Mitchell Prize 2026
The Mitchell Prizes for Resident Research were established at the Wilmer Eye Institute in 2001 by Dr. John Payne, who served as the institute's Chief Resident in 1968. The prizes were made possible after Dr. Payne was named a trustee of the Mitchell Trust—an appointment given in appreciation for his long-term care of the Mitchell siblings—and, with the assistance of Mort Goldberg, he utilized earmarked research funds to create the award.
The primary purpose of the prizes is to promote academic training among Wilmer residents (PGY 1-4), requiring them to perform original research at the institute and present their findings at the Annual Meeting of the Wilmer Residents Association (WRA).
These awards offer substantial financial incentives, including a $10,000 First Prize, a $5,000 Second Prize, and a $2,500 Third Prize. Over the twenty-three years since their inception, the Mitchell Prizes have become a prestigious institution at Wilmer, with the list of past winners representing a "Who’s Who" in the field of ophthalmology.
Wilmer Residents, 1967 — Payne (back row, far left) and Goldberg (front row, fourth from the right)
John Payne, Chief Resident, 1968
Past Winners
| Year | 1st Prize | 2nd Prize | 3rd Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Elizabeth Ciociola Kelly, MD | Muhammad Ali, MD | Nur Cardakli, MD |
| 2024 | Whitney Sambhariya, MD, PhD | Anupam Garg, MD, PhD | Liz Ciociola, MD |
| 2023 | Nur Cardakli, MD | Chia Wei (Maggie) Hsu, MD, PhD | Mustafa Iftikhar, MBBS |
| 2022 | Angela Gauthier, MD | Jasdeep Sabharwal, MD, PhD | Mohima Sanyal, MD |
| 2021 | Jasdeep Sabharwal, MD, PhD | Ariel Chen, MD | Mustafa Iftikhar, MBBS |
| 2020 | Ariel Chen, MD | Jake Light, MD | Jenny Zhao, MD |
| 2019 | Angela Zhu, MD | Kapil Mishra, MD Inna Stroh, MD, PhD Narine Viruni, MD | — |
| 2018 | Kathleen Jee, MD | Cindy Cai, MD | Thomas V. Johnson III, MD, PhD |
| 2017 | Jefferson Doyle, MB ChB, MHS | Thomas V. Johnson III, MD, PhD | Jithin Yohannon, MD, MPH |
| 2016 | Dolly Chang, MD | Mary Qiu, MD | Nazlee Zebardast, MD |
| 2015 | Aaron Wang, MD, PhD | Roomasa Channa, MD | Nazlee Zebardast, MD |
| 2014 | Meraf Wolle, MD, MPH | Pavle Doroslovacki, MD | Roomasa Channa, MD |
| 2013 | Fatemeh Rajaii, MD, PhD | Fang Ko, MD | Mira M. Sachdeva, MD, PhD |
| 2012 | Allen Eghrari, MD | Valli Muthappan, MD | David Ramsey, MD, PhD |
| 2011 | Allison McCoy, MD, PhD | Fasika Woreta, MD, MPH | Allen Eghrari, MD |
| 2010 | Daniel Paskowitz, MD, PhD | Shameema Sikder, MD | Connie Chen-Cheung, MD |
| 2009 | Shameema Sikder, MD | Davinder Grover, MD, MPH Divya Srikumaran, MD | — |
| 2008 | Stephen Oster, MD, PhD | David Baranano, MD, PhD | Akrit Sodhi, MD, PhD |
| 2007 | Holly Hindman, MD Mark Walsh, MD | — | Parag Parekh, MD, MPA |
| 2006 | Gregory W. Schmidt, MD Akrit Sodhi, MD, PhD | — | Margaret A. Chang, MD, MS |
| 2005 | Leejee H. Suh, MD | Margaret A. Chang, MD, MS Michael Rizen, MD, PhD | — |
| 2004 | Geoffrey Emerson, MD, PhD | Daniel C. Garibaldi, MD | Michael M. Lai, MD, PhD |
| 2003 | Elias Aliprandis, MD | Justin C. Brown, MD | — |
| 2002 | Diana Van Do, MD | — | — |