Members of the Department of Internal Medicine were recently recognized for meritorious achievements in education and clinical care. Family, friends, and colleagues gathered to honor the winners of a variety of awards managed by the Office of Faculty Affairs. (Full coverage of all the award winners can be found at The Loop.)

Because the event had been cancelled last year, Dr. Lama Noureddine was presented the 2017 Culturally Responsive Health Care Award at this year’s event along with 2018’s winner. Dr. Noureddine, Clinical Assistant Professor in Nephrology, was nominated for the award by her colleagues for the work she does in the division’s dialysis program and the compassion she exhibits in her care.

Dr. Jon Houtman, Associate Professor in Immunology and of Microbiology and Immunology, received this year’s J. P. Long Teaching Award in the Basic Sciences. This award goes to educators with unique methods, style, or material and who have demonstrated commitment to enhancing student learning and intellectual development. Dr. Houtman studies how signals from outside the cell cause human T cells to change their behavior and is chair of graduate admissions for the Molecular and Cellular Biology Program.

Dr. Jason Barker, Associate Professor in Infectious Diseases and of Microbiology and Immunology, received one of two Collegiate Teaching Awards given this year, one of the highest recognitions given to educators within the Carver College of Medicine. In addition to his work in the Iowa Inflammation Program, Dr. Barker is the course co-director for Mechanisms of Health and Disease Keystone Course and handles a variety of other mentoring and clinical teaching responsibilities, including in the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program.

In their letter of nomination for Dr. Barker, Department Chair Dr. Dale Abel and Vice Chair for Education Dr. Joe Szot cited Dr. Barker’s leadership in building and refining the MOHD course, responding to student and educator feedback. Student letters of support also enthusiastically supported Dr. Barker’s nomination, describing his encouragement and interest in their growth. Plenty of examples were noted throughout, but each letter all tended to boil down to one stated by a former fellow: “I consider myself lucky to have been his student.”