{"id":244879,"date":"2026-05-05T08:31:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T12:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=244879"},"modified":"2026-05-05T08:42:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T12:42:28","slug":"faculty-in-the-spotlight-spring-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/05\/faculty-in-the-spotlight-spring-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Faculty in the Spotlight \u2013 Spring 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Dr. Kiki Nissen, senior associate dean for Faculty Affairs and associate dean for Graduate Medical Education at UConn School of Medicine, is proud to announce the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/faculty-affairs\/faculty-spotlight\/\">Faculty in the Spotlight<\/a>\u00a0for the spring of 2026.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are excited to highlight three outstanding faculty members this spring season,\u201d applauds Nissen sharing, \u201cThank you to these faculty and so many others for their excellent contributions to advancing academic medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Faculty Spotlight Spring 2026: Dr. Rebecca Riba Wolman\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/akSBGNpFafc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Spring 2026 faculty honorees:<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_244882\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-244882\" style=\"width: 142px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-244882 img-responsive lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Rebecca-Riba-Wolman-photo-1-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Rebecca Riba-Wolman, MD\" width=\"142\" height=\"214\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Rebecca-Riba-Wolman-photo-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Rebecca-Riba-Wolman-photo-1-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Rebecca-Riba-Wolman-photo-1-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Rebecca-Riba-Wolman-photo-1-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Rebecca-Riba-Wolman-photo-1-1366x2048.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Rebecca-Riba-Wolman-photo-1-280x420.jpg 280w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Rebecca-Riba-Wolman-photo-1-443x665.jpg 443w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Rebecca-Riba-Wolman-photo-1-scaled.jpg 1707w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 142px) 100vw, 142px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 142px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 142\/214;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-244882\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Dr. Rebecca Riba-Wolman<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Rebecca Riba-Wolman, MD, <\/strong>is associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics and director of the Glycogen Storage Disease &amp; Disorders of Hypoglycemia Program at Connecticut Children\u2019s and UConn Health. She is celebrated for her visionary leadership in transforming the program into a rapidly growing, research-driven center that expands patient care, advances clinical trials, and delivers groundbreaking therapies for children with complex metabolic disorders. She was nominated by Dr. Michael Isakoff.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_244883\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-244883\" style=\"width: 148px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-244883 img-responsive lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/parham-kourosh-20171030-encarnacion-6356-scaled-e1777391382523-222x300.jpg\" alt=\"Kourosh Parham\" width=\"148\" height=\"200\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/parham-kourosh-20171030-encarnacion-6356-scaled-e1777391382523-222x300.jpg 222w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/parham-kourosh-20171030-encarnacion-6356-scaled-e1777391382523-310x420.jpg 310w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/parham-kourosh-20171030-encarnacion-6356-scaled-e1777391382523-492x665.jpg 492w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/parham-kourosh-20171030-encarnacion-6356-scaled-e1777391382523.jpg 700w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 148px) 100vw, 148px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 148px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 148\/200;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-244883\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Dr. Kourosh Parham<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Kourosh Parham, MD, Ph.D. <\/strong>is professor in the Department of Surgery. He is honored for his steady, inspiring leadership of the ENT Residency Program that has grown into a highly regarded, high\u2011performing training experience marked by exceptional outcomes and strong recruitment. His dedication is continually recognized, most notably in 2025 when he was honored by residents to receive the Gerald Leonard, MD Award for Excellence in Resident Teaching and Advocacy. He was nominated by Dr. Kevin Staveley-O\u2019Carroll.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_244884\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-244884\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-244884 img-responsive lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/maghaydah-yazeed-20200115-encarnacion-0006-scaled-e1777391412835-249x300.jpg\" alt=\"Yazeed Maghaydah\" width=\"150\" height=\"181\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/maghaydah-yazeed-20200115-encarnacion-0006-scaled-e1777391412835-249x300.jpg 249w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/maghaydah-yazeed-20200115-encarnacion-0006-scaled-e1777391412835-848x1024.jpg 848w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/maghaydah-yazeed-20200115-encarnacion-0006-scaled-e1777391412835-768x927.jpg 768w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/maghaydah-yazeed-20200115-encarnacion-0006-scaled-e1777391412835-348x420.jpg 348w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/maghaydah-yazeed-20200115-encarnacion-0006-scaled-e1777391412835-551x665.jpg 551w, https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/maghaydah-yazeed-20200115-encarnacion-0006-scaled-e1777391412835.jpg 986w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/181;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-244884\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Dr. Yazeed Maghaydah<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Yazeed Maghaydah, MD, <\/strong>is assistant professor in the Department of Medicine. He is recognized for spearheading UConn Health\u2019s rollout of groundbreaking Alzheimer\u2019s diagnostic testing and treatment, Lecanemab Therapy, which has been accessed by nearly 100 patients. His leadership earned him a board appointment with the CT Alzheimer\u2019s Association and an invitation to present internationally. He was nominated by UConn Center on Aging\u2019s Dr. George Kuchel and Dr. Patrick Coll.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>About Faculty Spotlight<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/strong>Faculty Spotlight celebrates the recent notable accomplishments of UConn School of Medicine\u2019s faculty across patient care, research, and education at UConn Health, Connecticut\u2019s only public academic medical center. Recipients are selected from numerous nominations received from department chairs, center directors, and educational leadership across UConn\u2019s medical school.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UConn School of Medicine Honors the Excellence of its Faculty Members Dr. Rebecca Riba-Wolman, Dr. Kourosh Parham, and Dr. Yazeed Maghaydah.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":245399,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2429,2721,1868,179,2233],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[1873],"class_list":["post-244879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-awards-scholarships","category-graduate-medical-education","category-meds","category-uconn-health","category-university-news"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-12 14:23:54","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244879"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":245308,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244879\/revisions\/245308"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/245399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244879"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=244879"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=244879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}