Dr. Laurie H. Glimcher with third-year medical students Jessica Rubin and Thomas Heinemann at convocation Wednesday. Photo credit: Amelia Panico
On the eve of their graduation, exceptional students from Weill Cornell Medical College and Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences were recognized for their distinguished achievements during their education.
More than 100 medical and graduate students stood center stage at Uris Auditorium to receive special awards, prizes, certificates and the Weill Cornell seal — commemorating exceptional academic achievement, scholarship, research, teaching and service — during two ceremonies May 29. Awards were also presented to other students, alumni, faculty and staff.
"I feel extremely excited, honored and incredibly humbled," said graduating medical student Matthew Inra, 29, who won the G. Thomas Shires II Prize in Surgery at convocation Wednesday. "I worked very hard, as it's been a long four years. It's great to be recognized for my efforts."
Faculty, family and friends packed the auditorium that Wednesday to bear witness as students were called to the podium to receive their honors.
"I'm really delighted that you have joined us to honor these outstanding individuals," said Dr. Laurie H. Glimcher, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College who, with Dr. Carol Storey-Johnson, senior associate dean for education, honored outstanding medical students at the medical college's convocation ceremony.
Dr. Carol Storey-Johnson prepares for convocation as family and friends file into Uris Auditorium. Photo credit: Amelia Panico
One by one, medical students were called down to the front of the auditorium, showered in applause and cheers, to accept their awards.
"It was a little overwhelming," said Andrea Lorenze, 29, of San Diego, who won the Joan Severino Parisi Prize in Internal Medicine, the 2013 Janet M. Glasgow-Rubin Memorial Achievement Citation and the John Metcalf Polk Prize — the highest scholastic honor a student can achieve at the medical college. "It's a great honor, and the best part is to be here with all my friends to share it."
Leaving a permanent mark on Weill Cornell, the Class of 2013 established a scholarship that will benefit future students. Class President Maritza Harper presented Dr. Glimcher with an oversized check for $2,992.52.
Medical students weren't the only group to be recognized Wednesday, as the graduate school honored its outstanding students during a ceremony earlier in the day. Interim Dean Randi Silver was joined by Assistant Dean Francoise Freyre, Dr. Gerard Marciano, program director of the physician assistant program, Dr. Mary Charlson, program chairperson for the Master of Science Program in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Services Research, and Dr. Marcus Reidenberg in presenting the awards.
"Weill Cornell Graduate School has provided you with the tools and the foundation to move forward in your fields," Dr. Silver said. "Our superb faculty members have taught and nurtured you, serving as advisors who you can rely on and who will become lifelong colleagues."
Dr. Randi Silver honors masters and doctoral graduates. Photo credit: Ira Fox
"It is imperative to remember that the road to success and independence is not always easy or linear — life can get in the way," she added. "We, at Weill Cornell Graduate School, have given you the tools to navigate this path and it is up to you to succeed, though it will require hard work and perseverance — qualities we all possess or we would not be here today."
Not everyone honored at convocation was ready to graduate just yet. Emily Mercer is finishing her second year in her doctoral program and is already turning heads by winning the 2013 Vincent du Vigneaud Second-Year Award for her presentation, "Elucidating the role of HSPB7 in the Heart." While grateful for the recognition during convocation, she humbly asserts that this achievement was a team effort.
"Because the class is so small, there's sort of closeness in the community," she said. The closeness makes senior students both professional and personal mentors, she added. One of those mentors is Eleanor Tyler, who is graduating with a doctorate in immunology and microbial pathogenesis and with whom Mercer attended college at the University of Surrey in England.
Mercer witnessed many of her mentor's professional milestones over the years, and being a part of Tyler's last as a student at Weill Cornell has her anticipating her own.
"I look forward to it," Mercer said of her completing her own doctorate.
For many graduating Weill Cornell students, it's been an intense and equally emotional experience to reach this new pinnacle in their careers.
2013 Distinguished Graduate Student Commencement Speaker Jonathan Bourne, center, with mentor Dr. Peter Torzilli, right, and Assistant Dean Francoise Freyre. Photo credit: Ira Fox
"I've very excited because it's been a very long process," said doctoral student Katerina Chatzi, 31, from Greece, who on Wednesday received the Weill Cornell seal, the last milestone before graduation. "An American Ph.D. is a very prestigious degree to obtain, and it was definitely a great experience at Weill Cornell. It's a very good school."
Chatzi worked with Dr. Ari Melnick to understand the basic mechanisms of developing lymphoma and is currently seeking a postdoctoral associate position either in academia or in industry.
Medical school was not without challenge for Aaron Heerboth, 27, of Tuscon, Ariz.
"I don't think anyone can prepare you for the sheer volume of information you have to get into your brain," he said. But the hard work, he said, was worth the reward.
David Feist tackled the intense 26-month Master of Science in Health Sciences for Physician Assistants Program at Weill Cornell with a wife and two young kids at home and another one on the way. Juggling school and his family made convocation Wednesday sweeter.
"It's just the culmination of everything I've been working hard for in the last 26 months, both the didactic and clinical phase of the coursework," said Feist, 34, of Salt Lake City, Utah, who, a day before his graduation from Weill Cornell was inducted into the Pi Alpha Honor Society. "It's a great honor and something I'm proud of."
Weill Cornell Medical College
Student Awards
The Coryell Prize in Surgery
Jason D. Lehman
The Coryell Prize in Medicine
Michael John McMahon
The Alfred Moritz Michaelis Prize in Medicine
Michael Anthony Mooney
The Oskar Diethelm Prize for Excellence in Psychiatry
Bem Linton Atim
The Joan Severino Parisi Prize in Internal Medicine
Andrea Lorenze
The David and Gladys Drusin Memorial Prize
Erik Steven Fisher
The T. Campbell Thompson Prize for Excellence in Orthopedic Surgery
Jason D. Lehman
The Mitchell Spivak Memorial Prize in Pediatrics
Kaitlin Anne Greene
The James A. Moore Scholarship
Theresa W. Schwanke
The Henry C. and Anne Hayworth First Honor Prize
Elizabeth Cowell
The Sidney and Viola Borkon Memorial Prize
Evan D. Bander
The George S. Meister Prize in Pediatrics
Alessandra Calvo-Friedman
The Elise Strang L'Esperance Prize in Public Health
Elan Leong Guterman
The George G. Reader Prize in Public Health
Michael Graff Fara
Michael Brian Feldman
The G. Thomas Shires II Prize in Surgery
Matthew Lawrence Inra
The Alan Van Poznak Award for Excellence in Anesthesiology
Marissa Diane Wise
The Richard N. Kohl Prize for Excellence in Psychiatry
Joel Asher Bernanke
Mark David Elliot
The David Clayson Prize for Creativity
Tiffany Peng
The Charles Horn Prize
Elan Leong Guterman
The Gustave J. Noback Memorial Prize in Anatomy
Andrés C. Gottfried-Blackmore
The Gustave J. Noback Memorial Fund for Advanced Study and Teaching in the Field of Anatomy
Bem Linton Atim
The Weiss Prize for Excellence in Clinical Medicine
Elan Leong Guterman
The Medical Society of the State of New York
Bem Linton Atim
The Yvette and Seymour Feil Prize in Medicine
Adam S. Faye
The William C. Thro Memorial Prize
Abraham Korn
The Herman L. Jacobius Prize in Pathology
Jeffrey William Craig
The Jay Lawrence Award for Clinical Proficiency in Infectious Diseases
Jennifer Ann Salant
The Faith Stewart-Gordon Prize for Excellence in Rehabilitation Medicine
Blossom Patricia Samuels
The Moselle and Milton Pollack Prize in Medical Ethics
Matthew Lawrence Goodwin
The Anthony Seth Werner, M.D., Memorial Prize
Cristina Jose Toledo-Cornell
The Barbara Schmalzriedt Gast Memorial Fund for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Andrés C. Gottfried-Blackmore
The Edward Norton Prize in Ophthalmology
Syed Amal Hussnain
The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine's Excellence in Emergency Medicine Award
Aaron Heerboth
The Franklyn Ellenbogen Prize in Hematology-Oncology
Isaac Andrew Klein
The American Academy of Neurology Medical Student Prize for Excellence in Neurology
Elan Leong Guterman
The William J. Ledger Prize in Obstetrics & Gynecology
Christina Nicole Cordiero
The Fabrizio Michelassi Medical Student Annual Award
Thomas Francis Xavier O'Donnell
The Harry L. Bush, Jr., M.D. Award for Excellence in Vascular Biology
Stephen M. Seedial
The Dean's Research Award
Kai B. Kang
Stephen M. Seedial
The Dr. Harold Lamport Biomedical Research Prize
Kai B. Kang
The Medical Student Executive Council Award
Maritza Terese Sharon Harper
The Paul Sherlock Prize in Internal Medicine
Lindsay Marie Gibbon
The John Metcalf Polk Prizes
Joel Asher Bernanke
Mark David Elliott
Andrea Lorenze
The 2013 Janet M. Glasgow-Rubin Memorial Achievement Citations
Alessandra Calvo-Friedman
Andrea Lorenze
Marissa Diane Wise
The Hayworth-Gold Award for Excellence in Medical Professionalism
Eleanor Emery
Thomas E. Heinemann
Jessica Beth Rubin
The Compassionate Physician Award
Bem Linton Atim
The Good Physician Award
Bem Linton Atim
Leonard P. Tow Humanism Awards
Erik Steven Fisher
Dr. Richard Lin
Teaching Awards
Class of 1952 Resident Physician Award
Dr. Fima Macheret
The House Staff Teaching Award
Dr. Michael Mulock
First Year Teaching Award
Dr. Lawrence Palmer
Second Year Teaching Award
Dr. Brian Robinson
Volunteer Clinical Faculty Award of Alpha Omega Alpha
Dr. Morton Bogdonoff
The Charles L. Bardes, M.D. Teaching Prize
Dr. Sibel Klimstra
The Richard A. Herrmann, M.D. Teaching Award
Dr. Ernie Esquivel
The Elliot Hochstein Teaching Award
Dr. Richard Lin
Senior List
Dr. Charles L. Bardes
Dr. David Berlin
Dr. Ilya Bialik
Dr. Byron Demopoulos
Dr. Ernie Esquivel
Dr. Domenick Falcone
Dr. Thanakorn Jirasevinda
Dr. Richard Lin
Dr. Peter Marzuk
Dr. B. Robert Meyer
Dr. Joseph Murray
Dr. Anthony Ogedegbe
Dr. Nathan Radcliffe
Dr. Joseph Safdieh
Dr. Debra Taubel
Dr. Eugene Toy
Weill Cornell Medical College Graduate School of Medical Sciences
2013 Distinguished Alumnus
Dr. James P. Di Santo
Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring Award
Dr. Derek S. Tan
2013 Distinguished Student Commencement Award
Jonathan W. Bourne
2013 Vincent du Vigneaud Awards of Excellence
- Oral Presentation
Victoria K. Schulman, "Novel Roles for Sunday Driver (Syd) in Muscle Tissue as a Regulator of Nuclear Positioning and Muscle Function." (Professor Mary K. Baylies) - Poster Presentation
Nitya Ramkumar, "Protein O-Glucosyltransferase1 Regulates Mammalian Gastrulation Through Modification of Crumbs2." (Professor Kathryn V. Anderson) - 2013 Vincent du Vigneaud First-Year Award
Wan-Ying Hsieh, "Direct Target Analysis of the MUSASHI2 RNA Binding Protein Uncovers Developmental Pathways that Control HSC Self-Renewal." (Professor Michael G. Kharas) - 2013 Vincent du Vigneaud Second-Year Award
Emily J. Mercer, "Elucidating the Role of HSPB7 in the Heart." (Professor Todd R. Evans)
2013 Julian R. Rachele Prize
Elissaveta Petrova, (2013) "Inhibitors of Hedgehog Acyltransferase Block Sonic Hedgehog Signaling." Nature Chem.Biol. 9: 247-249. (Professor Marilyn D. Resh)
Christopher Kloss, (2013) "Combinatorial Antigen Recognition with Balanced Signaling Promotes Selective Tumor Eradication by Engineered T cells." Nature Biotechnology. 31: 71-75. (Professor Michel W. J. Sadelain)
Physician Assistant Faculty and Student Awards
Faculty
- Pre-Clinical
Dr. Sam Senturia - Clinical
Dino Berruti, PA
Students
- Pre-Clinical
Douglas Fish - Clinical
Douglas Fish
Peer Award
Mitesh Patel
Whitney Quitta
Research
Sara Muir