The USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Office of Research Innovation and Scholarly Endeavors (RISE) inducted the newest members of the Robert A. Good Honor Society (RGHS).  The April 25 ceremony honored all of the class of 2023 medical students and newest faculty inductees.

RGHS membership is open to junior and senior medical students who demonstrate excellence in scholarly endeavors.  Applicants must be in good academic and professional standing reflecting in the highest ideals of the profession of medicine.  No more than 20% of any graduating class are inducted into the RGHS.  It was established at MCOM in 2017 to recognize and honor medical students, faculty, and alumni who have demonstrated exemplary commitment to improve health outcomes through research, innovation and scholarly endeavors.

The goal of RGHS is to:

• Establish a community for the exchange of ideas and opportunities for continued scholarly growth.
• Foster a spirit of lifelong scholarly approach to the practice of medicine.
• Support the USF system goal regarding excellence in research and national prominence.
• Commit to model, support, and advocate scholarly activities MCOM.

Left to right: Hanna Zeurcher; Daniela Moino; Nam Tran, MD, PhD, FAANS; Matthew Mifsud, MD, FACS; John Meisenheimer; Taha Huda. All represent the newest inductees of the Robert A. Good Honor Society.

In addition to the newest inductees, the Steven Specter Award for Outstanding Contribution in Scholarly Achievement of Medicine, and the Martin and Ruth Silbiger Research Award were also presented.

The Steven Specter Award recognizes an medical student and RGHS member who has demonstrated exemplary research achievements in any field of medicine.  This year’s recipient is Jeffrey Farooq.  Farooq is a SELECT student who matched general surgery at the University of Washington.

The Silbiger Award recognizes a graduating senior medical student who has contributed most to the efforts at MCOM.  This year’s recipient was Grace Wei.  Wei is a SELECT student who matched dermatology at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Who was Robert A. Good?

Robert A Good, MD, PhD, DSc, FACP, was the true definition of a physician-scientist.  He was internationally known as the “father of modern immunology.” His understanding of the basic sciences facilitated his work in transplantation, where he performed the first successful human bone marrow graft between an immunocompromised five-month old boy and his eight-year-old sister in 1968.  He was an active leader in the MCOM Department of Pediatrics and physician-in-chief at All Children’s Hospital from 1985-2001.

Class of 2023 Medical Student Inductees:

Fenil Bhatt – Inducted as a junior

Alec Bigness – Inducted as a junior

Aaron Brad Hall – Inducted as a junior

Jeffrey Farooq (SELECT) – Inducted as a junior

Madeline Hooper (SELECT) – Inducted as a senior

Taha Huda – Inducted as a junior

Mallorie Huff (SELECT) – Inducted as a junior

Sydney Korsunsky – Inducted as a senior

Presmai Kumar – Inducted as a junior

Lauren Linkowski (SELECT) – Inducted as a junior

John Meisenheimer – Inducted as a senior

Daniela Moiño – Inducted as a junior

Robert Monsour – Inducted as a junior

Joseph Tang (SELECT) – Inducted as a junior

Christopher Wang (SELECT) – Inducted as a junior

Grace Wei (SELECT) – Inducted as a junior

Gary Wong (SELECT) – Inducted as a junior

Hannah Zeurcher – Inducted as a junior

Faculty Inductees:

Matthew J. Mifsud, MD, FACS, MCOM Department of Otolaryngology assistant professor.

Nam D. Tran, MD, PhD, FAANS, MCOM associate professor of oncology and neurosurgery.

More photos from the event: