Six exceptional UTMB School of Medicine alumni were honored at the 18th annual Ashbel Smith Distinguish Alumnus Awards Ceremony and Reception on May 30 at Levin Hall on the Galveston campus. These physicians, nominated and elected by their peers, were honored for their service to the medical profession and humanity, as well as for their integrity, stature, ability, demonstrated pride in UTMB and community contributions.
Established in 1965, the ASDA Award is the highest honor bestowed by the SOM Alumni Association. Of more than 9,000 SOM alumni, only 193 have been honored with this prestigious award since its inception.
The award honors the memory of Dr. Ashbel Smith, a prominent figure in Texas medicine, politics and education. Smith was instrumental in establishing the University of Texas at Austin in 1881 and, in 1891, a medical department in Galveston that would become UTMB.
Newly inducted awardees:
Michael Attas, M. Div., M.D., FACC 
Class of 1973
After graduating from UTMB in 1973, Dr. Michael Attas completed extensive training in internal medicine, cardiology and pediatric cardiology at the University of Kentucky Medical School and has served as a clinical associate professor at the University of Wyoming College of Human Medicine and Family Practice, the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas A&M University Health Science Center in Round Rock and Baylor College of Medicine in Waco. He is credited with establishing and directing the first national undergraduate program in medical humanities at Baylor in 1999. In his efforts to grow the program, Attas was successful in securing scholarship funding from the DeBakey Medical Foundation for outstanding medical humanities students. An author, bi-vocational Episcopalian priest and avid fly-fisherman, Attas continues to teach and practice medicine in Waco, but is planning to retire this summer and become a part-time fly fishing guide on the Fryingpan River in Colorado.
Robert Daniel Beauchamp, M.D., FACS
Class of 1982
Dr. Robert Beauchamp completed his surgical medical training at UTMB under many esteemed faculty members, including Drs. James C. Thompson and Courtney M. Townsend Jr. Beauchamp then went on to a fellowship at the Vanderbilt University Department of Cell Biology in Nashville, Tenn., before coming back to UTMB in 1989 to serve as an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery. He returned to Vanderbilt in 1994 to teach and was eventually tapped to lead the new Division of Surgical Oncology and Endocrine Surgery in 1997. In 2001, he was appointed the J.C. Foshee Distinguished Professor and chairman of the Section of Surgical Sciences, where he currently oversees eight departments of surgery and 240 faculty members. In addition to his many outstanding awards and leadership roles, Beauchamp received the Flance-Karl Award for Scientific Achievement from the American Surgical Association this past April.
Melinda L. Estes, M.D., MBA
Class of 1978
Board certified in both neurology and neuropathology, Dr. Melinda Estes has held several faculty appointments from 1992 to 2011 and has also been very successful serving as president and chief executive officer at numerous health institutions. Among her many accomplishments, Estes restored the financial health and credibility of Fletcher Allen Health Care in Vermont, opened a new hospital and created a significant positive operating margin for the Cleveland Clinic in Naples, Fla., and developed the Office of Clinical Effectiveness at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio to oversee quality operations. Estes currently serves as president and CEO of St. Luke’s Health System in Kansas City, Mo., and is responsible for 10 hospitals and management of a $1.5 billion health system.
Jeffrey D. Lanier, M.D., FACS
Class of 1966
After completing medical school and an internship, Dr. Jeffrey Lanier served as a general medical officer in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam and at the Moffett Federal Airfield in Sunnydale, Calif. He then completed a residency in ophthalmology at UTMB before continuing his formal training and a fellowship in corneal and external disease at the Francis I. Proctor Foundation at the University of California San Francisco. Lanier returned to Houston in 1973 and joined the Houston Eye Associates, where he has enjoyed practicing medicine for more than 40 years and has been elected president of the organization for the past 15 years. He is a recognized expert in corneal and external disease and corneal surgery, has made more than 200 clinical presentations and has mentored 25 fellows during his career.
Sharon S. Raimer, M.D.
Class of 1972
Dr. Sharon Raimer completed an internship at the University of Utah in 1973 and a dermatology residency at Baylor College of Medicine in 1976 before returning to Galveston to join the faculty of UTMB, where she currently serves as professor and chair in the Department of Dermatology. In addition to her service on national committees, including two appointments with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Raimer has been recognized as a Houstonian Top Doctor, a Texas Monthly magazine Super Doctor and named one of the Best Doctors in America. An active contributor to the Galveston community, Raimer is a frequent volunteer with the St. Vincent’s House and the Luke Society and has participated in numerous medical mission trips in several countries.
Earl F. Singleton, M.D., FACS
Class of 1964
In the late 1960s, Dr. Earl Singleton trained in general surgery and otolaryngology/head and neck surgery before serving in the U.S. Air Force at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington D.C. He returned to his hometown of Wichita Falls, Texas in 1973, where he started a single specialty group with two colleagues and enjoyed 39 years of practicing general ENT and facial plastic surgery. He retired in 2012. Singleton has served on several hospital committees and community service boards and was honored with a Distinguished Service Award in 2007 by the Wichita County Medical Society. He has been very active in his support of UTMB through his many years of service on the Development Board and the School of Medicine Alumni Association Board of Trustees.