Internal Medicine Honor Roll: April 2026
Below are those named to this month’s Internal Medicine Honor Roll—an employee recognition program where team members (clinicians, researchers, educators, trainees, staff, etc.) can recognize other team members who are doing great things.
We are pleased to recognize their contributions!
Michaela Davis, HR Manager
Internal Medicine
Nominated by Priya Issuree
Michaela is one of the most responsive, helpful, efficient, and delightful people we’re lucky to have supporting us in navigating administrative HR tasks. She certainly deserves recognition.
Sara Lang, Administrative Services Coordinator
Pulmonary, Critical Care, & Occupational Medicine
Nominated by Anne Vincent
Sara always does her best to streamline and assist in providing information for our group to have information they need at hand. She also recently arranged a Lung Transplant Achievement celebration that was beautifully constructed, with heartfelt stories shared by lung transplant recipients.
Stefano Byer, Resident
Internal Medicine
Anonymous nomination
Stefano has consistently gone above and beyond in supporting his co-residents, serving as both a mentor and an outstanding role model. He has very generously helped guide many residents on several research projects. He is ever available for offering feedback and helping move ideas forward. He has also been very approachable in sharing advice about the fellowship application and match process in general, helping others navigate this stressful process.
JT Kosier, Revenue Cycle Coordinator
Internal Medicine
Nominated by Dominica Rehbein
JT has dedicated SIGNIFICANT time this month to individualized education sessions for our Hospital Medicine team members. He spends time reviewing each provider’s practice and billing contexts and joins these meetings prepared to provide tangible and actionable guidance. His expertise is so valuable and he has a wonderful interpersonal style that creates space for open and productive conversations about opportunities to grow.
Pierre Palo, Clinical Assistant Professor
Hospital Medicine
Nominated by Madi Holm
Dr. Palo is a fantastic medicine provider and is the backbone of overnight Internal Medicine when he is on shift. He is very responsive to the IM floor nurses as well as ED nurses. He is always willing to lend a helpful hand, whether it be on his own patient or a patient freshly arriving to the ED that needs moved from the EMS cot to the ED gurney. He is always willing to educate staff of all levels (UA, PCT, RN) on questions they have; if he doesn’t know the answer, he will find it. He is also very compassionate with superb bedside manner – many patients have praised his knowledge, compassion, and willingness to spend time and resources to find the cause of their illness. Dr. Palo is someone we should all strive to be just a little more like. We need more Dr. Palos around.
Alex Garza, Fellow
Gastroenterology
Nominated by Stephanie Sands
Dr. Garza was kind enough to help me get a tube safely placed in a patient at bedside on an already busy weekend shift. This gave us a better route to administer meds, feedings that he desperately needed, along with saved us a procedure/sedation. I really appreciate his help with this matter when I know he was already being stretched!
Kim Nichols, Administrative Services Coordinator
Hematology, Oncology, and Blood & Marrow Transplantation
Anonymous nomination
She is always on top of things, kind and helpful.
Jennie Reed, Division Coordinator
General Internal Medicine
Anonymous nomination
Jennie does a fabulous job running the division with Dr. Smock and the rest of the team. We are fortunate to have such a competent, positive, and funny leader!
Justin Smock, Interim Division Director
General Internal Medicine
Anonymous nomination
Dr. Smock is an excellent leader and has already made a positive impact on our division. Thank you for your leadership!
Divya Ashat, Clinical Assistant Professor
Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Anonymous nomination
Mindful of the UIHC mission to care for Iowans and limited inpatient bed resources, Dr. Divya Ashat has more than once recently diverted patients from unnecessary admissions to early outpatient endoscopy. Dr. Ashat’s engagement and clinical astuteness allows us to optimize our utilization of limited inpatient beds to serve more Iowans.
Alex Cuskey, Fellow
Cardiovascular Disease
Nominated by “TB”
Dr. Cuskey is an outstanding provider on all fronts. He consistently provides detailed assessments of patients, communicates clearly with primary teams, and despite running a very busy service, never makes people feel bad for asking for help. I continue to be inspired to do better in my own practice by his actions. His is absolutely outstanding!
Jeff Wilson, Clinical Professor
Pulmonary, Critical Care, & Occupational Medicine
Anonymous nomination
Dr. Wilson is one of the most detailed, humble, knowledgeable and caring physicians I know. His bedside manner, and interactions with all members of the healthcare teams is to be applauded. As a staff, he is patient, supportive and encouraging while allowing for autonomy and growth. Such an outstanding example of the physician we should all strive to be. He encourages independent and critical thinking, encourages me to take responsibility for my own learning. His dedication to continued education is inspiring.
Conor Houlihan, Fellow
Hematology and Medical Oncology
Anonymous nomination
Thanks for staying after work to teach us residents about all things hematology and oncology! He has great explanations for complex subjects and makes heme/onc much more approachable.
Mohad Awan, Resident
Internal Medicine
Anonymous nomination
He did an excellent job as the senior resident in the cardiology teaching service. He was always available and ready to help!