Recognizing the achievements of our faculty
The Division of General Internal Medicine has long been home to outstanding faculty. We congratulate our faculty members for their efforts to advance Ohio State’s Division of Internal Medicine through high quality, patient care, innovative research, and education of the next generation of physicians. Learn more about our faculty members professional achievements.
Annual General Internal Medicine Awards
These awards generally reflect accomplishments over the prior calendar year; GIM division faculty, associated faculty, and adjunct faculty of any rank are eligible; and members of the core leadership team are not eligible.
Robert A. Murden Lifetime Achievement Award – Associate Professor or Professor rank in the GIM division; for an individual who has made outstanding and sustained contributions to the mission of the division; excelling in provision of outstanding primary care; inspiring learners through outstanding clinical teaching in primary care; modeling professionalism; demonstrating leadership; demonstrating use of best evidence/best practice in patient care; enhancing the culture of the division through active engagement and consistent citizenship; demonstrates consistent participation in professional medical societies and consistent, high-quality scholarly activity.
2024 winner: Neeraj Tayal, MD
2023 winner: Cynthia Kreger, MD (shown at right in photo)
2022 winner: Bob Murden, MD, GIM Professor Emeritus (shown at left in photo)
2024 winner: Matthew Flanigan, MD
2023 winner: Aaron Friedberg, MD
2022 winner: Martin Fried, MD
Excellence in Innovation Award – for innovation and excellence in quality improvement or clinical operations.
2024 winner: Shengyi Mao, MD
2023 winner: Brandon Pollak, MD
2022 winner: Kelli Barnes, PharmD, BCACP
Buckeye Spirit Award –for distinction as an exceptional colleague and peer, as evidenced by going above and beyond their routine duties to help their colleagues through enhancing wellness, providing mentorship, or demonstrating great teamwork.
2024 winner: Katrina Johnson, MD
2023 winner: Nazhat Taj-Schaal, MD
2022 winner: Gregory Bobulsky, MD
Outstanding Scholarly Achievement Award –for outstanding achievement(s) in research or other scholarly activity with national or international impact (e.g., an outstanding publication, an excellent national or international presentation).
2024 winners: Janet Childerhose, PhD; Andrew Schamess, MD
2023 winner: Martin Fried, MD
2022 winner: Robert Cronin, MD
Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award – for outstanding contributions to promoting or enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.
2024 winner: Erin McConnell, MD
2023 winner: Taru Saigal, MD
2022 winner: Sarah Jonaus, MD
Additional Awards & Honors
Dr. Christopher Chiu won the Linda Strout Faculty Teaching Award in Ambulatory Medicine for 2021-2022. This award is presented each year to a faculty member who demonstrated outstanding skill in teaching primary care to housestaff. Voted on by housestaff, this award is named after Dr. Linda Strout. Dr. Strout was instrumental in establishing the primary care residency track in Internal Medicine and the Patient-Centered Medical Home initiative.
Dr. Jodi Grandominico, Dr. Nathan Richards, Dr. Matthew Schirtzinger and Dr. Mark Troyer all were named faculty recipients for the Department of Internal Medicine's Excellence in Teaching Award for the 2021-2022 academic year. The award is based on feedback by third and fourth-year medical students and both quality and quantity of teaching.
Dr. Christopher Chiu won OSUMC’s 2020-2021 Teacher of the Year - Internal Medicine Residency award, the Faculty Teaching Award in Inpatient Medicine - Internal Medicine Residency, and the Scott Holiday Faculty Teaching Award - Med-Peds Residency.
Shawn Corcoran, MD and Jasmine Trouten, MD won the 2020-2021 Linda Strout Ambulatory Teaching Award. This award is presented each year to a faculty member who demonstrated outstanding skill in teaching primary care to housestaff. Voted on by housestaff, this award is named after Dr. Linda Strout. Dr. Strout was instrumental in establishing the primary care residency track in Internal Medicine and the Patient-Centered Medical Home initiative. Shawn Corcoran, MD was also recently named as a LG Facilitator of the Year for Internal Medicine for his teaching and learning methods.
Dr. Mark Troyer was selected as the 2019-2020 Longitudinal Group Facilitator of the Year. Dr. Troyer was selected for this Learn.Serve.Inspire. curriculum award by Ohio State medical students. Longitudinal Practice is a longitudinal early clinical experience that begins in October of a medical student's first year. Students see patients in the office with the diseases they learn about in class and they often state that this is one of the highlights of their medical education.
Mr. Cory Coffey, PharmD, BCACP, BCPP, was recognized as the OSU College of Pharmacy Preceptor of the Year at a virtual ceremony in November 2020. This award is student nominated and selected/granted by the COP awards committee. Mr. Coffey provides experiential rotations for several students every year. Through this experience, he mentors many of his students through the postgrad residency application process and helps them cultivate a passion for ambulatory pharmacy practice. In addition to student precepting, Mr. Coffey has also taken on the residency program director role for the College of Pharmacy ambulatory residency programs this year.
Dr. Neeraj Tayal was recognized as a Friend of the (Pharmacy) College at a virtual ceremony in November 2020. Dr. Tayal won the award for playing a leadership role in the significant expansion of pharmacists in Ohio State’s GIM clinics over time, for his unwavering support of pharmacy’s key role in primary care, and for his commitment to teaching and mentoring Ohio State's College of Pharmacy (OSUCOP) pharmacists, pharmacy residents, and student pharmacists.
Dr. Christopher Chiu also was selected as faculty Mentor of the Year by Ohio State fourth-year medical student students entering internal medicine residency programs. The students nominated him for the outstanding contributions he has made to student programs through role modeling and personal interest in students’ development as physicians in internal medicine. In addition, he was selected as the Department of Internal Medicine's Teacher of the Year.
Dr. Cynthia Kreger was recognized by the Mazzaferri-Ellison Society of Master Clinicians as an outstanding faculty member who has made significant contributions to the College of Medicine in the areas of teaching, mentoring and patient care.
Dr. Kevin Goist and Dr. Gabrielle Ruff won 2019-2020 “Excellence in Teaching” awards. To qualify, candidates are evaluated both on quality and quantity of student teaching. Overall ratings from all students identify these faculty members as top faculty teachers in Internal Medicine.
The GHHS Resident Chapter inducted Dr. Sarah Jonaus in March of 2020 into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. Humanism in Medicine is made up of those that work together to merge health and creativity throughout the Medical Center and the College of Medicine.
Dr. Christopher Chiu won the Linda Strout Faculty Teaching Award in Ambulatory Medicine on June 3, 2019. This award is presented each year to a faculty member who demonstrated outstanding skill in teaching primary care to housestaff. Voted on by housestaff, this award is named after Dr. Linda Strout. Dr. Strout was instrumental in establishing the primary care residency track in Internal Medicine and the Patient-Centered Medical Home initiative. Dr. Chiu also won the Faculty Teaching Award in the Inpatient category. The award, which is also voted on by housestaff, recognizes a faculty member who exemplifies teaching excellence in inpatient care. A similar award is given for work in the critical care setting.
General Internal Medicine is not just about caring for adults. The clinical care of our faculty extends into the pediatric population within three of our primary care practices. These providers contribute to the education of the Internal Medicine/Pediatrics combined residency program at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital S. High Clinic. The IM/Peds faculty working at this site include Drs. Christopher Chiu, Camilla Curren, Matthew Flanigan, Susie Friedman, Christopher Hanks, Shengyi Mao and Nathan Richards. This clinic recently received the honor of being named AMRCC Clinical Site of the Year by fourth-year students of The Ohio State University’s College of Medicine. The students selected the clinic for the high quality of teaching and patient care at the site, as well as for the ability of the staff to work together in high-functioning inter-professional teams that enhanced that care even further. The award was presented by at the annual College of Medicine Spring Symposium by Vice Dean for Education, Dr. Daniel Clinchot. The daylong event focuses on teaching skills in the clinical setting and faculty development.
Kelli Barnes, PharmD recently won the Clinical Excellence Award for her excellent work in providing top patient outcomes and delivering high-value care with unparalleled patient experiences. The Clinical Excellence Award acknowledges those whose high standards, teamwork, knowledge and skills contribute to overall excellence and achievement of quality in patient care and service.
Dr. Gail Grever was selected in April 2019 as a recipient of the Exceptional Physician Peer Award. The award is part of the Values in Action series, which are awards that allows us to recognize those who create and sustain a culture that inspires our workforce to live the OSU Med Center organizational values: inclusiveness, determination, empathy, sincerity, ownership
and innovation.
Dr. Sarah Jonaus was selected in April 2019 as a recipient of The Ohio State University's Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Award. This honor recognizes outstanding leadership and advancements in improving workplace culture, which was demonstrated by Dr. Jonaus and all her colleagues in the Faculty Experience Group — Darrell Gray, II, MD, MPH; Paul Janssen, PhD; Clara Lee, MD; Dana McTigue, PhD; Lori Oberholzer, JD; Matthew Old, MD; Alison Walker, MD; and Jon Walker, MD.
Dr. Kristin Conners was selected in January 2019 as a recipient of the Exceptional Physician Peer Award. The award is part of the Values in Action series, which are awards that allows us to recognize those who create and sustain a culture that inspires our workforce to live the OSU Med Center organizational values: inclusiveness, determination, empathy, sincerity, ownership and innovation.
Dr. Kristina Lehman was awarded a fellowship at the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine in November 2018. Dr. Jodi Grandominico and Dr. Kristina Lehman were selected in September as recipients of the quarter's Exceptional Physician Peer Award. The award, which is given by Ohio State's Physician Engagement Group, celebrates the following core values: collegiality, collaboration, innovation, leadership and patient focus.
Dr. Mark Troyer won the Linda Strout Faculty Teaching Award in Ambulatory Medicine on June 2, 2018. This award is presented each year to a faculty member who demonstrated outstanding skill in teaching primary care to housestaff. Voted on by housestaff, this award is named after Dr. Linda Strout. Dr. Strout was instrumental in establishing the primary care residency track in Internal Medicine and the Patient-Centered Medical Home initiative.
On March 6, 2018, the Delaware County Board of Developmental Disabilities named Dr. Nazhat Taj-Schaal as a recipient of a Lifetime of Giving Award. These awards are given to outstanding self-advocates, service professionals, and others who support individuals with developmental disabilities.
Dr. Kevin Goist won one teaching and one mentoring award in June, 2017. He was awarded the Linda Strout Faculty Teaching Award in Ambulatory Medicine. This award is presented each year to a faculty member who demonstrated outstanding skill in teaching primary care to housestaff. This award, which is voted on by housestaff, was named after Dr. Linda Strout. Dr. Strout was instrumental in establishing the primary care residency track in Internal Medicine and the Patient-Centered Medical Home initiative. Dr. Goist was also nominated as Mentor of the Year by the 2017 graduating class of students who are entering Internal Medicine. Past recipients of this award include current interim IM Department Chair, Dr. Phillip Binkley.Dr. Sarah Jonaus has been selected as the 2017 Portfolio Coach of the Year. Dr. Jonaus was nominated by several of her students for her strong commitment to coaching her students.
Dr. Michael Jonesco was selected to receive the Exceptional Physician Peer Award in June 2017. Award recipients are those who demonstrate exemplary skills in patient focus, collegiality/professionalism, innovative models of care, leadership and collaboration.
Grants
Janet Childerhose, PhD, has received an award from The Ohio State University Society of Fellows (Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme), for her research on “The Overdose Stories.” The award runs until May 2025 and Dr. Childerhose has the distinction of being the first OSU College of Medicine faculty member to receive it.
Janet Childerhose, PhD, received a Department of Internal Medicine Pilot Research Award for Junior Investigators (2021) for “Is Narcan the New CPR? The Capacity of Ohio Public Libraries as Opioid Responders.”
Dr. Rob Cronin Department of Internal Medicine pilot grant program awardee 2021. "Evaluating the cost-effectiveness of new FDA-approved medications and curative therapies in sickle cell disease."
Dr. Seuli Brill was awarded a COVID-19 Special Grants Competition Award for “Talking in the Clinic: Barriers and Facilitators of Chronic Disease Adherence among Patients at High Risk for Covid-19 Complications.” The grant will fund a year of Dr. Brill's work with faculty in Ohio State's English Department to do medical communication research that is centered on identifying barriers to accessing care among patients who are at risk for COVID-19 complications.
Dr. Camilla Curren has been awarded $15,000 to study interprofessional EHR use at our medical center. Her grant is one of a series of 2018 grants designed to fund the development of programs that cultivate communication and collaboration between divisions or departments in the College of Medicine.
The CAST program serves to positively impact the healthcare outcomes of transition-age youth and adult patients with autism. Lead physician for CAST, Dr. Christopher Hanks announced in the summer of 2017 that CAST has been awarded a $25,000 Columbus Foundation grant to support care coordination services for CAST patients.Promotions and professional recognition
Martin Fried, MD; Erin McConnell, MD; and Nathan Richards, MD; were all promoted to associate professor in 2024. Jared Moore, MD, was promoted to full professor.
Dr. Tanya Gure and Dr. Andrew Thomas were promoted to full professor in 2023. Shengyi Mao, MD was promoted to associate professor.
Dr. Kevin Goist, Dr. Deborah Gordish, Dr. Michael Jonesco and Dr. Andrew Schamess were all promoted from assistant to associate professor in 2021.
Dr. Jodi Grandominico and Dr. Stephen Koesters were both promoted from assistant to associate professor in 2020.
Dr. Tanya Gure was appointed to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN) Older Adult/VA as an expert panel member.
Dr. Tanya Gure was quoted in a Forbes article, "Nursing Home Dilemma: Should You Consider Bringing Your Loved One Home Due to COVID-19?" With cases of COVID-19 continuing to rise in many parts of the country, families are faced with an important question: Should they bring their loved one home from a nursing home at this time? Dr. Gure weighs in.
Drs. Tanya Gure and Robert Murden were the geriatricians recently named to Castle Connolly's 2019 Top Doctors list. Drs. Cynthia Kreger, Patricia Ryan and Geoffrey Vaughan were named for their work in internal medicine and Dr. Nazhat Taj-Schaal was named for her work in pediatrics. Castle Connolly's physician-led team of researchers follow a rigorous screening process to select top doctors at both the regional and national level.
The General Internal Medicine clinics at Morehouse and Lewis Center are in the top 10 percent nationally for patient satisfaction over this past fiscal year, as determined by Press Ganey patient satisfaction surveys. This accomplishment reflects the exceptional service these teams provide to patients. When patients receive exceptional service and care, they are more likely to follow their plan of care, resulting in better health outcomes.
Drs. Tanya Gureand Guibin Li were the geriatricians recently named to the 2017-2018 Best Doctors list and featured in Columbus Business First. Drs. Michael Burgin, Camilla Curren, Deborah Gordish, Jodi Grandominico, Cynthia Kreger, Robert Murden, Neeraj Tayal, Geoffrey Vaughan and Harrison Weed were named for their work in internal medicine and Drs. Camilla Curren andScott A. Holliday were named for their work in pediatrics. Since 1989, Best Doctors has conducted one of the largest ongoing peer physician polls within health care to identify the physicians other physicians trust most. Only five percent of doctors in the U.S. (including 202 OSUMC doctors this year) earn this prestigious honor.
Drs. Tanya Gureand Robert Murden were the geriatricians recently named to Castle Connolly's 2018 Top Doctors list and featured in Columbus Monthly. Drs. Cynthia Kregerand Geoffrey Vaughan were named for their work in internal medicine and Dr. Nazhat Taj-Schaal was named for her work in pediatrics. Castle Connolly's physician-led team of researchers follow a rigorous screening process to select top doctors at both the regional and national level.
Drs. Seuli Brill, Gail Grever, Guibin Li, Jared Moore and Nazhat Taj-Schaal were promoted from assistant professor to associate professor, effective July 1, 2018.
Dr. Nazhat Taj-Schaal and Dr. Patty Ryan were named to the Castle Connolly list of America’s “Top Doctors” in the pediatric field in June 2018. Doctors included in the Castle Connolly list were nominated by their peers in an extensive survey process that involves thousands of American doctors each year.
Dr. Tanya Gure was promoted from assistant professor to associate professor, effective July 1, 2017.Dr. Heather Hirsch was accepted into the ACLGIM LEAD program earlier this year. This is a mentorship program associated with the Society of General Internal Medicine that helps participants develop leadership skills.
Dr. Susan Friedman and Dr. Mark Troyer were accepted into the SGIM TEACH program earlier this year. This is a mentorship program that helps participants move toward mastery in the field of medical education. These two doctors have demonstrated an ability to inspire a number of students, and we look forward to their continued growth in this important mission area.