Benjy F. Brooks, MD, Outstanding Clinical Faculty Award: Marina Petsalis, MD
Marina Petsalis, MD, chief resident in the Department of Surgery, is the 2025 winner of the Benjy F. Brooks, MD, Outstanding Clinical Faculty Award.
Established in 1991 by the Alumni Association, the Benjy Brooks Award is presented by the McGovern Student Surgical Association to recognize individuals who “complement and enhance the education program by serving as role models for students.” It is named in honor of Dr. Benjy Brooks, the first board-certified woman pediatric surgeon in the United States, who joined McGovern Medical School’s faculty in 1973 and remained active in the life of the Medical School until her death in 1998.
Medical students may nominate faculty or residents for the award.
“I am truly blown away and humbled to be recognized by the medical students,” Petsalis said. “When I looked at prior award winners, I saw a list of surgeons who have taught me everything I know. I feel so honored to be recognized alongside people I have admired and looked up to for years.”
Petsalis’ philosophy in teaching is to try to teach by example and encourage students to take an active role in their education. Rather than giving them an answer, Petsalis says she tries to work with them towards the answer, which helps build on what they know and refine their ability to solve problems.
Petsalis received her medical degree from McGovern Medical School in 2020 before beginning her residency in the Department of Surgery the following year. She views her time at the Medical School as a privilege having had the ability to learn from many teaching mentors.
“To mention a few by name – Dr. (Thaddeus) Puzio has a remarkable way of teaching clinical scenarios, where all levels of medical student to fellow will gain something,” she said. “Dr. (Sasha) Adams has also been a role model on how to lead a team, both clinically and at the administrative level.”
Petsalis thanked the medical students for nominating and voting for her.
“Seeing how eager they are for knowledge and how hard they work reminds me every day why I went into medicine,” she said.
She also thanked her mentors in the Department of Surgery who she credits with teaching them so much about education.
Former recipients of the Benjy F. Brooks Teaching Award include: Walter M. Kirkendall, MD, 1991; William S. Fields, MD, 1992; James T. Willerson, MD, 1994; Harold T. Pruessner, MD, 1995; Herbert L. DuPont, MD, 1997; Larry D. Scott, MD, 1998; Herbert L. Fred, MD, 1999; Becky L. McGraw-Wall, MD, 2000; Terry K. Satterwhite, MD, 2001; Cheves M. Smythe, MD, 2002; Ian Butler, MD, 2003; Francisco Fuentes, MD, 2004; Pedro Mancias, MD, 2009; Lisa Armitige, MD, PhD, 2010; Octavio Pinell, MD, 2011; Kyle Woerner, MD, 2013; Daniel Freet, MD, 2016; Tom C. Nguyen, MD, 2017; Sasha D. Adams, MD, 2018; David R. Hall, MD, 2019; Manish N. Shah, MD, FAANS, 2020; and Allison Speer, MD, FACS, 2021; and Ritha Belizaire, MD, 2022, Thaddeus Puzio, MD, 2023; and Akemi Kawaguchi, MD, 2024.