As WMed Dean Robert G. Sawyer, MD, reflected upon the many highlights and accomplishments over the past year during the annual State of the Medical School address, his message to the medical school community was simple – together, we are making continued progress on our journey to achieve health equity for all in Southwest Michigan.
The State of the Medical School, held Tuesday, February 11, 2025, in the William D. Johnston and Ronda E. Stryker Auditorium at the W.E. Upjohn M.D. Campus, offered a chance for Dr. Sawyer to recap recent exciting developments at WMed, from the newly formed Division of Outreach Medicine and the first endowed chair at WMed in the Department of Emergency Medicine to a new community advisory council that aims to address health disparities and improve health outcomes in Kalamazoo.
“I love the people I work with, I love this organization, and I love what the possibilities are,” Dr. Sawyer said. “I appreciate everything everybody does here every single day.”
Dr. Sawyer began his presentation by calling attention to significant milestones, including the 10th anniversary of the Early Introduction to Health Careers pathway programs, which have benefited nearly 1,500 students over the past decade. Dr. Sawyer also touted the medical school’s seven graduating classes and their exceptional performance on the United Stated Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE), as well as their strong performance in the Match, with 98 to 100 percent of students from each cohort matching into competitive residency programs.
“It is very, very important for people who are interested in coming to WMed to become physicians to understand that there are no limitations if you come here,” Dr. Sawyer said. “You will not be limited if you come here in terms of what you ultimately want to do.”
Other notable accomplishments mentioned by Dr. Sawyer included, but were not limited to:
- The WMed Simulation Center was granted full reaccreditation by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) for the next five years.
- The Firehouse Clinic, a student-run clinic formed in partnership with Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries, opened in August inside Kalamazoo’s former Fire House No. 4.
- WMed’s Center for Immunobiology received two NIH grants totaling $4.2 million that will fund WMed research projects on B cells, antibodies they produce.
- WMed and Corewell Health Lakeland Graduate Medical Education will offer clinical training for medical students at a new regional campus, located in St. Joseph, beginning this spring.
This year’s State of the Medical School update concluded with an awards ceremony for several WMed faculty and staff who were the recipients of WMed’s Faculty-to-Faculty and Staff-to-Staff awards in 2024. The award recipients who were honored this year were:
Faculty-to Faculty Award Winners
- Dilip Patel, MBBS, MBA, MPH – Distinguished Service Award
- Sravani Alluri, MD – Hal B. Jenson, MD Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year Award (Clinical)
- Nichol Holodick, PhD – Hal B. Jenson, MD Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year (Non-Clinical)
- Steven Pollens, MD – Lifetime Achievement Award
Staff-to-Staff Award Winners
- Cynthia Shattuck – Staff Leadership Award
- Samira Ghafur – Outstanding Clinical Staff Award
- Felicia Sidney – Outstanding Non-Clinical Staff Award
- Leslie Puckett – Rookie of the Year Award
- Rachel Sinclair – Rising Star Award
- Richard Daudert – Big Heart Award
- Nicole Brookens – Clinical Care Impact Award
- Candace Moore – Community Outreach Impact Award
- Rex Hall Jr. – Internal Service Impact Award
- Donna Miroslaw – Processes and Efficiencies Impact Award
- Julia Young – Wellness and Culture Impact Award