A new tradition at the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) began on Sept. 19, as members of the school’s faculty gathered to be honored for their years of service, commitment to the institution, and great achievements made while working at SMHS.
Jeffrey S. Akman, MD ’81, RESD ’85, vice president for health affairs, Walter A. Bloedorn Professor of Administrative Medicine, and dean of SMHS, kicked off the event.
“This is an opportunity for us to celebrate all the achievements of our faculty here tonight, those who have received emeritus distinction, those who have been promoted, those who have earned tenure, those who have been here for a long a time, like me, and those who are being recognized with awards in support of our academic mission of research, advancing knowledge, and service,” he said.
Before hearing remarks from GW President Thomas LeBlanc, Akman recognized Ray Lucas, MD, senior associate dean for faculty affairs and health affairs, who is stepping down from his position. Akman thanked Lucas and recognized his “outstanding leadership and service” in the role.
LeBlanc took the stage next, thanking the faculty members in attendance for their commitment to GW, and to the future of the university and the medical enterprise.
“It’s important to show respect,” he said. “If you’re a great colleague, you want to be respected by your colleagues. And that’s what tonight is about, showing our respect to folks who have been promoted, and we all know the work it takes to do that, and to folks who have made scholarly achievements, and all the time that goes into that.”
Throughout the night, recognition was given to SMHS Emeriti faculty, promoted and tenured faculty, faculty celebrating more than five years of service, as well as faculty members who were honored with distinguished awards.
Those awards focused on great research, service, and education, and were handed out by SMHS faculty.
Robert H. Miller, vice president for research at GW and senior associate dean for research at SMHS, presented the first three awards, which included the Early Career Research Achievement Award, presented to Colin Young, PhD, assistant professor of pharmacology and physiology; the Elaine H. Snyder Cancer Research Award, earned by Lopa Mishra, MD, director of the Center for Translational Medicine and professor of surgery; and the Distinguished Researcher Award, presented to Raja Mazumder, PhD, professor of biochemistry and molecular medicine.
Yolanda Haywood, MD, RESD ’87, BA ’81, senior associate dean for diversity and inclusion and associate dean for student affairs, presented the Diversity and Inclusion Award to Denice Cora-Bramble, MD, MBA, BS ’76, professor of pediatrics.
Akman presented the Distinguished Service Award to Katalin Roth, MD, professor of medicine.
The final three awards, the Distinguished Teacher Awards, which this year were expanded to include all faculty in SMHS, were presented by Ellen Goldman, EdD, MBA, associate dean for faculty and organizational development, to Nick Shworak, MD, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology and physiology, for Basic Sciences; Holly Jonely, ScD, MPT, associate director of the Physical Therapy Program and assistant professor of health, human function, and rehabilitation sciences, for Health Sciences; and Dewesh Agrawal, MD, professor of pediatrics, for Clinical Sciences.
As the night wound down, Akman thanked all the faculty who attended the ceremony and congratulated them all for their exceptional achievements.
View the SMHS Departmental Awards list.
Explore the full emeriti faculty and promotions and tenure list.
