March 2026 – June 2026

Jonathan Alder, PhD, was named the Outstanding Research or Clinical Mentorship Award at this year’s PACCSM Rogers Day.

Sareen Ali, MD; Justin-James Chua, MD; Panagiotis Gourlias, MD; Eric Mi, MD; and Almog Shalit, MD, have been named the 2027–2028 Chief Residents for the Internal Medicine Residency Program.

Mazen Al-Qadi, MD, is the 2026 recipient of the John W. Kreit Outstanding Educator Award.

Martina Anto-Ocrah, PhD, MPH, has been nominated for the 2026 Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Priz, which recognizes leaders with the courage & vision to shape our world.

Dana Ascherman, MD, is this year’s recipient of the Arthritis Foundation’s Pamela Massey Partners for Patients Award. >> Read more

Shauna Assadzandi, MD, was appointed the Director of the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program.

Amar Bansal, MD, and Gina Piscitello, MD, MS, are among the 2026 Hastings Center Cunniff-Dixon Early-Career Physician Award recipients, honoring compassionate, patient-centered care at the end of life. >> Read more

Kambez H. Benam, DPhil, received the Respiratory Health Award’s Research Innovation and Translation Achievement Award at the American Thoracic Society Conference in recognition of his commitment to advancing respiratory health through translational innovation and collaborative science >> Read more

Tara Bickers, MSN, FNP-C, and Brooke Heiple, MSN, FNP-C, were joint recipients of the Outstanding Clinical Service Award at this year’s PACCSM Rogers Day.

Scott Biggins, MD, MAS, is the 2026 GI Fellowship Teaching Award winner.

Mehret Birru Talabi, MD, PhD; Lan Coffman, MD, PhD; and Daria Van Tyne, PhD, are among this year’s Health Sciences Ascending Star honorees, recognizing innovative midcareer faculty for excellence in research, mentorship, and impact. >> Read more

Mehret Birru Talabi, MD, PhD, and Flordeliza Villanueva, MD, are the 2026 recipients of the Margaret Ragni Award for Advancement of Women in Medicine & Science. >> Read more

Sonya Borrero, MD, MS, was appointed to the National Academies Committee on Contraception Access. >> Read more

Stephen Chan, MD, PhD, is a 2026 Harrington Scholar-Innovator. >> Read more

Julie Childers, MD, is the 2026 recipient of the Kenneth E. Schuit Award, recognizing the dean’s master educators, from the Pitt School of Medicine Curriculum Colloquium.

Matthew Chinman, PhD, received a 2026 Gold Telly award as executive producer of “Prevent Harmful Behaviors from Undermining Readiness.”

Suzanne Colilla, DNP, CRNP, is the 2025 Geriatrics Teacher of the Year Award for a Healthcare Professional

Brenna Conroy, DO, is the recipient of the 2026 UPMC Mercy Hospitalist Physician Colleague Award.

Tulio Correa, MD, was a recipient of the DTO ATC 2026 Travel Grant for his study on transplantation from HBV NAT-positive donors to HBV-negative recipients.

Rolando Cuevas, PhD, was among the winners at this year’s 2026 Postdoctoral Research Symposium sponsored by the Office of Academic Career Development. >> Read more

Laura DeCastro, MD, is the 2026 recipient of the Bernard Forget Award for Mentorship from the American Society of Hematology. >> Read more

Charles Dela Cruz, MD, PhD, received the Assembly on Pulmonary Infections and Tuberculosis Senior-Level Peer Recognition Award at the American Thoracic Society Conference, honoring his longstanding contributions to research, clinical care, mentorship, and leadership. >> Read more

Claire Durkin, MD, MSCE, has been selected as the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Hepatology Editorial Fellow.

Adriana Estrada-Bernal, PhD, was awarded the Outstanding Research Prefix Faculty Award at PACCSM’s Rogers Day.

Christopher Faber, MD, is the 2026 honoree of the PACCSM Legacy Award.

Allison Faust, MD, MHS, was one of this year’s awardees of the Community Liver Alliance “You Make a Difference” awards.

Amber Flanigan, MSN, RN, received the Lorenzetty Outstanding Nursing Award at this year’s PACCSM Rogers Day.

Sarah Gaffen, PhD, has been named a Distinguished Fellow by American Association of Immunologists. >> Read more

Mark Geraci, MD, is President-Elect of the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine.

Aditi Gurkar, PhD, was named Associate Chief of Research in the Division of Geriatric Medicine.

Parham Habibzadeh, MD, and Matthew Nguyen, MD, are 2026 recipients of the ASCO Annual Meeting Merit Award.

Veronica Hong, PhD (Saloman lab), was awarded the American Association of University Women American Postdoctoral Research Fellowship.

Varun Jain, MD, MBA, was one of six recipients of the 2026 American College of Gastroenterology Medical Resident Clinical Research Award.

Shannon Joy, CRNP, was a nominee for the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing Cameos of Caring® Award.

Robin Jump, MD, PhD, was named Associate Chief of Faculty Advancement and Research Development in the Division of Geriatric Medicine.

Anat Kohn, MD, PhD and Alicia Rizzo, MD, PhD, were joint recipients of the Bernie Pennock Outstanding Young Investigator at this year’s Rogers Day in PACCSM.

Jillian Kyle, MD, was the recipient of the Clerkship Preceptor of the Year Award at this year’s Pitt School of Medicine Curriculum Colloquium.

Vladamir Lamm, MD, won the 2026 American Gastroenterological Association Shark Tank with his start up, Edulis Therapeutics.

Kelly Loughridge received the Outstanding Technical Service Award at this year’s PACCSM Rogers Day.

Randolph Lyde, MD, PhD, and Ryan Sweeney, MD, have been named joint Chief Fellows for the 2026-2027 academic year for the Hematology/Oncology fellowship.

Rachel Markovitz, CRNP, was a nominee for the APP Preceptor of the Year Award.

Kelly Martin MSN, CRNP, BC, received the Board Spotlight Award from the Community Liver Alliance.

Stephanie Maximous, MD, MS, received a 2026 Pitt Sustainability Faculty Award in recognition of advancing climate health education and sustainable health care practices. >> Read more

Kaitlyn McSurdy, MD, and Georgia Vasilakis, MD, received the Audience Choice Award at GME Connect.

Sarah Merriam, MD, MS, is the recipient of the National Award for Scholarship in Medical Education.

Jetina Okereke, MD, received the Robert M. Rogers Award for Outstanding Scholarly Achievement from the Division of PACCSM.

Anna Phillips, MD, MS, was selected to participate in American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy LEAD 2026 class.

Stefan Preisendörfer, MD, and Sandeep Jain, MD, received the HRS Health Equity Abstract Award.

Thomas R. Radomski, MD, MS, is the recipient of the ACLGIM Leadership Award.

Sinthana Ramsey, DO, MS, is the winner of the 2026 Tara E. Cook Memorial Teaching Award in recognition of her commitment to medical education within Hospice & Palliative Medicine.

Samender Randhawa, MD, was appointed the Associate Director of the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program.

Krithika Rao, PhD, was among this year’s Nancy Tannery Grant awardees, recognized for developing an open-access guide to biomedical research designed to enhance student learning and improve accessibility to course materials. >> Read more

Santiago Rivero (Gomez lab) was one of 12 winners at the University of Pittsburgh of the National Science Foundation 2026 Graduate Research Fellowship Program. >> Read more

Alicia Rizzo, MD, PhD, received the Assembly on Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology Recognition of Early Academic Achievement Award (REAAch) at the American Thoracic Society Conference. >> Read more

Samir Saba, MD, was named the 2026 Peter J. Safar Pulse of Pittsburgh honoree by the American Heart Association in honor of his commitment to advancing cardiovascular health – from pioneering research and patient-centered care to mentoring the next generation of physicians, with his impact felt across Western Pennsylvania and beyond. >> Read more

Anum Saeed, MD, was recognized by ACC/AHA for her role in writing the Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome Guideline.

Jami Salomon, PhD, has been named to the editorial board of Cancer Neuroscience, a new journal exploring how neural systems and cancer interact.

Khvaramze Shaverdasvilli, MD, PhD, was named the 2026 ASCO Young Investigator award.

Sylk Sotto, EdD, MBS, MPS, is a 2026–27 ELAM Fellow. >> Read more

Blair Stone, MD, was named the Outstanding Sleep Medicine Educator Award at this year’s PACCSM Rogers Day.

Catalin Toma, MD, received the Most Impactful Paper, 2023-2024, award at EuroIntervention for his paper “Acute outcomes for the full US cohort of the FLASH mechanical thrombectomy registry in pulmonary embolism.”

Eloho Ufomata, MD, MS, is the 2026 recipient of the Donald S. Fraley Award for Medical Student Mentoring from the Pitt School of Medicine Curriculum Colloquium.

Ravy Vajravelu, MD, MSCE, has been appointed the new Director of the GI Fellowship Program.

Jacqueline Ziegman, MD, received a poster award for Resident/Fellow Research at the American College of Physicians Internal Medicine 2026 annual meeting.

Shana Zucker, MD, MPH, MS, received the Society of General Internal Medicine Lawrence S. Linn Needs-Based Travel Grant.