Faculty members and trainees from the School of Medicine gathered to celebrate the accomplishments and achievements of the University of Louisville’s graduating minoritized House Staff trainees and Doctoral students. The inaugural event, hosted by the Office of Faculty Affairs and Advancement, the Office of Graduate Medical Education and the HSC Office of Diversity and Inclusion, celebrated 26 URM trainees and six PhD graduates. 

“The medical school accrediting bodies have asked medical schools, nationwide, to focus on increasing the faculty recruitment and retention of underrepresented minoritized (URM) faculty,” said Chris Seals, PhD, assistant dean of faculty affairs and advancement. “The Dean and leadership, at our School of Medicine, are committed to doing so and realize that the pursuit of this goal starts with creating an inclusive cultural environment that celebrates the accomplishments of our own URM faculty, staff, and students. While URM medical students have been recognized and celebrated, this celebratory event honors an additional group that we want to celebrate: residents, fellows, PhD students, and postdoctoral fellows.”

The graduating honorees were each gifted items from the Office of Graduate Medical Education and the Office of Faculty Affairs and Advancement.

“We are proud of the success of each of our graduates and take great joy in celebrating their accomplishments. This group of scholars are on the trajectory to becoming faculty members and building a culture that embraces their success might encourage them to return to UofL and join our Cardinal family as faculty members,” said Toni Ganzel, MD, dean of the School of Medicine.

The School of Medicine has witnessed a slow but steady growth of minority faculty in recent years. At count, seven of the honoree graduates will be staying in the area and four of which will add to the school’s minority faculty members.

Seals summed up perfectly the reason for the event: “This event is just one small step toward building a culture of inclusivity which embraces and celebrates diversity and belongingness for residents, fellows and PhD graduates who are of marginalized identity groups.”

The graduate honorees included:

• Andrew Selk, Department of Emergency Medicine
• Aaron Kuzel, Department of Emergency Medicine
• Phillip Giddings, Department of Emergency Medicine
• Monica Chamorro, Department of Family and Geriatric Medicine
• Lauren Miller, Department of Family and Geriatric Medicine
• Diana Otero Mostacero, Department of Medicine
• Samantha Sears, Department of Medicine
• Mohamed Eisa, Department of Medicine
• Cristian Rios, Department of Medicine
• Chanelle Benjamin, Department of Medicine
• Armando Bosch, Department of Medicine
• Laura Sims, Department of Medicine
• Cristina Salmon, Department of Medicine
• Meena Vessell, Department of Neurosurgery
• Zebulun Cope, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Women’s Health
• Tawana Coates, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Women’s Health
• Terri Mason, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
• Stephanie Battistini, Department of Pediatrics
• Dominique Elmore, Department of Pediatrics
• Mobolanle Elder, Department of Pediatrics
• Caroline Jackson, Department of Pediatrics
• Lauren Hernandez, Department of Pediatrics
• Mara Harris, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
• Raymond McDermott, Department of Radiology
• Christina Warner, Department of Surgery
• Michael Keyes, Department of Surgery
• Andre Richardson, PhD Candidate
• Sabryna Robbins, Pediatrics
• Luis Alvarado, Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology
• Timothy Audam, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics
• Henry Nabeta, Microbiology and Immunology
• Hazel Ozuna, Microbiology and Immunology
• Samiyyah Sledge, Physiology