The USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Academy of Distinguished Educators class of 2022 (Left to right): Eduardo Gonzalez, MD, FAAFP; Andreas Seyfang, PhD; John Armstrong, MD, FACS; Marzenna Wiranowska, PhD, MS; Susan Pross, PhD.

The USF Health Morsani College of Medicine (MCOM) recently celebrated the newest members of the Academy of Distinguished Educators during a small induction ceremony Sept. 20.

Class of 2022 Inductees:

• John Armstrong, MD
• Eduardo Gonzalez, MD, FAAFP
• Susan Pross, PhD
• Andreas Seyfang, PhD
• Marzenna Wiranowska, PhD, MS

“To us falls the high privilege and great responsibility of training the generation of doctors.  If we fail to do our job to perfection, people die needlessly.  Too often this simple truth is forgotten, but each of you never forget.” said Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM, USF Health executive vice president and MCOM dean. All of you are a testament to why MCOM continues to thrive and why our reputation across the nation continues to rise.”

The program was developed as a collaborative effort by MCOM’s Department of Medical Education, Faculty Council, and Office of Faculty Affairs to enhance the practice, quality and scholarship of teaching and learning at the medical school through educational service, consultation and research.   The program honors exemplary educators of all medical students, physicians, physician assistants, physical therapists, athletic trainers and scientists within the faculty by awarding the prestigious title of Distinguished Educator.

Nominees must hold an active appointment at MCOM for at least two years and hold the minimum title of associate professor.  Nominees must have made exceptional contributions to the education mission in one or more of the following ways:

• Research in education.
• Innovations and scholarly approaches in curriculum development, instructional design, or assessment of student learning.
• Mentoring and development of faculty as educators or educational researchers.
• Individual learner mentoring and development.
• Leadership in education.

About the Inductees:

John Armstrong, MD, FACS.

John Armstrong, MD, FACS  is a nationally recognized surgeon and USF Health professor who has held multiple positions within USF Health and the Florida government.  He served as chief medical officer of the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS), surgical director of the USF Health American Colleges of Surgeons Accredited Education Institute and professor in the MCOM Department of Surgery.  He also served as Surgeon General and Secretary of Health under former Governor Rick Scott from 2012 to 2016.

Eduardo Gonzalez, MD, FAAFP.

Eduardo Gonzalez MD, FAAFP, joined USF Health in 1994.  He  serves as a professor and director in the MCOM Department of Family Medicine, professor in the Taneja College of Pharmacy Department of Pharmacy Practice.  He is co-medical director of the USF Health BRIDGE Clinic, a free student-run clinic that serves uninsured adults from underserved communities.  In 2019, Dr. Gonzalez was named Physician of the Year by the American Academy of Family Physicians.  He is also a two-time USF alum having completed his undergraduate degree in 1987, and medical school in 1991.

Susan Pross, PhD.

Susan Pross, PhD has been part of the Morsani College of Medicine since 1975.  She is a professor in the MCOM Department of Molecular Medicine and director of the MCOM Office of Research Innovation and Scholar Endeavors Scholarly Concentrations Program, where she helps to develop and assess elective opportunities for student scholarship.   She is a trained immunologist and microbiologist  with research interests in allergy, immunology, and infectious disease.

Andreas Seyfang, PhD.

Andreas Seyfang, PhD is an expert in medical microbiology and parasitology.  He holds several professor positions throughout the USF Health colleges to include the Morsani College of Medicine, College of Public Health and School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences.  He’s earned multiple outstanding instructor and teaching awards that are voted on by students.  He is the director of the Seyfang laboratory that focuses on membrane permeases as target for drug delivery, and cytochrome b5 reductase as enzymatic drug target in opportunistic microbial pathogens including protozoan parasites and nosocomial and neuro-pathogenic fungi.

Marzenna Wiranowska, PhD, MS.

Marzenna Wiranowska, PhD, MS is an international expert in microbiology and immunology.  She joined the USF Health staff in 1982 where she started as a research associate in the Immunopharmacology Program at MCOM and currently serves as an associate professor in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology.  She leads the Medical Humanities elective of the Scholarly Concentrations Program.  Dr. Wiranowska has earned many awards as an educator of medical students including the Most Outstanding Pre-Clinical Professor Award voted on by the MCOM class of 2019.

Story by Freddie Coleman.  Photos by Ryan Rossy