Riggs Award for Excellence

The Douglas S. Riggs Award for Excellence in Pharmacology honors a medical student with an outstanding academic record in pharmacology coursework and a dedication to research. 

Selection Process

The award is given annually to a medical student with an outstanding academic record in pharmacology. Our awards committee will consider you for the award based on your grades at the end of the spring semester of your second year of medical school, as well as a clear dedication to biomedical research. 

Notification

If our awards committee selects you for the Riggs award, we’ll notify you via email during the summer.

Award

We present Riggs recipients with medical books that augment their education.

Prior Recipients

  • Aberlee Milliron (2019)
  • Ye Rin Koh, Charles Zhang (2018)
  • Andrew Knapp, Denise Polaski and Andrew Sauvageau (2017)
  • Alison Zeccola (2016)
  • Elliot Graziano and Michael Danise (2015)
  • Jason Smoak (2014)
Douglas Riggs.

Douglas S. Riggs, MD

Douglas Riggs, MD, chair of the department of pharmacology from 1954 to 1966, was known for his commitment to the education of medical students.  For example, he would hold informal sessions for medical students, to review pharmacology concepts and their application to clinical questions.  Dr. Riggs also emphasized that medical students acquire a thorough understanding of the laboratory experimentation underpinning these concepts. This award honors his devotion to educating medical students.