Internal Medicine Honor Roll: August 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!
Arsenije Kojadinovic, Clinical Assistant Professor
Hospital Medicine
Nominated by Jeydith Gutierrez
Dr. Kojadinovic has been an integral part of the Hospital Medicine leadership team, and in collaboration with Aly Conrad, has revamped our scheduling process to make it more predictable, transparent, and equitable. He has consistently gone above and beyond to find coverage for our service and has taken on many extra shifts himself. In addition, in the last few weeks where the hospital was at very high capacity he took care of many additional patients to help the team.
Bashar Abuqayas, Clinical Assistant Professor
Hospital Medicine
Anonymous nomination
Dr. Abuqayas offered to help with reviewing our (long) waitlist of pending outside transfers during his vacation, which helped our team with this labor-intensive but critical activity of prioritizing patients for transfer, during times of high hospital occupancy. That allowed our team to increase capacity and help surge during a period of high census for the hospital. We are thankful for his support!
Katie Schroeder, Nurse Practitioner
Hospital Medicine
Nominated by Hospital Medicine Colleagues
She consistently looks out for her colleagues’ well-being, offering to bring them food and water and often just bringing food / hydration for the team to ensure they stay well-nourished during long shifts. She always has an amazing attitude, positive, fun, and vibrant during hard days. She genuinely cares about her patients and her colleagues, making everyone’s day feel so much smoother when she is around. One of the last few times I was on triage, she saw a patient in the ED board that was discharged just the previous day. She went out of her way and spent a large amount of time talking to the ED, evaluating the patient, contacting colleagues and subspecialists to check if there were alternative ways in which the patient could receive the care needed without requiring an admission. She stayed late and communicated very effectively with all the parties involved.
Prajwal Dhakal, Clinical Assistant Professor
Hematology, Oncology, and Blood & Marrow Transplantation
Anonymous nomination
Dr. Dhakal provided prompt, clear guidance beyond regular duties, assisting with patient care. He responded quickly with instructions outside assigned responsibilities, supporting safe and effective patient management.
Laura Nelson, Resident
Internal Medicine
Nominated by Roger Struble
I am nominating Dr. Nelson for her recognition of euglycemic DKA in a patient with an atypical presentation during her MICU rotation. Dr. Nelson was not satisfied with the obvious explanation. She reworked the history and medication list and made the correct diagnosis. Treatment began promptly and the patient did well. Her diligence and curiosity changed this outcome.
Paolo Disano, Resident
Internal Medicine
Anonymous nomination
Paolo is an excellent senior on the VA wards! He has impressive clinical knowledge and decision-making skills, and always stays calm during emergent situations. He also makes it a safe and fun learning environment. Even while working long hours, we all had lots of laughs in the team room. He provides students and interns with both great autonomy and support.
Mallory Ruden, Administrative Services Coordinator
Cardiovascular Medicine
Nominated by Trish Kirk
Mallory goes above and beyond every day to make things easier for everyone without being asked. She takes on workloads and projects that seem insurmountable on top of her countless regular duties and does them quickly and efficiently. It is a joy working with Mallory and I know she makes most of our lives easier when she doesn’t have to!!
Eileen Fuerstenberg and Barb Jaeger, Senior HR Specialists
Internal Medicine
Nominated by the Hospital Med admin team
We had six faculty start in early July and getting their appointments finalized and visas organized so they could start on time was no small task. Eileen is so fabulously organized, communicative, and willing to go the extra mile. Barb is incredibly knowledgeable and giving of her time and expertise. Both of these wonderful people went above and beyond and their work impacted our team morale, new faculty experience, and patient care.
Mallory Ruden, Administrative Services Coordinator
Cardiovascular Medicine
Anonymous nomination
Consistently going above and beyond to support the fellowship program and the EP Service.
Pranav Puri, Fellow
Cardiovascular Disease
Anonymous nomination
Pranav is doing great things as a first-year cardiology fellow. Look at him go!
Molly Flynn, Division Administrator
Cardiovascular Medicine
Anonymous nomination
Molly is an exceptionally professional, knowledgeable, and invaluable member of our Cardiology Team.
Lauren Ringe, Nurse Practitioner
Hematology, Oncology, and Blood & Marrow Transplantation
Anonymous nomination
Lauren continually goes above and beyond for her patients and her team. She is the first person to volunteer when help is needed and gives selflessly. She creates a culture of kindness, acceptance, and is a joy to work with every day.
Sayed Ahmad Jan, Clinical Assistant Professor
Hospital Medicine
Anonymous nomination
Sayed Ahmad Jan is one of our senior hospitalists and has demonstrated exceptional leadership and professionalism as our team has continued to grow. Over the past several months, he has stepped into a hospitalist team lead role, helping orient new physicians, supporting colleagues, and fostering a positive and collaborative team culture. Recently, he helped navigate a particularly challenging clinical situation, immediately coming to the bedside to assist and working closely with the team to guide next steps. Throughout the event, his calm demeanor, sound judgment, and professionalism were remarkable. Sayed consistently leads by example, and his dedication, reliability, and supportive leadership have had a meaningful impact on our team and those he works with.
Mackenzie Green, Administrative Services Coordinator
Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Anonymous nomination
She is the first to pitch in and help you, whether it be work or personal. She truly wants you to live your best life. Her patience is off the chart. She mixes work and laughter, making a fun work environment.
Nicole Strand, Fellowship Coordinator
Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine
Anonymous nomination
Nicole organized another successful Midwest Ultrasound course. She came in extra early to make sure everything was in place and ready. Everything went smoothly! Thank you, Nicole!
Mark Wilson, Professor Emeritus
Hospital Medicine
Anonymous nomination
Dr. Wilson, who recently retired from our Division, has remained involved and motivated to promote clinical excellence and diagnostic reasoning. He has consistently attended our Bimonthly Clinical Conundrums series, where our physicians and APPs are encourage to bring challenging cases for discussion among a multidisciplinary group. Dr. Wilson’s commitment to this activity demonstrates some of the core WE CARE values, including Excellence, Collaboration, Respect and Empowerment. We are thankful for his wisdom and willingness to help our team develop and strengthen our clinical reasoning and skills.
Mohamed Rouabhi, Fellow
Cardiovascular Disease
Anonymous nomination
Dr. Rouabhi is such an excellent educator and continually creates safe spaces for others to learn and grow in the field of cardiology. He is reliable, dependable, and an absolute joy to work with. We are SO lucky to have him here at UIHC.
William Iverson, Clinical Professor
General Internal Medicine
Anonymous nomination
Dr. Iverson continues to orient our new interns to the VA primary care clinic with nothing but joy, kindness, and grace. He continually creates safe spaces for learners to learn and grown as primary care physicians while advocating fiercely for autotomy and self discovery. We are oh so grateful for him and the work that he pours into our success as residents.