April 14, 2025

The annual Golden Apple Awards recognize outstanding service, teaching and mentoring by Drexel University College of Medicine faculty and professional staff. The honorees are nominated by each class of medical students, who vote to determine the award winners.

In a note sent to this year’s recipients, Charles B. Cairns, MD, Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg Dean and senior vice president of medical affairs, thanked the award recipients for their “unwavering commitment to fostering an enriching educational experience that has had a profound impact on our students' growth and success.”

The 2025 Golden Apple Award recipients are:

Student Government Association Award

• College of Medicine Custodial Staff

Student Body Award

• Homaira Azim, MD, PhD, Neurobiology & Anatomy (Philadelphia)
• Tyler Francisco, MD, Psychiatry (West Reading)

Phase 1, Year 1 - Molecules to Organs

• Todd Strochlic, VMD, PhD, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (Philadelphia)
• Dana Peterson, PhD, Neurobiology & Anatomy (West Reading)

Phase 1, Year 1 - Human Structure and Function 1

• Francis M. Sessler, PhD, Neurobiology & Anatomy (Philadelphia)
• Kathryn Veazey, MS, PhD, Neurobiology & Anatomy (West Reading)

Phase 1, Year 1 - Human Structure and Function 2

• Sara S. Solomon, MS, Neurobiology & Anatomy (Philadelphia)
• Bill Frank, DC, Neurobiology & Anatomy (West Reading)

Phase 1, Year 1 - Health Advocacy Practicum

• Steven Rosenzweig, MD, Emergency Medicine (Philadelphia)
• Lisa Glenn (West Reading)

Phase 1, Year 2 - Health Advocacy 2

• Laura Mullin (Philadelphia)

Phase 1, Year 1 - Case Based Learning 1

• Mary Ann Kuzma, MD, Medicine (Philadelphia)
• Folasade Kehinde, MD, Pediatrics (West Reading)

Phase 1, Year 2 - Case Based Learning 2

• Stephan Pagkalinawan, MD, Medicine (Philadelphia)
• Hwyda Arafat, MD, PhD, MSc, MEdL, Medicine (West Reading)

Phase 1, Year 1 – Foundations of Patient Care 1

• Pamela Duke, MD, Medicine (Philadelphia)
• Renee Kottenhahn, MD, Pediatrics (West Reading)

Phase 1, Year 2 - Foundations of Patient Care 2

• Adrienne Willard, MD, Medicine (Philadelphia)
• Shaila Quazi, DO, Emergency Medicine (West Reading)

Phase 1, Year 1 - Foundations of Disease

• Cheryl Hanau, MD, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine (Philadelphia)
• Elise Mosser, PhD, Microbiology & Immunology (West Reading)

Phase 1, Year 2 - Human Disease Systems

• Brian Murphy, MSc, PhD, Pharmacology & Physiology (Philadelphia)
• Kelly Brenan, MD, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine (Philadelphia)

Phase 2, Year 3

Attending Physician:

• Kevin Connor, DO, Medicine, Crozer-Chester Medical Center
• Gerson De Freitas, MD, Medicine, UPMC Harrisburg
• Eduardo Espiridion, MD, Psychiatry Clerkship, Reading Hospital – Tower Health
• Kheyandra Lewis, MD, Pediatrics, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children
• John Sheffield, MD, Family, Community & Preventive Medicine, Reading Hospital – Tower Health

Resident Physician:

• Irtza Badar, MD, Medicine, Mercy Catholic Medical Center
• Meghan St. John, MD, OB/GYN, Allegheny Health Network
• Lawrence Williams, DO, Medicine, Crozer-Chester Medical Center

Phase 3, Year 4

Attending Physician:

• Norrell Atkinson, MD, Pediatrics, St. Christopher's Hospital for Children
• Lorraine Cummings, MD, OB/GYN, WellSpan York Hospital
• Matthew Hartman, MD, Radiology, Allegheny Health Network
• Omar Hussain, MD, Anesthesiology, Main Line Health
• Erum Ilyas, MD, Dermatology, Schweiger Dermatology
• Joseph Sabol, DO, Medicine, Allegheny Health Network
• Karriem Salaam, MD, Psychiatry, Friends Hospital
• Robert Tartaglione, MD, Radiology, Kaiser Permanente, GSAA
• Alexander Yu, MD, Neurosurgery, Allegheny Health Network