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Medical students celebrate their teachers, mentors

Faculty, residents honored with Distinguished Service Teaching Awards

November 19, 2019

Matt Miller

Laurie J. Punch, MD, (left) an associate professor of surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is recognized by medical students, including Gautam Adusumilli (right), as the nominee for the annual Humanism in Medicine award. Punch was among the faculty recognized at the Distinguished Service Teaching Awards Ceremony on Oct. 24 at the Eric P. Newman Education Center on the Medical Campus.

Washington University School of Medicine students recently honored faculty and residents with Distinguished Service Teaching Awards for the 2018-19 academic year. The awards, which were first given in 1991, reflect the students’ appreciation for dedication, patience and skill in training future physicians.

Students completing their first, second and third year of studies select the course masters, lecturers, clerkship directors, attendings and residents who have made significant contributions to their education. The most recent honorees were awarded Oct. 24 at the Eric P. Newman Education Center on the Medical Campus.

Among those honored was Laurie J. Punch, MD, an associate professor of surgery and associate program director of the general surgery residency program at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

Punch was the students’ nominee for the national Humanism in Medicine Award, which is presented annually by the Association of American Medical Colleges. The award recognizes medical school faculty physicians who exemplify the qualities of a caring and compassionate mentor in the teaching and advising of medical students.

Punch has developed a curriculum exploring “the anatomy of gun violence” as a disease and public health issue. Her plan calls for lessons to be taught during all four years of medical school through a combination of lectures, simulations and real-time experiences. Her aim is to improve the care provided to patients and families who experience gun violence; to reduce the impact of gun violence; and to prevent such violence in the first place. She sees the education of medical trainees as a critical step in that mission.

Punch also teaches beyond the boundaries of the Medical Campus. She brought to St. Louis the Stop the Bleed program — a national awareness campaign intended to encourage bystanders of all backgrounds and ages to become trained, equipped and empowered to help in emergencies involving bleeding. Her efforts have resulted in a nonprofit organization aimed at reducing the impact of trauma and violence through first aid training, violence-recovery support, and youth mentoring.

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Among those honored Oct. 24 with Distinguished Service Teaching Awards were (from left): Christopher J. Dy, MD (shown with his son); Michael M. Awad, MD, PhD; Camaryn E. Chrisman Robbins, MD; Cassandra D. Fritz, MD; Anne Glowinski, MD; Andrea R. Hagemann, MD; Colleen M. Wallace, MD; and Paul E. Wise, MD. The ceremony was at the Eric P. Newman Education Center on the Medical Campus.

Other medical faculty and residents honored at the ceremony include:

Third Year Awards – Class of 2020

Clerkship Director of the Year: Gerome Escota, MD, assistant professor of medicine

Clinical Department of the Year: Internal Medicine

Clerkship Administrator of the Year: Douglas Brown, PhD, specialist in surgical ethics

Clinical Teachers of the Year:

• Michael M. Awad, MD, PhD, associate professor of surgery and associate dean for medical education
• Camaryn E. Chrisman Robbins, MD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology
• Christopher J. Dy, MD, assistant professor of orthopedic surgery
• Cassandra D. Fritz, MD, clinical fellow in gastroenterology
• Andrea R. Hagemann, MD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology
• Tammy S. Sonn, MD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology
• Ashley E. Veade, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology
• Colleen M. Wallace, MD, associate professor of pediatrics
• Paul E. Wise, MD, professor of surgery
• Omar M. Young, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology

Residents of the Year:

• Bilal Al-Khalil, MD
• Omar H. Butt, MD, PhD
• Angelina M. Carey-Love, MD
• Julie G. Grossman, MD
• Kelli A. Kreher, MD
• Ryan J. McGuire, MD
• Lauren L. Reschke, MD
• Subha Subramanian, MD
• Kevin Y. Xu, MD
• Jennifer Yu, MD

Primary Care Preceptor of the Year: Daniel Gaitan, MD, associate professor of clinical medicine

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Megan E. Wren, MD, (left) and Lisa A. Zickuhr, MD, embrace after receiving recognition at the Distinguished Service Teaching Awards ceremony on Oct. 24 at the Eric P. Newman Education Center.

Second Year Awards – Class of 2021

Course Director of the Year: Steven C. Cheng, MD, associate professor of medicine

Professor of the Year: Erika C. Crouch, MD, PhD, professor of pathology and immunology

Lecturer of the Year: Timothy T. Yau, MD, assistant professor of medicine

Distinguished Service Teaching Awards:

• David L. Eisenberg, MD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology
• Ian S. Hagemann MD, PhD, assistant professor of pathology and immunology, and of obstetrics and gynecology
• Nigar Kirmani MD, professor of medicine
• Steven J. Lawrence, MD, associate professor of medicine
• Caroline K. Lee, MD, associate professor of pediatrics and of cardiology
• Kenan R. Omurtag, MD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology
• Justin S. Sadhu, MD, assistant professor of medicine
• Megan E. Wren, MD, professor of medicine
• Allyson R. Zazulia, MD, professor of neurology and of radiology
• Lisa A. Zickuhr, MD, instructor in rheumatology

Practice of Medicine Preceptor of the Year: Thomas M. De Fer, MD, professor of medicine

Teaching Assistant of the Year: Erin Klein, MD

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Glenn Conroy, PhD, presents the newly named Glenn Conroy Course Director of the Year Award to Amy L. Bauernfeind, PhD, Oct. 24 at the Distinguished Service Teaching Awards ceremony. Kari L. Allen, PhD, also was honored with that award. Conroy’s wife and longtime teaching partner, Jane Phillips-Conroy, PhD, (rear left) presented a similar honor — the newly named Jane Phillips-Conroy Professor of the Year Award — to Terrence B. Ritzmann, PhD.

First Year Awards – Class of 2022

Glenn Conroy Course Director of the Year: Amy L. Bauernfeind, PhD, assistant professor of anatomy; and Kari L. Allen, PhD, assistant professor of anatomy

Jane Phillips-Conroy Professor of the Year: Terrence B. Ritzmann, PhD, assistant professor of anthropology and of anatomy

Stanley Lang Lecturer of the Year: Sabrina Nunez, PhD

Distinguished Service Teaching Awards:

• Kari L. Allen, PhD, assistant professor of anatomy
• Amy L. Bauernfeind, PhD, assistant professor of anatomy
• Jeffrey J. Bednarski, MD, PhD, assistant professor of pediatrics, and of hematology and oncology
• Krikor T. Dikranian, MD, PhD, professor of anatomy
• Brian T. Edelson, MD, PhD, assistant professor of pathology and immunology
• Simon Haroutounian, PhD, associate professor of anesthesiology
• Timothy Holy, PhD, the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professor of Neuroscience
• Robert Mercer, PhD, professor of cell biology and physiology
• Linda J. Pike, PhD, the Alumni Endowed Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics
• Timothy T. Yau, MD, assistant professor of medicine

Practice of Medicine Small Group Leader of the Year Award: Timothy T. Yau, MD, assistant professor of medicine

Selective of the Year Award: Cynthia A. Wichelman, MD, associate professor of emergency medicine

Teaching Assistant of the Year: Takahiro E. Ohara

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Christopher J. Dy, MD, with his son, accept an award Oct. 24 at the Distinguished Service Teaching Awards ceremony at the Eric P. Newman Education Center.