Faculty from the Department of Internal Medicine at were among those recognized in the school’s 2026 Teaching Excellence Awards, honoring educators who have demonstrated outstanding commitment to medical student and trainee education. The annual recognition celebrates faculty members across the institution for their dedication to mentorship, innovation in teaching, and excellence in academic medicine.
The following Department of Internal Medicine faculty members were recognized:
- Nuzha Amjad, MD
- Faith Atai, MBBS
- Divya Bhamidipati, MD
- Faraz Bishehsari, MD, PhD
- Elena Cherian, MBBS
- Marc Cillo, MD
- Christopher Codispoti, MD
- Amit Correa, MBBS
- Akshar Dash, MD
- Paula Debroy Monzon, MD
- Puja Gandhi, MD
- Syed Ghazi Rizvi, MD
- William Harding, MD
- Elizabeth Holt, MD
- Mairin Joseph-Talreja, MD
- Maryam Kaous, MD
- Ali Khawaja, MD
- Alexandria Koney, MD
- Zsuzsanna McMahan, MD
- Akshata Moghe, MD
- Khalid Mohamed Ahmed, MD
- Delma Montoya Monge, MD
- Sapna Naik, MD
- Emma Napoli, MD
- Sarah Nimri, MD
- Linda Pang, MD
- Gabriel Patarroyo Aponte, MD
- Maulin Patel, MD
- Anish Patnaik, MD
- Devon Paul, MD
- Rex Paulino, MD
- Ekta Perera, MD
- Bharat Puchakayala, MD
- Natalie Rafaeli, MD
- Gloria Salazar Cintora, MD
- Ranya Selim, MD
- Gautam Sikka, MD
- Wasseem Skef, MD
- Jillian Smith, MD
- Sruthi Kapliyil Subramanian, MD
- Rizwana Syed, MD
- Sara Taveras Alam, MD
- Victoriano Valdez, MD
- Matthew Van Norman, DO
- Jeremy Walder, DO
- Angelique Wong, MD
- Bilal Zafar, MD
- Michael Zhu, MD
- Ali Ziaolhagh, MD
Award recipients from departments across McGovern Medical School were also recognized, highlighting the institution’s collaborative culture of teaching excellence and learner support.