Distinguished Alumni Awards

Every year, the UW School of Medicine Alumni Association recognizes exceptional alumni with a series of awards. We encourage UW School of Medicine alumni, faculty, staff and other professional colleagues to nominate alumni for one or more of the awards listed below.

Nominations for the 2024 awards are open; you may submit nominations until December 31, 2023. Please contact the Alumni Office at medalum@uw.edu with any questions about the awards or nomination process.

The UW School of Medicine Alumni Association is delighted to honor the recipients of the 2023 alumni awards.

Distinguished Alumnus Award

Recognizes an alum whose professional achievements and cumulative contributions have brought personal distinction, enhanced the general health and well-being of the public through professional practice, research or public policy, and brought honor to their alma mater.

John J. Mulvihill, MD ’69
We honor Dr. Mulvihill for his distinguished career in biomedical cancer research and human genetics. Dr. Mulvihill brings an interdisciplinary and translational approach to his research in cancer and human genetics via clinical, epidemiologic, laboratory and international collaborations. His research focuses on neurofibromatoses, reproduction by cancer survivors and ethics in medical genetics. He served for 16 years as chief of the Clinical Genetics Section for the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Mulvihill is the founder of three medical genetics training programs and co-founder of the NIH Medical Genetics clinic, various clinics at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and a comprehensive clinical genetics service for Oklahoma based at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. A nationally recognized mentor, he has mentored dozens of medical genetics fellows and genetic counselors throughout his career, as well as undergraduates and faculty colleagues.

Alumni Humanitarian Award

Honors an alum who embodies the ideals of UW Medicine and whose career reflects an ongoing commitment to serve others through the practice of medicine, or whose research has contributed to greater communal good.

Julie R. Gralow, MD, Fel. ’95
We honor Dr. Gralow for humanitarian medical work throughout her career as a clinician, researcher, teacher, advocate, author, policymaker and mentor, improving the lives of cancer patients across the globe. As a founder of the Women’s Empowerment Cancer Advocacy Network (WE CAN), Dr. Gralow has worked to empower women cancer patient advocates in low- and middle-income countries, organizing international education, outreach and advocacy summits that bring together leaders from the worlds of medicine, government and patient advocacy. WE CAN helps break taboos, funds survivor programs, sparks research projects and forges long-standing relationships between patients and physicians, medical experts and policymakers. Dr. Gralow also served as co-secretariat for the Global Task Force on Expanded Access to Cancer Care and Control in Developing Countries, a collaboration among leaders from the global health and cancer care communities worldwide. She has led efforts in cancer patient advocacy and education locally and globally. Dr. Gralow is the co-founder of Team Survivor Northwest, a Seattle-based nonprofit aimed at helping female cancer survivors improve their health and quality of life through fitness and exercise.

Alumni Service Award

Recognizes an alum whose dedicated and determined efforts have benefited the University of Washington School of Medicine and/or the University of Washington School of Medicine Alumni Association and/or their community.

Andrew C. Castrodale, MD ’94
We celebrate Dr. Castrodale for his dedication and service to his community in his roles as a clinician, mentor and educator in family medicine and obstetrical services. Throughout his career, Dr. Castrodale has exemplified a commitment to serving rural and underserved populations in eastern Washington. Coulee Medical Center sits in a healthcare desert, 100 miles from a tertiary care center, and for over 20 years, Dr. Castrodale has helped inspire, teach and build Grand Coulee’s provider base while providing obstetrical care. As the chief of staff for 17 years, he grew the medical center into a full-service critical access hospital/clinic with a long-term care facility that serves underserved patients from five counties. Dr. Castrodale advocates for the importance of obstetric care at both the state and national level, especially among the Native population in his community. He is an active faculty member in the TRUST (Targeted Rural and Underserved Track) program, has taught classes on rural and family medicine at the medical school, and is currently working toward establishing a rural training track for residency in Grand Coulee.

Alumni Early Achievement Award

Honors an alum who graduated within the last 20 years and has excelled in their career, making significant contributions to public health through clinical care, medical science, research, humanitarianism or administrative activities.

Amanda Moore Johnson, MD ’03
We honor Dr. Johnson for her significant early-career accomplishments as a clinician and educator. While practicing obstetrics and gynecology in private rural practice in Oregon and Wyoming, Dr. Johnson also served as faculty for the Wyoming WWAMI program as a clinical instructor. Dr. Johnson subsequently joined the VA, where she currently serves as the director of reproductive health for the national VA system. In this role, Dr. Johnson is instrumental in setting national policy for reproductive health for women veterans. She advocates for women veterans and equitable access to reproductive healthcare and has testified before Congress in support of healthcare legislation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Johnson demonstrated selflessness and leadership, volunteering for an assignment away from her administrative position in the ICU at her local VA facility.