The American Society of Dermatopathology (ASDP) has selected M. Angelica Selim, MD to receive the 21st Annual Walter R. Nickel Award for Excellence in Teaching of Dermatopathology. Members of the Society nominated individuals who have been influential teachers of dermatopathology. The merits of the applications were evaluated by the Peer Review Committee. This national award is made possible in part by the Nickel family in honor of Walter R. Nickel, MD, and may be received only once in a lifetime. Presentation of the award will be at the 54th Annual Meeting in Chicago in October 2017.
The Walter R. Nickel Award for Excellence in Teaching of Dermatopathology is awarded annually to honor an individual who has made great contributions in dermatopathology education. This year the award is presented to Dr. Maria Angelica Selim, professor of Pathology and Dermatology at Duke University Medical Center.
Dr. Selim did her residency in Surgical Pathology followed by a fellowship in Dermatopathology at Harvard Medical School. In 1990, Dr. Selim joined the faculty of the Departments of Pathology and Dermatology at Duke University Medical Center, reaching the position of director of the Dermatopathology Unit two years later and the academic rank of professor of Pathology and Dermatology in 2013. Since 2002, she has served as the director of the Dermatopathology Fellowship Training Program at Duke University. For the past 15 years, she has also coordinated and supervised the resident dermatopathology education program for the Pathology and Dermatology Departments.
Under her leadership, the Dermatopathology Unit has excelled in the areas of patient care and education. She has published more than 100 papers in prestigious peer-reviewed journals, and authored or edited numerous text books, particularly in the topic of vulva pathology. She has served on numerous committees including those of the American Society of Dermatopathology and the International Society of Dermatopathology. She has received numerous visiting professorships and speaking invitations at national and international meetings.
During her career, Dr. Selim has maintained an outstanding leadership role in the training of students, residents and fellows. She has been recognized four times with the prestigious Dr. J Lamar Callaway Award for outstanding contributions to the teaching of the art of Dermatology; and three times with the Bernard F Fetter Master Teacher Award, conferred by the pathology house staff to that faculty member whose skills, knowledge and attitudes have been most influential in their education. She has mentored 20 dermatopathology fellows and hundreds of pathology and dermatology residents. She fosters development of the inquisitive minds of her trainees and nourishes their dermatopathology careers masterfully. Her influence on hundreds of young people at all levels of physician training has produced and will continue to produce a legacy of incomparable value.