Below are those named to the February 2024 Internal Medicine Honor Roll—an employee recognition program where team members (providers, staff, etc.) can recognize other team members who are doing great things.
We are pleased to recognize their contributions! Nominate someone today!
Clarissa Bruce, Physician Assistant
Hematology, Oncology, and Blood & Marrow Transplantation
Anonymous nomination
She graciously covered my patients while I was on extended leave. Not only did she take exceptional care of them, but she supported me from afar. She’s a major asset to our team!
Elizabeth Bowen, Clinical Assistant Professor
Endocrinology and Metabolism
Nominated by Brianne Foulker
Elizabeth is an exceptional colleague. She is always willing to lend a hand to care for patients so others can take a needed break. Most recently, she covered the in-baskets of several providers, while also taking call on Christmas, all so her colleagues could have some true time away over the holidays. Elizabeth is always willing to answer my questions and work cohesively. She has also taken on extra shifts to help cover the inpatient side as we hired new providers. She is an amazing colleague, doctor, and person. There is no one more deserving of this recognition.
Farnoosh Shemirani, Postdoctoral Research Scholar
General Internal Medicine
Nominated by Terry Wahls
She is exceptionally productive as a post doc scholar. Notably, she recently secured the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Diana Benz Memorial Fund Seed Grant, receiving $25,000 in support. The project aims to investigate the role of an online multimodal intervention in reducing cancer-related fatigue. More, Farnoosh has received recognition as an Honorable Mention from Graduate Women In Science (GWIS). Additionally, she has submitted a compelling proposal to the Obermann Interdisciplinary Grant Program, focusing on the role of social support in improving outcomes for individuals with MS, receiving positive feedback from the review committee. She also submitted a letter of intent for the Institute for Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS), and her proposal was among the highest rated, leading to an invitation to submit a full proposal.
Deanna Gansemer, Administrative Services Coordinator
Cardiovascular Medicine
Nominated by Lori Bassler
Dee Gansemer has consistently provided the highest quality of services to the basic science researchers in the Cardiovascular Medicine Division. She is conscientious and thorough. Dee knows her client base and takes care of everyone equally. Dee held this position several years ago then left us for Atlanta. We welcomed her back enthusiastically! Great job, Dee.
Toni Dobre, Medical Assistant
Infectious Diseases
Nominated by Poorani Sekar
Toni ensures that the 100-150 patients at any one time receiving IV antibiotics are being monitored closely. She troubleshoots any issues that might arise and works with infusion centers, pharmacists, nursing facilities, home health nurses and providers to ensure any issues are sorted expeditiously. she routinely finds red flag labs and alerts the providers to them. She is an asset to the ID division.
Stephanie Cecil, Administrative Services Specialist
Infectious Diseases
Nominated by Sabrina Tan
Stephanie is simply amazing! Not only does she complete any task with incredible speed, she is meticulous and stays on top of all deadlines. Stephanie does it all with such ease and always a smile.
Sara Lang, Administrative Services Coordinator
Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Occupational Medicine
Nominated by Anne Vincent
Her willingness to jump in to assist when needed and “wrangling” our physicians to complete tasks in a timely manner. Sara is new to our division and has taken the bull by the horns. She has been an asset to our Division!
Jessica Jensen, Administrative Services Coordinator
Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Occupational Medicine
Nominated by Anne Vincent
Jess has been an asset to our division assisting with covering our offices in inclement weather as well as when our main office is short-staffed. In addition, Jess has taken the initiative to update our files within our division to provide reference for our newer administrative staff. Jess also assists in providing support with the submission of the majority of our grants within our division and is always proactive on getting as much information completed in advance.
Kristin Goedken, Associate Clinical Department Administrator
Administration
Anonymous nomination
Working all hours of the day to ensure that the UI Downtown Campus transition is as seamless as possible for our Department.
Kris Greiner & Lori Strommer
Administration
Nominated by Trevor Jackson
Every two weeks, Kris runs a search in PubMed to find and identify the dozens of publications produced by our faculty, fellows, and residents. She sends this list to Lori who keeps our department’s website current. This regular maintenance is time-consuming but a critical task for anyone looking for current information about our department. That publication list contains a wealth of data about the department’s research activities for the world to see. Some weeks the page gets a lot of traffic, some weeks less, but this duo has been steadily documenting the academic life of the department for years now. Thank you for your diligence!
Jack Oller, Human Resources Associate
Administration
Nominated by Taryn Owens
Jack is incredibly prompt and helpful. No matter how involved my question may be, he provides accurate information in a timely manner.
Andrea Timmerman, Nurse Practitioner
General Internal Medicine
Nominated by Kelly Preuninger
Andrea was discharging a patient that needed close follow up on lab work. There was not an appointment available in the transitions of care clinic or with the PCP. Despite her being the inpatient hospitalist, she ordered the outpatient labs, followed up on them, and then followed up with the patient while also caring for a full patient load that day.
Brad Manning, Clinical Associate Professor
General Internal Medicine
Anonymous nomination
Brad has been a great leader for the hospitalist group during this past year. He has been able to implement the needed changes in the structure and staffing of the program to allow us to safely care for patients. He has shown empathy and understanding for everyone, especially our most junior hospitalists and led us through difficult staffing situations. He has gone above and beyond to make this program stronger and ensure we can continue to recruit and most importantly, retain our hospitalists.
Justin Smock, Clinical Associate Professor
General Internal Medicine
Anonymous nomination
Dr. Smock is an incredible mentor.
Sonya Pugh, Secretary II
Infectious Diseases
Nominated by Angela Hester
This NIH Grant Cycle has been chaotic to say the least but Sonya stepped in for a colleague that was away and also still worked on her PI’s projects. She asked questions and was attentive to changes that needed made. I really appreciate her help and patience.
Ajit Vikram, Assistant Professor
Cardiovascular Medicine
Nominated by Ravinder Reddy Gaddam
Strong mentorship from supervisors is key in success and career development of their trainees (Postdoctoral Trainees). Dr. Vikram is one of the finest researchers (with a lot of positive approach towards research) that I ever came across at UIOWA. He provides strong mentorship to trainees and helps them develop their independent research careers.
Mony Fraer, Clinical Professor
Nephrology and Hypertension
Nominated by Madalyn Walsh
Dr. Fraer was an excellent team leader and educator while staffing a general medicine teaching team. We had a particularly complex patient panel and Dr. Fraer was able to keep the team motivated and well-caffeinated.
Margarida Silverman, Clinical Professor
Hematology, Oncology, and Blood & Marrow Transplantation
Anonymous nomination
Advocate for patients and faculty. She does roughly 4-6 months of inpatient service per year while doing full clinic days.
Marcus Osman, Second Year Resident
Internal Medicine
Anonymous nomination
Dr. Osman has been an excellent colleague to both work and learn from. His dedication to academic medicine is unprecedented.
Clarissa Bruce, Physician Assistant
Hematology, Oncology, and Blood & Marrow Transplantation
Anonymous nomination
Clarissa is always available to help with patient care. I had to take an extended leave and she provided excellent care for my patients while I was away. She is optimistic, kind, and we are lucky to have her as a colleague!
Ghazaleh Goldar, First Year Fellow
Cardiovascular Disease
Nominated by Nicole Fleege
While on Cardiology consults, Dr. Goldar helped me come up with a plan for a patient despite the fact that the patient was not admitted to the hospital. She was willing to help in a time of need even though it wasn’t her responsibility. She was incredibly kind and compassionate. I was very grateful for her help!
Melissa Swee, Clinical Assistant Professor
Nephrology and Hypertension
Anonymous nomination
Dr. Swee wears so many hats within the division, it is hard to imagine how we’d function without her. Even though she has excelled in her myriad clinical, administrative, and educational roles, she still found time recently to secure a K-award. Truly an academic “triple-threat.”
Cindy Batzkiel, Residency Program Administrator
Internal Medicine
Nominated by Abbey Gilpin
Cindy is an immense asset to the department and, more specifically, to the residency program. She knows the complicated resident schedule like the back of her hand and her ability to recall the names of residents’ spouses, kids, and dogs is impressive. Cindy not only takes interest in each individual, but she manages to do so while balancing a million other tasks and deadlines. The way that Cindy makes people feel welcomed, valued, and appreciated sets a great example for the rest of us. Thank you for everything, Cindy!
Sara Lang, Administrative Services Coordinator
Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Occupational Medicine
Nominated by Julia Klesney-Tait
Sara is an amazing administrator. She manages the complex schedules of several attendings in our division. She keeps track of compliances, assists people with finding coverage, anticipates scheduling conflicts and does all this with a cheery smile. If I hand something off to her I know it will be done promptly and with care. She is an amazing addition to the division.
Jessica Valestin, Clinical Trials Research Manager
Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Anonymous nomination
Jessica is an outstanding manager and team player. She provides the utmost support to our team. Jessica is currently collaborating with endocrinology and ICTS to start-up a study with 2 PI’s from different departments. She is always willing to assist other departments when the needs arise.
Julie Torres, Physician Assistant
Hematology, Oncology, and Blood & Marrow Transplantation
Anonymous nomination
Julie has sharp clinical skills consistently goes above and beyond for patients. For example spending hours to get insurance coverage for necessary imaging and visiting an admitted patient to help them understand their disease process better.
Dylan Miks, First Year Resident
Internal Medicine
Anonymous nomination
Dylan has been a tremendous member of our 6RC team! He dedicated time after a busy call day doing a prior auth, saving a patient who had left earlier $800 on his medications. He always brings a positive attitude and compassion in serving his patients.