Awards and Honors
InFocus • Summer 2025 Issue • September 12, 2025
Below are some of the recent awards and honors received by our Penn Pathology and Laboratory Medicine community.
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Zahra Alipour, MD, MIAC received the 2025 Kevin E. Salhany, MD Award for Excellence in Clinical Pathology Teaching. This award is given by the residents of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine each year to a faculty member in recognition of exceptional achievement and commitment to resident education that characterized Dr. Salhany's tenure at the University of Pennsylvania. |
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Nicole Aqui, MD was the recipient of this year's Simon Flexner Award for Contribution to Graduate Education. The Flexner Award is given to a Pathology and Laboratory Medicine faculty member for their contribution to graduate education with a documented record of development, mentoring, and support for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. |
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Zubair W. Baloch, MD, PhD received the James W. Reagan Award from the International Academy of Cytology for his outstanding achievements in clinical cytology. The award is given every third year at the International Congress. |
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Recent graduate of the HUP Path & Lab Residency Program and current Transfusion Medicine/Blood Bank Fellow, Kurshaad Cheenibass, MD, received the Department's 2025 Distinguished Contribution by a Resident Award. | |
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The 2025 Mark L. Tykocinski, MD Award for Research was given to Megan L. Clark, who works in Dr. Jorge Henao-Mejia's laboratory. This award recognizes a PhD or Graduate Student who is interested in translational work, committed to improving our understanding of basic pathophysiologic processes of disease. | |
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Kumarasen Cooper, MBChB, DPhil, FRCPath received this year's Virginia LiVolsi Excellence in Anatomic Pathology Teaching Award. Given by the Surgical Pathology (SP) Fellows of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, this award recognizes a faculty member for outstanding teaching contributions and enthusiastic dedication as an educator, mentor, and advocate for SP fellows. |
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In recognition of her excellence in diagnostic skills, commitment to teaching, and scholarly activity, this year's Horatio T. Enterline Award was given to 2024-25 HUP Surgical Pathology Fellow Dokpe Y. Emechebe, MBBS. | |
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Jaryse Harris, MD, recent HUP Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Residency Program graduate, received the 2025 Leonard Berwick Teaching Award. This honor is given annually to a senior resident whose teaching has effectively fused basic scientific principles with clinical medicine. The HUP PLM residents also honored Dr. Harris with the 2025 Lodato Award, which recognizes a resident whose outstanding spirit and leadership have most contributed to the program. | |
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Carl June, MD was among four winners of the 2025 Balzan Prizes. Dr. June was recognized for his breakthrough work developing personalized cellular therapy for cancer, which has given fresh hope to thousands of patients with blood cancers worldwide and holds promise for autoimmune diseases and other conditions. The Switzerland-based Balzan Foundation makes four awards each year in the humanities and hard sciences. Winners receive a total of 800,000 Swiss francs (~$940,000), half which must be used to support projects by young researchers. |
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John D. Lambris, PhD was the recipient of the 2025 International Complement Society Legacy Award in recognition of his outstanding and impactful contributions in the field of complement research. Dr. Lambris accepted the award at this year's International Complement Workshop in Brisbane, Australia. | |
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The David B.P. Goodman, MD, PhD Award for University Service recognizes a Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine faculty member who emulates Dr. Goodman's characteristic of service by demonstrating an outstanding and selfless commitment and contribution to the University. The 2025 Goodman Award was presented to Alexis Peedin, MD, MEHP. | |
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HUP Lead Pathologist Assistant Haley Pereira, PA(ASCP) received the 2025 Resident Award, which is given by the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine residents to a technologist, pathology assistant, or support staff member in Anatomic Pathology or Clinical Pathology to recognize their outstanding dedication to teaching and improving resident training in their area of expertise. | |
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Christina Pierre, PhD, DABCC, FADLM was the recipient of this year's Peter C. Nowell Award for Outstanding Teaching. This award recognizes a Pathology and Laboratory Medicine faculty member for their outstanding teaching contributions in accord with the Department's philosophy. | |
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Kyle G. Rodino, PhD, D(ABMM) received the 2026 American Society of Microbiology (ASM) Award for Early Career Clinical Microbiology Research. This award recognizes research excellence and achievements of early career microbiologists in clinical microbiology and infectious diseases. |
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PLM Medical Education Manager Vikki Scott, C-TAGME was recently featured as a Penn Medicine Difference Maker for her dedication to the Department's residents and fellows. She champions their success in countless ways - helping with onboarding, suggesting where to eat and how to best navigate the city, and giving legendary pep talks. “She represents the heart and soul of what makes this program great," says former resident Jaryse Harris, MD. | |
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Kristen M. Stashek, MD received the 2025 J. Wheeler Teaching Award, which is given by the residents of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine to an AP faculty member each year for outstanding contributions and enthusiastic dedication as a resident educator, mentor and advocate for resident training in Anatomic Pathology. | |
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HUP Anatomic Pathology Lab Coordinator Doris Washington was recently recognized by the State of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia for the work her non-profit, Pamper and Diaper My Baby, does in the community. Doris founded the organization in 2014 and aims to tackle diaper needs in our communities by ensuring that every child has a clean, dry, and healthy diaper. | |
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Xiaowei (George) Xu, MD, PhD has been appointed to the recently created Founders Professor in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine endowed professorship effective July 1st, 2025. This new endowed position was made possible through the generosity of John and Rodothea Lambris and will be renamed the John and Rodothea Lambris Endowment upon Dr. Lambris’s retirement. | |
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The Chairman's Award for Distinguished Service is given to Pathology and Laboratory Medicine faculty or staff members in recognition of extraordinary departmental citizenship and service to the Health System. The 2025 Chairman's Award recipients were Eddie Lee, MD PhD; Anna Moran, MD, CPE; Kyle Rodino, PhD; Stephen Master, MD, PhD; Rebecca Linn, MD; Robin Collingwood, MD; Kathleen Allen; Amanda Kuzma; Bridget Callaghan; and Deborah Mincarelli, MBA, FACHE. |
