Best Consulting Physician
The Best Consulting Physician award is presented to the physician providing superior consulting or specialized services.
Justin Somerville, M.D.
Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center
General Surgeon
Justin Somerville demonstrated his commitment to the patients at Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center over the past year when he took on a significant portion of general surgery call coverage during unanticipated gaps in coverage due to illness and family crises.
For months at a time, Dr. Somerville offered to take almost half of the weekly call. He has been invaluable in every way, and he gladly sees patients ranging from those with acute or chronic colorectal issues to patients needing wound debridement. Flexible and adaptive, he engages productively in sharing consults and in referring patients who need noncolorectal surgical care to his colleagues.
Dr. Somerville’s support and hard work helped the other surgeons at Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center provide the important patient care needed.
Alfred Asante-Korang, M.D.
Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital
Director, Transplant Cardiology and Heart Failure, Heart Institute
As the leader of the pediatric heart transplant and heart failure program at the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital Heart Institute, Alfred Asante-Korang has shared his expertise with the Heart Institute team and with colleagues in many pediatric subspecialties for more than 20 years. He rounds in the cardiovascular, pediatric and neonatal intensive care units, and he is a consulting physician on other units including the emergency department, bone marrow transplant/oncology, the infusion center and dialysis units. He also sees patients in clinic, performs heart catheterization and biopsies, and participates in clinical research. Clinical staff members and leaders praise Dr. Asante-Korang for the exceptional care he provides. “He is compassionate, has attentive listening skills, and communicates effectively and with genuine concern for his patients and has a passion to heal,” a colleague says. “He challenges care teams to be at the top of their game with cutting-edge therapies. Dr. A-K always gives 100% effort to the hospital and the heart transplant and heart failure program.”
Idris Leppla, M.D.
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center
Director, Johns Hopkins Bayview Psychiatric Consultation Service
Since joining the inpatient consultation service at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in 2019, Idris Leppla has brought an exceptional level of expertise, compassion and clinical excellence. She works closely with clinical teams to help ensure that patients with psychiatric conditions are comprehensively managed and care. This teamwork and collaboration has significantly reduced the burden of illness for psychiatric patients and allowed for better streamlining of discharge planning. Referring teams say they are relieved and reassured when Dr. Leppla cares for their patients.
In addition to providing exceptional care, Dr. Leppla has trained more than 50 hospitalists on how to manage agitation for patients with dementia, intellectual disability and acquired brain injury. She has also developed a formalized curriculum that teaches internal medicine residents important aspects of psychiatric care in an acute hospital.
Edward Bodurian, M.D.
Johns Hopkins Community Physicians
Physician, Cardiology
Edward Bodurian has been a cardiologist with Johns Hopkins Community Physicians since 2013 and has served his National Capital Region community for decades. Beyond his unrivaled clinical acumen, Dr. Bodurian is well known by patients for his kindness, thoughtfulness and respectful nature. His patients appreciate the time he spends with them focusing on their concerns, and they have shown their loyalty and respect for Dr. Bodurian by returning to him for years from many different states. Dr. Bodurian is also an admired leader, educator and mentor among his colleagues. Says one of them, “Whenever I have an opportunity to speak to [Dr. Bodurian] about cases, I always walk away with some new insight or clinical pearl. I can’t think of a more deserving candidate for consultant of the year.”
Adrienne Williams Scott, M.D.
The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Associate Professor of Ophthalmology
As a retina specialist, Adrienne Williams Scott is a crucial partner in the care of patients with sickle cell disease. Her research and work to describe and understand sickle cell retinopathy has changed the landscape for diagnosis and treatment of the condition. But perhaps just as importantly, her expert care, kind encouragement and close follow-up are motivating factors for patients to continue to pursue their goals and ambitions even in the face of chronic illness.
The Johns Hopkins sickle cell team provides care for more than 600 adults, and nearly all are referred to Dr. Scott for ophthalmologic care. She also provides care for children with the condition, and often follows them through adulthood. At Wilmer, she is respected for her responsiveness and willingness to provide a consult for any patient who needs her care. Among trainees, Dr. Scott, the former director of the Wilmer retina fellowship, is respected as a mentor who is always available to give advice to young physicians as they navigate challenging cases and their first experiences with retina surgery.
Khaled El-Shami, M.B.ChB., Ph.D.
Sibley Memorial Hospital
Medical Oncologist, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center at Sibley Memorial Hospital
Khaled El-Shami has always been a thoughtful, thorough and reliable consultant who makes himself available to the entire medical staff and his patients. His clinical interests in hematologic malignancies, including leukemias, lymphomas and myelomas, as well as in gastrointestinal cancers and melanoma, extend beyond being well versed in research and new treatment options. Dr. El-Shami directly serves patients by finding the best treatment options and involving referring physicians for an integrated approach. Always enjoyable to speak with, Dr. El-Shami is extremely patient and provides incredibly detailed recommendations. Loved by the medical staff and patients alike, he has been named a top doctor by Washingtonian magazine for several years.
Gloria Aggrey, M.D.
Suburban Hospital
Infectious Disease Specialist
Gloria Aggrey joined the medical staff at Suburban Hospital as an infectious disease specialist in 2016. In this role, she is active in the care of patients throughout the hospital, from the medical-surgical floors to the intensive care units. She enjoys skillfully collaborating not only with other physicians but also with clinicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, laboratory technicians and other staff members in a true multidisciplinary fashion.
Dr. Aggrey has excellent clinical acumen and is driven by a passion for evidence-based medicine and antibiotic stewardship. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, she led Tea & COVID-19 chats to help keep the hospitalist team up to date on emerging therapies and treatment modalities on the quickly evolving landscape.