Ten Graduates and Supporters of MU School of Medicine to Receive Alumni Awards

The University of Missouri School of Medicine and Medical Alumni Organization will present its most prestigious awards to graduates and supporters on Friday, April 21 in Columbia. The award recipients will be honored during a reception and dinner at the MU Reynolds Alumni Center.

The School of Medicine’s highest honor – the Citation of Merit – will be awarded to Kenneth Burman, MD, professor of medicine at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He is the director of the Endocrine Section and regional chief of endocrinology at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. Burman’s academic appointments include chief of the Integrated Endocrine Fellow Training Program at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

The Outstanding Young Physician Award is presented to distinguished alumni age 45 or younger. This year’s recipients are Betty Hinderks-Davis, MD, physician executive and dermatologist at Banner Medical Group in Sun City West, Arizona; Amy Krambeck, MD, professor of urology at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, Indiana; and Greg Mundis, MD, orthopaedic surgeon and spine fellowship director in San Diego. Hinderks-Davis, Krambeck and Mundis are graduates of MU School of Medicine classes of 1999, 2002 and 2003, respectively.

Alumni who have distinguished themselves through service to community, medicine or education are recognized with the Distinguished Service Award. This year, the School of Medicine will honor three alumni.

• Max Heeb, MD, graduate of the 1951 class, is a retired surgeon and author who resides in Cape Coral, Florida and Benton, Kentucky
• Debra Koivunen, MD, senior associate dean of graduate medical education and associate professor of surgery at the MU School of Medicine, and a 1984 graduate of MU’s surgery residency program
• Bridget McCandless, MD, graduate of the 1992 class, is president and CEO of the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City

In addition, the Honorary Alumni Award will be given to supporters who have made special contributions to MU’s School of Medicine. This year, the School of Medicine will recognize three outstanding MU faculty members.

• Dongsheng Duan, PhD, Margaret Proctor Mulligan Professor in Medical Research in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, and the Departments of Neurology and Bioengineering at MU
• Ronald Korthuis, PhD, professor and George L. and Melna A. Bolm Distinguished Chair of the Department of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology at the MU School of Medicine
• Stefan Sarafianos, PhD,Chancellor’s Chair of Excellence in Molecular Virology and a professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, and the Department of Biochemistry at MU