John Freeman Faculty Teaching Award – Han Zhang, MD
Han Zhang, MD, professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy is the 2025 recipient of the John H. Freeman Award for Faculty Teaching.
Chosen by the senior class, this is the eighth time Zhang has received the award, which is given annually to recognize McGovern Medical School’s outstanding basic science faculty member. Recipients may not win the award in consecutive years.
“I am very excited and incredibly honored,” Zhang said. “Each time I receive this award, it motivates me to work harder to make my teaching more engaging and special for the students. This award means the world to me. Teaching is my life’s work, and to know that my teaching is being well-received by students is very rewarding.”
Zhang, who has been at McGovern over 30 years, said that he loves the Medical School because it allows each person to play their part and their strengths. He enjoys that everyone in the school is kind and helpful.
“I feel full, strong, and happy in this big family, and I am grateful to everyone around me,” he said.
Zhang became a teacher to follow in the footsteps of his parents who were both educators in China, where his father was a principal, and his mother was a teacher.
“I grew up witnessing their dedication to their students and their exceptional talent for teaching,” he said. “My father would always see a struggling student and sit next to them and acknowledge them, give them second chances, and adopted a compassion-first approach to his teaching style.”
In each year since 2003, he has won the Dean’s Teaching Excellence Award. He has been inducted into the Medical School’s Academy of Master Educators and is the recipient of the University of Texas System Board of Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award.
“this award doesn’t just belong to me personally, it belongs to our school, the office of education, and our department, and without their leadership, support, help, trust, and synergy, my role in teaching would not have been possible,” Zhang said. “I am especially grateful to Dr. John Byrne, Dr. Len Cleary, Dr. Mark Hormann, Dr. Pramod Dash, and our teaching team. This award also belongs to them.”
Previous winners of the John H. Freeman Award for Faculty Teaching include: Ronald “Chris” Mackenzie, PhD, FRSB, 2024, 2017, 2015, Claire Hulsebosch, PhD, 2023, 2021, 2018; Zhang, 2022, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2008, 2006; Phillip Carpenter, PhD, 2020; Dawnelle Schatte, MD, 2014; Joanne Oakes, MD, 2012; Elizabeth Hartwell, MD, 2007; Margaret O. Uthman, MD, 2011, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1999, 1997; Kent Heck, MD, 2004, 2002; Norman Weisbrodt, PhD, 2003; Barry Van Winkle, PhD, 2000, 1998; Marsha L. Eigenbrodt, MD, MPH, 1996; Ron C. Philo, PhD, 1995; Harley D. Sybers, MD, PhD, 1994, 1992, 1990; Frank W. Booth, MD, 1993; and Karmen L. Schmidt, PhD, 1991.