J. Scott Roth, MD, professor and chief of the division of general, endocrine, and metabolic surgery (GEMS), joined a distinguished group of surgery department faculty as the recipient of the Richard W. Schwartz Leadership in Education Award in 2025.
The Schwartz Award is considered the department of surgery’s highest honor for surgical education. Unlike other academic awards, the Schwartz Award is not presented every year. It was last presented in 2022 to Dr. Lesley Wong, director of the integrated plastic surgery residency program.
Dr. J. Scott Roth first came to the University of Kentucky as a general surgery resident in 1993. In 1998, he became the first fellow in the department's Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship (MIS) program. During his fellowship, he worked with the general surgery faculty to establish the Center for Advanced Training and Simulation (CATS) Lab, which was designed specifically to teach surgery residents and medical students the fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery.
After a brief period in North Carolina and Maryland, Dr. Roth rejoined the UK College of Medicine faculty in 2008 as Director of the Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery and the CATS Lab. He has dedicated the majority of his surgical career in service to UK HealthCare patients, surgery residents, and medical students.
In addition to his leadership roles and extensive research, his teaching has been recognized with several resident and student teaching awards, including the Chief Resident's Award in 2017 and the Surgery Faculty Teaching Award in 2019 and 2023. In addition to being presented the Schwartz Award, Dr. Roth was also presented with the UK College of Medicine's Distinguished Teacher Award.
Dr. Roth continues to play a vital role in the continuing development of minimally invasive surgery and surgical training at UK HealthCare. In research, he is a prolific contributor to a significant number of funded clinical trials and published research. He is considered among the top international experts in MIS, abdominal hernias, and the use of meshes in the treatment of hernia patients.
In addition to the presentation of the Schwartz Award, the Department of Surgery also presented the following teaching awards for 2025:
AWARDS LIST 2025
DEPARTMENTAL
Faculty:
Richard Schwartz Lifetime Achievement in Education: John Scott Roth, MD
Ward O. Griffen Award for Excellence in Medical Student Education (based on medical student evaluations): Joshua Steiner, MD, FACS, FASMBS
Ben Eiseman Award for Excellence in Resident Education (based on surgery resident evaluations): Melissa Newcomb, MD
Excellence in Medical Student & Resident Education - Faculty:
Avinash Bhakta, MD, FACS, FASCRS
Alejandro Cracco Mahecha, MD
David Rodeberg, MD
Timothy Horrell, MD
Zachary Warriner, MD
Brian Tucker, DO
William Cavatassi, MD, FACS
Prakash Pandalai, MD
Mansi Shah, MD
V. Morgan Jones, MD
Excellence in Medical Student Education – Surgery Residents:
Daniel Yackzan, MD (Gen Surgery)
Madeline Anderson, DO (Gen Surgery)
Brittany Levy, MD (Gen Surgery)
Tejas Nandurkar, MD (Gen Surgery)
Jacob Hubbuch, MD (Gen Surgery)
Cody Crnkovic, MD (Gen Surgery)
Madison Sands, MD (Gen Surgery)
Logan Beutler, DO (Gen Surgery)
Evan Lynch, MD, PhD (Plastic Surgery)
Jake Kuzbel, MD (Gen Surgery)
David Carney, MD (Surgical Critical Care Fellow)
Alan Parr, MD (CT Surgery)
Medical Student Awards:
Dr. Andrew Pulito Award: Mackenzie Donoho
Dr. Francis Massie Award: Margaux Danby
GENERAL SURGERY
Bobby C. Powell Intern of the Year Award: Ben Duggan, MD
Bobby Powell was a highly respected surgical house officer in the General Surgery Residency program. His life was cut short by a tragic boating accident in 1976. This award, selected by PGY 3-5 residents, recognizes the outstanding intern of year.
Gordon L. Hyde Award: Alexis Nickols, MD, MPH, FACS
Awarded to the faculty member who gives the most of themselves to help residents professionally and personally. Selected by PGY 4 Residents.
Chief Residents’ Award: Prakash Pandalai, MD
The graduating chiefs give this award to the faculty member who does the most to enhance residents’ surgical skill.
CARDIOTHORACIC SURGERY
Faculty Teaching Award: Hasan Reda, MD
Highest In-Training Exam Award: Andy Bishop, MD
Most Academic Contributions: Mohammad Malik, DO
Most Valuable Resident Colleague: Daniel Mohammadi, MD
PLASTIC SURGERY
Faculty Teaching Award: Evan Lynch, MD
Highest In-Training Exam Award: Garrett Minor, MD
Resident Research Award: Abi Recktenwald, MD
