2024 Department of Medicine Awards Ceremony

Each year, faculty, staff, and trainees are nominated for the Department of Medicine annual awards in recognition of their outstanding contributions to their divisions, the department, the College of Medicine, and MUSC.

These honorees were recognized Thursday, June 6, at the 2024 Department of Medicine Awards Ceremony. After three consecutive years of hosting this event virtually, coming together in person to honor these outstanding individuals held special significance. We extend our gratitude to the over 100 faculty and staff members who attended in person, as well as the enthusiastic virtual audience of over 50 attendees who cheered them on via Zoom.

Congratulations to the following recipients of this year’s fellow awards, division awards, faculty awards – clinical care and education, faculty awards – research, resident awards, faculty and trainee awards, and employee awards. Please join us in celebrating these colleagues! 

Fellow Awards

Fellow of the Year: Awarded to the Department of Medicine fellow who has demonstrated the most dedication to teaching residents this year. Selected by residents.
Winner: George Adly, M.D., First Year Fellow, Cardiology

Division Awards

Division of the Year: Awarded to the Department of Medicine Division that has demonstrated the most dedication to teaching residents this year. Selected by residents.
Winner: Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care

Faculty Awards - Clinical Care and Education

Michael E. Assey Department of Medicine Attending Teaching Award: Awarded to a member of the Medicine faculty who has excelled in educating residents in the inpatient setting. Selected by residents.
Winner: Pranav Shah, M.D., Assistant Professor, Hospital Medicine

Ambulatory Teacher of the Year (Outpatient Attending): Awarded to a member of the Medicine faculty who has excelled in educating residents in an ambulatory care setting. Selected by residents.
Winner:  Andrew Schreiner, M.D., MSCR, Associate Professor, General Internal Medicine

Consult Teacher of the Year: Awarded to a member of the Department of Medicine faculty who has excelled in educating residents/fellows on a medicine consult service. Selected by residents.
Winner: Thomas Di Salvo, M.D., MPH, MBA, Professor and Director, Cardiology

Excellence in Medical Student Teaching: Awarded to clinical faculty within the Department of Medicine who interact with students as part of the Internal Medicine Clerkship and who exceed expectations in the realms of student education, mentorship, and/or leadership. Selected by medical students.

• Faculty Winners: Katie Anderson, M.D., Assistant Professor, General Internal Medicine and Richard Rissmiller, M.D., Associate Professor, Pulmonary & Critical Care
• Fellow Winner: Jensie Burton, M.D., Co-Chief Fellow, Infectious Diseases
• Resident Winner: Nicholas Smith, M.D., PGY-2 IM Resident

Education Mentoring Award: This award is to acknowledge and value a Department of Medicine clinician educator for the mentoring of junior faculty or trainees. Selected by faculty. 

Winner: Meghan Thomas, M.D., Assistant Professor, Hospital Medicine

Outstanding Junior Faculty Clinician Educator of the Year Award: Awarded to a junior faculty member at the Clinical Instructor or Assistant Professor level who exemplifies excellence in patient care, communication, and teaching to students, residents and/or fellows. Selected by faculty.

Winners: 

• Susan Evenhouse, M.D., Assistant Professor, General Internal Medicine
• Courtney Harris, M.D., Assistant Professor, Infectious Diseases

Outstanding Mid-Career Clinician Educator of the Year Award: Awarded to a mid-career faculty member at the Assistant Professor or Associate Professor level who exemplifies excellence in patient care, communication, and teaching to students, residents and/or fellows. Selected by faculty. 
Winner: Eric Meissner, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Infectious Diseases

Outstanding Established Clinician Educator of the Year Award: Awarded to an established faculty member at the Associate Professor (≥ 5year) or Professor who exemplifies excellence in patient care, communication, and teaching to students, residents and/or fellows. Selected by faculty.
Winner: Pam Pride, M.D., Associate Professor, Hospital Medicine

The Doctor’s Doctor Award: Awarded to a Department of Medicine physician who provides outstanding clinical care and exemplifies characteristics that would lead you to send a loved one to them. Selected by faculty.
Winner: Skip Schumann, M.D., Associate Professor, General Internal Medicine

Professionalism Award: Awarded to a Department of Medicine faculty member who exemplifies the highest standards of professionalism, compassion, and a deep and abiding commitment to humanism in health care, delivering person-centered care. Selected by residents and faculty.
Winners:

• Ruth Campbell, M.D., MSPH, Professor, Division of Nephrology
• Aundrea Loftley, M.D., Associate Professor, Endocrinology
  

Hidden Gem Award: Awarded to Department of Medicine faculty member(s) in recognition of their outstanding, but often unnoticed or unrecognized contributions to the division, DOM, or MUSC. Each division nominates a Hidden Gem. Nominated by Division Directors.
Winner: Milos Budisavljevic, M.D., Professor, Nephrology

DOM Lifetime Clinician Educator Achievement Award: Intended to recognize lifetime achievement in the service of the academic missions of the DOM. Nominated by Division Directors.
Winner: Michael Ullian, M.D., Professor, Nephrology

Faculty Awards - Research

Resident Research Award: This award is intended to recognize a resident who has demonstrated excellence in research. Selected by Research Symposium Committee. 
Winner: Justin Durland, M.D., PGY-3 IM Resident

Research Faculty Mentoring Award: Nominated by mentees, this award is intended to recognize a mentor for excellence in mentoring junior faculty researchers. Selected by Research Symposium Committee.
Winner: Daniel Silverman, M.D., Assistant Professor, Cardiology

Outstanding Scientific Publication Award: Recognizes faculty member(s) with CY23 high impact original science publications.
Winner: Charlie Strange, M.D., Professor, Pulmonary & Critical Care

MilliPub Club Award: The MilliPub Club honors and recognizes current faculty who have published one or more individual papers throughout their careers that have each garnered more than 1,000 citations. Such a paper is commonly considered a “citation classic” and represents high impact scholarship.

Winners:

• Michael Zile, M.D., Distinguished University Professor, Cardiology
• Patrick Flume, M.D., Distinguished University Professor, Pulmonary & Critical Care
• Benjamin Djulbegovic, M.D. (5 pubs), Professor, Hematology & Oncology
• Marc-Andre Cornier, M.D., Professor and Director, Endocrinology
• Richard Silver, M.D. (2 pubs), Distinguished University Professor, Rheumatology & Immunology
• Scott Curry, M.D., Assistant Professor, Infectious Diseases
• Jim Oates, M.D., Professor and Director, Rheumatology & Immunology
• Betty Tsao, Ph.D., Professor, Rheumatology & Immunology

Best Mentored Paper Award: Recognizes a faculty member who is the senior author on a paper with their mentee. Selected by Research Symposium Committee.

Winners: 

• Galina Bogatkevich, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Rheumatology & Immunology (mentee)
• Richard Silver, Distinguished University Professor, Rheumatology & Immunology (mentor)

Outstanding Achievement in Early Career Research Award: Recognizes a faculty member within 8 years of his or her initial faculty appointment that have received major funding within the calendar year (non-K awardees). Selected by Research Symposium Committee.
Winner: Christina Mingora, M.D., Assistant Professor, Pulmonary & Critical Care

Top Eleven Publishers Club Award: Recognizes the Top 11 faculty members in the Department of Medicine with the most Original Science Publications in past calendar year (CY23).

Winners:

• Michael Zile, M.D., Distinguished University Professor, Cardiology
• Ryan Tedford, M.D., FACC, FAHA, Professor, Cardiology
• Daniel Judge, M.D., Professor, Cardiology
• Patrick Flume, M.D., Distinguished University Professor, Pulmonary & Critical Care
• Benjamin Djulbegovic, M.D., Professor, Hematology & Oncology
• William Moran, M.D., Distinguished University Professor, General Internal Medicine
• Don Rockey, M.D., Distinguished University Professor, Gastroenterology & Hepatology
• Patrick Mauldin, Ph.D., Professor, General Internal Medicine
• Jingwen Zhang, M.S., Instructor, General Internal Medicine
• Oleg Palygin, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Nephrology
• Brian Houston, M.D., Associate Professor, Cardiology

Outstanding Research Staff Member Award: Recognizes a staff member who betters the department's research but is not a traditional researcher. Selected by Research Symposium Committee.
Winner: Busola Bamidele-Oseni, Clinical Research Coordinator, Pulmonary & Critical Care

Resident Awards

General Internal Medicine Ambulatory Resident of the Year: Awarded to a Department of Medicine resident who consistently displays professional excellence, compassionate patient care and teamwork among colleagues in the outpatient setting. Selected by University Internal Medicine faculty.
Winner: Taelor Weaver, M.D., PGY-3 IM Resident

General Internal Medicine Hospitalist Resident of the Year: Awarded to a Department of Medicine resident who consistently displays professional excellence, compassionate patient care and teamwork among colleagues in the inpatient setting. Selected by Academic Hospitalists.
Winner: Drew Stone, M.D., PGY-2 IM Resident

General Internal Medicine Ambulatory Intern of the Year: Awarded to a Department of Medicine intern who consistently displays professional excellence, compassionate patient care, and teamwork among colleagues in the outpatient setting. Selected by University Internal Medicine faculty.
Winner: Amy Hockman, M.D., PGY-1 Internal Medicine Resident

General Internal Medicine Hospitalist Intern of the Year: Awarded to a Department of Medicine intern who consistently displays professional excellence, compassionate patient care and teamwork among colleagues in the inpatient setting. Selected by Academic Hospitalists.

Winners:

• Emerson Buck, M.D., PGY-1 IM Resident
• Maria Roell, M.D., PGY-1 IM Resident
  

Teaching and Education Award: Awarded to a DOM resident who demonstrates excellence in teaching and provides leadership and promotes or imparts medical education at MUSC. Nominees consist of residents who received top evaluations from medical students. Selected by Education Planning Committee.
Winner: Kolby Johnson, M.D., PGY-3 IM Resident

Triple Threat Award: Awarded to a DOM resident who best integrates excellence in clinical work, education, and "scholarly activity" into their practice. Selected by Education Planning Committee.
Winners: Justin Durland, M.D., PGY-3 IM Resident and Sarah Smith, M.D., PGY-3 IM Resident

Doctor’s Doctor Award: Awarded to a DOM resident who you would choose to take care of you or your family. Selected by residents.

Winners:

• Britton McGlawn-McGrane, M.D., PGY-2 IM Resident
• Riddhi Ramanlal, D.O., PGY-3 IM Resident

Professionalism Award: Awarded to a DOM resident who demonstrates a commitment to carrying out professional responsibilities while adhering to ethical principles and maintaining a sensitivity to the diverse patient populations that they serve. Characteristics such as respect, altruism, integrity, honesty, compassion, and empathy should be evident in all interactions, including with peers, supervisors, students, patients, and their families. Nominated by residents and faculty.
Winner: Zola Francis, M.D., Med-Psych PGY-3 Resident

Intern of the Year: Awarded to a Department of Medicine intern in recognition of the individual’s professional excellence displayed in the provision of compassionate patient care and the promotion of teamwork among colleagues. Selected by residents.
Winner: Vincent Bolus, M.D., PGY-1 IM Resident

Resident of the Year: Awarded to a Department of Medicine resident in recognition of the individual’s professional excellence displayed in the provision of compassionate patient care and the promotion of teamwork among colleagues. Selected by residents.
Winner: Syed Quadri, M.B.B.S., PGY-3 IM Resident

Faculty and Trainee Awards

Community Service Award: Awarded to a DOM resident, trainee, or faculty member who take action to create change in their communities. Nominated by Division Directors and Residency Leadership.

Winners:

• Zipporah Krishnasami, M.D., Professor, Nephrology
• Eric Powers, M.D., Professor, Gazes Endowed Chair in Cardiology

Employee Awards 

Outpatient APP of the Year Award: Recognizes an exceptional advance practice provider (APP) who demonstrates leadership by serving as a role model and mentor to his/her peers, demonstrates excellence in their day-to-day work while embodying the values of MUSC and the Department of Medicine, and who has had a significant impact on his/her patients and health care team in the outpatient setting. Selected by faculty.
Winner: Nicole Schulte, PA, Physician Assistant, Cardiology

Inpatient APP of the Year Award: Recognizes an exceptional advance practice provider (APP) who demonstrates leadership by serving as a role model and mentor to his/her peers, demonstrates excellence in their day-to-day work while embodying the values of MUSC and the Department of Medicine, and who has had a significant impact on his/her patients and health care team in the inpatient setting. Selected by faculty.

Winners:

• Leslie Bunting, NP, Nurse Practitioner, Hospital Medicine
• Alyssa Gitter, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, Nurse Practitioner, Infectious Diseases
  

Employee of the Year Award - EXCELLENCE IN INNOVATION AWARD: This award recognizes a staff member who has displayed exceptional work and/or produced significant innovations for the Department of Medicine, College of Medicine and beyond. The innovations will have resulted in meaningful work process improvements and/or work designs. Selected by the Employee of the Year Review Committee.
Winner: Nicola Sharkey, Accounting/Fiscal Manager, Cardiology

Employee of the Year Award - LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE AWARD: This award recognizes a staff member for his/her exemplary leadership accomplishments and contributions to the Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, and MUSC. The recipient has led, served, inspired, and collaborated with broad-ranging impact beyond their regular responsibilities.. Selected by the Employee of the Year Review Committee.
Winner: Bridgette Blankenship, Research Program Manager, Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Unsung Hero Award:  Recognizes a staff member who goes above and beyond the routine call of duty. This employee has displayed resilience in the face of challenges and obstacles, exhibiting a high level of commitment, initiative, and dedication in their job responsibilities. This employee showcases a strong capacity to bounce back from adversity while maintaining a positive attitude and contributing constructively despite facing difficult circumstances. (new award in 2024)
Winner: Melissa Wimberly, HR & Faculty Resource Coordinator, DOM Administration