Students, Faculty Recognized at Annual School of Medicine Awards Event

By Ross French on May 24, 2016

The UC Riverside School of Medicine hosted its annual Faculty Recognition and Student Awards Ceremony on Thursday, May 19, 2016 at the Riverside Marriott.

The full gallery of photos by Carrie Rosema may also be found on our Google Photos site.

Medical Student Awards

Outstanding Service Scholar Award – Matthew Gomez

Presented to a medical student who has shown dedication in providing of themselves in service for the betterment of the UCR School of Medicine community and/or within the Inland Empire.

Research Scholar Award – Rennie Burke

Presented to a medical student who has shown strong scholarship in research that will be continued within their summer after successful completion of their first year of medical school.

Outstanding Leadership Scholar Award – Veronica Scott

Presented to a medical student who has shown strong leadership skills by representing their peers views and thoughts throughout the UCR School of Medicine community.

Ernst A. Noltmann Memorial Award – Calvin Sung

This award is given to a first-year medical student who intends to spend the summer between the first and second years of medical school in medical service and/or research. Dr. Noltmann (1931-1986) was founding director of the UCR/UCLA Thomas Haider Program in Biomedical Sciences.

Robert M. Zweig, M.D. Award – Annie Le

This scholarship fund is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Robert Zweig (1924-2002) who was a clinical faculty member at UCR. The annual award recipient is selected based on an essay describing the student’s interest in medical problems accruing from air pollution.

Paul and Marian Trotta Endowed Fellowship – Alfred Lee

Paul (1926-2014) and Marian Trotta are both natives of Riverside and strong supporters of the Riverside community. This is a student assistance fund for the education of future physicians. The recipient of this award must be a medical student in good academic standing.

Celso-Gonzales/Lopo Family Medical Student Endowed Fellowship – Karen Medina

Dr. Alina Lopo established the fellowship to honor her grandfather as well as other members of her family who have contributed to her education. The award is given to an outstanding student from the first-year medical school class.

Bryant/Small Scholarship – Srita Chakka

Dr. Richard C. Small wishes to honor the contributions that Dr. Fred Bryant has made to UCR for more than five decades. This award will be given to a medical student who has demonstrated leadership, special aptitude for and a deep commitment to the study of medicine.

Janice Rock Leong Endowed Student Award – Scott Cramer

The Poorman-Hoyt Stratford Foundation, in the name of Janice Rock Leong, established a student assistance fund for the education of future physicians who are students in the UCR School of Medicine and California residents.

Olman/Hayashida Scholarship Award – Dustin Plowman

The Olman/Hayashida Scholarship Award was established to provide awards to medical students who have demonstrated involvement with and commitment to the LGBT community or populations living with HIV/AIDS and intend to practice medicine in Inland Southern California.

Beaver Medical Clinic Foundation Award – Haroun Mohammad

This award is given to a first or second year medical student in high academic standing. The student should have strong ties to the Inland Empire and express a desire to practice medicine in the Inland Empire upon completion of medical training. The student should possess leadership skills and outstanding attendance.

Carl Fuglie Award – Kristianna Wi

This is a scholarship fund for first-year medical students. It is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Carl Fuglie (1939-1977) who was a graduate of UCR in 1961. The annual recipient is selected based on a consideration of the nominee’s academic excellence and leadership qualities.

Graduate Student Awards

Pease Cancer Fellowship

The Pease Cancer Fellowship was established by Mrs. Dorothy Pease to provide funding for cancer research under the Dorothy M. Pease Endowed Fund for Cancer Research in the Biomedical Sciences division. She lived in Riverside all her life and wanted to support local biomedical research. Her son is a physician. Dorothy is also a member of UCR’s Watkins Society.

This is a merit-based award for students committed to work on cancer-related research projects. The award will cover stipend and fees for one or two quarters. The recipients were:

John Macbeth

Studies how obesity-induced inflammatory environment in utero affects monocyte function in babies thereby increasing the risk for cancer and cardio-vascular diseases.

Stephanie King

Studies a role for AMPK in regulating intestinal epithelial barrier, which is important for understanding colitis-associated colon cancer, as it pertains to the development of chronic inflammation and its facilitation of colon cancer. Her work will determine if AMPK acts as a tumor suppressor in chronic colitis-associated colon cancer

Burden Fellowship for Graduate Studies in Biomedical Research

This is a merit-based award for graduate students pursuing a Ph.D. degree in the biomedical sciences. The award will cover stipend and fees for one, two or three quarters and is possible thanks to generous donation by Mrs. Mary Galvin Burden. The recipents were

First Prize – Andrea Rivera

Andrea studies host gene expression to understand the immune response to Ebola virus.

Second Prize – Alex Corches

Alex studies the mechanisms of the over-generalization of fearful memories that can cause irrational fear and anxiety in safe contexts as seen in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). His research addresses how neuronal activity in various brain regions leads to fear memory specificity

Third Prize – Pedro Anthony Perez

Anthony studies the endocannabinoid system as it relates to diet-induced obesity and chronic inflammation.

Faculty Awards

Retiring clinical faculty members Manya M. Jianinno and Ann Aasen were recognized for their service to the school and the John Herring, Jr. was recognized by biomedical sciences students for his support services and advising.

Golden Apple Award -Overall Outstanding Instruction

• Class of 2018 – Neal L. Schiller
• Class of 2019 – Christian Lytle

Golden Heart Award – For Being Most Concerned with Our Level of Understanding and Well Being

• Class of 2018 – Neal L. Schiller
• Class of 2019 – Zhenyun Yang

Golden Brain Award – For Being Most Knowledgable in Their Field

• Class of 2018 – Stewart Shankel
• Class of 2019 – Daniel Straus

Golden Lung Award – For Providing a Breath of Fresh Air to An Otherwise Stale Topic

• Class of 2018 & Class of 2019 – Roger Seheult

Outstanding Doctoring Instructors

• Class of 2018 – Heidi Millard
• Class of 2019 – Rebeca Gavan

Outstanding Clinical Skills Instructors

• Class of 2018 – Kenneth Ballou
• Class of 2019 – Adolfo Aguilera

Outstanding PBL Instructors

• Class of 2018 & Class of 2019 – Shivani Scharf

Finally, Christina Rangel, event planner specialist in the UCR School of Medicine Office of Student Affairs, was recognized for her work in organizing the dinner and event.

Archived under: Inside UCR, faculty, internal, scholarships, School of Medicine, students

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