2013 Award Winners
Awards Information and 2012 Winners:
KLEA D. BERTAKIS, M.D., M.P.H.: Dr. Bertakis received her B.S. from University of California, Davis, seeking her M.D. at University of Utah while finishing her M.P.H. at the University of California, Berkeley. She completed her residency in Family Medicine at the University of Utah, and joined the faculty of the University of California, Davis shortly thereafter. She currently serves as Professor and Chair of Family and Community Medicine at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Bertakis was a student presenter at multiple Western Student Medical Research Forums, and served as an officer. She has also presented the keynote address at the WSMRF Awards Banquet, along with multiple papers at the American Federation for Medical Research meetings held in conjunction. It was through her enthusiasm and efforts that her mother, Dionesia P. Bertakis, became interested in serving and expanding the WSMRF by becoming its first Executive Director.
The 2013 Klea Bertakis Award winner is Adam Berlinberg (University of Colorado).
DIONESIA P. BERTAKIS: Mrs. Bertakis was the founding Executive Director of the WSMRF, and mother of Dr. Klea D. Bertakis. Through her incredible contributions and foresight, the WSMRF was developed to support and foster student research over the last quarter century. Mrs. Bertakis was a fixture in Carmel, growing the WSMRF from its humble start (12 student presenters) to over a 100 students at the time of her retirement. She was very well known for her advocacy for students, not to mention her early morning breakfast meetings! She was a ball of energy that inspired so many! All of us who advance medicine through research owe people like Mrs. Bertakis a tremendous debt of gratitude, for they have provided shoulders on which to stand to peer over the fence of scientific discovery!
The 2013 Dionesia Bertakis Award winner is Rebecca Abbey (University of Washington).
GALE HANSEN STARICH, Ph.D.: Dr. Starich became the Executive Director of the WSMRF in 1992 under the tutelage of Dionesia Bertakis. At the time, she was an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. During her 11 years of service, Dr. Starich tripled the size of the WSMRF, which is now the largest student research forum in the United States, expanded the Student Oral Sessions, and broadened the participation of institutions. With Sergio Huerta, she also founded the Residents Forum and strengthened ties with both the professional societies attending the Carmel Meeting and the American Medical Association Foundation. Award winners at the WSMRF now routinely attend the National Student Research Forum, and continue to publish their abstracts in the Journal of Investigative Medicine. Dr. Starich now resides in Gainesville, GA, and serves as Dean of the School of Health & Science and Professor of Biochemistry at Brenau University.
The 2013 Gale Hansen Starish Award winner is Huat Chye Lim (University of Washington).
CLIFFORD C. LARDINOIS, SR.: This award was established by Claude K. Lardinois, M.D., past Faculty Advisor and long-time supporter of the WSMRF, in memory of his father. His father was a prominent biochemist and researcher. Dr. Lardinois served the WSMRF for 12 years, and before that, brought his research students to present in Carmel for many years. He began attending the Carmel meetings as an Endocrine Fellow at Stanford University with Gerald Reaven, M.D. Upon joining the faculty of the University of Nevada School of Medicine Department of Internal Medicine, he joined the research group of Drs. Ernest Mazzaferri and Gale Hansen Starich. Dr. Lardinois was well known for his intensity, especially when reviewing posters, which he would read, then interrogate hapless students! His rich sense of humor and fun-loving nature added to both the growth and the quality of student presentations at the WSMRF immensely. He remains as Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology.
The 2013 Clifford Lardinois, Sr. Award winner is Kevin Lawson (Jefferson Medical College).
CLAUDE K. LARDINOIS. M.D. This award was established by Dr. Lardinois in his own name and he continues to support both this award and that for his father to recognize excellence in student research.
The 2013 Claude Lardinois Award winner is Michael Miller (UCSD)
The 2013 David Lupan Award winner is Krystle Tuano (University of Nevada)
WSMRF Home Page
KLEA D. BERTAKIS, M.D., M.P.H.: Dr. Bertakis received her B.S. from University of California, Davis, seeking her M.D. at University of Utah while finishing her M.P.H. at the University of California, Berkeley. She completed her residency in Family Medicine at the University of Utah, and joined the faculty of the University of California, Davis shortly thereafter. She currently serves as Professor and Chair of Family and Community Medicine at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Bertakis was a student presenter at multiple Western Student Medical Research Forums, and served as an officer. She has also presented the keynote address at the WSMRF Awards Banquet, along with multiple papers at the American Federation for Medical Research meetings held in conjunction. It was through her enthusiasm and efforts that her mother, Dionesia P. Bertakis, became interested in serving and expanding the WSMRF by becoming its first Executive Director.
The 2013 Klea Bertakis Award winner is Adam Berlinberg (University of Colorado).
DIONESIA P. BERTAKIS: Mrs. Bertakis was the founding Executive Director of the WSMRF, and mother of Dr. Klea D. Bertakis. Through her incredible contributions and foresight, the WSMRF was developed to support and foster student research over the last quarter century. Mrs. Bertakis was a fixture in Carmel, growing the WSMRF from its humble start (12 student presenters) to over a 100 students at the time of her retirement. She was very well known for her advocacy for students, not to mention her early morning breakfast meetings! She was a ball of energy that inspired so many! All of us who advance medicine through research owe people like Mrs. Bertakis a tremendous debt of gratitude, for they have provided shoulders on which to stand to peer over the fence of scientific discovery!
The 2013 Dionesia Bertakis Award winner is Rebecca Abbey (University of Washington).
GALE HANSEN STARICH, Ph.D.: Dr. Starich became the Executive Director of the WSMRF in 1992 under the tutelage of Dionesia Bertakis. At the time, she was an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. During her 11 years of service, Dr. Starich tripled the size of the WSMRF, which is now the largest student research forum in the United States, expanded the Student Oral Sessions, and broadened the participation of institutions. With Sergio Huerta, she also founded the Residents Forum and strengthened ties with both the professional societies attending the Carmel Meeting and the American Medical Association Foundation. Award winners at the WSMRF now routinely attend the National Student Research Forum, and continue to publish their abstracts in the Journal of Investigative Medicine. Dr. Starich now resides in Gainesville, GA, and serves as Dean of the School of Health & Science and Professor of Biochemistry at Brenau University.
The 2013 Gale Hansen Starish Award winner is Huat Chye Lim (University of Washington).
CLIFFORD C. LARDINOIS, SR.: This award was established by Claude K. Lardinois, M.D., past Faculty Advisor and long-time supporter of the WSMRF, in memory of his father. His father was a prominent biochemist and researcher. Dr. Lardinois served the WSMRF for 12 years, and before that, brought his research students to present in Carmel for many years. He began attending the Carmel meetings as an Endocrine Fellow at Stanford University with Gerald Reaven, M.D. Upon joining the faculty of the University of Nevada School of Medicine Department of Internal Medicine, he joined the research group of Drs. Ernest Mazzaferri and Gale Hansen Starich. Dr. Lardinois was well known for his intensity, especially when reviewing posters, which he would read, then interrogate hapless students! His rich sense of humor and fun-loving nature added to both the growth and the quality of student presentations at the WSMRF immensely. He remains as Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology.
The 2013 Clifford Lardinois, Sr. Award winner is Kevin Lawson (Jefferson Medical College).
CLAUDE K. LARDINOIS. M.D. This award was established by Dr. Lardinois in his own name and he continues to support both this award and that for his father to recognize excellence in student research.
The 2013 Claude Lardinois Award winner is Michael Miller (UCSD)
The 2013 David Lupan Award winner is Krystle Tuano (University of Nevada)
WSMRF Home Page
