Graduation Awards - College of Medicine and Life Sciences

Graduation Awards - Class of 2021

Please join us in recognizing these outstanding students, faculty, residents and staff who received awards ahead of graduation.

View Photos from the ceremony on our Facebook page

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:

Outstanding Graduate Student Awards

Doctor of Medicine/ Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Science Program Claire Meikle	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 in Biomedical Sciences Medical Physics Program Kelsey J. Bittinger
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

Giana Dawod

Reid Wilkins

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

Devon Shannon

American College of Physicians, Ohio Chapter Outstanding Medical Student of the Year Muhamad Khalid	Lucien E. Morris, M.D., Anesthesiology Award Natasha Samanich	Office of Student Affairs Award for Excellence in Career Advising Devon Shannon
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 of Family Physicians Award Alexander Altman	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 Mitchell McDaniel	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

Logo for 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

Logo for 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.