Annual Dr. Harold Alper Humanitarian Awards and Keynote Address
18th Annual Dr. Harold Alper Humanitarian Keynote Address and Awards Ceremony
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine - Chattanooga, in conjunction with the family of the late Harold Alper, MD, and Erlanger Health, hosted the 18th Annual Alper Humanitarian Awards Keynote Address and Ceremony on Friday, May 2, 2025. from 7:30 --9:30 am ET in the Erlanger Probasco Auditorium. Our guest speaker, Rana Awdish, MD, gave an inspiring Keynote Address, and the 11 nominees from our upcoming Resident and Fellow graduates were recognized. At the conclusion of the enve, the overall winner of the Alper Humanitarian Award was announced. Congratulations to Meg Sabourin, DO, Chief Resident (PGY-4 level) in the Department ob Obstetrics and Gynecology.
2025 Alper Humanitarian Award Recipient and Nominees
The 18th Annual Harold Alper, MD, Humanitarian Award was presented to Meg Sabourin, DO, PGY-4 Level Chief Resident in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
The Award is presented each year to a graduating Resident or Fellow at the UTHSC College of Medicine - Chattanooga who has consistently demonstrated, during residency or fellowship, the humanistic qualities for which the late Dr. Harold Alper was known: integrity, compassion, and community service.
Read Dr. Sabourin's nomination letter via this link.
2025 Alper Nominees:
Alexandra Stedke, DO
Sr Resident, Pediatrics (PL-3)
Read Dr. Stedke's nomination
De'Angelo Smotherson, DO
Sr Resident, Emergency Medicine (PGY-3)
Read Dr. Smotherson's nomination
Eliea Sneij, MD
Chief Fellow, Cardiovascular
Disease (PGY-6)
Read Dr. Sneij's nomination
Lily Fatula, MD
Chief Resident, Plastic Surgery (PGY-8)
Read Dr. Fatula's nomination
Meg Sabourin, DO
Chief Resident, Obstetrics & Gynecology (PGY-4)
Read Dr. Sabourin's nomination
Mitchell Scull, MD
Chief Resident, Orthopaedic Surgery
(PGY-5)
Read Dr. Scull's nomination
Scott Austin Gilchrist, MD
Chief Resident, Surgery (PGY-6)
Read Dr. Gilchrist's nomination
Sunny Roy, MD
Chief Resident, Urology (PGY-5)
Read Dr. Roy's nomination
Ty Poston, MD
Sr Resident, Internal Medicine (PGY-3)
Read Dr. Poston's nomination
William Oelsner, MD
Chief Fellow, Gastroenterology
(PGY-7)
Read Dr. Oelsner's nomination
About Dr. Alper: Dr. Harold Alper began practicing in 1947 and was named to the University of Tennessee College of Medicine faculty as Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery in 1976. He was instrumental in founding the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Speech and Hearing Center in the early 1950’s, and he pioneered microscopic surgery and laser surgery in Chattanooga. Dr. Alper’s community service included work as the president of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society, the Chattanooga Jewish Welfare Foundation and the Jewish Community Center.
About the Award and Ceremony: The University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine - Chattanooga, in conjunction with Erlanger Health and an endowment from the family of the late Dr. Harold Alper, has established the annual ceremony and Grand Rounds Keynote Address. The Dr. Harold Alper Humanitarian Award is presented to a graduating Resident or Fellow at the UTHSC College of Medicine - Chattanooga who has consistently demonstrated during residency or fellowship the humanistic qualities for which the late Dr. Harold Alper was known: integrity, compassion, and community service.
The judges reviewed all nominations and well as the nominations and comments/stories from colleagues, other health system staff, and patients. There were 11 nominees representing 11 of our programs. All nominees were recognized and honored at the event following Dr. Rana Awdish's Keynote Address. The judges decision was announced, and Dr. Meg Sabourin was presented the 2025 Award as the graduating Resident who was the most deserving and best represented the traits for which Dr. Harold Alper was known -- integrity, compassion, and community service. She received a beautiful crystal award and $ 1,500 from the Alper Endowment to continue her work.
The other ten nominees received $ 1,000 each from the endowment. All nominees and the recipient also received a certificate from the Alper Family and Deans as well as a copy of Dr. Awdish's compelling memoir.
About the Keynote Address: The Alper Humanitarian Award ceremony always includes a Keynote Address highlighting the importance and role of humanism in medicine. This year’s keynote address title was "Healing with Intention."
Keynote Speaker:
Rana Awdish, MD, MS, FACP, FCCP
Professor, Department of Medicine
Wayne State University School of Medicine
Director, Pulmonary Hypertension Program, and
Medical Director for Care Experience
Henry Ford Health System
Our guest speaker for the 2025 celebration of Dr. Alper and our graduates was Rana Awdish, MD, MS, FACP, FCCP. Dr. Awdish is Professor in the Department of Medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine; and Director of the Pulmonary Hypertension Program and Medical Director for Care Experience at the Henry Ford Health System.
“Our job isn’t just to heal, but to understand what a patient is going through and sympathize,” says Dr. Awdish.
Before her life-threatening illness, like many clinicians, Dr. Awdish had not consistently carved out time to attend to her patients’ emotional and spiritual needs. These emotional needs had not crossed her mind in a meaningful way, until she experienced being a critically ill patient and what it felt like to be treated as just another number in a hospital. This awakening to communication and compassionate care is what inspired her critically acclaimed memoir, “In Shock,” a deep dive into her medical and emotional journey.
Through her current roles as director of the Pulmonary Hypertension Program and medical director of Care Experience at Henry Ford Hospital, Dr. Awdish has dedicated herself to transforming clinical culture and integrating compassionate communication strategies. Prior to her time at Henry Ford, she completed training at Mount Sinai Beth Israel in Manhattan, attended Wayne State University Medical School, and completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Dr. Awdish is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.
She has been awarded the Prestigious Schwartz Center’s national Compassionate Caregiver of the Year Award (2017), named Physician of the Year by Press Ganey (2017), received the Critical Care Teaching Award (2016), and was named a Healthcare Hero by U.S. News & World Report (2020) for her work during the pandemic. Awdish is also a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society and the Gold Humanism Honor Society.
Dr. Awdish’s journey is one of reconnection to self, to purpose, and to the shared humanity that binds every clinician and patient. In telling her story, she helps all caregivers remember that the best medicine may not always come from a prescription, but from the acts of integrity, compassion, and service, said officials.
Dr. Awdish says many of the qualities she believes in are the same as the late Dr. Alper believed in, so it seemed like a perfect way to honor him by coming to speak and celebrate the compassionate care of the award nominees and winner.
The UTHSC College of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing education for physicians. This presentation is approved for one hour AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ in accordance with ACCME guidelines. Those physicians who attended the in-person session in Probasco Auditorium (May 2, 2025), were eligible to receive CME/CEU Credit for the presentation.