The Wayne State University School of Medicineâs Office of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development held its first combined Promotion, Tenure and Award Reception on Nov. 15 in the Margherio Family Conference Center.
Twelve members of the faculty were granted tenure, including Nihar Nayak, D.V.M., Ph.D., who was also promoted to associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
âReceiving tenure is a recognition of my academic excellence and license of freedom to pursue my passion for teaching and research,â she said.
The School of Medicine also recognized and celebrated outstanding members of its faculty with College Teaching Awards, Research Teaching Awards and special Deanâs Office Awards.
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences Vaibhav Diwadkar, Ph.D., received the Deanâs Office Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award.
âWorking with upcoming faculty at WSU and other institutions and helping them out is reward enough. Yet, it is pleasing when these efforts are highlighted and acknowledged by the Deanâs Office,â he said. âI am grateful for that, and of course will continue to remain engaged in research, teaching and mentorship, the three pillars of what makes the academic enterprise so meaningful for me and my like-minded colleagues.â
Professor of Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences Paul Walker, Ph.D., received the Deanâs Office Kamran S. Moghissi, M.D., Endowed Faculty Award for Excellence in Basic Science Teaching.
âI am honored to receive the Moghissi Award in recognition of teaching excellence in the basic sciences. It is especially gratifying to be nominated by faculty colleagues who are themselves fully engaged in the educational mission of the school and are deserving of this award,â he said.
Dr. Walker directs the Gross Anatomy course at the School of Medicine.
âI also thank School of Medicine leadership for their continued support of innovative methods in the teaching of human anatomy, which will benefit our students throughout their careers,â he added.
In addition, Professor of Pediatrics Jocelyn Ang, M.D., received the Faculty Award for Excellence in Clinical Science Teaching. She was nominated by Deepak Kamat, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Pediatrics.
âDr. Jocelyn Angâs educational contributions to the education of medical students, residents and fellows have been outstanding. Several Wayne State University medical students have actually pursued pediatric residency training to become pediatricians because of her teaching and influence,â Dr. Kamat said.
Kenneth Honn, Ph.D., distinguished professor of Pathology and of Oncology, received the Outstanding Research Achievement Award. Dr. Honn discovered, in a major contribution in the early 1980s, that prostacyclin, a lipid mediator, plays an important role in tumor metastasis. The groundbreaking discovery opened the opportunity to investigate the role of bioactive lipids in cancer and biology, and in practice. Dr. Honn is internationally known for his discoveries on the role of bioactive lipids in prostate cancer.
Beena Sood, M.D., M.S., professor of Pediatrics, received the Women in Medicine and Science Leadership Award.
Professor of Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences Renu Kowluru, Ph.D., and Professor of Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences Fu-Shin Yu, Ph.D., were promoted to the titles of Distinguished Faculty in the School of Medicine.
Promotion, tenure and research, and teaching awards were presented to the following faculty members, listed by department:
ANESTHESIOLOGY
Promotion and Tenure
Nabil Sibai, M.D. â" Clinical Associate Professor
BIOCHEMISTRY, MICROBIOLOGY and IMMUNOLOGY
Awards
Robert Akins, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award
Bharati Mitra, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award
Kevin Theis, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award
Harley Tse, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award
Jeffrey Withey, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award and Research Excellence Award
Zhe Yang, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award
CENTER FOR MOLECULAR MEDICINE AND GENETICS
Promotion and Tenure
Michelle Cichon, M.S., C.G.C. â" Academic Services Officer III
Francesca Luca, Ph.D. (Joint Obstetrics and Gynecology) â" Associate Professor (RE) with Tenure
Roger Pique-Regi, Ph.D. (Joint Obstetrics and Gynecology) â" Associate Professor (RE) with Tenure
Ren Zhang, Ph.D. (Joint Internal Medicine) â" Associate Professor (RE) with Tenure
Awards
James Granneman, Ph.D. (Joint Internal Medicine) â" College Teaching Award
Jeffrey Tseng, Ph.D. (Joint Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology) â" Research Excellence Award
DERMATOLOGY
Promotion and Tenure
Steven Daveluy, M.D. â" Associate Professor (CE)
Ali Moiin, M.D. â" Clinical Professor
EMERGENCY MEDICINE
Promotion and Tenure
Claire Pearson, M.D. â" Associate Professor (CE)
Awards
Anne Messman, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
FAMILY MEDICINE and PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENCES
Promotion and Tenure
April Carcone, Ph.D. â" Associate Professor (R)
Margit Chadwell, M.D. â" Associate Professor (CE)
Awards
Kimberly Campbell-Voytal, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award
Julie Gleason-Comstock, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award
Kendra Schwartz, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
INTERNAL MEDICINE
Promotion and Tenure
Ahmad Abu-Rashed, M.D. â" Clinical Associate Professor
Joel Appel, D.O. â" Associate Professor (CE) FTA
Susmita Chowdhuri, M.D. â" Professor (CE)
Scott Kaatz, D.O. â" Clinical Professor
Akshay Khandelwal, M.D. â" Clinical Associate Professor
Anupama Kottam, M.D. â" Associate Professor (CE)
Hicham Krayem, M.D. â" Clinical Associate Professor
Philip Kuriakose, M.D. â" Associate Professor (CE) FTA
David Lanfear, M.D. â" Professor (RE) FTA
James McCord, M.D. â" Associate Professor (CE) FTA
Jennifer Mendez, Ph.D. â" Associate Professor (RE)
Yahya Osman, M.D. â" Associate Professor (CE)
Dee Dee Wang, M.D. â" Clinical Associate Professor
Awards
Graciela Conley, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
Diane Levine, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
Li Li, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award
Noreen Rossi, M.D. â" Research Excellence Award
Lobelia Samavati, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
NEUROLOGY
Promotion and Tenure
Evanthia Bernitsas, M.D. â" Associate Professor (CE)
Edwin George, M.D., Ph.D. â" Associate Professor (CE)
Kumar Rajamani, M.D. â" Professor (CE)
Awards
Rohit Marawar, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
NEUROSURGERY
Promotion and Tenure
Ellen Air, M.D., Ph.D. â" Clinical Associate Professor
Jason Schwalb, M.D. â" Clinical Professor
OBSTETRICS and GYNECOLOGY
Promotion and Tenure
Kang Chen, Ph.D. â" Associate Professor (RE) with Tenure
Nardhy Gomez-Lopez, Ph.D. â" Associate Professor (RE)
Nihar Nayak, D.V.M., Ph.D. â" Associate Professor (RE) with Tenure
Roopina Sangha, M.D. â" Associate Professor (CE) FTA
ONCOLOGY
Promotion and Tenure
Hussein Aoun, M.D. â" Clinical Associate Professor
Zhanjun Hou, Ph.D. â" Associate Professor (R)
Steven Miller, M.D. â" Associate Professor (CE)
Ammar Sukari, M.D. â" Associate Professor (CE)
Awards
Asfar Azmi, Ph.D. â" Research Excellence Award
Lauren Hamel, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award
Theresa Hastert, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award
Kristen Purrington, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award
Manohar Ratnam, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award
Michael Tainsky, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award
Nerissa Viola, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award
OPTHALMOLOGY, VISUAL and ANATOMICAL SCIENCES
Promotion and Tenure
Ashok Kumar, Ph.D. â" Associate Professor (RE) with Tenure
Lalit Pukhrambam, Ph.D. â" Granting of Tenure
Ryan Thummel, Ph.D. â" Associate Professor (RE) with Tenure
Awards
Rodney Braun, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award
Dennis Goebel, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award
Anju Goyal, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
Ashok Kumar, Ph.D. â" Research Excellence Award
Mark McDermott, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
Paul Walker, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award
OTOLARYNGOLOGY, HEAD and NECK SURGERY
Promotion and Tenure
Tamer Ghanem, M.D., Ph.D. â" Clinical Associate Professor
Robert Hong, M.D., Ph.D. â" Associate Professor (CE)
Lamont Jones, M.D. â" Clinical Associate Professor
Alvin Ko, M.D. â" Clinical Associate Professor
Syed Raza, M.D. â" Associate Professor (CE)
PATHOLOGY
Promotion and Tenure
Dhananjay Chitale, M.B.B.S. â" Clinical Associate Professor
A. Bradley Eisenbray, M.D., Ph.D. â" Clinical Associate Professor
Menq-Jer Lee, Ph.D. â" Granting of Tenure
Sean Williamson, M.D. â" Clinical Associate Professor
Awards
Rafic Beydoun, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
Salah Ebrahim, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
Rafael Fridman, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award
Suzanne Jacques, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
Hyeong-Reh Kim, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award
Henry Lim, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
Vinod Shidham, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
PEDIATRICS
Promotion and Tenure
Ahdi Amer, M.D. â" Professor (CE)
Jocelyn Ang, M.D. â" Professor (CE)
Roland Chu, M.D. â" Associate Professor (CE)
Robert Conway, M.D. â" Associate Professor (CE)
Eileen Hug, D.O. â" Clinical Professor
Justin Jeong, Ph.D. â" Associate Professor (RE) with Tenure
Khalid Kamal, M.D. â" Clinical Associate Professor
Nirupama Kannikeswaran, M.D. (Joint Emergency Medicine) â" Professor (CE)
Fatema Serajee, M.B.B.S. (Joint Neurology) â" Associate Professor (CE)
Usha Sethuraman, M.D. (Joint Emergency Medicine) â" Professor (CE)
Lalitha Sivaswamy, M.D. (Joint Neurology) â" Professor (CE)
Daniel Turner, M.D. â" Professor (CE)
Awards
Michael Callaghan, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
James Galas, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
Peter Karpawich, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
Daisuke Kobayashi, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
Aimee Luat, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
Eric McGrath, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
Anne Mortensen, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
Pavadee Poowuttikul, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
Usha Sethuraman, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
PHYSIOLOGY
Awards
James Rillema, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award
Donal OâLeary, Ph.D. â" Research Excellence Award
PSYCHIATRY and BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCES
Promotion and Tenure
Alireza Amirsadri, M.D. â" Associate Professor (CE)
David Ledgerwood, Ph.D. â" Granting of Tenure
Leslie Lundahl, Ph.D. â" Associate Professor (RE) with Tenure
Deepak Prabhakar, M.D. â" Clinical Associate Professor
Awards
Victor Ajluni, M.D. â" College Teaching Award
Mark Greenwald, Ph.D. â" College Teaching Award
RADIOLOGY
Promotion and Tenure
Todd Williams, M.D. â" Clinical Professor
SURGERY
Promotion and Tenure
Faisal Al-Mufarrej, M.D. â" Associate Professor (CE)
Arlene Rozzelle, M.D. â" Professor (CE)
Steven Tennenberg, M.D. (Joint Anesthesiology) â" Professor (CE)
Note: CE = Clinician Educator; R = Research Track; RE = Research Educator; FTA = Full-Time Affiliate