Longtime UT Southwestern faculty members Dr. Richard Finn and Dr. Diane Twickler earned Distinguished Educator Awards at the recent Excellence in Education Awards ceremony.

In all, more than 30 faculty members were recognized by the UT Southwestern Academy of Teachers (SWAT) on Oct. 18. SWAT is a group of elite UTSW educators who strive to provide an academic and organizational environment that fosters excellence in teaching at all levels, rewards superb teachers, stimulates innovation in education, and promotes scholarship in education.

Dr. Finn, Professor of Surgery and Cell Biology, was named Distinguished Biomedical Science Educator. Trained as a dentist, Dr. Finn is Director of the Section of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center and provides clinical support and resident teaching at Parkland Hospital. Dr. Twickler, Professor of Radiology and Obstetrics and Gynecology, was named Distinguished Clinical Educator. She serves as Vice Chair of Academic Affairs in the Department of Radiology and as Medical Director of Obstetric and Gynecologic Ultrasound at Parkland. 

Dr. Joel Goodman, Professor of Pharmacology and President of SWAT, congratulated all of those honored, thanking them for teaching with fervor.

“It is well-known that our clinical care consistently ranks highly and our research is among the best in the world,” Dr. Goodman said. “But outstanding clinical care and research rely on a third mission of UT Southwestern, that of outstanding education. The superlative job that our educators do, as celebrated by these awards, allows the other two missions to be realized, both now, and in the future. We all owe our teachers an enormous debt of gratitude.”

In other honors, SWAT presented Outstanding Teacher Awards to faculty members in each of the three schools: 

• UT Southwestern Medical School: Peter Michaely, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology; and Dr. Blake Barker, Associate Dean of Students and Associate Professor of Internal Medicine. Honorable mention: Dr. Ladan Agharokh, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics.
• UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences: Gaudenz Danuser, Chair of the Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics and Professor of Bioinformatics and Cell Biology; and Dr. Ondine Cleaver, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology.
• UT Southwestern School of Health Professions: Lona Sandon, Assistant Professor of Clinical Nutrition.

Dr. Danuser holds the Patrick E. Haggerty Distinguished Chair in Basic Biomedical Science.

Dr. Goodman holds the Jan and Bob Bullock Distinguished Chair for Science Education.

Dr. Twickler holds the Dr. Fred Bonte Professorship in Radiology.

UTSW Excellence in Education Awards honors and recognition

2017 SWAT Small Grant Awards

Dr. Reeni Abraham, Co-Director of the Internal Medicine Clerkship and Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine

Dr. Ladan Agharokh, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Dr. Jaclyn Albin, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine

Dr. Shannon Amerilda Scielzo, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine

Dr. Sunil Balgobin, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Research team of Dr. Philip Day, Assistant Professor, and Dr. Nora Gimpel, Associate Professor, both of Family and Community Medicine

Dr. Ann Majewicz Fey, Assistant Professor of Surgery

Dr. Aleksandra Foxwell, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Dr. Kendra Frederick, Assistant Professor of Biophysics in the Center for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases, and in the Cecil H. and Ida Green Comprehensive Center for Molecular, Computational, and Systems Biology

Pre-Clerkship Teaching Awards (Class of 2020)

Low Exposure (five lectures or fewer)

Dr. Brigham Au, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery

Dr. Helen Hobbs, Director of the Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development, and Professor of Internal Medicine and Molecular Genetics

Dr. Gary Iwamoto, Professor of Cell Biology

Dr. Angela Mihalic, Associate Dean for Student Affairs, and Professor of Pediatrics

Dr. Heather Wickless, Associate Professor of Dermatology

High Exposure

Dr. James Amatruda, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Molecular Biology, and Internal Medicine

Dr. David Greenberg, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Microbiology

Dr. David Karp, Chief of the Division of Rheumatic Diseases and Professor of Internal Medicine

Dr. Peter Michaely, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology

Dr. John Phelan, Associate Professor of Cell Biology

MS2 Teaching Awards (Class of 2019)

Low Exposure

Dr. Jaime Almandoz, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine

Dr. Joel Goodman, Professor of Pharmacology

Dr. David Khan, Director of the Allergy and Immunology Fellowship Program, and Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics

Dr. Peter Michaely, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology

Dr. Craig Powell, Professor of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics, Neuroscience, and Psychiatry

High Exposure

Dr. Julie Champine, Professor of Radiology

Dr. Benjamin Greenberg, Associate Professor of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics and Pediatrics

Dr. David Greenberg, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Microbiology

Dr. Celia Jenkins, Professor of Psychiatry

Dr. Lindsey Pershern, Associate Professor of Psychiatry 

Katherine Howe Muntz Award

Dr. Gary Iwamoto, Professor of Cell Biology

Inducted as SWAT Members

Dr. Aditee P. Ambardekar, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Management

Dr. Julie Champine, Professor of Radiology

Dr. Won Lee, Medical Director of the Clinical Center for Sleep and Breathing Disorders, and Associate Professor of Internal Medicine

Dr. DaiWai M. Olson, Associate Professor of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics, and Neurological Surgery

Dr. Scott A. Smith, Assistant Dean for Research in the School of Health Professions, and Professor of Health Care Sciences-Education and Research

Dr. Sidarth Wakhlu, Associate Professor of Psychiatry

Elected to UT Kenneth I. Shine, M.D., Academy of Health Science Education in 2017

Dr. Laura Lacritz, Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology and Neurotherapeutics

Dr. W. Gary Reed, Associate Dean of Quality, Safety, and Outcomes Education and Professor of Internal Medicine and Surgery

Dr. Diane Twickler, Professor of Radiology and Obstetrics and Gynecology