Nov. 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:

• Cure Parkinson’s and Van Andel Institute have named Matthew Farrer, Ph.D., a professor of neurology, as the winner of the 2025 Tom Isaacs Award, which honors researchers who closely collaborate with the Parkinson’s community. Farrer’s work in the genetics and neuroscience of Parkinson’s is critically acclaimed and focuses on uniting people with Parkinson’s and researchers for their mutual benefit.
• Nash Moawad, M.D., M.S., a professor and chief of minimal invasive gynecological surgery in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, has been elected the 2026 vice president of the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists Board of Directors. This past year, Moawad served as the secretary-treasurer of the association.
• Ramzi Salloum, Ph.D., a professor and associate chair for research in the Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics, has been elected vice chair of the Florida Cancer Control and Research Advisory Council. Established by the Florida Legislature, the council recommends solutions and policy alternatives to the Board of Governors and the state Surgeon General.
• Terrie Vasilopoulos, Ph.D., an associate professor of anesthesiology and orthopaedic surgery and sports medicine, will join the editorial board of the journal BMC Medical Education. Additionally, a paper she co-authored, titled “Does hydrogen peroxide application to the dermis following surgical incision affect cutibacterium acnes cultures in total shoulder arthroplasty in male patient? A randomized controlled trial,” has been recognized with the 2025 Neviaser Award in Clinical Science award by the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons society.
• Marjorie E. Montañez-Wiscovich, M.D., Ph.D., a clinical associate professor in the Department of Dermatology, was recognized with a 2025 Distinguished Alumnus Award by Case Western University School of Medicine, where she completed her physician-scientist training.
• Ashley Ghiaseddin, M.D., chief of the Division of Neuro-Oncology in the Lillian S. Wells Department of Neurosurgery, has been elected secretary of the Florida Society of Clinical Oncology. Ghiaseddin was named to this key executive committee position during the society’s 2025 Fall Oncology Congress in Orlando in October, where he was also honored with the Above and Beyond Award.
• UF McKnight Brain Institute investigators Zachary Sorrentino, M.D., Ph.D., and Adithya Gopinath, Ph.D., are winners of 2025 Toffler Scholars Awards, which recognize researchers whose early-stage projects hold potential to drive meaningful scientific breakthroughs. Sorrentino was awarded $50,000 for research into how Lewy body-associated alpha-synuclein pathology drives neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease and the development of targeted therapies to slow or prevent its progression. Gopinath was awarded $35,000 for his studies in the immune involvement of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and other disorders characterized by disrupted dopamine signaling, with the goal of developing novel therapeutics.
• Anesthesiology resident Abigail Schirmer, M.D., has been recognized by the American Society of Anesthesiologists with the Resident Distinction Award, which was created to develop professional citizenship, leadership and scholarship capabilities for residents. She is the first University of Florida anesthesiology resident to receive this new designation, which the society began awarding in 2025.
• Daniel Araujo, M.D., a clinical associate professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology, has been selected to participate in the Florida Medical Association’s 2026 Karl M. Altenburger, M.D., Physician Leadership Academy. The Leadership Academy is an intensive, yearlong program for association members who practice in Florida and helps emerging physician leaders develop specific nonclinical skills they need to be effective medical professionals for their patients.
• General surgery resident Jeremy Balch, M.D., Ph.D., was among three university innovators recently honored with an inaugural AI Research Award from the UF Artificial Intelligence and Informatics Research Institute. Balch received the AI Research Dissertation Award for his work developing AI tools that improve surgical safety and efficiency while pursuing his doctoral degree in the Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics.
• Eric Wang, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, has been named UF Innovate’s 2025 Innovator of the Year. Wang’s research focuses on myotonic dystrophy, a disease caused by a genetic mutation, and how the mutation causes problems in muscles, the heart and the brain. He is also an entrepreneur and co-founder of Kate Therapeutics, a UF biotechnology company acquired by Novartis in 2024 that developed adeno-associated virus-based gene therapies for muscle and heart diseases.
• Two College of Medicine doctoral students, Tajera Henry and Tala Oritz, were selected among a group of 10 finalists for UF’s Three Minute Thesis competition. The competition challenges graduate students to make a compelling presentation of their thesis topic and its significance in just three minutes, helping students develop academic, presentation and research communication skills, as well as the capacity to explain their research to non-academic audiences.
• After receiving the most votes from the public, Gainesville’s Wilmot Therapeutic Horticulture Program was awarded $3,000 from the National Garden Bureau.