Awad named associate dean for medical student education

Awad

Michael M. Awad, MD, PhD, has been named associate dean for medical student education at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, effective June 1.

Awad is an assistant professor of surgery, program director of the university’s general surgery residency and director of the university’s Institute for Surgical Education.

“Medical education will undergo remarkable, transformative changes in the next five to 10 years,” Awad said. “Through its unique combination of an elite student body, a world-class faculty and forward-thinking administration, Washington University School of Medicine will be a national driver of these changes. It is truly an honor and a privilege to be a part of this outstanding educational program.”

In his new role in the Office of Medical Student Education (OMSE), Awad will oversee all aspects of the medical student curriculum, including managing schedules, evaluations, assessment, course planning and the Career Counseling office. He also will manage the Practice of Medicine courses and the fourth-year program. Further, he will be one of the leaders of the medical school’s Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) accreditation process and act as a bridge for students and support faculty in obtaining recognition for their teaching.

“Dr. Awad has proven to be a wonderful colleague, possessing the highest levels of professionalism, dedication and compassion,” said Alison Whelan, MD, senior associate dean for education at the School of Medicine. “We look forward to working with him in his new role and are confident that he will do a superb job.”

Awad joined the School of Medicine faculty in 2009. His surgical and clinical specialties include minimally invasive surgery and robotic and endoscopic surgery.

He replaces David Windus, MD, who recently returned to full-time clinical practice at the School of Medicine.

Born in Boston, Awad earned bachelor’s, medical and doctoral degrees from Brown University, with his PhD in pathobiology. He was a visiting registrar at Oxford University and a resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He completed a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery, and he is currently working on a master’s degree in health professions education.

“Dr. Awad has quickly excelled in both his clinical and
teaching duties while at the School of Medicine,” Whelan said. “He is a
superb surgeon, clinician and teacher.”

Awad is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He also has received numerous awards and honors, including the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons Career Development Award in 2011; a Washington University Top Ten Award in 2011; and the Samuel Wells Surgical Resident Teaching Award in 2010 and 2011. He was a recipient of a Carol B. and Jerome T. Loeb Teaching Fellowship for 2010–2012 for a project to create a novel, integrated residency and medical student online portal that helped improve trainee workflow and efficiency and transformed the educational trainee program.


Washington University School of Medicine’s 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked sixth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.