YSM News and Recognition

Pooja Khatri, MD, MSc, chair and Albert E. Kent Professor of Neurology, has been elected to membership in the Association of American Physicians. Election to the association is an honor extended to physicians with outstanding credentials in basic or translational biomedical research and is limited to 70 people per year. An internationally recognized expert in stroke care and research, Khatri is also chief of neurology at Yale New Haven Hospital and the Yale New Haven Health System.

Lee Rubin, MD, a nationally recognized expert in hip and knee joint replacement surgery, has been appointed the inaugural Kristaps J. Keggi Professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, effective March 3, 2026. A member of the Yale School of Medicine faculty since 2017, Rubin has served both as the section chief of Yale’s Division of Hip & Knee Joint Reconstruction and as chief of the Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH) total joint replacement program. Rubin is the founding program director of the Yale Hip & Knee Arthroplasty Fellowship, which is currently training its fifth arthroplasty fellow.

Reni Butler, MD, professor of radiology and biomedical imaging, has been named a fellow of the American College of Radiology (ACR). It is one of the highest honors the ACR bestows on a member and recognizes exceptional achievements in the field of radiology, radiation oncology, or medical physics. Butler’s work includes patient care, clinical research, and medical education. She is a diagnostic radiologist with expertise in breast imaging and is part of the multidisciplinary team that provides advanced care and technology to patients at Smilow Cancer Hospital.

Michelle Colon (left), senior administrative assistant, and June Weiss, research manager, both from the Section of General Internal Medicine, were presented with Service Excellence Awards at the Internal Medicine Staff Town Hall. The award is presented annually to acknowledge and honor staff members who demonstrate professionalism, commitment, dedication, and teamwork, and serve as a role model for the department, Yale School of Medicine, and Yale University. Colon was cited for “being a steady and strategic presence in a complex clinical environment,” and Weiss for “tireless commitment to ensuring successful implementation of several complex trials.”

Yale emergency medicine resident Arya Hawkins-Zafarnia, MD, MA, was elected to serve on the 2026-2027 American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) board of directors as president of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine Resident and Student Association (AAEM/RSA), a non-profit professional association for emergency medicine residents and medical students. His leadership team will help guide the academy’s work and their sustained commitment to practice environments that allow emergency physicians to do what they do best: care for patients.

Coraline Mlynarczyk, PhD, assistant professor of medicine (medical oncology and hematology) and of pathology, and a member of the Center of Molecular and Cellular Oncology at Yale Cancer Center, has received The DeLuca Center for Innovation in Hematology Research Career Development Award. Part of Smilow Cancer Hospital, the DeLuca Center provides early career clinical or laboratory-based investigators in hematology the opportunity to focus on research to advance patient care, therapies, and outcomes with the ultimate goal of achieving independent support for their research from a national agency. Mlynarczyk studies the immunology and metabolism of germinal center-derived B cell lymphomas.

The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery has named John Morton, MD, MPH, as the recipient of its 2026 Distinguished Service Award, one of the society’s highest honors. The award recognizes members for significant contributions to the metabolic and bariatric field, with an emphasis on excellence in service, leadership, and advancing multidisciplinary care. Morton serves as division chief of bariatric and minimally invasive surgery at Yale School of Medicine (YSM) and Yale New Haven Health, and as vice chair of quality for YSM's Department of Surgery. He is being recognized, in part, for his role in developing the Obesity Summit to encourage collaboration across organizations.

Jennifer Sherr, MD, PhD, professor of pediatrics (endocrinology), will be recognized at the kickoff of the 2026 American Diabetes Association annual meeting with the W!LD Inspire Award. The award recognizes individuals whose careers have been defined by groundbreaking work, leadership, and a commitment to improving diabetes care, research, and support for patients and families. It aims to celebrate and inspire the next generation of women in diabetes leadership. Sherr is an expert in the field of diabetes technology and has worked on trials of continuous glucose monitors and automated insulin delivery systems.

Two Yale researchers have received Women As One 2026 Mentorship Awards to support their research. Sara Tabtabai, MD (left), assistant professor of medicine (cardiovascular medicine), is studying critical challenges in cardiovascular disease, with a focus on translating scientific discovery into improved patient outcomes, particularly through advancing early diagnosis of transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) and addressing its under-diagnosis and under-treatment in women. Sarah Abou Alaiwi, MD, a clinical fellow in cardiovascular medicine, is investigating ATTR-CM in women, supporting research on sex-specific differences, including AI models trained on female datasets and studies on how women with ATTR-CM interact with health care systems.

The American Heart Association (AHA) selected Pwint (Lily) Thinzar, a postgraduate research associate in neurology working in the Petersen Lab, for the Stroke Council Abstract Travel Grant and the Bernard J. Tyson Career Development Award as part of her attendance at the 2026 International Stroke Conference, Feb. 3-6 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Thinzar is studying neurological conditions, including stroke, and how to individualize treatments to care for each patient's unique physiology.