and chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at GW SMHS, thanked faculty and staff for their work mentoring medical students and residents.
“We all know that it takes an actual village to raise a medical student [or] a resident,” she said. Gaba also took a moment to recognize the parents, loved ones, friends, and other support people, as well as patients, for their role in physician training.
“I have been here in Washington, D.C., as a medical student, a resident, and now a faculty member at GW since 1989,” Gaba said. “I’ve had a lot of opportunity to think about the people who live here, who have really helped me become the doctor that I am. I'm really grateful to them.”
Lesko specializes in reproductive health and patient-centered care across all stages of life, including contraception, pregnancy, menopause, and pregnancy loss. She also mentors and teaches medical students and residents at the VCU School of Medicine, where she has received several teaching awards.
“Let me tell you a little bit about our visiting speaker, who is really not visiting, it’s more like she’s coming back,” Gaba said.
After completing a fellowship in complex family planning at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Lesko joined GW as an assistant professor and launched the department’s first family planning program, Gaba said.
During her remarks, Lesko reflected on the mentors, experiences, and personal moments that shaped her career. She also discussed guidance she received about patient care, communication, and the emotional demands of the specialty.
Recalling advice from Gaba after returning to work following the birth of her son, Lesko said her former chair told her: “I believe in work-life continuum, not necessarily a work-life balance.”
“One thing that’s really unique about the job we have, which is sometimes also the pitfall, but I think it really defines us,” Lesko explained, “when you’re an OB-GYN, you’re not just a doctor. We get to know people’s secrets.
“We’re intimately involved in people’s families and decisions they make … [and] diagnoses that can be really scary and really catastrophic.”
Lesko said the advice helped her understand how closely professional and personal experiences intersect in medicine.
Gaba also reflected on the department’s history and the families who helped shape it.
“The roots of this department are built on a number of families — the Dodek family, the Weingold family, the Larson family — who were all very committed to the department and took us from our very beginnings to where we are today,” said Gaba. “I'm personally grateful to all of them.”
The Kane King Dodek Honor Society was founded in 1937 by Samuel Mayer Dodek, MD, in honor of Albert Freeman Africanus King, MD 1861, professor of obstetrics at GW from 1871–1913 and dean of the medical school from 1879–94. In 1945, Howard Kane, MD ’12, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, was memorialized with the addition of his name to the society. In 1987, during the society’s 50th anniversary, Samuel Dodek, MD, RESD 1923, was added to the name.
During the ceremony, Katherine Marko, MD, assistant dean for student affairs and associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, received the annual Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics Excellence in Teaching Award. The national award honors faculty members who make significant contributions to women’s health education and resident and medical student training.
Gaba praised Marko for her enduring impact on medical education at GW, noting that her long-standing dedication to students and excellence in teaching have earned her widespread recognition from learners across the department.
She added that Marko’s experience as residency program director has allowed her to “see that full scope of where the student is and where they're headed to.”
Scarlett Bergam, MD ’26, presented the Oscar I. Dodek Jr. Faculty Teaching Award, which recognizes excellence in teaching residents and medical students. This year’s award went to Arielle Effron, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology.
“This physician has gone above and beyond in fostering our education,” Bergam said, noting that the recipient once invited her to observe a uterine artery embolization procedure “because it was something cool to learn.”
2026 Active Fellows
Kane - King - Dodek Obstetrical Honor Society
Scarlett Bergam
Jessabelle Bowers-Perez
Alisa Dewald
Sofia Finestone
Nathaniel Freishtat
Emily Knox
Kathleen McCarthy
Callen Morrison
Allison Pasti
Alexa Shahine
Arjun Shetty
Michael Taylor
Sarah Watkins
Meredith Wells
2026 Graduating Residents
Heidi Carpenter, MD
Eleanor Clifford, MD
Obie Moultrie, MD
Chrystal Nelson, MD
Emily Nuss, MD
Erika Kim, MD
Alice Trye, MD
Kristian Welch, MD
