College of Medicine students join prestigious medical honor society


A group of Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine students joined a club so prestigious it includes more than fifty Nobel Prize winners.

Group photo of HWCOM members of AOA Medical Honor Society

Some of the AOA members and inductees pose for a photo before the ceremony.

The 16 students, ten seniors and six juniors, were inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Honor Medical Society at a ceremony and luncheon held at the Graham Center on Jan. 9.

AOA is a national honor society for medical students that recognizes scholarship as well other values including honesty, ethics, dedication to serving others, and leadership (Distinguished professionals may also be elected to honorary membership). It is to medicine what Phi Beta Kappa is to letters and the humanities, and what Sigma Xi is to science. Nearly seventy-five percent of deans of U.S. medical schools are members of AOA.

Allison Holder accepts AOA certificate from Dr. Carolyn Runowicz

Allison Holder accepts AOA certificate from Dr. Carolyn Runowicz

The 2015 Florida Epsilon Chapter of AOA inductees are:

Seniors, Class of 2015

• Fernando Aran, Jacqueline Atlass,  Casey Carr, Stephen Ferraresi, Luv Hajirawala, Allison Holder, Maria-Carolina Orbay, Ana Peña, Monica Polcz, Dale Segal.

Juniors, Class of 2016

• Beatriz Colada, Alexander Daoud, Mark Haimes, Rafael Paez, Christine Roy-McMahon, Kevin Shah.

HWCOM faculty members David Graham, M.D. and Joe Leigh Simpson, M.D. were inducted in recognition of their superlative work in establishing our innovative medical school.

The local chapter student officers are Jason Liounakost, president; Joshua Kelly, vice president; and Robert Guido, secretary. All were inducted last year as juniors.

To see more photos from the event at, click here.

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