Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine alumni were recognized at Homecoming and Reunion Weekend, Oct. 9–12. These outstanding alumni are being recognized for their invaluable contributions to the field of medicine as clinicians, researchers and educators.
The Clifford J. Vogt, MD ’34 Service Award
Henry Burkholder, MD (MED ’75), is the recipient of the Clifford J. Vogt Class of ’34 Alumni Service Award, which recognizes an alumnus who best emulates Vogt’s unselfish devotion and extraordinary volunteer service to Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Burkholder, at 14 months old, was stricken with polio in his left leg, requiring three surgeries to improve his mobility. After graduating from The Ohio State University, Burkholder was personally selected by Jack Caughey for admission to the School of Medicine Class of 1975. After earning his medical degree, he completed a family medicine residency at Akron City Hospital. Subsequently, he established a successful practice with a partner in Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he delivered over 1,800 babies. Burkholder is noted for his enthusiasm and his commitment to assisting his patients and former patients with various personal projects, including roofing, vehicle repairs and construction.
Special Recognition Award
Wayne A. Van Zee, MD (MED ’73), is the recipient of the Special Recognition Award for his extraordinary contributions to the field of medicine and his pioneering efforts against the opioid epidemic.
Van Zee began his career in 1976 after completing an internal medicine residency, practicing at a community health clinic in St. Charles, Virginia, a small Appalachian coal town. In late 1999, he observed a rapid increase in young adult patients struggling with OxyContin addiction, placing him among the earliest activists in the ongoing crisis. He quickly became an outspoken advocate dedicated to slowing the deadly epidemic. His efforts included initiating a petition drive in 2001, urging the FDA to remove the opioid-based painkiller from the market. Van Zee spoke at FDA meetings, testified before Congress and authored a widely cited 2009 paper in the American Journal of Public Health detailing the marketing and promotion of OxyContin.
Van Zee’s crucial work has been highlighted in two books, one of which was adapted into the fictionalized Hulu series, Dopesick. He has dedicated his career to caring for patients with addiction and mitigating the opioid crisis.
The Early Career Leadership Award
The Early Career Leadership Award is presented to alumni who graduated within the last 15 years and have made extraordinary contributions in areas such as community service, clinical or research expertise, mentoring and civic engagement.
Early Career Leadership Award 1
The 2025 recipient, Sara McCoy, MD (MED ’10), is an assistant professor of rheumatology and director of the University of Wisconsin Health Sjögren Clinic. McCoy's primary goal is to inform the pathogenesis of Sjögren's disease to develop novel targeted therapeutics. Her bench research focuses on the immunobiology of mesenchymal stromal cells derived from salivary glands and the discovery of novel Sjögren's disease autoantibodies. Complementing this, her translational work uses these mesenchymal stromal cells to treat dry mouth. Beyond her clinical and research roles, McCoy is a leader in medicine, serving as a board member of the Sjögren’s Foundation. She also co-chairs the Sjögren’s OMERACT working group, which develops clinical trial endpoints, and leads the national provider collaboration network, "Sjo-Net."
Early Career Leadership Award 2
Caitlin Hicks, MD (GRS ’11, MED ’12), is an associate professor of surgery in the Division of Vascular Surgery and the vice chair of research for the Department of Surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her clinical focus centers on carotid disease, open and endovascular aortic surgery and complex limb salvage.
As an National Institute of Health-funded surgeon-scientist, Hicks directs the Johns Hopkins Department of Surgery Center for Outcomes Research and the research program for the Diabetic Foot and Wound Clinic. Her work emphasizes the treatment and prevention of diabetic foot complications and value-based care in vascular surgery. The overarching goal of her research is to optimize patient outcomes by better defining which patients benefit most from vascular interventions. She currently serves as principal investigator or site PI for 11 ongoing clinical trials.
She is the associate fellowship director for the Johns Hopkins Vascular Surgery Fellowship. She is the editor-in-chief of two journals, SURGERY and Seminars in Vascular Surgery, and serves as an associate editor of Annals of Vascular Surgery. She has published more than 300 peer-reviewed publications and currently holds an H-index of 51.
Robert L. Haynie, MD, PhD ’72 ’78 Community Impact Award
Edward N. Burney, MD (MED ’78), is a distinguished ophthalmologist whose career reflects dedication to clinical service, medical education and community outreach. Burney completed an ophthalmology residency at University Hospitals, followed by a glaucoma fellowship at Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute. Burney established the Glaucoma Service at University Hospitals and the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and was appointed director of ophthalmology in 1987 and professor in 2004. His long commitment to medical education includes serving on the admissions committee (2004–2011) and the Ophthalmology Faculty Residency Selection Committee since 1984. He has also co-chaired multiple reunion committees. In addition to numerous professional speaking engagements on glaucoma, Burney speaks at local schools and churches regarding careers in medicine, the value of education and common ocular problems. He has received numerous local, regional and national awards, including a special congressional citation from Stephanie Tubbs-Jones in 2007.
Distinguished Alumnus Award
MD Category
Karen Szauter, MD (WRC ’79, MED ’83), is a professor in the Department of Internal Medicine/Division of Gastroenterology and assistant dean in the Office of Educational Affairs at the University of Texas Medical Branch, where she joined the faculty in 1990. Szauter completed her internal medicine residency at Baltimore City Hospital, followed by fellowships in gastroenterology (MetroHealth Medical Center) and nutrition (St. Vincent's Charity Hospital). With a career focused on medical education for more than 20 years, she co-directed the Internal Medicine clinical clerkship and served as the medical director of the Office of Clinical Simulation, where she continues to use simulated patient methodology for teaching and assessment. She oversees a medical education research elective for fourth-year students, supervising student and faculty research projects in healthcare education. Szauter has held several national leadership roles and received numerous honors, including being named a Master in the American College of Physicians and a Fellow in Association for Medical Education in Europe. In 2023, she received the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award.
Med-related PhD or MD/PhD Category
Marjorie E. Montañez-Wiscovich, MD, PhD (GRS ’10, MED ’11), is a highly respected physician-scientist trained through the School of Medicine’s Medical Scientist Training Program and board-certified in dermatology. She is a clinical associate professor and residency program director in the Department of Dermatology at the University of Florida College of Medicine, where she is widely known for her leadership in medical education and clinical research. Her clinical and research expertise spans contact dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and pruritus. Montañez-Wiscovich's research contributions include serving as principal investigator for industry-sponsored and investigator-initiated studies, participating in major multicenter clinical trials and leading phase two and three clinical trials for emerging dermatologic therapies. A dedicated educator, she has directed University of Florida’s Dermatology Board Review courses, led innovative curricular initiatives and mentored dozens of medical students and residents who have secured dermatology residencies and faculty positions. Fluent in both English and Spanish, Montañez-Wiscovich is a committed advocate for increasing access to dermatology care and has received numerous national and institutional honors.
Lifetime Achievement Award
The CWRU School of Medicine Lifetime Achievement Award honors an individual whose outstanding and lifelong dedication to improving the lives of others has brought distinction to the institution. This year’s recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award is Michael W. Konstan, MD (WRC ’78, MED ’82), in recognition of his outstanding career in cystic fibrosis (CF) research and his unrivaled commitment to the School of Medicine.
Konstan’s path to medicine began 50 years ago, during his undergraduate years at Western Reserve College, when he conducted research in a CF laboratory and volunteered on the CF ward at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. This early experience inspired him to dedicate his life to the care, advocacy and research of this genetic disease.
After completing his internship and residency at Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, Konstan returned to CWRU for a fellowship in pediatric pulmonology, joining the faculty in 1988. He rose through the ranks to become a tenured professor, director of the Cystic Fibrosis Care Center, co-director of the Cystic Fibrosis Research Center and chief of the Division of Pulmonology.
Konstan then transitioned from serving as chair of the Department of Pediatrics from 2010 to 2015 to principal investigator of the Clinical and Translational Science Award, the largest National Institute of Health grant awarded to the university. In this capacity, he coordinated research across four academic medical centers (University Hospitals, Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth and Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center). He served as the inaugural vice dean for translational research until 2023.
In addition to his early pioneering research, Konstan established the CWRU Cystic Fibrosis Research Center's clinical trials unit in 1998, which has been instrumental in developing nearly every new drug approved for CF in the last 25 years. This work has made him an international leader in CF clinical research. He continues to provide care and train future pediatric pulmonologists at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, where he holds the Austin Ricci Chair in Pediatric Pulmonary Care and Research.
Konstan's impact extends far beyond CF. His team from the Community Health Program has led major initiatives, including First Year Cleveland, established in 2016 to address the region’s infant mortality rate. Under his leadership, the infant mortality rate in Cuyahoga County plummeted in 2022 to its lowest rate in over a decade. He also secured the School of Medicine’s participation in the National Institute for Drug Abuse’s Healing Communities Study to decrease opioid-related overdose deaths. Over the past decade alone, Konstan has garnered more than $100 million in direct costs from federal, state and local grants.
2025 Honorary Alumnus
The Medical Alumni Board bestows the Honorary Alumnus Award upon a distinguished individual who did not graduate from the School of Medicine but whose career has brought distinction to the institution. The 2025 recipient is Beno Michel, MD.
Born in Romania, Michel’s educational path was shaped by determination and unconventional success. Having moved to Paris with his family during his teen years, he was unable to complete high school. With his education in limbo, he passed the Sorbonne’s high school matriculation exam after earning a French teaching degree from the Alliance Française. This allowed him, without completing high school, to take and pass the high school matriculation exam at the Sorbonne, which was offered to individuals displaced by the war. After moving to Canada in 1952, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree by attending college at night while working in a factory.
Michel earned his Medical Degree from the University of Geneva in 1962. Upon graduation, he served for six months as the primary care physician in a village of 5,000 people in the Jura mountains of Switzerland. There, caring for farmers with skin cancers and various dermatologic conditions sparked his lifelong passion for dermatology. This was followed by a rotating internship and a year of internal medicine in Vancouver, British Columbia, and then a three-year dermatology fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. He holds board certifications in dermatology, dermatopathology and immunopathology.
In 1968, Michel was recruited to Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals of Cleveland, where he eventually became director of the Division of Dermatology. His research focused on the immunopathology of autoimmune diseases, leading to the development of the widely used "Michel solution," a transport solution for preserving and shipping skin biopsies for autoimmune disease diagnosis.
In 1977, Michel transitioned from academia to establish a private clinical practice and a skin pathology reference laboratory before retiring in 2009. He currently holds the title of clinical professor of dermatology and emeritus assistant clinical professor of pathology.
Michel has served as president of three dermatological societies and the Academy of Medicine of Cleveland. He remains deeply involved with CWRU, serving on the Dean’s Visiting Committee and the School of Medicine Council to Advance Human Health, which advises investigators on commercializing their discoveries. He has also received recognition from Hebrew University, including the Scopus Award.
