Last weekend, the University of Chicago held its 540th Convocation Ceremony, where graduates from all divisions and schools marked the culmination of some of the most challenging and enriching years of their lives.
Seventy-four PhD candidates across the BSD were recognized at a Divisional Academic Ceremony. After graduation, many PhD students will continue their academic careers in academic or government research positions or by returning to medical school; several others are pursuing careers in industry research, technology development, communications, policy and regulation, or business and commercialization.
On May 22, the Pritzker School of Medicine held its own ceremony to individually recognize 98 graduating MD students, including 11 MD/PhD graduates. Most of the MD graduates are already preparing to continue their medical education in residency programs, including 23 who will undergo their residency at University of Chicago Medicine and pursue programs in various medical and surgical specialties.
As part of this year’s convocation ceremonies, several PhD and MD graduates received divisional and program awards for their research projects and scientific presentations.
PhD Program Awards
- Best Dissertation in the BSD: Yichen Liu, Neurobiology,
- Microbiology: Cody Cole
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics: Kelly O’Leary
- Genetics, Genomics, and Systems Biology: Jaeda Patton
- Genetics, Genomics, and Systems Biology: Boyang Gao
- Immunology: Sean Ryan
- Medical Physics: Chisondi Warioba
- Molecular Metabolism and Nutrition: Taryn Beckman
- Cancer Biology: Patrick Jonker
- Ecology and Evolution: Kiseok Lee
- Interdisciplinary Scientist Training Program: Mahmoud Yousef
- Development, Regeneration, and Stem Cell Biology: Jacob Decker
- Cell and Molecular Biology: Adam Krahn
- Cell and Molecular Biology: Amanda Keplinger
- Computational Neuroscience: Matthew Rosen
- Human Genetics: Shreya Ramachandran
- Public Health Sciences: Soham Sinha
Pritzker School of Medicine Awards
Overall Awards
- The Joseph A. Capps Award for outstanding proficiency in clinical medicine: David Deshpande
- The John Van Prohaska Award for outstanding potential in teaching, research, and clinical medicine: Frank Medina
- The Outstanding Achievement Award: Alia Abiad
- The Mary Roberts Scott Memorial Prize given to a female medical student who demonstrates leadership and academic excellence during both the basic and clinical science years: Caroline Montag
- The Pritzker Leadership Award for outstanding extracurricular accomplishments during four years in medical school: Ceylon Auguste-Nelson
- The Urban Health Initiative Strongin Community Service Prize given to a senior medical student who has contributed the most through community service: Zhong Huang
- The Pritzker School of Medicine Advocacy & Equity Award given to a senior medical student who has been an advocate for service, research, and policy changes which address inequities in health and a leader in promoting a diverse and inclusive community for all, voted by their peers: Andrea Gomez
Clinical Department Award Recipients
- The Departmental Award in recognition of outstanding performance in the field of Anesthesia and Critical Care: Stella Cho
- The Departmental Award for outstanding performance in the field of Family Medicine: Annie Feldkamp & Alia Richardson
- The Departmental Award for outstanding performance in the field of Medicine: Spencer Asay
- The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Excellence Award for demonstrated excellence in the specialty of Emergency Medicine: India Hilty
- The Richard W. Reilly Prize for Outstanding Aptitude in Gastroenterology: Megan Kennedy, PhD
- The Steven Lukes Memorial Prize for excellence in the fields of both Medicine and Neurology: Nitin Vidyasaga
- The Dr. Javad Hekmat-panah Award for outstanding performance in the field of Neurological Surgery: Abhinav Srinath, PhD
- The Peter Huttenlocher and Douglas Buchanan Prize in Neurology for best medical student clinician/researcher: Andrew Molina, PhD
- The Departmental Award for outstanding performance in the general field of Neurology: Joseph Krongold, PhD
- The Departmental Award in recognition of outstanding performance in the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology: Jasmine Rios, MPH
- The Departmental Award for outstanding performance in the field of Ophthalmology & Visual Science: Zaid Parekh
- The Departmental Award for outstanding performance in the general field of Pathology: Caroline Montag
- The F. Howell Wright Award for outstanding performance in the general field of Pediatrics: Alex Rosencrance
- The Diana Woo Memorial Award for excellence in Clinical Pediatrics: Francesca Chu
- The Department of Pediatrics Award for the Most Meritorious Research Involving Children or Developmental Biology: Nitin Vidyasagar
- The Daniel X. Freedman Award for outstanding performance in the general field of Psychiatry: Zharia Crisp
- The Nels M. Strandjord Award for outstanding performance in the general field of Radiology: Sarita Deshpande, PhD
- The Departmental Award for outstanding performance in the general field of Surgery: Hecong Qin, PhD
