College Presents Rader and Tow Humanism Awards

Each year, the OU College of Medicine recognizes excellence among faculty and residents with the presentation of the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award and the Lloyd Rader Award.

The Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award is given to a faculty member who demonstrates excellence in promoting scholarship, encouraging high standards of care, and integrity and commitment to compassionate care of patients and to the art and science of medical practice. This year’s recipient is Dale Bratzler, D.O., MPH. Braztler is a professor in the College of Medicine and is professor and chair of the Department of Health Administration and Policy in the Hudson College of Public Health. He also serves as OU Health Chief Quality Officer and OU’s Chief COVID Officer. In a letter of support for the award, the writer said: “2021 is a year that I hope bestows accolades on those who ‘carried us through’ 2020. For me, in 2021, there is no one who has better portrayed the compassionate, scientifically proficient physician on the Health Sciences Center campus than Dale Bratzler.”

Rufei Lu, M.D., Ph.D., accepts the Lloyd Rader Award from Elisa Crouse, M.D., associate dean for Graduate Medical Education.

The Lloyd Rader Award, named for the man who served as director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services from 1951-1982, recognizes outstanding achievements in residency, both clinical care and medical research. This year, the Lloyd Rader Award was presented to two residents: Rufei Lu, M.D., Ph.D., from the Department of Pathology, and Paul McGaha, M.D., M.Sc., from the Department of Surgery. Lu has been a major contributor to the campus and to the state during COVID-19, working with his colleagues and researchers at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) to create a new PCR test for COVID-19, which was submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization. On his own time, he created a laboratory information system that manages 92,000 COVID-19 testing results. During his pathology residency, he has completed nine publications and given 12 presentations, and his peers say Lu “consistently goes above and beyond” and demonstrates “selfless service to patient care.” Lu has been accepted into a neuropathology fellowship at the University of California-San Francisco.

Paul McGaha, M.D., accepts the Lloyd Rader Award from Elisa Crouse, M.D., associate dean for Graduate Medical Education.

McGaha has been a prolific researcher with 28 publications and 26 presentations during his surgery residency. In his publications, he has modeled interdisciplinary and interprofessional work through the involvement of multiple residents and faculty members, as well as collaborators across several disciplines. Those nominating him called him a role model who is “humble and effective.” He is headed to a pediatric surgery fellowship at Washington University-St. Louis.

Dale Bratzler, D.O., MPH, accepts the Tow Humanism in Medicine Award from Executive Dean John Zubialde, M.D.