Faculty Recognition Awards
2025 Newland Winner Subodh Lele, MD
James Newland Distinguished Pathology Educator
The James Newland Distinguished Pathology Educator Award recognizes a distinguished faculty member within the Department of Pathology and Microbiology that has demonstrated outstanding commitment to and excellence in preclinical, clinical, or graduate pathology education locally, regionally, and nationally. It represents the highest educational honor the department can bestow on a faculty member. Awardees exemplify in every sense the educational spirit and mission of the department and the institution.
2025 Mentorship Winner - Clinical Faculty - Scott Koepsell, MD, PhD
This award recognizes a faculty member who demonstrates exceptional dedication to the professional development of early and/or mid-career faculty through sustained and meaningful mentorship.
The recipient exemplifies the qualities of an outstanding mentor by providing guidance, support, and encouragement that contributes to the mentee’s academic advancement, clinical excellence, research productivity, educational contributions, belonging, and well-being.
2025 Mentorship Winner - Research Faculty - Stacey Gilk, PhD
This award is open to full-time faculty in the department who hold the rank of associate or full professor. Nominees must have mentored at least one early career faculty member (instructor, assistant, or associate professor) for at least 12 months.
Going forward, one recipient for this award will be selected annually. The award is voted on by all faculty.
2025 Maurer Winner Audrey Lazenby, MD
Harold M. Maurer Outstanding Resident Educator
This award, voted on by the residents, recognizes the faculty member that has made the greatest impact on their professional growth during the year through their exceptional involvement in didactic teaching, clinical conferences, and in day-to-day work with trainees while on rotations.
2025 Graduate Educator Winner Derrick Samuelson, PhD (Internal Medicine)
Outstanding Graduate Student Educator
The faculty receiving this award displays exceptional involvement in graduate training regarding education as well as career guidance. The recipient of this annual award is selected by the department's graduate students.
This award recognizes one or two faculty members who demonstrates exceptional achievements in the research mission area. The recipient consistently exemplifies high standards of excellence in basic, translational, clinical, or population-level research. This could be reflected through one of more of the following dimensions: large grant awards, publications that chance clinical practice or result in a scientific paradigm shift, inventions with broad implications, or advances in public health or biopreparedness.
This award recognizes a faculty member who demonstrates exceptional dedication to and sustained excellence in patient care. The recipient consistently exemplifies high standards of professionalism, diagnostic accuracy, and service to patients—directly or indirectly—through their clinical work, consultative activities, and contributions to systems that support safe, effective, and compassionate care for individuals and/or the community at large.
This award recognizes a faculty member who exemplifies outstanding academic citizenship through active, consistent engagement in the academic life of the department. Academic citizenship includes meaningful participation in the operational, service, and collegial functions that support the collective success of the academic mission.
Previous Recipients
- 2025 - Subodh Lele, MD, Professor
- 2024 - Benjamin Swanson, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, and Geoffrey Talmon, MD, Professor
- 2023 - Timothy Greiner, MD, Professor
- 2022 - Audrey Lazenby, MD, Professor, and Allison Cushman-Vokoun, MD, PhD, Professor
- 2025 - Audrey Lazenby, MD, Professor
- 2024 - Benjamin Swanson, MD, PhD, Associate Professor
- 2023 - David Wagner, MD, Associate Professor
- 2022 - Ji Chen, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor
- 2021 - Oleg Bobr, MD, Assistant Professor
- 2020 - Ernesto Martinex Duarte, MD, Assistant Professor
- 2019 - Ana Yuil-Valdes, MD, Assistant Professor
2025 - Subodh Lele, MD, Professor
2024 - David Wagner, MD, Associate Professor
2023 - Ana Yuil-Valdes, MD, Assistant Professor
2022- Jesse Cox, MD, PhD, Associate Professor
2025 - Derrick Samuelson, PhD, Assistant Professor (Department of Internal Medicine)
2024 - Scot Ouellette, PhD, Professor
2023 - Amanda Brinkworth, PhD, Assistant Professor
2025 - Scott Koepsell, MD, PhD, Professor
2023 - Samuel J. Pirruccello, MD, Professor
2025 - Stacey Gilk, PhD, Professor
2023 - Rey A. Carabeo, PhD, Professor
Duane Retzlaff
Communications & Events Associate
For award questions and nominations