Alpha Omega Alpha Banquet and Visiting Professor
Tuesday, April 7, 2026, 6-8 p.m.
Tripp Commons, Memorial Union
Join us as we celebrate the 2026 inductees to the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. Each year, the inductees are celebrated at an invitation-only banquet, held this year on Tuesday, April 7 at Tripp Commons in Memorial Union, located at 800 Langdon Street, Madison, WI.
A social hour will begin at 6 p.m., and dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. The induction ceremony for the Class of 2026 will take place following dinner.
Paid lot parking can be found across Park Street from Memorial Union underneath Helen C. White library. If this lot is full, you can find additional parking lots on Lake Street or Frances Street.
Students have received a registration link in their emails to sign up for the Alpha Omega Alpha Banquet. Students will need to RSVP for themselves and their guest(s) and select the meals they would prefer.
If you are a student inductee and did not receive this link, email the SMPH signature events team.
The Dean’s Office is pleased to host all invited guests.
In the spirit of our long tradition of “paying it forward” for new inductees, we invite you to make a donation to the SMPH Strategic Priorities Fund. When you donate to this fund, you are supporting the school’s highest priorities.
Athena Poppas, MD ’89, is the 2026 AOA Dr. David de Harter and Diane de Harter Visiting Professor. Dr. Poppas is the Director of Brown University Health Cardiovascular Institute, at Rhode Island, Miriam, and Newport Hospitals, and is Chief of the Cardiology Division and Professor of Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She will address the 2026 inductees at the banquet and also give a public talk.
Public Talk
“Sex-Specific Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease in Women”
Tuesday, April 7, from noon–1 p.m.
“Be worthy to serve the suffering.”
Founded in 1902, Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) has 132 chapters. As the only national honor medical society, its mission is to recognize and enhance professionalism, academic excellence, service and leadership within the profession of medicine.
2026 Alpha Omega Alpha Inductees
- Megan Baughman
- Zachary Bennehoff
- Regan Beyer
- Adam Carpenter
- Parker Chrisler
- Anchal Dhawan
- Kevin Dunn
- Johanna Ellefson
- Alexa Figueroa Baiges
- Amy Frenkel
- Gabriella Geiger
- Ly Hoang
- Alexander Idrogo-Lam
- Dema Jaber
- Asha Jain
- Jarrett Jones
- Manasa Kalluri
- Anna Kreynin
- Manlu Liu
- Andrew Matta, MSc
- Elizabeth Merkel, MS
- Jarod Moyer
- Gabriella Mullally
- Sofia Nehring Firmiro
- James Nitz
- Jennifer Panackal
- Alankrit Shatadal
- Barnabas Shiferaw
- Ajay Paul Singh
- Thomas Staniszewski
- Matthew Stenerson
- Ryan Thill
- Nick VanDerwerker
- Joshua Verhagen
- Nita Ahuja, MD, MBA
- Fahad Aziz, MD
- Ciara Barclay-Buchanan, MD
- Dan Bennett, MD
- David Francis, MD, MS
- Sam Lubner, MD
- Sumona Saha, MD
- Matthew Beilfuss, MD
- John Davis, MD, MS, MA
- Paula Demetrio de Souza Franca, MD
- Jalal-Ud-Din Khan, MBBS
- Aaditi Naik, MD
- Jocelyn Zajac, MD
2026 AOA Dr. David de Harter and Diane de Harter Visiting Professor
Athena Poppas, MD ‘89, is the Director of Brown University Health Cardiovascular Institute, at Rhode Island, Miriam, and Newport Hospitals, and is Chief of the Cardiology Division and Professor of Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Poppas received a Bachelor of Science degree from Brown University and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics and fellowship in Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Chicago Hospital.
Her clinical and research areas of focus are in echocardiography and in treating patients with valvular heart disease and heart disease during pregnancy and has over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 200 international invited lectures. Poppas is currently a board member of the World Heart Federation and a member of the WHO Innovation Lab for NCD in women. She has held numerous leadership roles within the American College of Cardiology including President and Board Chair 2020, chair of the ACC Annual Scientific Session in 2015- 2016, chair of the Women in Cardiology Section, chair of the ACC Sections Steering Committee and chair of the ACC Governance Committee. Dr. Poppas is also a Fellow of the American Society of Echocardiography, where she has served on committees, including ethics, nominating and scientific programs.
Generous gift makes visiting professorship possible
DJ de Harter, MD, is a retired radiation oncologist and medical director who grew up in Wisconsin and earned his medical degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in 1968.
As a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Honor Medical Society and a philanthropist, Dr. de Harter — along with his late wife Diane — decided to create the David J. and Diane L. de Harter/Alpha Omega Alpha Visiting Professorship at his alma mater.
They hope their gift will encourage other physicians and families to consider what they might do through activism or targeted giving to help the profession of medicine.
Questions about this event? Email the SMPH signature events team.
Accessibility Statement
The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health is committed to accessibility. If you need an accommodation to attend or participate in this event, please email the SMPH signature events team. We ask that accommodation requests be made no less than two weeks before an event. We will make a thorough attempt to fulfill requests made after this date but cannot guarantee they will be met.