College Hosts 25th Annual Academic Excellence Day

The 25^th Annual Michael Grossman Academic Excellence Day was held virtually May 7. It provided a forum for health care professionals and community members to learn about the exciting clinical and translational research being done by residents, fellows and graduate students in Phoenix. Despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, investigators continued the longstanding tradition of sharing their innovative research.

“We have been reminded during this difficult year of COVID-19 how much we rely on doctors and medical research to keep our communities healthy,” said Guy L. Reed, MD, MS, dean of the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. “The research conducted by these residents and fellows is truly impressive. Their work is advancing our understanding of disease and translating into novel treatment protocols.”

Academic Excellence Day is a true collaboration of the health care community to highlight the scholarship of residents and fellows from across the Phoenix area. Sixty-seven physicians, who volunteered to serve as judges, reviewed 105 scholarly submissions and selected the winners from a very competitive pool. Research submissions were received from residents and fellows at Abrazo Health, Barrow Neurological Institute, Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix, UArizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, Creighton University School of Medicine, Dignity Health, HonorHealth and Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

“Academic Excellence Day allows the College of Medicine – Phoenix to shine a light on the research conducted by residents and fellows in the greater Phoenix area, contributing to increased knowledge and understanding for delivery of health care to patients,” said Cheryl O’Malley, MD, associate dean of Graduate Medical Education at the UArizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.

Academic Excellence Day would not be possible without the continued support of the MICA Medical Foundation. MICA Medical Foundation is a valued partner of the college and has generously sponsored the event since 2015. MICA’s support and recognition of the research and education of residents and fellows is instrumental in retaining skilled physicians to serve communities in Arizona.

Michael Grossman, MD, professor emeritus at the college, launched Academic Excellence Day 25 years ago. Dr. Grossman recognized the need to gather the community teaching programs from across the Valley and encourage residents to conduct research and present their findings. “You can’t practice medicine without understanding research and how those facts apply to the patients you are seeing,” Dr. Grossman said.

*2021 AED Awardees

Fellow Research Oral

1. Kelly Zucker, UArizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.
2. Faruq Pradhan, UArizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.
3. Vedant Gupta, Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
3. Brigham Nicoll, Creighton University School of Medicine.

Resident Research Oral

1. Celeste Bailey, Creighton University School of Medicine. 
2. Pierce Johnson, UArizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.
3. Bridgette McNally, UArizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.

Resident Case Oral

1. Whitney Wilson HonorHealth.
2. Karissa Aldrete, UArizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.
2. Zeke Clemmens, HonorHealth.

Fellow Research Poster

1. Shane Speirs, UArizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.
2. Erin Goode, Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
3. Katherine Dyer, Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

Resident Research Poster

1. Tamlyn Hall, Creighton University School of Medicine.  
2. Andrew Talon, Creighton University School of Medicine.  
3. Syed Hassan, Creighton University School of Medicine.

Fellow Case Poster

1. Brian Fung, UArizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.
2. Varshini Chakravarthy, Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

Resident Case Poster

1. Aishwarya Puri, UArizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.
2. Valarie Sharf, Dignity Health.

*This is a revised list of the awardees.