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Online ceremony honors winners of WCM-Q Excellence in Teaching Awards

The annual Excellence in Teaching Awards ceremony recognize the outstanding achievements of WCM-Q's teaching faculty.
The annual Excellence in Teaching Awards ceremony recognize the outstanding achievements of WCM-Q's teaching faculty.

The achievements of Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar’s (WCM-Q) educators over the past year were recognized in an online ceremony held to announce the winners of the 2020 Excellence in Teaching Awards.

The annual awards ceremony celebrates the work of all WCM-Q teaching faculty, while also recognizing outstanding contributions made by individual faculty members to the education of students at WCM-Q. This year saw 20 awards presented in 13 categories for contributions to pre-medical and medical education, plus 13 winners in four categories of the 2020 Convocation Awards, which similarly recognize excellence in teaching and commitment to the academic performance and personal development of students. 

In the Pre-medical Education section, the Foundation Year Awards were presented to Dr. Majda Sebah and Dr. Rachid Bendriss, while the 1st Year Science Awards were won by Dr. Dalia Zakaria and Dr. Mohammad Yousef. The 2nd Year Science Awards went to Dr. Dalia Zakaria and Dr. Sean Holyroyd, with the English Writing Award going to Dr. Rodney Sharkey. Ms. Padmakumari Sarada and Dr. Simeon Scott Andrews won the Teaching Specialist Awards, with honorable mentions for Dr. Becky Cramer and Ms. Christine Gaskell.

In the Medical Education section, the Excellence in Teaching in the Foundational Sciences Curriculum Awards were presented to Dr. Mange Manyama and Dr. Ameed Raoof, while the Excellence in Teaching in the Clinical Curriculum Awards went to Dr. Raoof and Dr. Mohamed Elshazly. Meanwhile, Dr. Naim Haddad won the Excellence in Leadership in the Foundational Sciences Curriculum Award, and Dr. Salman Aljerdi scooped the Excellence in Leadership in the Clinical Curriculum Award.

Also in the Medical Education section, the Excellence in Mentoring in the Area of Concentration Awards were won by Dr. Khaled Machaca and Dr. Ali Sultan, while the Excellence in Educational Innovation Award was presented to Dr. Stella Major. This year’s awards for visiting faculty were won by Dr. Meredith Turetz in the Foundational Sciences category and Dr. Muthukumar Thangamani in the Clinical Curriculum category.

Dr. Thurayya Arayssi, Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education and Continuing Professional Development said: “Our faculty work very hard to provide truly excellent instruction to our students at WCM-Q so I am very proud and happy to highlight their tremendous achievements with these awards. This year, amid the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic, our faculty members demonstrated hugely impressive adaptability and resolve to rapidly transition our curriculum to online platforms, while maintaining the very highest standards of teaching to keep our students on track. I am truly grateful to all of them for their dedication and ingenuity.”

In the Convocation Awards section, the Senior List awardees were to Dr. Aicha Hind Rifai, Dr. Basim Uthman, Dr. Naim Haddad, Dr. Ameed Raoof, Dr. Amine Rakab and Dr. Mai Mahmoud, all of WCM-Q. The Senior List Visiting Faculty award winners were Dr. Anthony Ogedegbe, Dr. Joseph Safdieh and Dr. Robert Kim, all of Weill Cornell Medicine – New York. The Humanism in Medicine Award went to Dr. Aicha Hind Rifai, the Excellence in Foundational Sciences Teaching Award to Dr. Avelin Mylango and the Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award to Dr. Basim Uthman and Dr. Grigory Ostrovskiy.                   

Dr. Marco Ameduri, Senior Associate Dean for Pre-medical Education and Education City Collaborative Curricular Affairs, said: “It gives me great pleasure to give thanks for the incredible work of all of our teaching faculty at WCM-Q and to recognize those colleagues whose achievements reached the very pinnacle of excellence this year. Thanks to their hard work, commitment to their students, and flair for instruction, WCM-Q continues to produce doctors who are not only extremely well-qualified but also imaginative, inquisitive and completely dedicated to their patients.”

Dr. Javaid Sheikh, Dean of WCM-Q, said: “I offer my most sincere thanks to all of our wonderful faculty for their hard work over the past year - much of it in unusual and trying circumstances - and my warmest congratulations to the winners of this year’s awards. We are truly blessed to have such a talented group of educators at WCM-Q, who have continued to reach the very highest standards of teaching throughout the pandemic.”

 

Winners of the Excellence in Teaching Awards 2020 

 

Pre-medical Education Awards

Foundation Year: Dr. Majda Sebah, Dr. Rachid Bendriss,

1st Year Science: Dr. Dalia Zakaria, Dr. Mohammad Yousef

English Writing: Dr. Rodney Sharkey

2nd Year Science: Dr. Dalia Zakaria, Dr. Sean Holroyd

Teaching Specialist: Dr. Padmakumari Sarada, Dr. Simeon Scott Andrews

Teaching Specialists Honorable Mention: Dr. Becky Cramer, Ms. Christine Gaskell

 

Medical Education Awards

Excellence in Teaching in the Foundational Sciences Curriculum: Dr. Mange Manyama, Dr. Ameed Raoof

Excellence in Teaching in the Clinical Curriculum: Dr. Ameed Raoof, Dr. Mohamed Elshazly

Excellence in Leadership in the Foundational Sciences Curriculum: Dr. Naim Haddad

Excellence in Leadership in the Clinical Curriculum: Dr. Salman Aljerdi

Visiting Faculty Excellence in Teaching – Foundational Sciences Curriculum: Dr. Meredith Turetz

Visiting Faculty Excellence in Teaching – Clinical Curriculum: Dr. Muthukumar Thangamani

Excellence in Mentoring in the Area of Concentration: Dr. Khaled Machaca, Dr. Ali Sultan

Excellence in Educational Innovation: Dr. Stella Major

 

Convocation Awards 2020

The Senior List (WCM-Q Faculty): Dr. Aicha Hind Rifai, Dr. Basim Uthman, Dr. Naim Haddad, Dr. Ameed Raoof, Dr. Amine Rakab, Dr. Mai Mahmoud            

The Senior List (WCM-NY Visiting Faculty): Dr. Anthony Ogedegbe, Dr. Joseph Safdieh, Dr. Robert Kim

Humanism in Medicine Award: Dr. Aicha Hind Rifai

Excellence in Foundational Sciences Teaching Award: Dr. Avelin Malyango

Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award: Dr. Basim Uthman, Dr. Grigory Ostrovskiy