Alpha Omega Alpha is the only national medical honor society in the world. Founded in 1902, the society was originally established “to encourage high ideals of thought and action in schools of medicine and to promote that which is highest in professional practice.” Today, there are over 130 chapters in medical schools throughout the United States and more than 183,000 members elected since its founding. The honor of AΩA membership is accompanied by the responsibility to uphold and promote the mission that in the profession of medicine, patient care will be improved by:
- Recognizing high educational achievement
- Honoring gifted teaching
- Encouraging the development of leader in academia and the community
- Supporting the ideals of humanism; and
- Promoting service to others
The Texas Beta chapter of AΩA at Baylor College of Medicine was founded in 1949, the 55th chapter in the country. Medical students are elected to AΩA membership based on their academic performance, research endeavors and commitment to the community. Generally, one-fifth of the graduating class is elected to membership. In addition, our AΩA chapter elects deserving residents, faculty and medical school alumni each year.
AΩA Student Selection Process
The AΩA selection process has undergone significant changes since its inception and continues to evolve locally and nationally. Below is the timeline for a traditional student, where “September of MS3 year” represents an intent to graduate in the following academic year (eg. for the Graduating Class of 2025, September 2023 would be an early MS3 student).
Timeline for the selection process
- September of MS3 year – updated process for AΩA Selection to be announced
- Mid-January of MS3 year – Top ~10% based on core clinical GPA are notified of nomination to submit full portfolios; all other students are invited to submit 3 Honors Items for consideration for nomination (given 2 weeks to submit)
- Early February MS3 year – AΩA Selection Committee reviews Honors Items for determination of student nominations (up to an additional ~25% of the class)
- Late February MS3 year – Portfolio requests sent out to all AΩA nominees (up to 35% of the class); students have over 1 month to prepare portfolios
- Late March MS3 year – Portfolios due for all nominees
- Late April MS3 year – Students notified of AΩA selection
See details regarding the most recent selection process and a sample of the fillable portfolio request form for AOA nominees. NOTE: The final process for MS3 students will not be determined until September of the MS3 year.
AΩA Postgraduate Selection Process
The selection process for postgraduate nominees (residents/fellows, faculty and alumni) begins in December of each year. The most updated nomination form should be submitted to the Office of Student Affairs at stuaff@bcm.edu.
Feedback regarding the selection process is welcome – please reach out to Dr. Atul Maheshwari (BCM AΩA Councilor) at atul.maheshwari@bcm.edu for any questions, comments or concerns.
2025 Texas Beta Chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society Inductees
Class of 2025 Medical Student Initiates
Bolatito Adeyeri, Colton Andrews, Ashley Bancroft, Anshul Bhatnagar, Jane Buell, Charles Bui, Lauren Callaghan, Sarah Casey, Samia Daghestani, Michael DiLeo, Collin English, Sarah Friske, Nithya Gillipelli, Chelsey Godfrey, Maya Guhan, Adel Hassan, Ayleen Hernandez, Swathi Holla, Austin Huang, Alexander Iacobucci, Whitney Jin, Spoorthi Kamepalli, Chiraag Kapadia, Sarah Kim, Raymond Kitziger, Bhavana Kunisetty, Tiffany Lee, Jake Lynn, Inaara Malick, Sujal Manohar, Alexandra McLennan, Sandra Mihail, Matthew Parham, Nicholas Peoples, Vaishnavi Sankar, Zane Shah, Henry Skrehot, Ola Soliman, Jeffery Song, Haleigh Stafford, Emily Strouphauer, Sai Tirumala, Andrea Vanags-Louredo, Varsha Varghese, Austin Williams, Harrison Zhu
2025 Resident and Fellow Initiates
Dr. Ahmed T. Ahmed, Dr. Anupama B K, Dr. Kevin M Chen, Dr. Caitlin M. Coviello, Dr. Fouad El-Dana, Dr. Kayli Kallina, Dr. Jennifer M. Kaplan, Dr. Ajibike D. Lapite, Dr. Daniel Y. Lovell, Dr. Matthew R. McGlennon, Dr. Maegan Newell, Dr. Christian M. Parobek, Dr. Michael S. Petrus-Jones, Dr. Karla P. Salazar, Dr. Ellen Sanchez Mas, Dr. Brandon T. Smith, Dr. Yao Yang
2025 Faculty Initiates
Dr. L. Parker Gregg (assistant professor, Nephrology), Dr. Emanuel N. Husu (assistant professor, physical medicine and rehabilitation), Dr. Keila N. Lopez (associate professor, pediatrics- cardiology), Dr. Hammad Mahmood (associate professor, family and community Medicine), Dr. Kenneth Muldrew (associate professor, pathology and immunology), Dr. Nikhila P. Raol (associate professor, otolaryngology), Dr. Rashmi Rode (associate professor, family and community medicine), Dr. Ikue Shimizu (associate professor, dermatology), Dr. Ynhi T. Thomas (assistant professor, emergency medicine), Dr. Roger Zoorob (chairman/professor, family and community medicine)
2025 Volunteer Clinical Faculty Initiates
Dr. Michael Barber, Dr. Caitlin Carroll, Dr. Toby Kirkwood, Dr. Beverly Lee, Dr. Angela Peng, Dr. Calvin Tran
Sign-Up to Receive Chapter Updates
We continue to develop our community of Alpha Omega Alpha members from Baylor College of Medicine. To keep up to date with chapter news and events, please complete our sign-up form. This information will be received by our chapter administrator, Bianca Vorish. For further questions, please contact her at bianca.vorish@bcm.edu.
Opportunities
Fellow in Leadership
Eligibility: Mid-career physicians who provide outstanding leadership within their organizations. Applicants must be active members of AΩA. Applicant’s mentors, and all AΩA members in the application packet who are AΩA members must have active status. Nominations must be made by the senior executive of the physician’s organization.
Nominations must be submitted to the local AΩA Chapter Councilor or to a Chapter Association Chair if the applicant is affiliated with a medical school/medical center. If the applicant's organization has no affiliation with a local medical school (private/community hospital, or organization), the applicant may send their submission packet directly to the AΩA National Office (dee@alphaomegaalpha.org). Only one nominee will be accepted from a chapter, private/community hospital, or organization. A list of AΩA Chapters and Associations with contact information is available online. If an AΩA councilor applies for this award, the dean of the medical school must appoint another AΩA member from the chapter to manage the nomination process to avoid any potential conflict of interest. The dean and councilor must notify the AΩA National Office of the appointment.
More information: Libby Appel at libby@alphaomegaalpha.org or 720-859-4149.
Robert H. Moser Essay Award
Eligibility: All physicians. AΩA membership is not required, however, AΩA members who submit an essay must have active status. Physicians on the AΩA Board of Directors or The Pharos Editorial Board are not eligible.
More information: Libby Appel at 720-859-4149 or moser@alphaomegaalpha.org.
Postgraduate Fellowship
Eligibility: Medical residents and fellows, in programs at institutions with an active AΩA Chapter or Association. Applicants must be nominated by their residency or fellowship program directors. Applicants need not be AΩA members, however, those who are members must have active status. In addition, all AΩA members included in the submission packet must have active status.
More information: Libby Appel at 720-859-4149 or postgraduateaward@alphaomegaalpha.org.
Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award
More information: Sandra Gordon at 202-828-0472 or sgordon@aamc.org.
Volunteer Clinical Faculty Award
More information: Libby Appel at vcfaward@alphaomegaalpha.org or 720-859-4149.
Administrative Recognition Award
Eligibility: Any staff member who has provided administrative support for a chapter for at least three years.
More information: Libby Appel at 720-859-4149 or adminaward@alphaomegaalpha.org.
Please visit Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society website and click “Programs” for the most up-to-date deadlines.
Carolyn L. Kuckein Student Research Fellowship
Eligibility: First-, second-, and third-year medical students from schools with active AΩA chapters, or associations, are eligible. M.D./Ph.D. holders are not eligible for this fellowship but are encouraged to apply for the Post Graduate Award.
More information: Libby Appel at studentresearch@alphaomegaalpha.org
Helen H. Glaser Student Essay Award
Eligibility: Authors must be enrolled in medical schools that have an active αΩα Chapter or association but need not be members of αΩα. However, if the author is an AΩA member, he/she must be an active member. Only one entry may be submitted per student.
More information: Libby Appel at 720-859-4149 or studentessay@alphaomegaalpha.org
Medical Student Service Leadership Project Grant
Eligibility: A team of students at a school with an AΩA chapter or association. Teams with AΩA members serving as team leaders will be given priority consideration. Proposals with matching institutional or dean’s funds also will be given priority consideration. Only one grant may be awarded to an institution every three years. Applications must be for new projects with the potential to generate future support from the medical school or other sources, not supplemental funding for existing programs. A new component of an existing program is eligible. All AΩA members in the submission packet must have active status.
More information: Libby Appel at 720-859-4149 or msslp@alphaomegaalpha.org
The Pharos Poetry Award
Eligibility: Authors must be enrolled in medical schools with active αΩα Chapters or associations, but need not be members of αΩα. However, if an applicant is a member of AΩA, he/she must have active status. Only one entry per student.
More information: Libby Appel at studentpoetry@alphaomegaalpha.org
Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society Professionalism Award
Eligibility: Programs at medical schools, or institutions affiliated with medical schools, that have a professionalism program that has produced proven outcomes are eligible. Medical schools that have received the Professionalism Award are not eligible to submit another application for three subsequent years. All AΩA members included in the nomination packet must have active status in AΩA.
More information: Libby Appel at professionalismaward@alphaomegaalpha.org
Please visit the main Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society website and click “Programs” for the most up-to-date deadlines.