Faculty Mentoring Awards

In the spirit of recognizing the importance of mentorship for the success of the faculty at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, the Dean’s Council on Faculty Affairs each year honors those who dedicate their time as mentors with Faculty Mentoring Awards.

The 2023 College of Medicine Faculty Mentoring Awards recognized the following faculty for their mentorship contributions:

Mindy Fain, MD
Medicine

Indu Partha, MD
Medicine

Jarrod Mosier, MD
Emergency Medicine

Louis Magnotti, MD
Surgery

Ralph Fregosi, PhD
Physiology

Sarah Tariq, MD
Medicine

Tejo Vemulapalli, MD
Medicine

The 2022 College of Medicine Faculty Mentoring Awards recognized the following faculty for their mentorship contributions:

Ilana Addis, MD
Associate Professor (Clinical Scholar), OBGYN:
"She is an exceptional role model for leadership. Despite how busy she was, she made the time to push me toward my own development as a leader, encouraging and supporting my application to leadership programs both locally and nationally. Dr. Addis has had a tremendous impact on the success of many. She has coached numerous faculty and residents through professional growth and continues to be intentional about creating opportunities for others.”

Maria Czuzak, PhD
Associate Professor (Clinical Scholar), CMM:
“Dr. Czuzak has mastered the tricky balance of providing help when needed, but also trusting mentees to get the job done after setting expectations. She acts as a source of feedback, needed when developing new courses. She also helped me understand the administrative structure of the college, the roles of our different committees, and by introducing me to key faculty and staff who teach in our pre-clerkship curriculum and who work in admissions and curriculum development. Her mentorship has allowed me to thrive as a junior faculty here at Uarizona College of Medicine-Tucson.”

Michael Ditillo, DO
Clinical Assistant Professor (Clinical Series), Surgery:
“Our world needs more mentors like Dr. Ditillo.”

Elizabeth Kyle Meehan, MD
Assistant Professor (Clinical Scholar), FCM:
“She mentors by example, modeling exemplary patient care and has helped me directly navigate more challenging resident advising concerns with grace and kindness. This mentorship has led to great satisfaction with my early career, helping me to avoid burnout and be as successful as possible in my new roles. She helps support my passion and enthusiasm for my work, making it easier to continue through the common struggles of our calling in medicine."

Victoria Murrain, DO
Associate Professor (Clinical Scholar), FCM:
“Her coaching and feedback have been instrumental in the development of my leadership skills, including the art of engaging others, developing networks, and optimizing negotiation. Equally important, she has helped me to overcome imposter syndrome, a critical barrier to career advancement for many academic physicians who are underrepresented in medicine. She is an incredible example of humble yet powerful leadership, always looking for what she can do to promote the advancement of others. I aspire to be the type of mentor that she has been to so many and will consider it a success if I am able to accomplish a fraction of that.”

Arthur Sanders, MD
Professor (Tenured), Emergency Medicine:
“Dr. Sanders is a steadfast advocate for a better medical system, including his work in medical ethics. In addition to the training, coaching, and introducing he has done as a mentor, he is an incredible role model. His support and belief in me have made lasting effects in my career trajectory and life in general.”

Rachna Shroff, MD
Associate Professor (Tenure Eligible), Medicine:
“Upon observing Dr. Shroff’s leadership daily for the past several years, it is apparent that I am not alone in benefiting from her positive influence. Patient, staff, and colleagues alike have commented on the level of professionalism, dedication, and care that she demonstrates daily. While she has many talents, perhaps the most remarkable are her dedication to mentorship and passion for accomplishment through teamwork. Dr. Shroff’s mentorship and leadership style has had a major, positive impact on my career. I am so grateful for the opportunities she has given me and or the important lessons she has taught me.”

Kathy Smith, MD
Associate Professor (Educator Scholar), Psychiatry:
“What’s truly special about the mentorship Dr. Smith has provided to me is not any one individual thing that she has done, it is the sustained duration and dedication of her mentorship and the number of opportunities she has afforded to me. She is a pleasure to work with, she is grounded and able to share in the full range of experience involved in psychiatry, education, mentorship and life. With her humanity, clinical work, professionalism, ethical conduct, educational activity, she is an excellent candidate for this award.”

The 2021 College of Medicine Faculty Mentoring Awards recognized the following faculty for their mentorship contributions:

Hina Arif-Tiwari, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Medical Imaging
“Despite her numerous roles in Medical Imaging and busy schedule, Hina is always accessible.”

Colleen K. Cagno, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine
“She advised me that we juggle multiple balls in life and work; all are made of rubber and bounce if dropped—except for the ball that represents your family which is made of glass and should always take priority.”

Vijay H. Chandiramani, MD
Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Medicine
“His strongest ability is to convey a message with the right intention and right wording - direct but non offensive. It motivates one to become a better version of oneself.”

Carol C. Gregorio, PhD
Professor, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine
“To be completely frank, I would not be where I am today without Dr.  Gregorio’s skillful mentoring and investment -- she is extremely generous with her time.”

Rajesh Khanna, PhD
Professor, Department of Pharmacology
“Dr. Khanna is always pushing me to accomplish more and better. To push the limits of my knowledge and to get out of my comfort zone.”

Kwan S. Lee, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine
“A reason why I decided to accept a faculty position at COM-T was the tremendous opportunity to be involved in medical education. Kwan heard my desires during my recruitment process, and he helped carve out a path to be involved at the Fellowship and Residency levels.”

David G. Marrero, PhD
Professor, Department of Medicine
“Dr. Marrero has been instrumental in mentoring me to achieve long-term goals of understanding determinants of disparities in vulnerable populations.”

Mari A. Ricker, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine
“She has gone out of her way to include me in new collaborative projects and introduce to me to other colleagues within the College of Medicine who have been helpful in finding my path.”

Andreas Theodorou, MD
Professor, Department of Pediatrics
“If I can make a fraction of the impact on someone else that Dr. Theodorou has had on me then I will be able to say I had a successful career.”

Marlys H. Witte, MD
Professor, Department of Surgery
“She enabled my career through example, through one-on-one coaching, and through generous sharing of funded young researchers that brought energy to my lab and meaning to my teaching. When I brought in visiting scholars, she found places for them to stay.”

The 2020 College of Medicine Faculty Mentoring Awards recognize the following faculty for their mentorship contributions:

Lawrence J. Mandarino, PhD

When Larry hears my problems even from a distance, he readily tries to connect me with the right person to resolve it.

John A. Szivek, PhD

What’s truly special about the mentorship Dr. Szivek has provided is not any one individual thing he has done, it is the duration of his mentorship and the number of opportunities he has afforded to me.

Mindy J. Fain, MD

Dr. Fain has been my mentor through modeling and through direct intention…..Dr. Fain listened to what I loved to do, and then she helped tailor a position that would allow me to embrace my passions, while also prodding me to venture into other areas in which I had no prior experience.

Unni K. Udayasankar, MD

He has inspired me through his innovative teaching methods to search for new ways to impart knowledge upon our trainees. He has also been generous in including me in several research projects and invited manuscripts to jumpstart my own career.

C. Kent Kwoh, MD

Dr. Kwoh has closely mentored me over the last 12 months in preparation for my K23 application. Since September 2019, after the K23 was awarded, Kent continues to meet with me 2-3 times a month to guide me in preparation of manuscripts for publication and grant applications to NIH and other funding agencies.

Helen M. Amerongen, PhD

She is freely available to talk about anything, and also is good at email communication when she is away. Although I have served as a mentor to man other faculty members during my career, I would have done a much better job had I known Helen 30 years ago.

The 2019 College of Medicine Faculty Mentoring Awards recognize the following faculty for their mentorship contributions:

Srikar R. Adhikari, MD
Associate Professor, Emergency Medicine
“Without a doubt, I would not be where I am if it were not for Dr. Srikar Adhikari’s guidance and mentorship.”

Emad Elquza, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine
“While his mentorship has directly impacted my career, his “lead by example” style has also impacted my professional development.”

Dorothy L. Gilbertson-Dahdal, MD
Professor, Department of Medical Imaging
“Dr. Gilbertson has opened many doors for me in the department as well as multiple regional and national societies.”

Wayne J. Morgan, MD
Professor, Department of Pediatrics
“He brought insights into how to approach research questions that prompted me to go beyond the obvious and into deeper understandings of the implications of research findings.”

Sairam Parthasarathy, MD
Professor, Department of Medicine
“Dr. Parthasarathy carved a time out of his busy schedule (he wears many hats) to provide the guidance that I needed.”

Taylor S. Riall, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Surgery
“In spite of her own rigorous schedule, she always makes time for new faculty and residents. She will drop what she is doing to come to our aid…”

Anne E. (Betty) Atwater, PhD
Professor Emerita, Department of Physiology
“Seeing in me a potential for leadership, long before I had an inkling of such goals, Betty continually provided paths for me to engage in the University inner workings.” 

The 2018 College of Medicine Faculty Mentoring Awards recognized the following faculty for their mentorship contributions:

Marc E. Tischler, PhD
Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry
“Dr. Tischler has been an incredible mentor, advisor and friend… a number of examples where he literally changed my life by advising me at critical points in my career.”

Dale P. Woolridge, MD, PhD
Professor, Emergency Medicine
“Dr. Woolridge’s office is always open, his phone is always on and his home is always available to those who need his help.”

Rajesh Khanna, PhD
Professor, Pharmacology
“While Raj’s mentoring directly helped me as a scientist, physician, and a person, it also helped me to become a mentor myself.”

Anne E. Cress, PhD
Professor, Cellular and Molecular Medicine
“Seeing her success as a leader and having insight to her understanding of what it takes to get there have been crucial for my development.”

Kathryn L. Reed, MD
Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology
“She has tirelessly promoted my research, introduced me to people influential to my success, and supported my goals for furthering my education.”

Helen M. Amerongen, PhD
Professor, Cellular and Molecular Medicine
“Thankfully for me (and many others), she has graciously shared her time and talents to positively impact my efforts to carve out a career with an education focus.”

The 2017 College of Medicine Faculty Mentoring Awards recognized the following faculty for their mentorship contributions:

Mihra Taljanovic, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Medical Imaging
“She continues to encourage me to be the best physician possible while showing me the importance of becoming the best person possible.”

Jil Tardiff, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Medicine
"Dr. Tardiff has been an unwavering mentor for my career since it started in the early 1990s.”

Nathan Ellis, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine
“In the end, Dr. Nathan Ellis has kept me from failing many times, and has contributed to each of my successes."

Jarrod Mosier, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine
“Without his guidance I would not have achieved a fraction of what I have.”

Frank Porreca, PhD
Professor, Department of Pharmacology
“His passion for science was infectious and his enthusiasm was inspiring.”

Sydney Rice, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics
“Closely learning about and observing Dr. Rice's mentoring and leadership style is one of the most honorable opportunities that I experienced.”

The 2016 College of Medicine Faculty Mentoring Awards recognized the following faculty for their mentorship contributions:

Judith Gordon, PhD
Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine:
“As she should, Dr. Gordon lets me struggle through the details of challenges myself, but she provides support and information that assist me in coming to decisions.”

Paul Gordon, MD, MPH
Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine:
"He encouraged me to take risks, engage more fully in teaching and to thoughtfully engage in challenging dialogues.”

John Hughes, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Surgery:
“He changed my life and my practice and I know that the patients under my care are better for his role in my training”.

Paul Krieg, PhD
Professor, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine:
“No UA career workshop that I have ever attended has matched the wisdom and common sense that Dr. Krieg provides, and, in fact, he should be giving some of these workshops.”

Sairam Parthasarathy, MD
Professor, Department of Medicine:
“He is nationally knows in sleep medicine, and with his support, I have been able to participate in sleep medicine workshops and present my research at international conferences.”

Baldassare Stea, MD, PhD
Professor and Chair, Department of Radiation Oncology:
“During every interaction with him he imparts some piece of wisdom that enhances training and career development.”

The 2015 College of Medicine Faculty Mentoring Awards recognized the following faculty for their mentorship contributions:

Srikar Adhikari, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine:
“He has helped me navigate the waters of academia with less turmoil than fellow colleagues.”

Parker B. Antin, PhD
Professor, Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine and Assistant Dean, Research Administration, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences:
“Through his mentorship I believe I have had experiences and achievement that I may not otherwise have attempted.”

Fayez K. Ghishan, MD
Professor and Head, Department of Pediatrics, Director of the Steele Children’s Research Center:
"He challenges me to higher achievements than I would pursue on my own”.

Patricia Lebensohn, MD
Professor, Department of Family & Community Medicine: 
“She helps others become their best version of themselves.”

Charles W. Putnam, MD
Professor Emeritus, Department of Surgery:
“He has built a legacy of inspired, successful students and professionals.”