MSU Health Care Recognizes Award-Winning Doctors in Honor of Doctors' Day

March 29, 2023

Stories demonstrate expertise available to patients all year long.

Today is National Doctors’ Day which honors the contributions of physicians not just to their patients but the community and beyond. Here are some of our providers and their recent awards.

Toufic Jildeh, MD
MSU Health Care Sports Medicine

MSU Health Care orthopedic surgeon and MSU Athletics Team physician Toufic Jildeh, MD , has recently received two top awards for his research on opioids-free pain control after rotator cuff surgery by the Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA), an international professional organization committed to advancing the field of minimally invasive orthopedic surgery. 

Jildeh earned top honors in the categories of Excellence in Clinical Research and Excellence in Resident/Fellow Research for the study “Multimodal Nonopioid Pain Protocol Provides Better or Equivalent Pain Control Compared to Opioid Analgesia Following Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Surgery: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial.” Read more here.

Reynard Bouknight, MD and Heather Laird-Fick, MD
MSU Health Care Internal Medicine

Drs. Reynard Bouknight and Heather Laird-Fick received the 2022 Laureate Award from the Michigan Chapter of the American College of Physicians. The ACP is a national organization of internal medicine specialists and subspecialists committed to promote excellence.

As a child, Bouknight learned something that has carried him throughout his career as a physician and a College of Human Medicine professor. “One of the things I learned from my family was to make a difference,” he said. “I’ve had an opportunity to have an impact on many lives over the years. I feel I’ve made a difference in my patients lives, made a difference in my students lives, and made a difference in the community.”

Rising to accept an award from the American College of Physicians Michigan Chapter, Laird-Fick recalled attending the same annual meeting 18 years earlier. She was eight months pregnant at the time and had taught a workshop on work-life balance that morning when she sneezed, causing her water to break, she told her fellow physicians. The next day she gave birth to her daughter. “Life intervened,” said Laird-Fick. Read more here.

Roshni Kulkarni, MD
MSU Health Care Pediatrics Specialty Clinic and Center for Bleeding and Clotting

Roshni Kulkarni, MD, received the Hemostasis & Thrombosis Research Society 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award on March 11 in honor of her outstanding career and many contributions to the field of hemostasis and thrombosis. This is a tremendous national (US and Canada) honor among those who care for individuals with inherited bleeding disorders. Dr. Kulkarni has been a leader in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology and practicing at MSU Health Care Pediatrics Specialty clinic, the Center for Bleeding and Clotting and MSU College of Human Medicine for nearly four decades.

Alyse Ley, DO
MSU Health Care Psychiatry

Alyse Ley, DO, psychiatrist and associate chair of education and research in the Department of Psychiatry – a shared department between the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine and College of Human Medicine – was appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to the new School Safety and Mental Health Commission.

Recommended to the governor because of her experience, Dr. Ley also serves as co-director of the  Adolescent Targeted Violence Prevention Project, a collaborative program between the MSU Department of Psychiatry and the National Policing Institute. Read more here.

Photo courtesy of MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine

Farha Abbasi, MD
MSU Health Care Psychiatry

Farha Abbasi, MD, psychiatrist and assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, has been named one of the top 15 women in the nation to be honored at the Women on the Frontlines: Celebrating Women Faith Leaders celebration. The invitation, which comes on behalf of Xavier Becerra, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, will recognize Dr. Abbasi’s transformative work on minority mental health and “extraordinary leadership on behalf of humanity.” Read more here.