Current Award Recipients

Thomas D. Kirsch, MD '84, MPH

Dr. Thomas D. Kirsch is a physician, scientist, humanitarian, and author. He is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at George Washington University and of International Health at Johns Hopkins University. He is the past Director of the Department of Defense’s National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health and was a Professor of Emergency Medicine, International Health, and Civil Engineering at Johns Hopkins University for twenty years.  

Dr. Kirsch has worked in a couple of dozen disasters and humanitarian crises on six continents, starting in a Cambodian refugee camp while at UNMC, and including the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City, Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy and Harvey, earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, New Zealand, and Nepal, the Ebola epidemic in Liberia, and, of course, COVID-19. He has testified before Congress, served on numerous White House and National Academies of Medicine panels, and has consulted for organizations including the WHO, UNICEF, the American and Canadian Red Cross, the CDC, FEMA, and the US Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA).   

He is a renowned disaster scientist and educator – publishing over 175 scientific articles, abstracts, textbook chapters, and a disaster medical textbook. He founded and led an emergency medicine residency and has been invited to lecture worldwide. He has also published creative essays in the Atlantic, Washington Post, Health Affairs, JAMA, and literary journals. Essentially, every major print and broadcast news outlet has sought him out as an expert commentator.   

President Obama honored his humanitarian work during a 2014 White House ceremony as one of the ’Heroes in Healthcare Fighting Ebola,’ stating, “…they do this for no other reason than their own sense of duty. Their sense of purpose. Their sense of serving a cause greater than themselves. And we need to call them what they are, which is American heroes.” Other significant awards include the inaugural Disaster Science Award from the American College of Emergency Physicians. and the Clara Barton Award for Leadership from the American Red Cross. 

Dr. Kirsch is trained in emergency medicine and preventive medicine and is a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians. He received a BA in fine arts from Creighton University, his MD from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and his MPH from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. 

Andre Kalil, MD, MPH '11

Dr. Andre Kalil is a board-certified infectious disease specialist and a practicing physician who has conducted clinical research at UNMC for 20 years. He is a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Director of Transplant Infectious Diseases. He was named the 2021 UNMC Scientist Laureate, the highest honor bestowed by UNMC on its researchers. 

Dr. Kalil, who also holds a master’s degree in public health, has studied many challenging infections, including transplant-related infections, hospital-acquired pneumonia, sepsis, Ebola, and COVID-19. His work has made a difference in saving the lives of patients worldwide and contributed to the body of knowledge in the scientific world. 

Early in the pandemic, with UNMC’s recognized expertise and leadership in infectious diseases, Dr. Kalil enrolled the first patient in the very first double-blind placebo-controlled randomized trial for the discovery of new treatments during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 59 days, the National Institutes of Health ACTT trial (Adaptive COVID Treatment Trial) showed an antiviral therapy was effective and safe for treating COVID in hospitalized patients. In 54 days, the second trial, ACTT-2, discovered another beneficial therapy, which acts in the immune system, to fight severe COVID. 

Dr. Kalil emphasized the significant clinical benefits of these trials for patients worldwide. He highlighted that the potential to improve patient outcomes is what makes clinical research so rewarding and exciting, with limitless possibilities for bettering patient care. 

As for his education, Dr. Kalil attended medical school at Universidade Federal de Pelotas in Brazil and completed two residencies in Internal Medicine at Hospital Santa Casa De Misericordia in Brazil and Jackson Memorial Hospital, in Miami, Florida. Later, he completed fellowships in Critical Care Medicine at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda and Infectious Disease at Massachusetts General Hospital-Harvard University in Boston. 

Dr. Kalil’s long and productive track record as a compassionate physician and as a passionate clinician-investigator has had a major impact on infectious diseases of transplantation and critical care, during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.  

Brady Beecham, MD '11, MPH

Dr. Brady Beecham is a native of Lincoln, Nebraska. She is a graduate of the College of Medicine class of 2011 and completed her residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Before earning her medical degree, Dr. Beecham spent time studying in India, where she earned a Master of Public Health at the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Science & Technology in Trivandrum in 2006. 
 
Dr. Beecham's academic journey has uniquely positioned her to make significant contributions to health care and in particular, rural health. Her roles have showcased her as a force for good in rural Nebraska, notably as Chief Medical Officer at Gothenburg Health, Medical Director for the Two Rivers Public Health Department, and a board member with the Nebraska Rural Health Association and the Nebraska Family Practice Association.  
 
Dr. Beecham became Chief Medical Officer at Gothenburg Health in 2022. There, she has enhanced patient care services, introduced new medical technologies, and improved healthcare access. Her efforts have led to the introduction of new radiologic services, improvements in ambulatory clinical visits, and the launch of a new podcast focusing on the hospital, initiatives benefiting patients, clinical workers, and the hospital in Gothenburg. 
 
As Medical Director for the Two Rivers Public Health Department, Dr. Beecham displayed exemplary leadership in managing the health department through the COVID-19 public health response across seven counties in central Nebraska. Her efforts significantly contributed to vaccination efforts and public education campaigns in the counties she serves, accentuating her ability to lead in challenging times, especially in communities with diverse economic and cultural demographics. She continues her innovative health efforts with current grant work to improve vaccination efforts and public health surveillance in her role.  
 
Beyond clinical contributions, Dr. Beecham has played a pivotal role in policy and academic endeavors, particularly as a Fellow of the National Rural Health Association. Her collaboration with rural health care leaders has focused on strengthening rural health policies and practices, including public health infrastructure, workforce, and equitable access to care. She also lends her expertise as a board member for the Nebraska Rural Health Association (NeRHA). She has made notable impacts on the organizations as co-chair for the Rural Advocacy Committee, advocating for expanded maternal care, medication coverages, increased Medicaid payments, and disease prevention programs.  
 
In addition, she co-founded Remora Health LLC in 2022, a public health and medical consulting firm for local public health departments and others interested in research.  

Dr. Beecham's breadth and depth of engagement in rural health policy, educational programs, and community service are unparalleled. Her quickness to participate in projects and her instrumental role in shaping policies demonstrate her passion, expertise, and dedication to improving healthcare access and quality for all, especially in underserved areas. 
 
She lives in Lexington with her husband and two kids. Some of their favorite central Nebraska activities are watching the Bald Eagles at Johnson Lake and attending small-town festivals and fairs.

Robert L. Wergin, MD '79

Dr. Robert L. Wergin was born in Lincoln, Neb. but grew up in Milford, Neb., a community of 1,700 residents at the time. He attended Milford Public Schools where he participated in all sports and graduated as his class as Salutatorian in 1972. He went on to the University of Nebraska Kearney where he graduated with a double major in Biology and Chemistry, Summa Cum Laude in 1976. His interest in applied sciences stimulated his application to medical school, and he attended medical school at the University of Nebraska Medical Center from 1976 through 1979.  
 
After graduation, he went on to a residency in Family Medicine at the University of Colorado Medical Center as part of their St. Mary’s Hospital Program in Grand Junction Colorado. Throughout his training, he enjoyed teaching and mentoring medical students.  
He went on to private practice in Grand Junction, Colorado from 1982 to 1989. He continued to teach medical students. He also served as President of the Western Slope area of the Colorado Academy of Family Physicians. At that time, he also served as associate director at the residency in family medicine in Grand Junction focusing on emergency medicine and obstetrics while teaching both students and residents. He left Colorado in 1989 to join a family practice group in York, Neb. where he provided full-service Family Medicine. He continued to teach and mentor medical students on their rural Family Medicine rotation, sharing his joy of medicine and mentoring the students in the delivery of whole-person, relationship-based health care.  

Dr. Wergin worked as a full-time Emergency Room Physician in Beatrice, Neb., beginning in 1991. He continued this full-time position until he was asked to join the faculty at the Lincoln Family Medicine Residency Program in 1992 training residents to become full-service family physicians. He eventually became the assistant director at the program which was affiliated with the University of Nebraska Medical Center as a community Family Medicine program.  
 
In 1996 he returned to private practice as a full-time Family Physician in Seward, Neb. where three of his former residents joined the practice. Again, he continued to mentor both residents and students on their rural family medicine rotations.  

Dr. Wergin has received many awards during his professional career. He has served as President of the Nebraska Academy of Family Physicians. He was honored to be selected as Family Physician of the Year in 2002. He was elected to be President of the National Academy of Family Physicians in 2015 representing 130,000 family physicians, students, and family medicine residents across the United States.  
 
As President of the American Academy of Family Physicians, he continued to focus on the education and training of students and residents. He continued his focus on education being selected to serve on the American Board of Family Medicine from 2018-2024. In that capacity, he was focused on setting the standards for board certification in family medicine and stimulating interest in family medicine in medical students across the country. Although he was honored to be elected and selected for these prestigious positions, he never lost his focus on working with and educating students and residents. He understood that they represent the future of primary health care delivery in this country.

David V. O’Dell, MD '84, MACP

Dr. David V. O’Dell is the LeeRoy Meyer Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He has served as the Director of Undergraduate Education for the Department of Internal Medicine since 1991 and as Junior Clerkship Director from 1991-2018. He has been co-director of the Primary Care Residency Program since 1989 and a long-standing member of the College of Medicine Curriculum Committee. From 2018 - 2024, he served as Phase 3 Director of UNMC’s new senior-year medical school curriculum. 

He has won numerous teaching awards including multiple Golden Apples, Top Teacher of Internal Medicine, Physician Teacher of the Year for Family Medicine, the LeeRoy Meyer Dedicated Teacher Award, and the Jane Desforges Award, both from the Nebraska Chapter of the American College of Physicians. He received UNMC's inaugural Educator Laureate Award in 2017 and was inducted into UNMC’s Golden Apple Hall of Fame. He maintains an active inpatient and outpatient clinical practice.