VP&S Academy of Clinical Excellence Inducts Fifth Class

On May 5, 42 clinical faculty members recognized for outstanding patient care were inducted into the Academy of Clinical Excellence (ACE) of the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. All ACE inductees are full-time faculty who have served at Columbia for five or more years and exhibit exemplary patient care marked by evidence-based clinical science and deeply compassionate humanism.

The 2022 Bill Campbell Clinical Champions Symposium was delivered alongside this year’s ACE class induction. This year's lecture was titled, “Communicating in the Time of COVID: Triumphs, Pitfalls, and Lessons Learned," and featured Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH, MPA, University Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine, director of Columbia World Projects, and founder and director of ICAP. El-Sadr is an international expert in epidemiology and research on the prevention and management of HIV, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, El-Sadr has shared her expertise as a member of the Mayor’s Scientific Advisory Council, the NYC Test and Trace Group, and the Columbia University COVID-19 Task Force.

In 2017, ACE inducted its first class of members to honor clinical faculty members who demonstrate excellence in clinical care and who spend more than half their time caring for patients and training young physicians. The new inductees were nominated and elected by their peers. Following are the newest inductees.

2022 ACE Inductees

Janice James Aubey, MD, MPH, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Karen L. Bell, MD, Department of Neurology

Heidi Beutler, MD, Department of Pediatrics

Craig D. Blinderman, MD, MA, Department of Medicine

Keith Brenner, MD, Department of Medicine

Tricia E. Brentjens, MD, Department of Anesthesiology

Elise Caccappolo, PhD, MA, Department of Neurology

Subani Chandra, MD, Department of Medicine

Eileen P. Connolly, MD, PhD, Department of Radiation Oncology

Renu Maria Culas, MBBS, Department of Psychiatry

Colleen C. Cullen, PsyD, Department of Psychiatry

Amy R. Defelice, MD, Department of Pediatrics

Anne M. Ferris, MBBS, Department of Pediatrics

Katherine Fischkoff, MD, MPA, Department of Surgery

Alyson N. Fox, MD, MSCE, Department of Medicine

Christina Kitt Garza, MD, Department of Psychiatry

Isaac George, MD, Department of Surgery

Larisa J. Geskin, MD, Department of Dermatology

Stephen L. Gordon, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine

Farah Hameed, MD, Department of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine

Jason Hill, MD, PhD, Department of Emergency Medicine

Ana Hae-Ok Kim, MD, Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery

Jin Hee Jeannie Kim, MD, MS, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Ganga Krishnamurthy, MBBS, DCH, Department of Pediatrics

Nicole Lamanna, MD, Department of Medicine

Sean D. Lavine, MD, Department of Neurological Surgery

Ryan E. Lawrence, MD, MDiv, Department of Psychiatry

Jay S. Leb, MD, Department of Radiology

Jeffrey M. Liebmann, MD, Department of Ophthalmology

Ali A. Mencin, MD, Department of Pediatrics

Marcus R. Pereira, MD, MPH, Department of Medicine

Stefano Ravalli, MD, Department of Medicine

Helen E. Remotti, MD, Department of Pathology and Cell Biology

Neeta R. Saraiya, MBBS, MD, Department of Anesthesiology

Ojas Shah, MD, Department of Urology

Jessica Singer, MD, MPH, Department of Medicine

Kurenai Tanji, MD, PhD, Department of Pathology and Cell Biology

William C. Turner, MD, Department of Medicine

Wakenda K. Tyler, MD, MPH, Department of Orthopedic Surgery

Louis H. Weimer, MD, Department of Neurology

Rachel J. Weller, MD, Department of Pediatrics

Natalie H. Yip, MD, Department of Medicine