The UC Riverside School of Medicine hosted a pair of award ceremonies as part of the annual end-of-year celebrations concluding the 2021-22 academic year.
On May 17, the school hosted the online School of Medicine Awards Ceremony, where a total of 23 awards were presented to students, staff, and faculty in a variety of categories.
Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences and the Mark and Pam Rubin Dean of the School of Medicine Deborah Deas, M.D., M.P.H welcomed the awardees and their guests at the online ceremony. "It is such a pleasure to be with all of you this evening as we celebrate our outstanding faculty, staff and medical students for their contributions to medical education and for their academic achievements," she said. "This has been an extraordinary year for the medical school and we would not have achieved so much without each and every one of you."
On Wednesday, June 1, the Class of 2022 presented and received awards at the annual Graduation Dinner Awards Ceremony at the UCR Alumni and Visitors Center, which was held in person for the first time since 2019.
A recording of the May 17 ceremony and a list of the award recipients is available below. Photos from the graduation dinner and the list of award recipients can be found at the bottom of the page.
2022 School of Medicine Award Recipients
Outstanding Support to Careers in Medicine Mentor
Dr. Nathan McLaughlin
Associate Clinical Professor of Health Sciences in the Department of Family Medicine
Outstanding Longitudinal Ambulatory Care Experience (LACE) Students
Joey Abadilla, Class of 2023
Aaron Fichtner, Class of 2024
Judy Pham, Class of 2025
Outstanding Longitudinal Ambulatory Care Experience (LACE) Faculty
Dr. Debbie Tran
Community Faculty member in Internal Medicine
Dr. Sandra Paniagua
Community Faculty member in Pediatrics
Dr. Tony Lee
Community Faculty in Family Medicine
Outstanding Practice Improvement Projects (PIP)
Mutahir Farhan, Class of 2022
“Use of TikTok as an Educational Tool for Type 1 Diabetes”
Marisol Garcia, Class of 2023
“Decrease Medication Errors and Improve Medication Compliancy through Medication Reconciliation Amongst Hispanic Patients”
Outstanding Pre-Clerkship Instructors
Dr. Chris Lytle
Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences, who was selected by the Class of 2024 and 2025
Dr. Nicholas DiPatrizio
Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences, who was selected by the Class of 2024 and 2025
Outstanding Doctoring Instructors
Dr. Rebeca Gavan
Assistant Clinical Professor Health Sciences, who was selected by the Class of 2025
Dr. Catherine Warner
Assistant Clinical Professor Health Sciences, Obstetrics and Gynecology who was selected by the Class of 2024
Outstanding Case-Based Learning Instructors
Lavinia Mitroi
Class of 2022 and was selected by the Class of 2025
Dr. Rosana Jhawar
Community-Based Clinical Faculty was selected by the Class of 2024
Outstanding Clinical Skills Instructors
Dr. Nathan McLaughlin
Associate Clinical Professor of Health Sciences in the Department of Family Medicine was selected by the Class of 2025
Dr. Rebeca Gavan
Assistant Clinical Professor Health Sciences, was selected by the class of 2024
Outstanding Standardized Patient
Ted Puffer
Outstanding Emergency Medicine Clerkship Instructor
Dr. Samuel Zidovetzki
Assistant Clinical Professor of Health Sciences
Outstanding Family Medicine Clerkship Instructor
Dr. Indira Maryann Gowda
Assistant Clinical Professor
Outstanding Internal Medicine Clerkship Instructor
Dr. Robby Gulati
Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education
Outstanding OB/GYN Clerkship Instructor
Dr. Karin Jones
Community-based clinical faculty
Outstanding Pediatrics Clerkship Instructor
Dr. Jean Russell
Assistant Clinical Professor of Health Sciences, Pediatrics
Outstanding Psychiatry Clerkship Instructor
Dr. Jami Woods
Assistant Clinical Professor of Health Sciences, Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Outstanding Surgery Clerkship Instructor
Dr. Ahmed Mahmoud
Community-Based Clinical Faculty
Outstanding Block and Clerkship Directors
Dr. Mallory Stuparich
Assistant Clinical Professor of Health Sciences, Clerkship Director MS3 and MS4, and co-director MS1 Block 3
Outstanding Public Health Faculty
Dr. Ann Cheney
Associate Professor, Department of Social Medicine, Population and Public Health
Outstanding Clerkship Students
Priya Rajan, Class of 2023
Alvin Chan, Class of 2023
Outstanding Pre-Clerkship Staff
Michelle Mwazae
Medical Education Coordinator
Outstanding Clerkship Staff
Kathleen Witty
Clerkship Program Coordinator
Patty Walker
LACE Program Coordinator
Outstanding Student Affairs Staff
Alejandra Torres
Academic Specialist
Outstanding General Staff Member
Amanda Smith
Director of Medical Student Support and Wellness
Student Award Dinner
Outstanding Student in Psychiatry
Margaret Yau
Outstanding Students in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Sonul Gupta and Laurel Nelms
Outstanding Students in Pediatrics
Arpita Gupta
Outstanding Student in Family Medicine
John "Milo" Dover
Outstanding Student in Surgery
Maria Guerrero
Stewart and Elaine Shankel Award
Lavinia Mitroi
Thomas Haider Clinical Award of Excellence
Arpita Gupta
Dean’s Mission and Values Award
Maria Macias Lopez
Dean’s Social Justice Award
Daniel Gehlbach and Kishan Patel
Golden Apple Award
Presented to a faculty member for overall outstanding instruction.
Dr. Christian Lytle
Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences
Golden Brain Award
Presented to a faculty member for being most knowledgeable in their field.
Dr. Iryna Ethell
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Biomedical Sciences
Golden Heart Award
Presented to a faculty member for being most concerned with our level of understanding and our well-being.
Dr. Zhenun Yang
Lecturer, School of Medicine Internal Medicine
Golden Lung Award
Presented to a faculty member for providing a breath of fresh air to an otherwise stale topic.
Dr. Rebeca Gavan
Assistant Clinical Professor Health Sciences and Academic Director of Standardized Patient Program, Director of Case-Based Learning, Y1 Doctoring, Co-Director of Y2 Clinical Skills
Neal L. Schiller Award for Excellence in Compassionate Medical Education
Presented to a faculty member who the class feel has equipped them with valuable knowledge, mentorship, and a commitment to lifelong learning.
Dr. Lucas Friedman
Ultrasound Thread Director
Alumni Recognition Award for Excellence in Training
Presented to a faculty member who best exemplifies the qualities of a highly knowledgeable, caring and dedicated teacher who has made a profound positive impact upon the class.
Dr. Adwoa Osei
Assistant Clinical Professor Health Sciences School of Medicine Pediatrics
Dr. Remus Popa
Clinical Professor Health Sciences School of Medicine Internal Medicine
