UC News

AOA Honors Lair-Adolph and Inducts Faculty, Residents, Students and Alumni

headshot of Cedric Ricks By Cedric Ricks 260-415-8554
3 minute read December 15, 2015

IvaDean Lair-Adolph, associate dean alumni/student transitions, emerita has received the 2015-2016 Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Administrative Recognition Award for her efforts to support and advocate for medical students at the University of Cincinnati.

The honor was presented at the AOA Honor Medical Society banquet Nov. 6 at the Phoenix in downtown Cincinnati. 

"The students gave her a standing ovation,” says Robert Luke, MD, professor emeritus in the Department of Internal Medicine, who nominated Lair-Adolph for the award. "She is regarded as the grandmother or mother of all the medical students. If you go in that office anytime there are students around. She has a unique role in the College of Medicine. She is a source of joy to the students and wants them to have good standards.

"As an emerita, she is doing this out of loyalty and love for the medical students,” says Luke. "She has been the heart of AOA here and runs it extremely well and it will be very difficult to find a successor.”

During the AOA banquet, 44 faculty, residents, alumni and students were inducted into the honor society. Membership in the society confers recognition for a physician's dedication to the profession and art of healing. Other honorees include:

Faculty: Carl Fichtenbaum, MD, Internal Medicine; David Hom, MD, Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery; Shimul Shah, MD, Surgery; and Daniel Woo, MD, Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine.

Residents: Meredith Frost, MD, Pediatrics; Francisco Lopez Menendez, MD, Internal Medicine; Steven Miller, MD, Surgery; Hilja Ruegg, MD; Family and Community Medicine; and Ashley Walther, MD, Surgery.

Alumni: Thomas Herzog, MD, Obstetrics and Gynecology; Adam Kaufman, MD, Ophthalmology; Joseph Kiesler, MD, Family and Community Medicine; and Christopher Lewis, MD, Family and Community Medicine.

Class of 2016: Ashley Altman, Dhruv Amratia, Katharine Amalfitano, Kara Barfell, James Bayley, Julie Broderick, Ashley Cattran, Grant Comstock, Mark Costello, Sarah Coyne, Zachary DeVore, Amy Dutko, Ashley Gibson, Kristie Griffith, Sarah Halula, Craig Hansen, Emily Hautman, Charissa Lake, Maria LeSaint, Kyle McCracken, Alexander Meyer, Tricia Minton, Mason Nistel, Christine Schaeffer, Victoria Schopper Miller, Ethan Senser, Robert Sturm, Katherine Talbott, Jaime Tomko, Amanda Ventura and Suma Yalmanchili. 

Anthony Iarussi, MD, Anesthesiology, received the Volunteer Teaching Award.

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