Residents and Faculty Recognized at 2019 Graduation

View photos from the event on our Facebook page.

The 18 fellows and 19 residents of the Department of Anesthesiology’s Class of 2019 were honored at an awards ceremony on June 22 as they embark on careers in private practice or continued programs of study.

Tim Morey, MD, Chair of the department, said the graduates were exceptionally well-prepared for any path, noting the enormous amount of work leading up to graduation as well as the emotional journey.

“No one does it alone,” he said at the ceremony held at the Hilton Hotel and Conference Center.

Chair’s Awards

Dr. Morey presented six chair’s awards. The Best Faculty Member award went to Jeffrey White, MD, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology.

Laurie Davies, MD, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Joint Associate Professor of Surgery, received the Chair’s Quality award, while Andre Boezaart, MD, PhD, Professor of Anesthesiology and Orthopedic Surgery, who retired from the department in June, received the Chair’s Research award.

Tony Cometa, MD, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology, received the Unsung Hero award and Michael Provost, CAA, received the Chair’s Anesthetist award.

The Chair’s Best Resident award went to Katie Dietrich, MD, who is one of the 2019-20 Chief Residents.

Kevin Olsen, MD, who will pursue a Critical Care Medicine Fellowship at Harvard University, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, received the Outstanding Senior Resident award. The Outstanding Junior Resident award went to Dr. Dietrich.

Teaching Awards

Two teaching awards were given out. The recipients were selected by the senior residents and the awards were presented by the 2018-19 Chief Residents, Drs. Dalya Elhady, Sindhu Nimma, and Olsen.

David Corda, MD, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology, received the T.W. Anderson Teacher of the Year award. The award is named for Dr. Torkhild W. Andersen, MD, the department’s first faculty member, who was recognized by department residents with the Outstanding Teacher award every year from 1958-1978.

Dr. Boezaart received the Haven M. Perkins Lifetime Teaching Award. Dr. Haven M. Perkins, MD, was the department’s first resident and remained on faculty until he was 77.

Resident Awards

The residents also honored their peers. The 2019-2020 Chief Residents, Drs. Jordan Brewer, Dietrich, and Richa Sutaria, presented Dr. Olsen with the Exceptional Resident of the Year award. James Brown, DO, received the Distinguished Team Player award, while Rocky Lupi, CAA, received the Exceptional Anesthetist of the Year award and Blake Lofgren, MD, received the Anesthetists’ Choice Resident of the Year award.

Dr. Chris Giordano, MD, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, also honored residents who participated in a leadership seminar program that he conducted.

Outstanding Achievement awards were given out for each division:

Acute Pain Medicine: Joel Goodman, DO

Ambulatory Anesthesiology: Alex Coons, MD

Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology: Matt Gunst, MD

Critical Care Medicine: Brandon Duffin, DO

Liver and Transplant Anesthesiology: Isaac Luria, MD

Multidisciplinary Pain Medicine: Geoffrey Panjeton, MD

Multispecialty Anesthesiology: Alex Coons, MD

Neuroanesthesiology: Gevalin Srisooksai, MD

Obstetric Anesthesiology: Chris Johnson, MD

Pediatric Anesthesiology: Rhae Battles, MD

Perioperative Anesthesiology: Shauna Wrazidlo, DO

Transition to Practice: Kevin Olsen, MD

VA Resident: Geoffrey Panjeton, MD

Congratulations to all of the graduates!

Fellows

Adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Fellows

  • Carl Charles Berasi, IV, MD
  • Eric Benjamin Brown, MD
  • Jonathan Alan Rost, MD
  • Johnny Thanh Son Nguyen, DO

Critical Care Medicine Fellows

  • Anwar UI Haque Khowaja Alinani, MBBS
  • Karina Bartlett, MD

Multidisciplinary Pain Medicine Fellows

  • Pavel Balduyeu, MD
  • Andrew Mark Khoury, MD
  • Lawrence Anthony Montalto, II, DO
  • Richard Cleveland Sims, MD
  • Mathew Leonard Romankowski, MD
  • Teresa Faith Achieng Ojode, MD

Regional Anesthesia and Perioperative Pain Medicine Fellows

  • Carolyn Elizabeth Witman, MD
  • Danielle McLaughlin Cobb, MD
  • Brandon Dale Beck, MD
  • Erik Mikael Helander, MBBS
  • Brendan Toshiyasu Inouye, MD

Pediatric Anesthesiology Fellows

  • Joseph E. LaGrew, II, MD

Residents

  • Samantha Arzillo, MD
  • Lucas Lee Bannister, MD
  • Rhae Battles, MD
  • James Reed Brown, DO
  • Brian H. Churchman, MD
  • Alexander D. Coons, MD
  • Aneel Kiran Deshmukh, MD
  • Dalya N. Elhady, MD
  • Joel Goodman, DO
  • Tyler Guy Haskell, DO
  • Jason R. Howard, DO
  • Christopher Craig Johnson, MD
  • Robert B. Lofgren, DO
  • Christopher William Maxwell, MD
  • Clinton Frazier McDaniel, MD
  • Sindhuja Reddy Nimma, MD
  • Kevin Robert Olsen, MD
  • Claudia Lucia Sotillo, MD
  • Gevalin Srisooksai, MD