May 20, 2025 — The University of Florida College of Medicine congratulates the following students, trainees, faculty and staff who have recently been recognized with awards and achievements that honor their hard work and commitment to advancing scientific discovery, improving medical education and helping patients:

• Wayne McCormack, Ph.D., a distinguished teaching scholar and professor in the Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, has been awarded the 2025 ACTS Distinguished Educator: The Rebecca Jackson Award for Outstanding Achievement in Education Innovation by the Association for Clinical and Translational Science. This prestigious national award honors McCormack’s exceptional contributions to clinical and translational science education and his unwavering commitment to innovation, mentorship and training the next generation of translational researchers.
• Barry Byrne, M.D., Ph.D., the associate chair of pediatrics and director of the UF Powell Gene Therapy Center, has been named vice president of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy. His three-year term begins in June.
• David Winchester, M.D., M.S., FACC, a professor in the departments of Medicine and Radiology, has been named chair of the American College of Cardiology Board of Governors and secretary of the Board of Trustees. His term will run one year from 2025-26.
• Medical oncologist Daniel Araujo, M.D., has been selected for two American Society of Clinical Oncology professional development programs. Araujo, who joined the Division of Hematology and Oncology this spring as a clinical associate professor, was selected to participate in the 2025-26 ASCO Leadership Development Program and the 2025-26 Trainee & Early Career Advisory Group.
  
• Paula Ackerman D.O., an associate professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, recently became a fellow of the American Osteopathic College of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Fellows are recognized at national, state and local levels, where they assist in the advancement of osteopathic physiatry and osteopathic professions.
• Josepha Cheong, M.D. ’90, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry, has been selected by the American Psychiatric Association and the APA Foundation to receive the 2025 Jack Weinberg Memorial Award in Geriatric Psychiatry. The award recognizes a psychiatrist who has shown exceptional leadership or made significant contributions in the fields of clinical practice, education, or research in geriatric psychiatry throughout their career.
• Erin Mobley, Ph.D., M.P.H., an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at the College of Medicine – Jacksonville, is the recipient of the 2025 James B. Nachman Endowed ASCO Junior Faculty Award, announced by Conquer Cancer during the ASCO Foundation annual meeting in April. She has also been awarded the 2025 Excellence Award for Assistant Professors from the Office of the Provost. Mobley was recognized for her research focus on cancer survivorship in children and adults, which has received extramural funding from the Florida Department of Health, the Children’s Oncology Group, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the National Cancer Institute. Additionally, her collaboration across disciplines has prepared her to become an upcoming leader in her field.
• Six College of Medicine faculty members have been named members of the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society.
• During this year’s Celebration of Excellence in Medical Education reception, faculty and residency programs received recognition for outstanding achievements and new inductees joined the college’s Society of Teaching Scholars.
• Grant Harrell, M.D. ’10, an assistant professor in the Department of Community Health and Family Medicine and medical director for UF Health Family Medicine – Old Town, has been named a UF Faculty/Staff Service-Learning Champion of the Year. This Presidential Service Award recognizes UF faculty and staff members who have gone above and beyond in promoting UF students to pursue service and leadership opportunities.
• Twenty-eight College of Medicine faculty and staff members in Gainesville and Jacksonville were named divisional 2025 UF Superior Accomplishment Award Piyush Chaudhari, a data management analyst in the Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics, received a top-level University-Gold award.
• Habibeh Khoshbouei, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Neuroscience, has been named one of six 2025 recipients of a UF Faculty Doctoral Mentoring Award. The awards spotlight outstanding, innovative and effective mentoring based on nominations from graduate students, faculty members, administrators and alumni. Faculty winners receive $3,000, as well as $1,000 to their units to support doctoral students.
• Lauren Berkow, M.D., FASA, a professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, was recognized with a Champions for Change Award by the UF Office of Sustainability. Berkow has led multiple sustainability initiatives at UF Health, including waste reduction in operating rooms and recycling programs in the hospitals. The awards recognize individuals who have contributed substantial efforts in sustainability across the broad UF community.
• Professor Emeritus Michael Kilberg, Ph.D., recently marked his 50th year of publishing with an article, “Assessing cancer therapeutic efficacy in vivo using [²H₇]glucose deuterium metabolic imaging,” published in the journal Science Advances.

• MD.-Ph.D. student Caretia Washington has been selected for the American Society of Preventive Oncology’s New Investigator opportunity. She is one of only 12 new investigators nationwide to be selected. Washington’s research focuses on lung cancer screening use and outcomes among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, with the goal of advancing personalized cancer screening and care.
• MD./M.P.H. student Michael Mathelier, M.D. ’25, has earned the prestigious U.S. Public Health Service Excellence in Public Health Award, a national recognition presented to a select number of medical students dedicated to public health. Mathelier is also the recipient of this year’s UF M.P.H. Public Health Practice Concentration Exemplary Student Award.
• Anesthesiology resident Abby Schirmer, M.D., has been selected by the American Society of Anesthesiologists to participate in the Resident Scholar program. Schirmer is one of six outstanding anesthesiology residents chosen from a highly competitive applicant pool. Participants were chosen based on their involvement in advocacy activities, regional and program representation, and a personal interview.
• Department of Neurology resident Jennifer Purks, M.D., has been selected as one of eight 2025 Edmond J. Safra fellows. The Edmond J. Safra Fellowship in Movement Disorders is funded by the Edmond J. Safra Foundation and Michael J. Fox Foundation to train emerging leaders in the field of Parkinson’s disease treatment and research.
• Jason Zaremski, M.D., a professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and division chief for sports medicine, was recently invited by the American Medical Society of Sports Medicine to serve as an exchange speaker at the Japanese Clinical Sports Medicine Conference in Niigata. Zaremski spoke at the conference and other venues in Tokyo and Kobe on throwing-related topics, including research performed at UF and published for the AMSSM.
• First-year medical student Anirudh Venkatesh has been selected for a National Institutes of Health-funded R25 research fellowship this summer from the National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases, hosted by the UF College of Medicine and the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine.
• Eight residents and 31 fourth-year medical students were inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society this spring. The society recognizes high educational achievement, honoring gifted teaching, encouraging the development of leaders in academia and the community, supporting the ideals of humanism and promoting service to others.
• Seven doctoral student finalists for this year’s Medical Guild Research Symposium presented their research to peers and faculty and were awarded prizes endowed by the Medical Guild Inc. This year’s gold prize awardee was fourth-year doctoral candidate Mitchell Gulkis, who presented his investigation into the structural characteristics of Bufavirus.
• Fourth-year medical student Ryan Grabau has been selected for a UF Outstanding Service – Graduate/Professional Student Award. This Presidential Service Award recognizes UF graduate or professional students engaged in exemplary service activities or projects.
• Scott Cohen, M.P.H., an M.D.-Ph.D. student at the colleges of Medicine and Public Health and Health Professions, won the predoctoral research poster competition during the 2025 UF Emerging Pathogens Institute Research Day. Cohen and his lab combined machine learning with eight years of electronic health records to study hospital-acquired infections, with the hopes of catching outbreaks earlier and faster than traditional methods allow.