A founding UCF College of Medicine faculty member and a third-year medical student committed to improving healthcare for all are being honored nationally by the Association of American Medical Colleges.
The AAMC represents medical schools, academic health systems and teaching hospitals across the U.S.
It honored Dr. David Harris as one of four awardees across the nation with the 2025 Alpha Omega Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award, which recognize faculty members who have distinguished themselves in medical student education. The AAMC also honored Fredericka Hendricksen as one of five students to receive the Herbert W. Nickens Medical Student Scholarship, recognizing outstanding students who have shown leadership in increasing community access to healthcare.
Dr. Deborah German, UCF’s vice president for health affairs and medical school dean, reflected on the national importance of both awards. “The honors Dr. Harris and Fredericka have received are given annually from a pool that include faculty members and students from every medical school in the country,” she said. “Their work in caring for our community and training the next generation of physicians is extraordinary.”
Commitment and Passion to Tomorrow’s Physicians
Dr. Harris joined UCF’s College of Medicine in 2011 and has been “a formative figure in the lives of more than 1,300 medical students,” the AAMC said in making its award. A professor of medicine, Dr. Harris serves as the lead educator for cardiac and respiratory physiology.
The AAMC highlighted Dr. Harris’ use of active learning methods that foster critical thinking, student engagement and deep learning. The organization applauded his use of high-fidelity simulations that help “teach students who are learning foundational medical sciences the importance of keeping the patient at the center of every interaction.” As one UCF medical student explained, Dr. Harris’ “passion, adaptability, and commitment to fostering the growth and development of future physicians are unparalleled.”
“Dave is extraordinarily talented and at the same time is really one of the most humble educators I have worked with,” said Dr. Jeff LaRochelle, the medical school’s associate dean for academic affairs. “He is truly focused on student learning and success. We are very fortunate to have him as part of the UCF College of Medicine family.”
The AAMC noted that in addition to teaching, Dr. Harris serves on Board of Directors for the International Association of Medical Science Educators and is editor-in-chief for Medical Science Educator. He has also served as an associate editor for academic publications including Advances in Physiology Education.
UCF has recognized Dr. Harris with the College of Medicine’s 2024 Golden Apple Award for M1/M2 teaching, an Outstanding Research Mentor Award, a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award and the Award for Innovative Teaching.
Dr. Harris earned a B.S. in biology from Rowan University and his Ph.D. from Temple University School of Medicine. He also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Thomas Jefferson University Center for Translational Medicine in Philadelphia.
“I am grateful to God, my family, and the many educators who have influenced me during my career in medical education,” Dr. Harris said. “I am honored and humbled to be recognized nationally, especially knowing that my students had an impact on the application.”
“I Want to Use My Education to Help Others”
Hendricksen said she has wanted to be a physician since childhood, where she was inspired by her mother’s connection with people as a nurse.
After graduating from Florida Atlantic University, Hendricksen earned a master’s degree from UCF’ Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences before joining the College of Medicine. Her research mentor was Dr. Tracy MacIntosh, a College of Medicine associate professor of Emergency Medicine who cares for hospital patients in Orange and Osceola counties and serves as associate dean of Access, Belonging & Community Engagement.
Hendricksen ‘s master’s research focus was high blood pressure – a condition her mother and uncle share — and differences in the success of treatment based on a patient’s demographics. She discovered that some algorithms and assumptions physicians used to treat patients of color with high blood pressure weren’t based on medicine’s latest findings about the disease. During medical school she has also conducted research on what causes children to suffer from delays in developing language skills, including lack of access to healthcare, a healthy diet and even transportation.
She is passionate about becoming a pediatrician so she can advocate for children. “Our children need people to speak for them,” she said.
She talked about her award during a day off from her pediatrics clerkship. Hendricksen said caring for children as a UCF medical student has been inspiring. “Children improve so fast when they are ill,” she said. “They are so resilient. They have this hope that is infectious.”
She learned she had received the AAMC national award during a particularly tough time in her training. She had just started her first clerkship – internal medicine, one of the toughest specialties. She said she was overwhelmed with all the information she had to learn and digest. She wondered if she was up to the task. Then she received the AAMC email while she was on rounds caring for hospital patients.
“That news reassured me that I’m right where I am meant to be,” she said. “I’ll get through all the hard work, and the rest will take care of itself. I want to use my education to help others.”
Dr. MacIntosh said she has no doubt Hendricksen will do just that. “I’ve witnessed firsthand Fredericka’s deep commitment to improving access to care and quality of care for our community,” she said. “She is a tremendous leader, an outstanding student, and a tireless advocate for her patients. She will leave a lasting impact on her fellow students, our patients and our institution.”