2025-2026 Award Winners
Honoring award recipients for their excellence in research, leadership, teaching, and clinical care across the SHSU-COM community.
Congratulations!
Congratulations to our 2025-2026 academic year award recipients. Your hard work, dedication, and excellence reflect what makes SHSU-COM an exceptional institution and a respected name in medical education.
OMS I-III Awards
- Outstanding First-Year Student Leader: Kamdyn Holt
- Outstanding Second-Year Student Leader: Tai Phan
- Outstanding Third-Year Student Leader: Caroline Podvin
- Outstanding Non-Traditional Student Leader: Lauren Fell
- Excellence in Research: Wyatt Mayer
- Outstanding Leadership and Service: Meredith Poling
- Clerkship Awards:
- Adult Medicine I & II: Minahil Akbar
- Emergency Medicine: Andrew Bates
- Family Medicine: Logan Vargas
- Longitudinal OMM: Gandhimathi Saravanan
- OB-GYN: Alexis Wyrick
- Pediatrics: Harlee Schneider
- Psychiatry: Nidhi Vedire
- Rural: Anuja Jayachandran
- Surgery: Tara Sheets
- Excellence in Service:
- Clinical Anatomy: Lauren Fell
- Molecular & Cellular Biology: Kaili Gaston
- Osteopathic Principles & Practices: Magdelena Shen
- Physiology & Pharmacology: Mason Rosenbaum
- Primary Care & Clinical Medicine: Cody Dean
- COMmunity Award: Health Explorers
- COMmitted Organization: COM Student Ambassadors
- Outstanding Collaboration: Medical Mission Trips
Graduating Student Awards
- Excellence in Research Award: Vanessa Molina
- Clinical Acumen Award: Rylie Wackerly
- Medical Education Award: Danyal Tahseen
- Charles E. Henley Award: Nicholas Fong
- Outstanding Graduate Student Leader Award: Emma Zehe
- Dana G. Hoyt "The Measure of a Life is its Service" Award: Andrew Tran
- Dean's Award: Kayla Lesage
Faculty & Staff awards
- Outstanding COM Staff Member Award: Nikea Vernardo
- Outstanding Student Organization Advisor Award: Janet Gregory, DO
- Excellence in Research Award: Karen Nelson, PhD
- Outstanding Leadership Award: Candace Walkley, MD
- Outstanding Service Award: Jailenne Quinones, PhD
- Excellence in Teaching Award: Candace Walkley, MD
- Preceptor of the Year Award: Rodolfo Oviedo, MD