Trustees' Teaching Award

Each year, the Indiana University Board of Trustees recognizes faculty excellence in teaching through a program known as the Trustees’ Teaching Awards. Excellence in teaching is the primary factor for selection.

An instructor teaches medical students during a lab exercise.

Award recognition

The Indiana University Board of Trustees determines the number of awards to be given each year based on the current number of tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty in the school. The number of awards allocated to the IU School of Medicine changes each year.

Award recipients:

Receive a monetary award of $2,500
Are highlighted on this page of the Faculty Affairs and Professional Development (FAPD) website
Are recognized at the spring IU School of Medicine All-School Meeting

Questions?

If you have any questions about the Trustees' Teaching Award, contact Faculty Affairs and Professional Development.

Email FAPD

Nominations are accepted annually between Nov. 1 and Jan. 9. This page will include a link to the nomination form during the nomination period.
Faculty, students, residents, fellows, postdocs and staff members can submit nominations.
Nominators are asked to submit a short paragraph that addresses the extent to which and how the faculty member meets the award criteria.
Faculty Affairs and Professional Development (FAPD) issues the call for nominations and oversees the nomination process.

Use of effective, active and engaging teaching strategies

Strong candidates will regularly and extensively incorporate activities that meaningfully engage learners.

Learner-centered approach

Strong candidates demonstrate their belief that people learn differently and that learners play an important role in learning; they are not passive listeners.

Welcoming environment

Strong candidates create a welcoming and equitable learning environment.

Passion for teaching and learning

Strong candidates communicate excitement and enthusiasm for teaching and learning.

Nominees must:

Receive a paycheck either:
- For their full-time or dually employed position as an IU School of Medicine tenured, tenure-track, clinical, lecturer or librarian faculty member
- For their full-time employed position with an IU School of Medicine affiliate physician practice plan (i.e., Eskenazi Medical Group, Richard L. Roudebush Veterans' Administration Medical Center or IU Health Medical Group)
- For their full-time employed position with an IU School of Medicine regional campus host institution (i.e., Purdue, Ball State, Notre Dame or University of Southern Indiana)
Perform a role that includes teaching as a primary duty
Be in good standing
Have demonstrated sustained teaching excellence
Have completed at least three years of service at IU School of Medicine
Not have received the Trustees' Teaching Award in the two years prior to the current cycle

At the conclusion of the nomination process, FAPD provides nomination materials for all eligible nominees to the IU School of Medicine Teaching Awards Committee. This committee reviews all nominations and selects awardees.

This is a competitive award process, and the committee is limited to a number of awardees that is dictated by the university trustees.

When selecting awardees:

The committee gives the strongest consideration to nominations that:
- Speak directly to the criteria
- Come directly from learners or have a strong learner voice
- Are for individuals who have not previously received the Trustees' Teaching Award
Faculty members with multiple nominations are more likely to receive the award than those with a single nomination or a nomination that does not include testimony from learners.
To recognize good teaching around the school, the committee considers each nominee's department and campus.
The committee will not use numerical summaries in learning evaluations as a primary source for evaluating teaching and determining award eligibility. This is dictated by ACA-80, the policy regarding the Trustees' Teaching Award. Instead, qualitative feedback from learners and colleagues that speaks to the criteria is used to determine who will receive an award.

Fall/early winter

Nominations are open Nov. 1 through Jan. 9.

Mid-winter

Winners are notified.

Spring

Awardees are announced at the All-School Meeting. Winners are posted to this page in early March.

Congratulations to the 2026 Trustees' Teaching Award winners

Anatomy, Cell Biology and Physiology

Scott Canfield, PhD
Margaret McNulty, PhD
Kathryn Propst, PhD
Gary White, BS

Anesthesia

Samantha Evankovich, MS
Margaret Frith, MD

Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Pharmacology

Yao-Ying Ma, MD, PhD
Lynn Roy, PhD

Dermatology

Callie Burgin, MD
Edita Newton, MD, PhD

Emergency Medicine

Mariju Baluyot, MD
Geoffrey Hays, MD
Josh Kaine, MD
Ashley Satorius, MD

Family Medicine

Mushkbar Khan, MD
Anna Pendrey, MD
Kimbre Zahn, MD

Medical and Molecular Genetics

Jun Wan, PhD

Medicine

Jennifer Baenziger, MD
Wayne Ellis, MD
Richa Gupta, MD
Ayman Hallab, MD
Morgan Marcuccilli, D.O.
Mitchell McClean, MD
Andrew O'Brien, MD
Brad Rosen, D.O.
Tuan Tran, MD, PhD
Jay Wish, MD
Lujia Zhang, MD

Microbiology and Immunology

Maegan Capitano, PhD

Neurological Surgery

Jignesh Tailor, MD, PhD

Neurology

Marlene Bultemeyer, MD
Stefanie Rodenbeck, MD
Jason Santiago, MD
Evan Templeton, MD

Obstetrics and Gynecology

Will Berry, MD

Orthopaedic Surgery

Luke Lopas, MD

Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery

Noah Parker, MD
Lauren Sowa, MD

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Nichole LePage, MD
Brandon Umphress, MD

Pediatrics

Jimmy Carlucci, MD
Michael Johansen, D.O.
Brianna Liberio, MD
Zeina Nabhan, MD
Kanika Puri, MD
Steven Rhodes, MD, PhD
Michael Rubart-von der Lohe, MD
Ibrahim Sammour, MD

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Sheryl Katta-Charles, MD

Psychiatry

Corissa Dionisio, MD

Radiation Oncology

Megan Knight, MS

Radiology and Imaging Sciences

Emily Scaggs, MS
Rebecca Stout, MS

Surgery

Rosalie Carr, MD
Al Hassanein, MD
JoAnna Hunter-Squires, MD

Previous winners

Medicine Chair David Aronoff with Sashank Kolli

Anatomy, Cell Biology and Physiology
Elizabeth Agosto, PhD
Michael Lannoo, PhD

Anesthesia
Edwin Becher, MD

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Scott Briggs, PhD

Dermatology
Lawrence Mark, MD, PhD
Sahand Rahnama-Moghadam, MD

Emergency Medicine
Anna Bona, MD
Daniel Brenner, MD, PhD
Malia Moore, MD
Lauren Stewart, MD

Family Medicine
Kyle Gospodarek, MD
Jon Moulder, MD
Javier Sevilla-Martir, MD

Medical and Molecular Genetics
Daniela Bischof, PhD
Stephanie Sharpe, MD
Charles Tessier, PhD

Medicine
Oluwafisayo Adebiyi, MD
Nicolas Barros, MD
Umer Bhatti, MD
Melissa Cavaghan, MD
Mitchell Craft, DO
Aaron Ermel, MD
Zachary Fulkerson, MD, PhD
Christine Heumann, MD
Edwin Jackson, DO
Joe Kotva, PhD
Melissa Makar, MD
David Rodgers, EdD
S. Jawad Sher, MD
Noelle Sinex, MD
Elizabeth Taber-Hight, DO

Microbiology and Immunology
Rebecca Sparks-Thissen, PhD
X. Frank Yang, PhD

Neurology
Kaustubh Limaye, MD

Obstetrics and Gynecology
Joseph Harmon, MD
Adeoti Oshinowo, MD

Ophthalmology
Padmanabhan Pattabiraman, PhD

Orthopaedic Surgery
Christopher Collier, MD

Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery
Stacey Halum, MD
Vijay Ramakrishnan, MD

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Rohit Gulati, MD
Rachel Kowal, MD

Pediatrics
Muayad Alali, MD
Steve Angus, PhD
Randall Grout, MD
Myda Khalid, MD
Brian McFerron, MD
Heather Muston, MD
Denny O'Brien, MD
Martha Rodriguez, MD

Pharmacology and Toxicology
Jonathan Flak, PhD

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Jacob Ramsey-Morrow, MD

Psychiatry
Martin Plawecki, MD, PhD

Radiation Oncology
Xiumei Huang, PhD

Radiology and Imaging Sciences
Matthew Krosin, MD
Katie Niemeyer, MD

Ruth Lilly Medical Library
Cecelia Vetter, MS

Anatomy, Cell Biology and Physiology
Todd Brown, PhD
Samar Khirallah, MD, PhD, MS
Joshua Mangum, PhD, MS
Kyle Robertson, PhD, MS

Anesthesia
Sally Mitchell, EdD, MMSC
Tejinder Soi, MD
Alex Steed, MS

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Dipika Gupta, PD
Michael King, PhD
Lawrence Quilliam, PhD

Dermatology
Alison Klenk, MD

Emergency Medicine
Nathan Alves, PhD, MS
Rob Ferre, MD

Family Medicine
Ruben Hernandez, MD
Daniela Lobo, MD
James Wilcox, MD

Medical and Molecular Genetics
Kenneth White, PhD

Medicine
Deepak Bhakta, MD
Saira Butt, MD
Diane Donegan, MD, MSC
Warren Gavin, MD
James Hotz, MD
Stephen Jordan, MD, PhD
Rakesh Mehta, MD
Haley Pritchard, MD, MS
Torsten Schreiber, MD
Sacha Sharp, PhD, MA

Microbiology and Immunology
Margaret Bauer, PhD

Neurology
Angelina Polsinelli, PhD

Obstetrics and Gynecology
Lisa Mims, MD, MS

Ophthalmology
Weiming Mao, MD, PhD

Orthopaedic Surgery
Yohan Jang, DO

Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery
Elisa Illing, MD
Rick Nelson, MD, PhD

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Rachel Mathis, MD
Debra Wood, MSED
Michelle Zimmerman, MD

Pediatrics
Ralph Hicks, MD
Jay Jin, MD, PhD
Sara Kane, DO, MSED
Julia LaMotte, PhD, MS
Nathan Schmidt, PhD
Jack Schneider, MD
Michelle Starr, MD

Pharmacology and Toxicology
Angelika Martin, PhD, MS
Patrick Sheets, PhD

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Angela Carbone, MD

Psychiatry
Kristen Schroeder, MD

Radiation Oncology
Joseph Dynlacht, PhD

Radiology and Imaging Services
Kara Garcia, PhD, ME
Brian Graner, MD, ME
Jared Shields, MD
Leah Sieck, MD, MS

Ruth Lilly Medical Library
Amy Blevins, MS

Surgery
Steven Mong, DO
Lindsey Mossler, MD

Urology
Chandru Sundaram, MD

Anatomy, Cell Biology and Physiology
Andrew Deane
Bruce Martin

Anesthesia
Tanna Boyer
Julie Dunlap
Doris Hardacker
Raheleh Rahimi

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Gattadahalli Seetharam
Clark Wells

Dermatology
Anita Haggstrom

Emergency Medicine
Rachel Day
Carl Pafford
Nick Pettit

Family Medicine
April Newton
Diana Summanwar
Jennifer Taylor
Juan Carlos Venis

Medical and Molecular Genetics
Xinna Zhang

Medicine
Mohammad Abu Zaid
Cole Beeler
Kenneth Dunn
Michael Eadon
Nabil Fayad
Grant Gilroy
John Holden
Erik Imel
Upasana Jarori
Damien Patel
Neha Patel
Paris Roach
Zeb Saeed
Anjan Sinha
Tim Sutton
John Turchi

Microbiology and Immunology
Christopher Robinson
Jimmy Yen

Neurology
Evan Templeton

Obstetrics and Gynecology
Maryann Chimhanda
Chemen Neal

Ophthalmology
Amir Reza Hajrasouliha
Ray Munguia-Vazquez

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Rachel Hursh
Ryan Relich

Pediatrics
Angela Delecaris
Heba Ismail
Lim (Kok) Kua
Alex Lion
Andrew Rodenbarger
Jason Spaeth

Pharmacology and Toxicology
Jonathan Guerrero
Lynn Roy
Elizabeth Yeh

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Nathan Prahlow

Psychiatry
Emily Holmes
Aimee Patel

Radiation Oncology
Kevin Shiue

Radiology and Imaging Sciences
Megan Bybee
Nucharin Supakul
Isaac Wu

Urology
Matthew Mellon

Andreia Alexander, MD/PhD
Benjamin Anthony, MD
Gustavo Arrizabalaga, PhD
Jonathan Bazeley, MD
Jessica Byram, PhD
Eugene Ceppa, MD
Megan Christman, DO
Megan Crittendon, MD
Matthew Dollins, MD
Jennifer Eikenberry, MD
Greg Faris, MD
James Forney, PhD
Barbara Frain, MS
Arnold Henry, MD
Laura Hinkle, MD
Jordan Holmes, MD
Jennifer Ivanovich, MS
Denis Jusufbegovic, MD
Sharon Karp, MD
Sarah Kennedy, MD
Melissa Klitzman, MD
Mary Lester, MD
Dan Lodge-Rigal, MD
Melissa Makar, MD
Elizabeth Martin, MD
Megan McHenry, MD
Margaret McNulty, PhD
Adam Nevel, MD
Ben Nti, MD
Rachel Peterson, MD
Rachel Rodriguez, MD
Matt Rutz, MD
Stephanie Sharpe, MD
Arjun Sinha, MD
Brian Sloan, MD
Deborah Sokol, MD/PhD
Girish Vitalpur, MD
Claire Walczak, PhD
Maria Walker, MS
Josh Waters, MD
Jay Wish, MD

Ahmad Al-Hader, MD
Eric A. Benson, MD, PhD
Charline S. Boente, MD
Gabriel T. Bosslet, MD
Caitriona A. Buckley, MD
R. Cartland Burns, MD
Scott G. Canfield, PhD
William Graham Carlos, MD
Julie M. Clary, MD
Adam D. Comer, MD
David R. Diaz, MD
Christen K. Dilly, MD
Simit M. Doshi, MD
Leslie A. Enane, MD
Marcia V. Felker, MD
John G. Foley, PhD
Levi Funches, MD
Warren B. Gavin, MD
Adam G. Goodwill, PhD
Brian W. Gray, MD
Ayman Hallab, MD
Antwione M. Haywood, PhD
Jennelle C. Hodge, PhD
Leslie A. Hoffman, PhD
Stephanie P. Holz, MD
Ashley S. Inman, MD
Seethal A. Jacob, MD
Travis J. Jerde, PhD
Rajat Kapoor, MD
Katherine J. Kelly, MD
Debomoy K. Lahiri, PhD
Thomas A. Lardaro, MD
Yunlong Liu, PhD
Ashley L. Marshall, MA
Shivani B. Martin, MD
Lauren D. Nephew, MD
Heather A. O'Leary, PhD
Jason Organ, PhD
David A. Plager, MD
David H. Porter, MD
Charles R. Powell, MD
Kyra D. Reed, MD
Ryan M. Rhome, MD, PhD
Frances M. Russell, MD
Don B. Sanders, MD
Melanie A. Schreiner, MD
Gattadahalli S. Seetharam, PhD
Anthony L. Shanks, MD
Sylk M. Sotto, EdD
Katie Stanton, MD
Christian C. Strachan, MD
Nathan D. Swinger, MD
Shannon L. Thompson, MD
Alvaro J. Tori, MD
Gail H. Vance, MD
Anne Whitehead, MD
James B. Wood, MD
William A. Wooden, MD
Gregory S. Zahn, MD

Samer Abu-Sultaneh, MD

Atul Agarwal, MD

Akram Al Makki, MD

Robert B. Arthur, MD

Richelle M. Baker, MD

Ambar Banerjee, MD

Daniel J. Beckman, MD

David L. Boone, PhD

Jeffrey S. Browne, MD

Erika R. Cheng, PhD

Daniel R. Corson-Knowles, MD

Linda A. Cox, MS

Larry D. Cripe, MD

Tyler L. Davis, MD

Paula R. Delk, MS

Linda A. DiMeglio, MD

Molly Duman Scheel, PhD

Thomas H. Everett IV, PhD

Jill C. Fehrenbacher, PhD

Meghan Geraghty, MD

Julianne M. Giust, MD

Nupur Gupta, MD

Michael J. Guzman, MD

Amir Habib, MD

Takashi Hato, MD

Audrey G. Herbert, MD

Klaus A. Hilgarth, MD

Kristin E. Hoffmann, MD

Matthew Holley, PhD

Jordan C. Huskins, MD

Brian G. Kennedy, PhD

Abhishek Khemka, MD

Jeffery A. Kline, MD

Heidi M.L. Lakanen, MD

Benjamin J. Landis, MD

James J. Laughlin, MD

Yun Liang, PhD

Amelia K. Linnemann, PhD

Brock D. McMillen, MD

Emily L. Mueller, MD
David C. Murphy, DO

Jeffrey J. Nace, MD

David E. Nelson, PhD

Megan M. Palmer, PhD

Dina M. Peterson, MSEd

Maria C. Poor, MD

Hongxia Ren, PhD

Theresa M. Rohr-Kirchgraber, MD

Zeynep N. Salih, MD

Titus K. Schleyer, DMD, PhD

Margaret A. Schwarz, MD

Scott A. Shapiro, MD

S. Jawad Sher, MD

Taha Z. Shipchandler, MD

Khurram S. Siddiqui, MD

Sternlate Tshililiwa, MD

Nash P. Whitaker, MD

Tracey A. Wilkinson, MD

Deanna R. Willis, MD