Faculty Update

Three early career faculty members have been selected as recipients of the Brooks Scholars in Academic Medicine for the 2024 academic year. They are:

Left to right: Christopher Kelly, MD, House Staff ’19; Andrea Davis Triplett, MD ’13, House Staff ’16; and Jantira Thomas, DO, MBA ’22.

Christopher Kelly, MD, House Staff ’19, assistant professor of general internal medicine (third scholar year); Andrea Davis Triplett, MD ’13, House Staff ’16, assistant professor of pediatrics-hospitalists (second scholar year); and Jantira Thomas, DO, MBA ’22, assistant professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine (first scholar year).

The highly competitive awards recognize and support faculty members who are early in their careers and who demonstrate exceptional promise toward future contributions to teaching and scholarly endeavors. The awards help the winners develop their scholarly talents in clinical education research and undertake projects designed to keep Wake Forest University School of Medicine at the forefront of medical education.

The Brooks Scholars Fund was endowed by the late Jean Bailey Brooks, MD ’44, and her late husband Taylor Brooks, MD, to support the training of younger faculty. Jean was the only woman in the 1944 medical class of the Bowman Gray School of Medicine and later became the first female president of the school’s Medical Alumni Association.

Brooks Scholars are provided with significant salary support that will assist them in realizing their potential as leaders in academic medicine. Scholars introduce their creative initiatives into the medical school curriculum, and then assess, analyze and report their findings in nationally recognized forums for medical education.

The Wake Forest University School of Medicine’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation has renamed its annual Faculty Teaching Award to honor Robert D. Teasdall, MD.

Teasdall, who served on the faculty from 1993 to 2021, won the Faculty Teaching Award six times before being appointed to an emeritus faculty position. The recipient is selected annually by a vote of the department’s residents.

The inaugural winner of the Robert D. Teasdall Faculty Teaching Award is Holly Tyler-Paris Pilson, MD ’08, House Staff ’13, associate professor of orthopaedic surgery. Pilson also serves as vice chair for social impact within orthopaedic surgery and as associate dean for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion for the School of Medicine. The Teasdall Award recipient can direct funding to a departmental priority of their choosing thanks to an endowment associated with the award that was established by former residents who trained under Teasdall. The effort to endow this award was led by W. Dickson Schaefer, MD ’96, House Staff ’01, of Fayetteville, NC.

From left to right: Dickson Schaefer, MD, ’96, House Staff ’01, and Cynthia L. Emory, MD, MBA, House Staff ’09, chair and professor of orthopaedic surgery, with Robert D. Teasdall, MD.

From left to right: Jason Halvorson, MD, House Staff ’12, vice chair for education for orthopaedic surgery and associate professor of orthopaedic surgery, and Holly Tyler-Paris Pilson, MD ’08, House Staff ’13, vice chair for social impact for orthopaedic surgery, associate dean for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion, and associate professor of orthopaedic surgery, pose with Teasdall.

Jeffrey Petty, MD, with Ebony Boulware, MD, MPH, at the investiture ceremony in May.

Jeffrey Petty, MD, was presented as the inaugural M. Robert Cooper, MD ’62, Professor in Hematology and Oncology during an investiture ceremony in May.

Petty is professor of medicine in hematology and oncology at the School of Medicine and director of the Lung Cancer Disease-oriented Team for Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. He is heavily involved with mentoring early-career faculty. A graduate of Harvey Mudd College, he completed medical school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill followed by residency training at Duke University Medical Center, where he served as a co-investigator for several lung cancer clinical trials. He also completed an oncology fellowship at Dartmouth. He joined the School of Medicine faculty in 2005.

Cooper, who died in 2014, had a long and distinguished career at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Over more than 31 years of service, he played a key role in developing the Comprehensive Cancer Center. He was cancer center director from 1991 to 1993 and later was associate director for community research and education. He later served as director of emeritus affairs for 11 years and expanded emeritus faculty involvement in teaching, research, mentorship and philanthropy. He was honored with the Medical Alumni Association’s Distinguished Achievement Award in 2012.

The professorship was made possible through a gift from Gladys Ulrich, the aunt of Sandra Bisanar. Ulrich had no children of her own and cared deeply for her nieces and nephews. She firmly believed that Bisanar’s breast cancer care, under Cooper’s direction at the Comprehensive Cancer Center, saved her life. Ulrich’s gratitude led the gifts that established the professorship in Cooper’s honor.

The Cooper Professorship raises the number of endowed faculty positions at the School of Medicine to 68, including 38 to be funded primarily through private philanthropy.

Meredith Adams, MD, MS, associate professor of anesthesiology, was recently awarded the National Institutes of Health Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Director’s Trailblazer Award. The award recognizes HEAL-funded researchers in the early to middle stages of their careers who are applying an innovative approach or creativity in their research or are expanding research into addressing the pain and opioid crisis in new directions.

Cheryl Bushnell, MD, MHS, FAHA, professor of neurology and vice chair of research, stroke division chief and co-director of the Neuroscience Clinical Trials and Innovation Center at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, was recently named the winner of the American Stroke Association’s (ASA) Edgar J. Kenton III Lecture Award. The award recognizes lifetime contributions to the investigation, management, mentorship and community service in the field of racial and ethnic stroke disparities or related disciplines. Bushnell also has been awarded the ASA’s newly renamed Ralph L. Sacco Outstanding Stroke Research Mentor Award, recognizing outstanding achievements in mentoring future generations of stroke researchers in the field of cerebrovascular disease.

Goldie Smith Byrd, PhD, professor of social sciences and health policy and director of the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity, recently received the Triad Business Journal’s 2023 Outstanding Women in Business Legacy Award, which recognizes an outstanding woman who is making an impact in their industry and their community.

Carlos M. Ferrario, MD, professor emeritus of general surgery, was recently selected as a 2023 Distinguished Scientist by the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Distinguished Scientist Selection Committee. This honor is bestowed upon AHA or American Stroke Association members who have advanced the understanding, management and treatment of cardiovascular disease, stroke and/or brain health.

Allyn Howlett, PhD, professor of physiology and pharmacology, was named Fellow of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET). The honor is given to ASPET’s most distinguished members for their meritorious efforts to advance pharmacology, through their scientific achievements, mentorship and service.

William Huang, MD, professor of dermatology, was recently awarded the American Academy of Dermatology’s (AAD) Professionalism Award, which recognizes a medical professional or organization that has exemplified the highest standards of professionalism and medical ethics over their career or a substantial period of time.

Robin Hurley, MD, FANPA, professor of psychiatry and behavioral medicine and radiology with the School of Medicine, and associate chief of staff for research and academic affairs at W.G. (Bill) Hefner Salisbury Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, has been named the research lead of the Veterans Integrated Service Network 6 of the Veterans Health Administration, part of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Ashish K. Khanna, MD, MS ’22, FCCP, FCCM, associate professor of anesthesiology, and vice chair for research and director of the Perioperative Outcomes and Informatics Collaborative at the School of Medicine, received the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s Distinguished Service Award.

Amy McMichael, MD, professor of dermatology, has been awarded the 2023 Rose Hirschler Award from the Women’s Dermatologic Society (WDS). The award, named in honor of Dr. Rose Hirschler, one of the first known female dermatologists in the country, is presented to physicians who enhance the role of women in the dermatologic specialty and who also provide significant contributions to medicine and the dermatology field. McMichael also received the 2023 Distinguished Faculty Award from the School of Medicine’s Medical Alumni Association.

Michelle Mielke, PhD, professor of epidemiology and prevention, was recently elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Each year, the AAAS council elects members whose efforts support the advancement of science, or its applications, and who are scientifically or socially distinguished. Mielke was honored for her notable contributions in the field of neurodegenerative disorders and aging with an emphasis on the origins and impact of sex and gender differences.

Christopher Ohl, MD, professor of infectious diseases, received the 2023 Distinguished Service Award from the School of Medicine’s Medical Alumni Association.

Miranda Orr, PhD, assistant professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine, was recently awarded the inaugural Hevolution/American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) New Investigator Awards in Aging Biology and Geroscience Research by AFAR and Hevolution Foundation (HF). Orr, who was one of 18 researchers to receive these awards, will receive a three-year award of $375,000 to support her research projects in basic biology of aging or geroscience. This inaugural award supports talented early career investigators at research institutions around the world.

Janardhana Ponnatapura, MD, assistant professor of radiology, recently participated in the Academy for Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Research’s 11th Annual Spring Events and Meeting in Washington, DC. While at the showcase, he presented his research on lung cancer for Congress on Capitol Hill.

Alejandro Rodriguez, MD, associate professor of urology and director of minimally invasive surgery for the Department of Urology, recently received the Honorary Membership Award at the European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress held in Milan, Italy.

Aarti Sarwal, MD, professor of neurology, was named president of the Association of Indian Neurologists in America. Sarwal has been involved with the organization for over a decade and is only the second woman to be elected president.

Roy E. Strowd III, MEd, MD ’09, House Staff ’13, MS ’20, associate professor of neurology and vice dean of undergraduate medical education (interim), was recently named chair-elect of the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Southern Group on Educational Affairs (SGEA) steering committee. He will serve as chair-elect of the SGEA from 2023 until 2025 and then as chair the following two years.

Stacey Wolfe, MD, professor of neurosurgery, was recently named to Becker’s Spine Review list of Exceptional Women in Neurosurgery.

Our newest emeritus faculty members named from January 1 through June 30, 2023.

Thomas A. Arcury, PhD
Professor Emeritus of Family and Community Medicine

Che Ping Cheng, MD, PhD
Professor Emeritus of Cardiovascular Medicine

Sonia Crandall, PhD, MS ’03
Professor Emerita of PA Studies

Carlos M. Ferrario, MD, FAHA, FASH, FACC
Professor Emeritus of General Surgery

David Hurd, MD
Professor Emeritus of Hematology and Oncology

Frederic Ross Kahl, MD, FACC, FAHA
Professor Emeritus of Cardiovascular Medicine

Kenneth L. Koch, MD
Professor Emeritus of Gastroenterology

Drew Alan MacGregor, MD, House Staff, ’91, FCCP
Professor Emeritus of Anesthesiology

Sara A. Quandt, PhD
Professor Emerita of Epidemiology and Prevention

Elisabeth Ann Tallant, PhD
Professor Emerita of Hypertension

Ramon Velez, MD, MSc
Professor Emeritus of Internal Medicine