Shining a spotlight on UT Southwestern’s Leaders in Clinical Excellence
Videos: See below for special videos that were played for each winner or winning program
At the Leaders in Clinical Excellence Awards on Dec. 1, which was held in person and livestreamed from the Tom and Lula Gooch Auditorium on South Campus, awards were issued in seven categories of clinical excellence: Rising Star Award, Mentoring Award, Patient and Family Recognition Award, Program Development Award, Institutional Service Award, The President’s Award for Diversity and Humanism in Clinical Care, and the Patricia and William L. Watson Jr., M.D. Award for Excellence in Clinical Medicine. Fourteen recipients won individual awards and seven leaders represented two winning programs.
Presenting the awards were Daniel K. Podolsky, M.D., UTSW President; John Warner, M.D., Executive Vice President for Health System Affairs; and W. P. Andrew Lee, M.D., Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Provost, and Dean of UTSW Medical School.
Since 2018, the Leaders in Clinical Excellence Awards event has shone a light on UT Southwestern’s commitment to excellence in patient care by recognizing clinical faculty. The many ways that UTSW’s health care heroes sought to meet the needs created by COVID-19 were woven into speeches throughout the event. From caring for the babies born during the pandemic to consoling families who lost loved ones, UTSW honorees compassionately went above and beyond the call of duty when needed.
Padmaja Reddy, M.D., an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Palliative Medicine, was among three honorees of the Patient and Family Recognition Award that recognizes clinical faculty whose dedication to the compassionate, respectful delivery of care has garnered the highest degree of patient trust and satisfaction.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Reddy became a lifeline of information for patients and their families facing the darkest days. At a time when the public was desperate for information, she spearheaded the COVID ICU Family Outreach Program at Parkland Memorial Hospital, providing daily virtual updates to relatives of every COVID-19 ICU patient. She also served on one of the UT Southwestern COVID-19 ICU Response Teams that was recognized with a Program Development Award.
Each of the evening’s award recipients, such as Dr. Reddy, represent the very best of the Health System. Dr. Reddy emotionally recalled how her UT Southwestern colleagues have selflessly and continuously rallied to help throughout the pandemic.
“Time and again, they gave tiny pieces of themselves away to these families in order to shield the team in the unit, and in return for their tireless work, some got doughnuts, some got breakfast tacos, one got to jump in my pool to cool off in the middle of the July heat – but that was about it,” she said. “They did it simply because of a desire to serve, a desire to do the right thing. They never failed to answer the call.”
Earning the top honor of the evening was Diane Twickler, M.D., Professor of Radiology and Obstetrics and Gynecology, as recipient of the Patricia and William L. Watson Jr., M.D. Award for Excellence in Clinical Medicine.
Dr. Twickler, also a Distinguished Teaching Professor, is a pioneer in gynecologic imaging who has earned a reputation for outstanding patient care. The UTSW faculty member of more than 30 years expressed her gratitude to UT Southwestern and offered thanks to Parkland’s Women & Infants Specialty Health (WISH) clinic for helping to build and maintain the specialized Ob/Gyn ultrasound. Medicine is a field in which working as a team is key, she said.
“There is no way I could have been able to do the type of research that I’m engaging in without the model of collaboration that exists here at UT Southwestern. I feel very, very fortunate and extremely honored,” Dr. Twickler said.
Examples of exceptional clinical care in a variety of other areas were recognized, such as the heart for patient advocacy of Cindy Darnell Bowens, M.D. As Medical Director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Medical Center Dallas, Dr. Bowens recognizes the challenges that underrepresented minorities face. She is a passionate champion for every family.
Dr. Bowens, the recipient of The President’s Award for Diversity and Humanism in Clinical Care, said a good day at work involves knowing she did the best job she could to get every child a step closer to going home.
“When you’re taking care of families who are having the worst day of their lives, and you can make that day just a little bit better, the gratification that comes with that is tenfold what you’ve given to them,” said Dr. Bowens, Associate Professor of Pediatrics.
For William Turner, M.D., mentoring others has been rewarding. Over his nearly 50-year career, the Professor of Surgery in the Division of Burn, Trauma, Acute, and Critical Care Surgery has had thousands of operating-room interactions with postgraduate trainees and students.
The Mentoring Award recipient said he was inspired by his parents. He grew up on a farm where his father taught him how to use his hands, while his mother was a schoolteacher. Watching his residents make progress is priceless, he said.
“They may operate on me one day,” Dr. Turner said. “To see them become those people is one of the most rewarding things that I do.”
One after another, humble honorees took time to thank UT Southwestern, co-workers, patients, family members, and volunteers for the village it takes to deliver exceptional patient care.
“We’ve witnessed teamwork that you’ve heard about tonight at its finest – our colleagues on the front lines and behind the scenes in vital supporting roles have faced the challenges with urgency and resolute commitment,” said Dr. Warner.
Dr. Podolsky recalled how different the community was in 2020 with the world immersed in fighting COVID-19 and the Leaders in Clinical Excellence event taking place virtually. “This evening, I cannot help but recall that last year’s circumstances necessitated a virtual celebration of our Leaders in Clinical Excellence Awards. However, that event still provided a bright positive light at a moment when everyone across UT Southwestern, our communities, and the world was in the midst of unprecedented challenge,” Dr. Podolsky said. “And to have that moment last year to celebrate the selflessness, the dedication, the commitment, the excellence – certainly for me anyway – was sustaining. “Now a year later, it’s a special pleasure to be able to honor our remarkable colleagues in person and know that, despite what we have all faced together, these guiding values are lived every day by members of the UT Southwestern community, as exemplified by our awardees this year.”
To enlarge any video below, click on the “fullscreen” icon at the far right of the video player.
Breast Reconstruction Program (group award)
COVID-19 ICU Response Teams (group award)
Presented by Dr. W. P. Andrew Lee, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Provost, and Dean, UT Southwestern Medical School
Rising Star Award
Emily H. Adhikari, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Reuben Arasaratnam, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine
Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine
Dharam Kumbhani, M.D., S.M.
Associate Professor of Internal Medicine
Division of Cardiology
Nina Niu Sanford, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology
Chief of Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology Service
Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center
Mentoring Award
Lina Chalak, M.D.
Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry
Sunati Sahoo, M.D.
Professor of Pathology
William W. Turner Jr., M.D.
Professor of Surgery
Division of Burn, Trauma, Acute, and Critical Care Surgery
Presented by Dr. John Warner, Executive Vice President for Health System Affairs:
Patient and Family Recognition Award
Becky Ennis, M.D.
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Nisa Kubiliun, M.D.
Associate Professor of Internal Medicine
Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases
Padmaja Reddy, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine
Division of Palliative Medicine
Program Development Award
Sumeet S. Teotia, M.D.
Professor of Plastic Surgery
Nicholas T. Haddock, M.D.
Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery and Orthopaedic Surgery
COVID-19 ICU Response Teams
Kristina L. Goff, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology & Pain Management
Corey D. Kershaw, M.D.
Associate Professor of Internal Medicine
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Matt Leveno, M.D.
Associate Professor of Internal Medicine
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Kala Bailey, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Padmaja Reddy, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine
Palliative Medicine Section
Presented by Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern Medical Center:
Institutional Service Award
James D. Griffin, M.D.
Professor of Anesthesiology & Pain Management
Robin Novakovic-White, M.D.
Associate Professor of Radiology and Neurology
The President’s Award for Diversity and Humanism in Clinical Care
Cindy Darnell Bowens, M.D., M.S.C.S.
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Pediatrics - Critical Care
Patricia and William L. Watson Jr., M.D. Award for Excellence in Clinical Medicine
Diane M. Twickler, M.D., FACR
Professor of Radiology
Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Dr. Lee holds the Atticus James Gill, M.D. Chair in Medical Science.
Dr. Podolsky holds the Philip O’Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Presidential Chair in Academic Administration, and the Doris and Bryan Wildenthal Distinguished Chair in Medical Science.
Dr. Turner holds the Alvin Baldwin, Jr. Chair in Surgery, and the Carla and Paul Bass Professorship in Medical Education Honoring Charles C. Sprague, M.D.
Dr. Twickler holds the Dr. Fred Bonte Professorship in Radiology.
Dr. Warner holds the Jim and Norma Smith Distinguished Chair for Interventional Cardiology, and the Nancy and Jeremy Halbreich, Susan and Theodore Strauss Professorship in Cardiology.