Dean’s Excellence Awards for Faculty are awarded to junior and senior faculty in each of the following categories: service, research, mentorship, teaching, and access & engagement. Awardees are selected in a peer-review process involving separate committees for each award category. Full-time faculty members may nominate a faculty colleague for any award, provided the nominee has not received a Dean’s Excellence Award during the past three years. Self-nominations are not accepted. Recent awardees are shown below.
New in 2023, the Dean’s Excellence Awards for Staff acknowledges the outstanding contributions of exceptional Heersink staff members across all mission areas: education, clinical care, and research.
Awardees for the Dean's Excellence Awards are selected through a peer-review process facilitated by a dean’s leadership team member.
Faculty Honorees
Britney Corey, M.D.
Teaching
Senior Faculty
Department of Surgery
Steven Fox, M.D.
Teaching
Junior Faculty
Department of Medicine
Eric Judd, M.D.
Teaching
Senior Faculty
Department of Medicine
Braden McFarland, Ph.D.
Teaching
Junior Faculty
Department of Cell, Developmental, and Integrative Biology
Daniel Chu, M.D.
Research
Senior Faculty
Department of Surgery
Ryan Coute, D.O.
Research
Junior Faculty
Department of Emergency Medicine
Maria Grant, M.D.
Research
Senior Faculty
Department of Ophthalmology
HaoSheng Sun, Ph.D.
Research
Junior Faculty
Department of Cell, Developmental, and Integrative Biology
Shea Duerring, M.D.
Service
Senior Faculty
Department of Pediatrics
Kyle Eudailey, M.D.
Service
Junior Faculty
Department of Surgery
Lara Ianov, Ph.D.
Service
Junior Faculty
Department of Neurobiology
Clinton Martin, M.D.
Service - Regional
Senior Faculty
Huntsville Regional Campus
Department of Psychiatry
Rodney Tucker, M.D.
Service
Senior Faculty
Department of Medicine
Robert Hollis, M.D.
Mentoring
Junior Faculty
Department of Surgery
Farah Lubin, Ph.D.
Mentoring
Senior Faculty
Department of Neurobiology
Michael Mugavero, M.D.
Mentoring
Senior Faculty
Department of Medicine
Adam Wende, Ph.D.
Mentoring
Senior Faculty
Department of Pathology
Johan Latorre, M.D.
Access and Engagement
Junior Faculty
Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Gabriela Oates, Ph.D.
Access and Engagement
Senior Faculty
Department of Medicine
Staff Honorees
April Agne
Program Director II
Department of Medicine
Division of Preventative Medicine
Donna Bailor
Executive Administrator
Department of Neurosurgery
Paula Clawson
Rural Program Coordinator
Huntsville Regional Medical Campus
Office for Family Health Education and Research
Kristi Gidley
Executive Administrator
Department of Otolaryngology
Betsy Hopson
Director of STEP/School of Medicine Research
Department of Medicine
Division of General Internal Medicine
Emily Knighton-Akins
Program Manager I
Heersink Dean’s Office
Office of Strategic Leadership Recruitment
Jason Noah
Director of the Student Success Program
Department of Medical Education
Division of Medical Student Services
Ryan Outman
Executive Administrator
Department of Family Medicine
Theresa Wright
Administrative Associate
Department of Pediatrics
Division of Hospital Medicine