Recipients of the Recognition for Commitment To The Art of Medicine Award

Supported by the Dibrell Family Professorship in the Art of Medicine given by Frances M. and Charles G. Dibrell, Jr.

June 2023 CAM Winner — Faculty
Patricia Beach, MD
Professor, Dept. of Pediatrics

Patricia Beach is an accomplished professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Co-Director of the Division of General Academic Pediatrics, and Director of the ABC Child Safety and Protection Team at the University of Texas Medical Branch in the John Sealy School of Medicine. She graduated from medical school at the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans and completed her residency and chief residency at UTMB.

Dr. Beach has been a consultant to the National Board of Medical Examiners and has received the Edith J. Levit Distinguished Service Award. She is a member of the University of Texas Ken Shine Academy of Health Science Education, being a key consultant in the development of the Academic Pediatrics Association Guidelines for Residency Training in General Pediatrics.

Patricia's professional focus shifted to Child Abuse in 2013, and in 2016 she became the Director of the Department of Pediatrics ABC Patient and Safety and Protection Team. She is a member of the Academic Pediatrics Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Texas Pediatric Society and its Committees on Child Abuse and Neglect and Foster Care, and the Ray E. Helfer Society, an honorary society of physicians providing medical leadership in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and research concerning child abuse and neglect.
June 2023 CAM Winner — Student
Jasmine Liu-Zarzuela
MS4, John Sealy School of Medicine

Jasmine Liu-Zarzuela is a current fourth-year MD/MPH student. Throughout medical school, she has spent much of her time caring for the underserved communities of Galveston County.

She currently serves as Chair of the Administrative and IT/Technology committees at St. Vincent's Student Run Clinic, where she helps patients receive comprehensive health care. In this role, she also enjoys mentoring underclassmen in clinical skills, community outreach projects, and qualitative improvement initiatives.

As an aspiring psychiatrist, she is passionate about child and adolescent mental health, community health, health policy, and violence prevention. Her hobbies include music, Latin and swing dance, and yoga.
May 2023 CAM Winner — Student
Arlene M. Lopez
Master's Student, School of Public & Population Health

Arlene Lopez is the ultimate patient advocate—often staying late to spend more time with patients or to assist students and residents. She especially comforted our Spanish-speaking patients and would translate medical jargon for them, even when they were not assigned to her.

Arlene is also a member of the Interprofessional Continuity of Practice Experience (I-COPE), a program in which students volunteer to care for underrepresented patients throughout their MS3 year on a biweekly basis. Arlene is someone who goes above and beyond for her patients and peers, and who truly creates a safe and welcoming environment in which even our most vulnerable and underrepresented patients feel heard and understood.
April 2023 CAM Winner — Faculty
Elizabeth Davis, MD
Chief Resident, Internal Medicine

Dr. Elizabeth Davis is currently Chief Resident for the internal medicine residency program and clinical faculty for the school of medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX. She received a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry from Stephen F. Austin State University before attending medical school at Texas A&M in College Station, TX (Whoop!).

Elizabeth also serves as the medical provider for the Heart Failure Program at St. Vincent's, a local community health clinic. Her professional interests include promoting women in medicine, developing medical education including simulations and point of care ultrasound, and advocating for women's health, specifically cardiovascular.
April 2023 CAM Winner — Student
Staley Rose
MS3, John Sealy School of Medicine

Staley Rose is a current third year medical student. She has enjoyed her time throughout medical school being involved with the St. Vincent's Student Run Clinic and currently serves as chair of the Education and Volunteer Recruitment Committees. She continues her passion for continued learning and teaching through tutoring and mentoring for MS1s and MS2s.

Staley has a passion for Women's Health Care and is currently working to extend the Women's Health Care initiative as St. Vincent's Clinic. In her free time, she loves to get involved with her community through multiple social and volunteer events throughout the island.
March 2023 CAM Winner — Faculty
Nadia Ahmed, MD
Assistant Professor, General Medicine Division

Dr. Ahmed is an Assistant Professor in the Division of General Medicine with a focus on community medicine and medical education. In this role, she cares for patients in community safety net clinics and is heavily involved with the John Sealy School of Medicine. She completed her bachelor's degree in Biology at the University of Texas at Dallas. She earned her medical degree, completed internal medicine residency, and a chief resident year all at UTMB.
March 2023 CAM Winner — Student
Julissa Sanchez
MS3, John Sealy School of Medicine

Julissa Sanchez is a third-year medical student at the John Sealy School of Medicine. She is passionate about serving patients with socioeconomic barriers to healthcare and is proud to have the opportunity to work with this patient population as a member of the Interprofessional Continuity of Practice Experience (I-COPE) program at St. Vincent's House. She believes that excellent patient care stems from a combination of practicing evidence-based medicine, genuine compassion for the fears and hopes of all patients, and physician humility.

She enjoys abstract painting, biking, and reading and writing both fiction and non-fiction of all genres.

She plans to pursue a career in family medicine.
February 2023 CAM Winner — Faculty
Axel Rodriguez, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology

Dr. Rodriguez is a graduate of the UTMB Anesthesiology residency program, who after some years in private practice, joined the University's anesthesiology department.

Currently an Associate Professor, he teaches clinical Anesthesiology and is involved in the education of our residents and rotating medical students.
February 2023 CAM Winner — Student
Kameron Moghadam
MS3, John Sealy School of Medicine

Kameron Moghadam is a third-year medical student at the UTMB John Sealy School of Medicine. As a first-year student, Kameron quickly got involved in the St. Vincent's Student Clinic in order to serve his community and provide care to the underserved.

Kameron currently acts as the director of the medication management committee. In this role, he is responsible for coordinating with providers, students, and patients to ensure medications are refilled in a timely manner and minimize gaps in patients' care. Additionally, he has the privilege of mentoring and teaching the new students in the committee.

Kameron's hope is to be an advocate and voice for his patients, so that they are able to get the care they need and deserve. In the future, Kameron hopes to match into anesthesiology, where he will continue to serve and advocate for his patients.
January 2023 CAM Winner — Resident
Lauren H. Malone, DO
PGY-2/CA-1 Anesthesiology Resident

Lauren Malone is a second year Anesthesiology resident originally from the Cleveland, Ohio area.

She completed her undergraduate degree in neuroscience at UAB before going to medical school in Kentucky.

She enjoys spending time with her husband, with whom she couples matched, and their French Bulldog, in her spare time.
January 2023 CAM Winner — Student
Ryan Shepherd
MS3, John Sealy School of Medicine

Ryan Shepherd is a third-year medical student at the UTMB John Sealy School of Medicine. In medical school, he has demonstrated a continued passion for the care of underserved populations through St. Vincent's Student Clinic.

Along with his involvement in the Interprofessional-Continuity of Practice Experience (I-COPE) clinic, Ryan currently serves as the chair of the Finance Committee and the Interprofessional Communications Committee for the student clinic. Ryan's favorite part of the clinic is being able to engage with the new first-year students to help grow their clinical knowledge through practicing physical exam maneuvers and helping them improve their note-writing skills.

In the future, Ryan hopes to be able to match into Emergency Medicine with a particular emphasis on International outreach and disaster relief.
December 2022 CAM Winner — Faculty
Michelle Simon, MD
Associate Professor, Dept. of Anesthesiology

Dr. Michelle Simon is an Associate Professor in the Anesthesiology department at UTMB.
December 2022 CAM Winner — Student
Abhijit (Abhi) Rao
MD/MPH Candidate, Class of 2024

Abhijit (Abhi) Rao is a third-year MD/MPH student at UTMB's John Sealy School of Medicine and the School of Public and Population Health.

He is an avid flautist and an amateur composer, believing strongly in the power of music in cultivating meaningful relationships.

Abhi is one of the founding members of the Galveston Healing Arts Orchestra, a community symphonic orchestra that comprises students, faculty, staff, and friends of UTMB.

He also serves as the current president of Music in Medicine, a student organization that aims to build a community of UTMB students with musical talents.

Abhi is passionate about using the arts as a tool to combat burnout and gives great consideration to the humanistic aspects of medicine.
November 2022 CAM Winner — Faculty
Bernard Karnath, MD, FACP
Professor, Internal Medicine

Dr. Bernard M. Karnath earned his BS in Biology from Texas A&M in 1989 and his MD degree from UTMB Galveston in 1994. He is the Co-Director of the Practice of Medicine Year 2 Course and many other clinical electives. He serves as Vice Chair for Undergraduate Medical Education in the Department of Internal Medicine. Dr. Karnath served as the Director of the UTMB Academy of Master Teachers, and is a faculty volunteer/student mentor at St. Vincent's clinic.

Dr. Karnath has received many awards, including:
  • Most Dedicated Faculty Award at St. Vincent's clinic.
  • The Golden Apple Award at the John Sealy School of Medicine.
  • The James W. Powers Memorial Award.
  • The Super Physician Award.
  • The University of Texas System Regent's Outstanding Teaching Award.
  • The Laureate Award of the Texas Chapter of the American College of Physicians.
  • The Herbert S. Waxman Award for Outstanding Medical Student Education (American College of Physicians.)
  • The Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award presented by the Alpha Omega Alpha National Honor Society.
Dr. Karnath was inaugurated as a William Osler Scholar in the John P. McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine in 2008, the highest honor bestowed onto a teaching faculty at UTMB.
November 2022 CAM Winner — Student
Morgan Williams
MS4, John Sealy School of Medicine

Morgan Williams is a fourth year medical student at the UTMB John Sealy School of Medicine. She has a passion for providing care to underserved populations and addressing social determinants of health, as evidenced by the hundreds of hours she served as student director of the medication management committee at St. Vincent's clinic.

She has also served as a student provider for the Interprofessional - Continuity of Practice Experience (I-COPE) clinic, where she saw a panel of medically complex, uninsured patients during her third year of medical school. Since then, she has stayed on the I-COPE team as a mentor, teaching first-year medical students basic physical exam skills and interview techniques, while also engaging third-year medical students in more complex topics, such as patient assistance applications, EKGs, and phlebotomy. Through these experiences, she has learned the importance of practicing medicine as an art—that is, to use medicine as a tool for healing by practicing empathy and understanding.

Morgan is currently applying for residency in pediatrics and plans to continue serving the underserved as a primary-care pediatrician with a focus on mental health.