Graduation Awards - Class of 2021 
Please join us in recognizing these outstanding students, faculty, residents and staff who received awards ahead of graduation.
The Class of 2021 Graduation Awards were held on Thursday, May 20, at 3:30 p.m. In-person attendance was limited. Watch the recorded live stream here:
View the following sections below:
Graduate Student Awards | Medical Student Awards | Distinction in Research | AOA Honor Medical Society
Gold Humanism Honor Society | Teaching Awards | Resident Awards | Staff Awards
Outstanding Graduate Student Awards
Doctor of Medicine/ |
Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Science Program Chrysan Mohammed |
Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences Basic Science Tracks Hunter M. Eby |
Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences Pathology Assistant Program Ashley A. Montez |
Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences Physician Assistant Program Sarah Felix |
Master of Science |
Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences Cafruny Award in Physiology Sachin Aryal Ishan Manandhar |
Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences Transplantation and Donation Sciences Program Shayna Mims |
Medical Student Awards
The Glidden L. Brooks Award
The Glidden L. Brooks Award, named in honor of the first president of the former Medical College of Ohio, is presented annually to that graduating medical student who is distinguishable by superiority in all phases of the curriculum.
Giana Dawod
Reid Wilkins
Dean’s Award
The Dean's Award is awarded to that graduating medical student who, in the eyes of fellow students, shows the greatest promise as a practitioner of medicine.
Devon Shannon
American College of Physicians, |
Lucien E. Morris, M.D., |
Office of Student Affairs Award |
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award Esther Mburu |
Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Excellence in Emergency Medicine Award Mahbod Pourriahi |
Harry E. Mayhew, M.D., Award in Family Medicine Justin Brown |
Toledo/Lucas County Academy |
Jerri Nielsen FitzGerald Award Alexander Altman |
Excellence in Infectious Diseases Christine Lu |
Excellence in Immunity Alexander Di Scenna |
George D. Ludwig Prize in Internal Medicine Jennifer Park |
Patrick J. Mulrow Award in Internal Medicine Jacob Ciricillo |
Mark Rayport M.D., Ph.D. Award in Neurological Surgery Andrew Caras |
American Academy of Neurology Medical Student Prize for Excellence in Neurology Giana Dawod |
Neurology Department Outstanding Students Award Abdullah Alam Harsh Desai |
Obstetrics and Gynecology Outstanding Student Award Danielle Dever |
Philip T. Nelsen Award of Excellence in Ophthalmology Brenna Bullock |
Orthopaedic Outstanding Student Award David Yatsonsky |
Pathology Outstanding Student Award Reid Wilkins |
Marian M. Rejent M.D., Award in Pediatrics Daniel Lubarsky |
Edward J. Cafruny Award for Excellence in Pharmacology Sarah Galla |
Psychiatry Excellence Award |
Theodore P. and Evelyn H. Chengelis Award in Psychiatry Luke Zona |
2021 Excellence in Public Health Award Luke Zona |
Radiology Outstanding Students Award Vyshnavi Reddy Rachel Speakman |
Eleanore Coghlin Award for Excellence in Rehabilitation Medicine Devon Shannon |
Dr. Sam Schaeffer Award Christina Varghese |
Marion C. Anderson Award for Excellence in Surgery Jack Sample |
Toledo Surgical Society Medical Center Student Recognition Award Natalia Barragan |
The Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award
The Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Awards presented by The Arnold P. Gold Foundation are bestowed on one graduating medical student and one faculty member who embody outstanding humanistic traits in the delivery of care to patients and their families and in their interactions with students, faculty, and staff. The recipients are selected by the graduating class.
Luke Zona
Shirley Bodi, M.D., FAAFP
Distinction in Research Awards
The College of Medicine and Life Sciences is initiating an annual Distinction in Research for students in the M.D. program. Research conducted by M.D. students is very often
a major driving force of a lab’s success, and in turn makes a significant contribution
to success of research at the UToledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences.
The COMLS Medical Student Research Committee has been instrumental in assuring quality
research opportunities for students in the M.D. program. Moreover, M.D. students who
emphasize research should be acknowledged for their effort.
Students who are awarded the status of Distinction of Research will have that listed
on their diploma and have cords as part of their commencement regalia.
Andrew Caras
Advisor: Jason Schroeder, MD
Project: Usefulness and impact of intra-operative imaging for glioma resection on
patient outcome and extent of resection; Impact of renal transplantation on spinal
fusion outcome; Associations of opioid dependence with outcome and resource utilization
following spinal decompression and fusion
Ankur Choubey
Advisor: Jorge Ortiz, M.D.
Project: Disparities in DCD organ procurement policy from a national OPO survey: A
call for standardization
Jacob Ciricillo
Advisor: Joel Kammeyer MD MPH, Travis Taylor PhD
Project: High Throughput Screening of FDA-Approved Drug Library Reveals the Compounds
that Promote IRF3-Mediated Pro-Apoptotic Pathway Inhibit Virus Replication
Stephanie Cordonnier
Advisor: Elissar Andari, PhD
Project: Oxytocin as an adjunctive treatment for Covid-19
Judy Daboul
Advisor: Jyl Matson, Ph.D.
Project: Characterization of Vibrio cholerae isolates in northwest Ohio
Giana Dawod
Advisor: Mouhammad Jumaa, M.D.
Project: Outcomes of treatment modalities for ruptured intracranial aneurysms based
on age - A meta-analysis
Michelle Djohan
Advisor: Graham Schwarz, M.D.
Project: Technical Considerations in Nonreconstructive Mastectomy Patients
Emily Gibbons
Advisor: Ashish Panchal, M.D. Ph.D.
Project: Engagement with Text Messaged CPR Reminder Videos After Hands-Only CPR Training
in Undergraduate Students, Low dose- high frequency, case based psychomotor CPR training
improves compression fraction for patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest, Low Dose-High
Frequency Psychomotor Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Training in the Emergency Department
Improves Simulated and Clinical Chest Compression Fraction
Andrew Hendrix
Advisor: Amanda Lenhard, M.D.
Project: The I in Team: How Integrated Rounds are Changing the Game
Shivam Shah
Advisor: Randall G. Worth, Ph.D.
Project: Variation of Stress Levels, Burnout, and Resilience throughout the Academic
Year in First-Year Medical Students
Stavros Stefanopoulos
Advisor: Munier Nazzal, M.D.
Project: A Machine Learning Model for Prediction of Amputation in Diabetics
Logan Weghorst
Advisor: Jyl Matson, Ph.D.
Project: Characterization of Vibrio cholerae isolates from freshwater sources in northwest
Ohio
Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society
The Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society was founded in Chicago in 1902 by medical students to formulate higher ideals of scholastic achievement and to foster the scientific and philosophical features of the medical profession. The Delta of Ohio chapter at The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences was installed in 1974. Election to membership is extended to junior and senior medical students whose academic excellence places them in the upper sixth of their class and who show promise of leadership in medicine. Induction in the junior year is extended to the top 8% of the class.
Alex Balboa
Natalia Barragan
Nicholas Burkholder
Andrew Caras
Jacob Ciricillo
Giana Dawod
Danielle Dever
Steven Folkerth
Korina Gaishauser
Allison Gerren
David Hein
Benjamin Hinkel
Muhamad Khalid
Trisha Khambadkone
Daniel Lubarsky
Claire Meikle
Kavya Pai
Mahbod Pourriahi
Emily Rowland
Kalee Royster
Jeffrey Russel
Mario Sahlani
Jack Sample
Arvind Senthil Kumar
Devon Shannon
Michael Sheehan
Rachel Speakman
Stavros Stefanopoulos
Akul Yajnik
Gold Humanism Honor Society
The Gold Humanism Honor Society is a national honor society initiated in 2001 by The Arnold P. Gold Foundation to recognize individuals who have demonstrated exemplary attitudes and behaviors characteristic of the most humanistic physicians, including integrity, excellence, compassion, altruism, respect, empathy, and service. The University of Toledo chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society was founded in 2005. The members are selected by peer nomination and endorsed by the College of Medicine and Life Sciences Senior Leadership Team.
Matthew Belardo
Cara Bird
Jacob Ciricillo
Giana Dawod
Armelle DeRiso
Harsh Desai
Allison Gerren
Emily Gibbons
Swaramsi Katragadda
Meghan Lark
Daniel Lubarsky
Allison Martin
Kavya Pai
Clayton Rice
Kalee Royster
Natasha Samanich
Shivam Shah
Stavros Stefanopoulos
Cory Stein
Christina Varghese
Lekha Vemuru
Maggie Hoi Ting Wong
Luke Zona
Teaching Awards
Please join us in recognizing these outstanding faculty members who receive awards ahead of graduation:
Robert T. Tidrick Golden Apple Awards
The Robert T. Tidrick Golden Apple Awards for teaching excellence are named in honor of Dr. Tidrick, a surgeon and outstanding educator on the faculty of the former Medical College of Ohio from 1969 until his death in June 1983, at the age of 73. Faculty, both basic scientists and clinicians, are selected for the honor each year by members of the graduating class of medical students.
Teaching Excellence in Basic Sciences
Kathryn M. Eisenmann, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and
Thread 1 Director
Department of Cell and Cancer Biology
Department of
Medical Education
Viviana Ferreira, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Medical Microbiology
and Immunology
Adel Maklad, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Department of
Medical Education
Department of Neurosciences
Teaching Excellence in Clinical Sciences
Arunkumar Baskara, M.D.
Associate Professor and
Residency Program Director
Department of Surgery
Amira F. Gohara, M.D.
Professor and Chair
Department of Pathology
Dean Emerita
Catherine Van Hook, M.D.
Associate Professor
and Clerkship Director
Department of Obstetrics
And Gynecology
Resident Awards
Please join us in recognizing this outstanding resident who receive the award ahead of graduation:
Cameron Burmeister, M.D.
Internal Medicine
Staff Awards
Please join us in recognizing these outstanding staff members who receive awards ahead of graduation:
Outstanding Clerkship Coordinator Award
Claudia Davis
Research & Education Coordinator
Department of Surgery
Outstanding Student Services Staff Award
Anne Yeager, M.Ed.
Assistant Director
Financial Aid – HSC
Christopher Prevette, M.S.
E-Learning Instructional
Design Specialist
Department of Medical Education
Congratulations to all of the award Recipients!
<< Back to Commencement homepage | Graduation Awards Home | Back up to top