Faculty Awards & Recognitions

This award recognizes excellence in the nominee’s clinical care during their association with the Keck School of Medicine (Keck School). The nominee should have a substantial clinical practice and serve as a role model for peers, residents, and students in (i) providing quality clinical care and (ii) interacting with patients and all members of the health care team. 

Review Criteria 

• Excellence
  Demonstrates excellence in patient-centered clinical care and professionalism.
• Impact
  Demonstrates a positive impact on patients, colleagues, and the Keck School clinical community through excellence in clinical practice.
• Scope
  Demonstrates meaningful impact beyond the Keck School through contributions to the broader community and advancement of clinical practice.
• Teamwork
  Demonstrates effective collaboration across disciplines to advance interprofessional practice and team-based care.
• Innovation
  Demonstrates innovation through the development or adoption of new approaches, technologies, practices, or partnerships in clinical care.

This award recognizes excellence in contributions and commitment to promote inclusion and belonging among the Keck School of Medicine (Keck School) community and/or communities that the Keck School serves.

Review Criteria

• Excellence
  Demonstrates a sustained commitment to advancing inclusion and belonging through teaching, service, scholarship, clinical practice, and/or mentoring.
• Impact Within KSOM
  Leads initiatives that promote awareness, understanding, and inclusion within the Keck School community.
• External Impact Beyond KSOM
  Advances inclusion and belonging through meaningful engagement with external communities and organizations.
• Collaboration
  Builds collaborative partnerships that foster inclusion and belonging in the workplace.
• Innovation
  Demonstrates creative problem-solving and innovative approaches to advancing inclusion and belonging.

This award recognizes excellence in the nominee’s mentoring and advising contributions during their association with the Keck School of Medicine (Keck School). The nominee must have demonstrated excellence in mentoring learners, faculty, and/or staff in achieving their career objectives. 

Review Criteria 

• Support, Goal Setting, & Guidance
  Provides meaningful guidance and support to help mentees achieve their academic, professional, and personal goals in a supportive environment.
• Feedback
  Provides regular, constructive, and accessible feedback to support mentee growth and development.
• Professional Exposure & Networking                                                                                                            Creates opportunities for mentees through involvement in scholarly, professional, and leadership activities and facilitates valuable networking connections.

• Inclusion
  Supports mentees from diverse backgrounds by fostering inclusive mentoring practices and helping address institutional and professional barriers
• Role Modeling                                                                                                                                              Demonstrates professionalism, integrity, and respect while modeling the standards and values of the Keck School community.

• Mentee Feedback
  Per the instructions outlined in the nomination form, feedback will be solicited from mentees. Please see mentee feedback form for reference.

This award recognizes excellence in the nominee’s scholarly activity during their association with the Keck School of Medicine (Keck School). The nominee’s scholarship should demonstrate its importance and impact nationally and internationally. Examples of achievement include grant funding, peer-reviewed publications, academic awards, and other scholarly work. The nominee should demonstrate an ability to engage other colleagues in their scholarly pursuits. 

Review Criteria 

• Excellence
  Demonstrates sustained achievement in scholarly activity through impactful publications and/or grant funding.
• Impact
  Advances their field of research through scholarly contributions recognized nationally and internationally.
• Translation
  Demonstrates broader societal impact through the application or translation of scholarly work.
• Teamwork
  Fosters collaborative scholarship by engaging colleagues, learners, and faculty in scholarly activities.

This award recognizes excellence in the nominee’s service activities during their association with the Keck School of Medicine (Keck School). The nominee must provide service that is consistent with the Keck School’s mission. Service activities should make demonstrable, substantial, and long-lasting contributions to the campus community, the community, and/or the nominee’s discipline or profession. 

Review Criteria 

• Excellence
  Demonstrates sustained service contributions that advance the Keck School’s mission through leadership and role modeling.
• Impact Within KSOM
  Contributes meaningfully to the Keck School through service in committees, programs, initiatives, or institutional roles.
• External Impact Beyond KSOM
  Demonstrates meaningful service impact within the broader community beyond the Keck School.
• Collaboration
  Builds and sustains collaborative partnerships across disciplines, roles, and institutions to advance service goals.

*Service includes effort on committees and other activities at the departmental level through the University level. Depending on the field or discipline, this effort may include work outside the University. The responsibility to share in the management of the academic enterprise through service on University committees rests on all faculty, of every track and every rank, full-time and part-time, understanding that in elections and appointments the wishes, expertise, and other time commitments of the individual will be taken into account. (3-B (2)(g), USC Faculty Handbook, https://policy.usc.edu/faculty-handbook/).

This award recognizes excellence in the nominee’s educational contributions during their association with the Keck School of Medicine (Keck School). The nominee must demonstrate the ability to effectively teach in diverse settings, which may or may not cover a variety of academic levels and learners. 

Review Criteria 

• Teaching Excellence
  Demonstrates excellence in teaching through clear, engaging, and effective instruction across learning environments.
• Impact On Learners
  Fosters the academic, professional, and personal development of learners through meaningful educational impact.
• Supportive Learning Environment
  Creates an inclusive and respectful learning environment that encourages curiosity, critical thinking, and open dialogue.
• Innovation in Designs and Techniques
  Incorporates innovative teaching methods, tools, and approaches that enhance learning across educational settings.
• Program and Curriculum Development & Educational Leadership
  Demonstrates leadership in the development and improvement of curricula, programs, and inclusive educational initiatives.

• Must be a faculty member in good standing under the Keck School Faculty Code of Conduct. 
• Previous nominees may be re-nominated; however, individuals who have received a Dean’s Award within the past three years are not eligible. Please refer to the list of previous award recipients provided below.
• Only one nomination may be submitted per faculty member within a given award category (i.e., a faculty member may not receive multiple nominations in the same category).
• Eligibility will be verified by the Office of Faculty Affairs, Advancement & Inclusion (OFAAI) prior to committee review.
• Early Career Award: Faculty are eligible after 5 years of service at the Keck School of Medicine and within 10 years of their initial faculty appointment at any institution, regardless of academic track.
• Mid-to-Senior Career Award: Faculty are eligible after 10 years of service at the Keck School of Medicine, regardless of academic track.

• Nominations for a Dean’s Award may be submitted by any Keck School of Medicine faculty member, regardless of appointment track or full-time/part-time status. Self-nominations are not permitted.
• To nominate a colleague, complete the appropriate online nomination form (links below) and upload the nominee’s current curriculum vitae (CV).
• A faculty review committee will evaluate all nominations and provide recommendations to the Dean, who will make the final selection of award recipients.
• Nominations must be submitted by 5pm on Friday, July 10, 2026.

Awarded: October 16, 2025 

• Dean’s Award for Excellence in Clinical Practice
  Thomas Coates, MD
  Professor of Pediatrics and Pathology  
• Dean’s Early Career Award for Excellence in Clinical Practice
  Darrin Lee, MD, PhD
  Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery 
• Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring
  Alan L. Epstein, MD, PhD
  Professor of Pathology 
• Dean’s Early Career Award for Excellence in Mentoring
  Megan Herting, PhD
  Associate Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences 
• Dean’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship
  Neda Jahanshad, PhD
  Associate Professor of Neurology and Biomedical Engineering
• Dean’s Early Career Award for Excellence in Scholarship
  Jonathan Santoro, MD
  Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology and Pediatrics
• Dean’s Award for Excellence in Service
  W. Martin Kast, PhD
  Professor of Immunology & Immune Therapeutics
• Dean’s Early Career Award for Excellence in Service
  Kimberly Petko, MD, MPH
  Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
• Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching
  Enrique L. Ostrzega, MD
  Clinical Professor of Medicine
• Dean’s Early Career Award for Excellence in Teaching
  Cathy Jalali, PhD
  Assistant Professor of Clinical Medical Education

Awarded: October 24, 2024 

• Dean’s Award for Excellence in Clinical Practice
  Sarah Sheibani, MD
  Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine  
• Dean’s Early Career Award for Excellence in Clinical Practice
  Raymond Hah, MD
  Associate Professor of Clinical Orthopaedic Surgery 
• Dean’s Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
  Senta Georgia, PhD
  Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine 
• Dean’s Early Career Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
  Nada Elbuluk, MD, MSc
  Clinical Associate Professor of Dermatology (Clinician Educator) 
• Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring
  Gage Crump, PhD
  Professor of Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine 
• Dean’s Early Career Award for Excellence in Mentoring
  Charleston Chiang, PhD
  Associate Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences 
• Dean’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship
  Justin Ichida, PhD
  Associate Professor of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine 
• Dean’s Early Career Award for Excellence in Scholarship
  Lorraine Kelley-Quon, MD, MSHS
  Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery and Population & Public Health Sciences 
• Dean’s Award for Excellence in Service
  Grace Kung, MD
  Clinical Professor of Pediatrics (Clinician Educator) 
• Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching
  Sravanthi Reddy, MD
  Professor of Clinical Radiology (Educational Scholar) 
• Dean’s Early Career Award for Excellence in Teaching
  Andrea Matho, MD
  Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine (Clinician Educator) 

Awarded: October 24, 2023 

• Dean’s Award for Excellence in Clinical Practice
  Laila Al-Marayati, MD
  Assistant Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology 
• Dean’s Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
  Joyce M. Richey, PhD
  Associate Professor of Clinical Physiology & Neuroscience 
• Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring
  Yves A. DeClerck, MD
  Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine 
• Dean’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship
  Omid Akbari, PhD
  Professor of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology
• Dean’s Early Career Award for Excellence in Scholarship
  Kimberly K. Gokoffski, MD, PhD
  Assistant Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology 
• Dean’s Award for Excellence in Service
  Josh Neman-Ebrahim, PhD
  Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery and Physiology & Neuroscience 
•  Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching
  Joseph G. Hacia, PhD
  Associate Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine 
•  Dean’s Early Career Award for Excellence in Teaching
  Jessica L. Barrington-Trimis, PhD
  Associate Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences 
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