DOM students, residents, faculty shine at 2025 ACP-AZ Chapter Scientific Meeting

Wednesday
David Mogollon, Communications Manager, Department of Medicine

Held Nov. 14-15 in Mesa, Arizona, Department of Medicine participants at the American College of Physicians – Arizona Chapter annual meeting took home Educator, Resident, Student and Laureate of the Year honors as well as several poster awards.

Congratulations to University of Arizona Department of Medicine participants in the American College of Physicians – Arizona Chapter’s 2025 Scientific Meeting hosted Nov. 14 and 15 at the Sheraton Mesa Hotel at Wrigleyville West in Mesa, Arizona.

Two DOM faculty, a resident and medical student were singled out for recognition with ACP-AZ Chapter Awards, and several medical students won honors for their poster presentations.

[A promotional banner for the 2026 ACP Arizona Chapter Scientific Meeting, Nov. 6-7, at Tucson’s Casino del Sol Resort.]

“As vice chair of this year’s event, I was thrilled to see how well the ACP Arizona Chapter meeting went. We had strong participation from our DOM faculty, several enthusiastic residents from the Internal Medicine program, and many University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson students showcasing posters that highlighted the amazing work they’re doing,” said Bujji Ainapurapu, MD, a Division of Inpatient Medicine associate professor, Internal Medicine Residency Program – Tucson associate director and vice chair of this year’s Scientific Meeting. He’ll serve as chair for next year’s ACP Arizona Chapter Scientific Meeting to be hosted Nov. 6-7 at the Tucson’s Casino del Sol Resort.

“The energy, engagement and sense of community were obvious throughout the meeting. I am incredibly excited that the 2026 meeting will be held in Tucson, and I am honored to be chairing it. I look forward to seeing even stronger representation from our DOM faculty, residents and students as we continue to grow and celebrate the excellence within our programs,” Dr. Ainapurapu said.

By the numbers, the 2024 Scientific Meeting had:

  • 380+ attendees

  • 239 posters presented

  • Six oral vignettes presented

  • 12 CME lectures given

  • Three Doctor’s Dilemma Finals winners named

Champions of this year’s Doctor’s Dilemma — a Jeopardy-style team contest — came from Sierra Vista’s Canyon Vista Medical Center.

Winners of the 2025 Great Debates, a competition inaugurated last year, were crowned in October with the Mayo Clinic Arizona team winning the Interstate Championship.

Chapter Awards

The four ACP-AZ Chapter Award winners from the Department of Medicine were:

Amy Sussman MD, FACP, FASN | Educator of the Year 

[Amy Sussman, MD]

Amy Sussman, MD

“I’m honored to receive this award. Our medical students, resident, and fellow trainees bring such energy and purpose to everything they do, and it’s a privilege to play a small role in their training,” said Dr. Sussman, who is a professor in the Division of Nephrology, Nephrology Fellowship program director, Department of Medicine Clerkship program director and Department of Medicine vice chair of education.

Karolina Perez | Medical Student of the Year 

A clinical research coordinator for the new Department of Dermatology and a fourth-year medical student who earned her bachelor’s degree in physiology from the College of Medicine – Tucson, Perez was thrilled to be named Medical Student of the Year. She currently serves as part of the U of A Dermatology Research Group under Daniel Butler, MD, the college’s assistant dean for student affairs and director of Dermatology’s Inflammatory & Aging Skin Research Program.

[Karolina Perez]

Karolina Perez

Tucson native Perez presented at the meeting on “A Practical Framework for Deprescribing in Dermatology.” She and another student and group member Aditi Galande also presented Nov. 6 at the SOAR in DOM Forum – Hallmarks of Aging. Their poster highlighted how Th2 immunity — a type of immune response crucial for fighting extracellular parasites like helminths, but also responsible for allergic reactions such as asthma and atopic dermatitis — evolves with age and impacts disease presentation across the lifespan.

In addition, Perez was lauded previously by one of the leading researchers at the Valley Fever Center for Excellence. Fariba Donovan, MD, PhD, a Division of Infectious Diseases associate professor, said after May’s DOM 2025 Education Awards of her and three others who’ve served on her research team that they “demonstrated an extraordinary passion for inquiry and unwavering commitment to advancing medical knowledge.”

“I feel very honored,” Perez said. “Internal medicine truly serves as the backbone of every specialty, and it provides the clinical reasoning and patient-centered framework that I will carry with me both through residency training and into my future practice as a dermatologist.”

Emily Tishkoff, DO | Resident of the Year 

[Emily Tishkoff, DO]

Emily Tishkoff, DO

A Scottsdale native and second program year (PGY2) IM resident in Tucson who grew up in Mesa, Dr. Tishkoff, celebrated a homecoming for her second ACP-AZ Chapter meeting (which was in her hometown). She presented a poster titled “Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage as a Stigmata of Decompensated Cirrhosis,” discussing what was initially thought to be multifocal pneumonia in a decompensated alcohol liver cirrhosis patient that was actually a diffuse alveolar hemorrhage with the etiology of the DAH being the cirrhosis. She also participated in the Doctor’s Dilemma contest, but her team didn’t make it to the final round.

Dr. Tishkoff said she was “humbled and grateful” to be nominated by the College of Medicine – Tucson’s IM faculty and chosen by the ACP-AZ Chapter awards committee for Resident of the Year. “It’s an honor to bring recognition to our program and I thank God for all the wonderful residents, faculty and staff who have supported me and brought me so much joy throughout residency. I look forward to continuing to help foster a welcoming, supportive and uplifting community for all at the college this next year and beyond,” she added.

Bijin Thajudeen, MD, FACP, MACP, FASN | Laureate of the Year 

[Bijin Thajudeen, MD]

Bijin Thajudeen, MD

In addition to serving as a judge for this year’s posters and clinical vignettes contests, Dr. Thajudeen is the ACP-AZ Chapter Local Nominations Committee chair and Education Committee vice chair. He’s also the DOM vice chair of community engagement and partnership as well as, in the Division of Nephrology, a professor, medical director of Inpatient Nephrology & Dialysis Unit Services and associate director of the Nephrology Clinical Research & Outcomes Unit.

“I had a wonderful time at the Arizona ACP chapter meeting! It was so much fun judging the posters and the oral vignettes — it really let me engage with students and residents. The meeting was an excellent opportunity to learn about the latest and greatest in internal medicine, and I was thrilled to hear from some amazing experts in the field,” he said. “Plus, I had the chance to reconnect with old friends and enjoy Phoenix’s vibrant nightlife. What a fantastic experience!”

Medical Student Poster Winners

Among poster winners from the College of Medicine – Tucson and how they placed:

Basic Research

#1 - Cameron Beard, Class of 2027 medical student
#3 - Caleb Seekins, Class of 2028 medical student

Clinical Research

#1 - Yi-Jen Yang, Class of 2028 medical student
#3 - Noah Weaver, Class of 2028 medical student

Clinical Vignette

#3 - Kristina Sin, Class of 2026 medical student

High-Value Care

#1 - Pravarakhya Puppalla, Class of 2028 medical student
#3 - McKenzie Bieg, Class of 2027 medical student

Quality Improvement/Patient Safety

#1 - Alexandra Stump, Class of 2028 medical student
#2 - Caitlin Scott, Class of 2026 medical student

For the full list of 2025 ACP Arizona Chapter annual meeting honors and awards presented, see this link.

Continuing Medical Education lectures

[Sarah Tariq, DO, Casey Rendon, MD, and Madhav Chopra, MD]

Sarah Tariq, DO, Casey Rendon, MD, and Madhav Chopra, MD

Among CME lecturers from the College of Medicine – Tucson, topics included:

Other lecturers also came from the College of Medicine – Phoenix, including Levi Filler, MD, an emergency medicine assistant professor; Kristen Young, DO, a rheumatology assistant professor; Shakaib Rehman, MD, CSH, FACP, an internal medicine professor and biomedical informatics interim chair; Donald Miles, MD, FACP, an ophthalmology faculty member; and Aaron Bia, MD, a 2021 College of Medicine – Tucson graduate and Navajo Nation member who’s now a staff physician at the Chinle Comprehensive Health Facility in Chinle, Arizona. 

The 2026 ACP Internal Medicine Meeting will be held April 16-18 in San Francisco. Learn more & register here.

The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the U.S., representing over 160,000 internal medicine physicians, subspecialists and medical students in over 172 countries. ACP provides advocacy, practice tools, clinical guidance, continuing medical education and maintenance of certification credits, and more for internal medicine practitioners. Founded in 1915, the Philadelphia-based group is the publisher of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

ALSO SEE:
“Big crowds and big wins for DOM at ACP Arizona Chapter Scientific Meeting” | Posted Nov. 15, 2024

(Photos courtesy of Bujji Ainapurapu, MD, and the American College of Physicians – Arizona Chapter)

MINI-PHOTO GALLERY
Click images to enlarge and for captions:

[Educator of the Year award winner Amy Sussman, MD, FACP, FASN, (2nd from right), the DOM vice chair for education, clerkship director and Nephrology Fellowship director, with (from left) ACP Arizona Chapter governor Allan Markus, MD, MS, MBA, FACP, 2025 ACP-AZ Scientific Meeting chair Krystal Renszel, DO, FACP; and Joy Bulger-Beck, MD, ACP-AZ Awards Committee chair and an associate professor in the DOM’s Division of General Internal Medicine, Geriatrics & Palliative Medicine.]
[Resident of the Year Emily Tishkoff, DO (3rd from left), a second-year resident from the DOM’s Internal Medicine Residency Program – Tucson, smiles as a photo is taken of her, with ACP Arizona Chapter governor Allan Markus, MD, MS, MBA, FACP, and 2025 ACP-AZ Scientific Meeting chair Krystal Renszel, DO, FACP, to her left and the DOM’s Joy Bulger-Beck, MD, FACP, ACP-AZ Awards Committee chair, extolling on Dr. Tishkoff to her right.]
[2025 Laureate of the Year award winner Bijin Thajudeen, MD, FACP, MACP, FASN (2nd from right), DOM vice chair for community engagement and partnerships, and Division of Nephrology inpatient nephrology and dialysis unit services medical director and clinical research and outcomes associate director, with (from left) ACP Arizona Chapter governor Allan Markus, MD, MS, MBA, FACP, 2025 ACP-AZ Scientific Meeting chair Krystal Renszel, DO FACP; and the DOM’s Joy Bulger-Beck, MD, ACP-AZ Awards Committee chair.]
[Bujji Ainapurapu, MD, FACP (right), DOM assistant professor, Inpatient Medicine division, and IM Residency Program – Tucson associate program director, with 2025 ACP-AZ Scientific Meeting chair Krystal Renszel, DO FACP. Dr. Ainapurapu is meeting chair for the 2026 Scientific Meeting hosted Nov. 6-7 at Tucson’s Casino del Sol Resort.]
[A group photo just some of the students, residents and faculty from the Department of Medicine participating in the 2025 American College of Physicians – Arizona Chapter Scientific Meeting held Nov. 14-15 in Mesa, Arizona.]
[Bujji Ainapurapu, MD, FACP (center), assistant professor, Inpatient Medicine division, and IM Residency Program – Tucson associate program director, with (from left) fourth-year medical student Gisselle Pegaitaz, and PGY2 IM residents: Eduardo Garcia Licerio, MD; Jessica Kitsen, DO; Emily Tishkoff, MD; Kellie Jeong, DO; Dwani Patel, MD, PhD; Tammy Zamaitis, DO, and Shenar Dinkha, DO.]
[A lecturer at the 2025 ACP Arizona Chapter Scientific Meeting, Madhav Chopra, MD (center), assistant professor, Pulmonary division, and Interventional Pulmonology Team member with (from left) fourth-year medical student Gisselle Pegaitaz, and PGY2 IM residents: Eduardo Garcia Licerio, MD; Jessica Kitsen, DO; Emily Tishkoff, MD; Kellie Jeong, DO; Dwani Patel, MD, PhD; Tammy Zamaitis, DO, and Shenar Dinkha, DO.]
[Last year’s ACP-AZ Chapter Scientific Committee meeting chair and the ACP-AZ Fall Board of Governors Task Force chair Indu Partha, MD (left), with next year’s meeting chair Bujji Ainapurapu, MD, Joey Ghotmi (MS4), Ben Litmanovich (MS4), 2025 ACP-AZ Chapter Educator of the Year Amy Sussman, MD, and Nandini Sodhi (MS4).]

Contacts

David Mogollon
mogollon@arizona.edu
520-626-1137