Ahead of its 125th anniversary, Baylor College of Medicine announces 12 honorees to be recognized at the 2025 Alumni Awards ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 23, at Hotel ZaZa - Houston Museum District. Each year, the awards are presented to Baylor alumni and faculty who have achieved remarkable career accomplishments, conducted outstanding research, set a new standard for patient care and raised the new bar for excellence in teaching.
This year, the Alumni Award Selection Committee chose two recipients for the Lifetime Achievement Award, the most prestigious category - Matthew J. Wall, M.D. '84, Res. '89, Res. '91, and Stuart Yudofsky, M.D. '70.
Wall has made several groundbreaking contributions in the field of trauma and cardiothoracic surgery. His work in limited fluid resuscitation, damage control surgery and multi-system trauma has revolutionized trauma protocols, which helped save countless lives in both military and civilian settings.
"The Lifetime Achievement Award is a tremendous honor," Wall said. "Throughout my 45-year association with Baylor, I have encountered countless talented mentors, colleagues, collaborators and friends - all of us grateful for the opportunity to contribute to teaching, research and better patient care."
Yudofsky has been an influential figure in the field of psychiatry. He is particularly known for his leadership in establishing neuropsychiatry as a distinct subspecialty to bridge the gap between neurology and psychiatry, which helps patients by ensuring more accurate diagnoses and personalized treatment for complex brain-related behavioral disorders.
"To be acknowledged in this way by my fellow alumni, for whom I have such deep admiration and affection, and to be included among the illustrious previous recipients of this award, whom we all hold in such high esteem, is an honor beyond my ability to express," Yudofsky said.
This year's Alumni Award winners include Jessica S. LaCross, the first physician assistant on a general surgery service at Ben Taub Hospital; Dr. Pengfei Liu, a trailblazer in medical genetics whose work has helped solve some of the toughest mysteries in human health; and Dr. William Fisher, a nationally recognized leader in pancreatic surgery, among others.
The full list of 2025 Alumni Award winners is below:
Lifetime Achievement Award
Matthew J. Wall, M.D. '84, Res. '89, Res. '91
Stuart Yudofsky, M.D. '70
Distinguished Alumnus Award
Tamara N. Alliston, Ph.D. '98
Dimitrios P. Kontoyiannis, M.D., Sc.D., Ph.D. (Hon.), Res. '94
Jessica S. LaCross, M.S. '02, PA C
Young Alumnus Award
Megan Bullerwell, DNP '13, CRNA, CHSE
Ronald T. Cotton, M.D. '06, Res. '13, Fel. '15
N. Thao N. Galván, M.D., MPH, Res. '15, Fel. '17, FACS
Pengfei Liu, Ph.D. '12, Fel. '15
Humanitarian Award
Joslyn W. Fisher, M.D. '95, Res. '98, MPH, FACP
Distinguished Service Award
John F. Anderson, M.D. '73*
Distinguished Faculty Award
William Fisher, M.D., FACS
*Awarded Posthumously
Visit the 2025 Alumni Awards website to learn more about each winner and contact [email protected] if you have any questions.
