2018 Alumni Award Recipients

Dr. Mark Tanner is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Christine Beeton in the Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics at Baylor College of Medicine. He is working to develop novel therapies for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and is also studying the underlying causes of the comorbidities associated with this disease. See video.

Jessica D’Souza will receive her medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in May 2018. She serves as a student member of curriculum development committee, teaches anatomy sessions to first year students and mentors underclassmen interested in family medicine. She is a recipient of the Harold T. Pruessner Award, presented by the Harris County Association of Family Practitioners to a promising Baylor student pursuing family medicine, a 2018 Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Student Scholar and recently was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. See video.

Elizabeth P. Elliott is an assistant professor of Health Professions and Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. She also is an affiliate member of the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy. She currently serves as a core faculty member of the Physician Assistant Program where she is course director for Pediatric Clinical Medicine and the Pediatric Clinical Rotations. In addition, she teaches courses at Baylor in the didactic and clinical setting. See video.

Dr. Jennifer E. Dietrich is an associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and in the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. She is the fellowship director and division director for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology and is chief of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology at Texas Children’s Hospital. She is president of the North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. See video.

Dr. Ellen M. Friedman is the director of the Center for Professionalism in Medicine and professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Baylor. She previously served as the Chief of Service at the Department of Otolaryngology at Texas Children's Hospital and held the Bobby Alford Department chair in Pediatric Otolaryngology at Baylor. The American Broncho-Esophagological Association renamed one of its national awards in her honor. She was awarded the 2016 Distinguished Surgeon Award and has been recognized as a Master Clinician for Excellence in Patient Care. See video.

Dr. James L. Phillips is senior associate dean for Diversity and Community Outreach and professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. He originated and directed the Health Careers Enhancement Program for Minorities at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine from 1988 to 1993 and is considered an expert in establishing cultural diversity in postsecondary institutions. He has been instrumental in helping the College achieve premier status with regard to recruiting students underrepresented in medicine. See video.

Dr. Sean E. McGuire is an assistant professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology and a member of the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine. He has received recognition for outstanding teaching to medical students as well as recognition for scientific and clinical excellence in his approach to patients. His research efforts have turned up distinct and valuable findings including recognition that prostate cancer is characterized by unique metabolism, which offers an approach to controlling tumor progression. See video.

Dr. Warren E. Zimmer is director of the Medical Science Graduate Program at Texas A&M University and a professor of genetics and toxicology. He was elected president of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine from 2015 to 2017 where he promoted and initiated efforts to bring trainee members to leadership positions to help with their career development. His goal is to enable career development choices that bring diversity to the scientific community. See video.

Dwight M. Deter was the first School of Health Professions representative to the Executive Committee of the Baylor College of Medicine Alumni Association. He served with distinction in this capacity from 2002 through 2010. Through his years as a physician assistant, he has sustained commitment to the delivery of quality endocrine care to the underserved in El Paso and has represented the health professions alumni of the institution. See video,

Dr. Gary L. Freed is the Percy and Mary Murphy Professor of Pediatrics in the School of Medicine and professor of Health Management and Policy in the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Dr. Freed served as director of the Division of General Pediatrics and founding director of the Children's Health Evaluation and Research Center at the University of Michigan from 1998 to 2013. He is a past president of the Society for Pediatric Research, the largest research society in the field of child health. See video.

Dr. Philip N. Tsichlis is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Hematology. He holds the Jane F. Desforges M.D. chair of Hematology/Oncology at Tufts University School of Medicine. He has received the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Stohlman Scholar Award and the Zucker Family Research Prize. He holds an honorary degree from the University of Crete and the Medal Taxiarchis of Phoenix, which is awarded by the President of the Hellenic Republic for major contributions to the Sciences, the Arts, Culture and Society. See video.

Dr. Joseph S. Coselli is vice chair of the Department of Surgery and professor and chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Baylor where he holds The Cullen Foundation Endowed Chair and directs the Aortic Fellowship Program. He serves as chief of Adult Cardiac Surgery at Texas Heart Institute and is director of the Thoracic Surgery Residency. He is associate chief of the Cardiovascular Service at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center. Dr. Coselli specializes in diseases of the aorta and was mentored by the pioneering aortic surgeon E. Stanley Crawford as well as legendary cardiothoracic surgeons Drs. Michael E. DeBakey and Denton Cooley. See video.

Dr. Ronald E. Carver graduated from Baylor College of Medicine in 1967. He served with the U.S. Marines in Vietnam as a general medical officer and was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat V for heroism with the 26th Marines. In 2001, he helped found and became the first medical director of Volunteers in Medicine Clinic of the Cascades, a non-profit medical clinic for the uninsured of Deschutes County, Oregon. He was named the Bend Citizen of the Year and the Oregon Medical Association’s Doctor Citizen of the Year before receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award for continued work with the clinic and had an award named in his honor for contributions to the medically underserved. See video.

Dr. Edward Todd attended Baylor University College of Medicine, earning his M.D. in 1968 and his Ph.D. in 1969. His medical career included pioneering surgical techniques and patents and he became chair of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at the University of Kentucky and at St. Joseph's Hospital. He was founder and the first president of the nonprofit charitable corporation ABLE, Inc. (Assisting Better Living Everywhere). Truly embodying the foundation’s mission of assisting better living everywhere, Dr. Todd supported the education of children and offered medical relief to those in the most underserved parts of the world and in his community. See video.

Dr. Carol J. Baker is professor of Pediatrics, Molecular Virology and Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine and the only woman in the original Baylor class of 1968. She is an advocate for children’s health and greatly advanced the recognition, understanding and prevention of group B streptococcal disease (GBS), a bacteria responsible for young infant death and disability throughout the world. A champion of vaccination, Dr. Baker impacts the nation’s public health through her service as a member, chair and current liaison member of the Center for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.