Chicago Medical School (CMS) honored two of its own with Distinguished Alumni awards during CMS Reunion Weekend, Sept. 16–17. Kimberley Darey, MD ’04, and Alan Blank, MD ’11, received the awards in recognition of their work in medicine and service to their communities.
“As graduates and friends of Chicago Medical School, Dr. Darey and Dr. Blank are devoted to our vision for advancing our unique interprofessional education model and driving discoveries that improve the human condition,” CMS Dean Archana Chatterjee, MD, PhD, said during the awards presentation. “Their engagement and philanthropic partnership fuel the work that differentiates our bold mission.”
Dr. Darey received the 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award for Service, which recognizes alumni who have unselfishly devoted time and service in a professional capacity or in the broader community. Dr. Darey holds several leadership roles in civic and humanitarian organizations, and is a charter member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Chicago Metropolitan Chapter. In 2017, Dr. Darey received the Chicago Defender’s Women of Excellence Award.
“Dr. Darey and Dr. Blank are devoted to our vision for advancing our unique interprofessional education model and driving discoveries that improve the human condition.”
A board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist, Dr. Darey is the first African American medical director of OB/GYN at Elmhurst Hospital, and will become that hospital’s president in January 2023.
Dr. Blank received the 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award for Early Career Achievement, which celebrates alumni who have achieved early distinction in the past 15 years. He has received a number of honors, including Crain’s Chicago Business 40 under 40 Award in 2019 and the Golden Apple Teaching Award. He also received the Resident Research Award during his orthopedic surgery residency at New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases. Dr. Blank currently serves as an assistant professor at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, specializing in malignant and benign musculoskeletal growths and performing limb-salvage surgery.
Sara Skoog is a staff writer with RFU’s Division of Marketing and Brand Management. In addition to writing for Helix and other university publications, she also produces Pulse, RFU’s monthly e-newsletter.