Career Development
Awards and Recognition
Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society
Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) is the only medical school honor society in the world. It seeks to recognize and perpetuate excellence in the medical profession by promoting scholarship and research in medical schools, encouraging a high standard of character and conduct among medical students and graduates and recognizing high attainment in medical science, practice and related fields.
The VCU Chapter is the Brown Sequard Chapter
- Motto: Worthy to serve the suffering
- Election: Top 16% of the medical school class
Election Details
- Eligible: Top 25% of class by rank.
- From among the top 25%, ~ 8% of the total class or ½ of the final AOA group are elected after their M2 year (“Junior” AOA).
- Junior AOA members are chosen on the basis of class rank (75%) and Step I board scores (25%).
- The remaining ½ of the AOA members are chosen after the M3 year (8% of total class), once again from among the top 25% of the class after M3.
- This group is selected using not only class rank and boards (50% - scholarship) but also other criteria: research, class officer, volunteer service and other unique activities that distinguish an exceptional student.
- Faculty, housestaff and alumni(ae) can also be admitted to AOA. Nominations are made by members and voted on once a year.
Election Timetable
- Election of new members: late August
- Election of faculty, house staff, alumni(ae) and new President and Vice-President: February
- Student honors day and AOA banquet: May
AOA Officials
- Councilor: Gordon L. Archer MD (garcher@vcu.edu)
- Secretary-Treasurer: Isaac Wood MD (iwood@vcu.edu)
Current Members
Class of 2012:
| Saba Al-Hashimi | Pooya Jahanshahi |
| Jason Beckta | Jamie King |
| Grishma Bharucha | Marcin Kolber |
| Nirjhor Bhowmik | Paul Koors |
| Tamar Binyamin | Ran Lee |
| Ashley Brown | Michael Maldonado |
| Jessica Brueckner | Maryann Martinovic |
| Lindsay Collins | Sarah Peterson |
| Siddhartha Dante | Milt Poll |
| Steven Disharoon | Chantal Scott |
| Scott Eskildsen | John Timothy Stranix |
| Peter Gibson | Neha Talreja |
| Elizabeth Godshall | Yula Taormina |
| Lara Hamadani | Rachel Titerence |
| Christopher Heitz | Patrick Turner |
| David Hsu | Elizabeth Wise |
Class of 2013:
| Asim Alam | John Miller |
| Morgan Brgoch | Thaddeus Puzio |
| William Byrd | Farhaad Riyaz |
| Lorraine Cafuir | Whitney Stewart |
| Adam Carter | Parvinder Sujlana |
| Anna Greenwood | Gregory Thacker |
| Michael Hermann | Audrey Vass |
| Mohammed Mamdani | Jennifer Via |
