IDSA Honors Leaders in Infectious Diseases at IDWeek 2024
The Infectious Diseases Society of America is honored to recognize 10 outstanding experts at IDWeek 2024 for their contributions to the field of infectious diseases.
“The Society is proud to honor each of these incredible mentors, doctors and researchers for the work they’ve done to advance the field of infectious diseases,” said Steven K. Schmitt, MD, FIDSA, president of IDSA. “These outstanding leaders have not only made critical improvements to the fight against infectious diseases — they’ve inspired younger generations of scientists to enter this vitally important field.”
Alexander Fleming Award for Lifetime Achievement: David N. Gilbert, MD, FIDSA
David N. Gilbert, MD, FIDSA, is the recipient of IDSA’s 2024 Alexander Fleming Award for Lifetime Achievement. This award honors an IDSA member or fellow for a career that reflects major contributions to the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge about infectious diseases.
Dr. Gilbert has left an indelible mark on infectious disease research, education and clinical practice in a career that has spanned more than half a century. Dr. Gilbert has helped lead the way on antimicrobial stewardship, emerging as one of the first experts in infectious diseases to call attention to the dangers of antibiotic resistance. He developed some of the first antimicrobial stewardship programs and, through his work with IDSA and in partnership with the Food and Drug Administration, pioneered guidelines on the design of clinical trials of new antibiotics.
As an expert on the proper use and accelerated development of antimicrobial agents, he has addressed professional audiences, FDA and Capitol Hill and served as vice chair of IDSA’s Antimicrobial Agents Committee. Dr. Gilbert has published more than 170 articles on topics ranging from the pathogenesis of septic shock to the care of patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia.
In 1969, Dr. Gilbert teamed with Dr. Jay P. Sanford to develop the Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy. The guide became a globally recognized benchmark for accurate, evidence-based information on infectious diseases management. He founded and has been president of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded Emerging Infections Network, which helps CDC and other public health authorities monitor emerging infectious diseases.
Known as “the father of infectious diseases” in Oregon, he created and served as president of the state’s ID society. Dr. Gilbert has also served as the chief of infectious diseases at Providence Portland Medical Center, where he oversaw the antimicrobial drug formulary and medical student/medical resident infectious diseases training; as a professor of medicine at Oregon Health Sciences University; and as chair of the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Providence Portland Medical Center — a position he held for 55 years. He connected with trainees easily and always had time for their questions. Generations of residents, fellows and researchers have drawn inspiration from his knowledge, enthusiasm and compassion.
The Society is proud to honor Dr. Gilbert with the 2024 Alexander Fleming Award for Lifetime Achievement.
“Dr. Gilbert’s foresight and unwavering efforts to promote awareness of antibiotic resistance have made him a recognized leader of antimicrobial stewardship around the world,” Dr. Schmitt said. “The Society is proud to celebrate Dr. Gilbert’s decades of research, his mentorship of generations of students and his service to IDSA by awarding him the 2024 Alexander Fleming Award for Lifetime Achievement.”
Other awards presented during IDWeek 2024 include:
Anthony Fauci Courage in Leadership Award: Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, FIDSA
This award celebrates individuals who inspire and encourage others to make a difference. It is awarded to a person who has demonstrated courage in leadership and a commitment to promoting scientific integrity, advocating for sound science and advancing the field of infectious diseases at their institutions or in their local, national or global communities.
The 2024 recipient is Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, FIDSA.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, FIDSA — now a Hauser Leader at the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School and a fellow at the Harvard Business School — served as director of CDC, a position she held from 2021 to 2023. In the face of threats and vilification, Dr. Walensky kept her focus on navigating the nation’s COVID-19 response. By asking hard questions, and speaking scientific truth with integrity and perseverance, she inspires not only her colleagues but rising generations considering careers in infectious diseases and public health.
Dr. Walensky has long demonstrated leadership in HIV/AIDs. By explicitly articulating choices, systematically assembling evidence and carefully assessing comparative costs and benefits, she has argued for more rational and appropriate HIV drug pricing, and her mathematical model-based research focuses on the promotion of global access to HIV prevention, screening and care. Her work has influenced policies on U.S. HIV testing and research and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Organizations such as the World Health Organization, the United Nations and the Department of Health and Human Services have sought her counsel.
As the author of more than 300 publications, Dr. Walensky has conducted seminal studies on the impact of the price of antiretroviral therapy for HIV treatment and prevention on patient access and has publicly challenged pharmaceutical companies, in professional talks and in Congress, to lower costs. Before directing CDC, she was a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital.
IDSA is honored to recognize Dr. Walensky with the 2024 Anthony Fauci Courage in Leadership Award.
D.A. Henderson Award for Outstanding Contributions to Public Health: Denise Cardo, MD, FIDSA, FSHEA
The D.A. Henderson Award for Outstanding Contributions to Public Health recognizes a lifetime of achievement in public health. Dr. Henderson’s role in leading the successful eradication of smallpox will stand forever as a shining example of the profound impact that infectious diseases physicians and scientists can have in preventing disease and relieving human suffering. By naming this award in his honor, we hope to inspire others to become champions for public health throughout the world. This year’s honoree is Denise Cardo, MD, FIDSA, FSHEA.
Denise Cardo, MD, FIDSA, FSHEA, combines soft diplomacy and a compelling voice to improve infection control and prevention. During her three decades at CDC — during which she served as director of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion; acting deputy director for Surveillance, Epi and Lab Systems; acting deputy director of infectious diseases and acting director of the Global Health Center — she participated in CDC’s responses to COVID-19, mpox and other outbreaks. Dr. Cardo spearheaded three efforts that strengthened the fight against infectious diseases: the National Healthcare Safety Network, which monitors incidences and causes of health care-associated infections; the Healthcare-Associated Infections National Action Plan, which sought to hold federal agencies accountable for infection reduction; and her report on antibiotic-resistant threats, which provided a roadmap for national and international efforts to fight antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. These efforts led to substantial infection reductions nationally, including a 42% reduction in hospital Clostridioides difficile infections over five years. Throughout her career, she has been a devoted champion of patient rights and underserved and remote communities.
IDSA is proud to honor Dr. Cardo with the 2024 D.A. Henderson Award for her efforts to coordinate proactive approaches to combatting infectious disease and for her patient advocacy.
Watanakunakorn Clinician Award: J. Martin Rodriguez, MD, FIDSA, FACP
This award — honoring the memory of Chatrchai Watanakunakorn, MD — recognizes IDSA members for their outstanding achievement in the clinical practice of infectious diseases. This year the award goes to J. Martin Rodriguez, MD, FIDSA, FACP.
J. Martin Rodriguez, MD, FIDSA, FACP — the inaugural Paul W. Burleson, MD, Endowed Professor in Internal Medicine and ID division director at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and co-director of UAB’s Undiagnosed Diseases Program — is an outstanding clinician and exceptional medical educator. Throughout his career, Dr. Rodriguez has diagnosed many challenging medicine and ID cases; started an automatic ID consult process for bacteremia due to Staphylococcus aureus and for Enterococcus and Candida bloodstream infections; and performed the first fecal microbiota transplant in his region. The standing-room-only crowds at his weekly UAB case conferences testify to the energy, intellect and commitment to patients that have earned him nine Outstanding Teacher Awards and the UAB Heersink School of Medicine’s President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. The UAB outpatient antimicrobial program he established has served more than 12,000 patients, with many enjoying earlier discharges, safer care and fewer readmissions.
IDSA is proud to honor Dr. Rodriguez with the 2024 Watanakunakorn Clinician Award for his exceptional dedication to education and patient care.
The Walter E. Stamm Mentor Award: Morven S. Edwards, MD, FIDSA, FPIDS
Named to honor the late Walter E. Stamm, MD, FIDSA, a past president of IDSA, this award recognizes individuals who have served as exemplary mentors. It is presented to an IDSA member or fellow who has been exceptional in guiding the professional growth of infectious diseases professionals. This year’s honoree is Morven S. Edwards, MD, FIDSA, FPIDS.
In her time at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital, Dr. Edwards inspired countless medical students, pediatric residents, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty. She’s mentored more than 130 infectious diseases clinical and research fellows, including three who are now deans or vice chairs, four who are division directors and 18 who are academic hospital-based full professors. Her proteges appear as first authors of nearly 30% of her 167 publications. She guides trainees in incisive thinking, vigilance in gathering critical details and the privilege of caring for sick children. She received the Distinguished Physician Award from the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and both the Pediatric Golden Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Research Mentorship Award from Texas Children’s Hospital. An expert on neonatal infections, she serves on IDSA’s Clinical Guidelines Panel on Intra-Abdominal Infections. As a clinical and bench investigator, she has helped define the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, pathogenesis and outcomes of invasive group B streptococcal disease.
IDSA is proud to recognize Dr. Edwards with the 2024 Walter E. Stamm Mentor Award for preparing the current and next generation of infectious diseases physicians for success.
Oswald Avery Award for Early Achievement: Pranita Tamma, MD, MHS
The Oswald Avery Award for Early Achievement recognizes outstanding achievement in an area of infectious diseases by an IDSA member or fellow who is 45 or younger (on Dec. 31 of the year preceding the IDWeek at which the award is given). The award is based on overall achievement, not usually a single study. This year’s recipient is Pranita Tamma, MD, MHS.
Pranita Tamma, MD, MHS — associate professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine — is an international leader in diagnosing and treating patients with gram-negative infections. Among many accomplishments, Dr. Tamma conducted the first comparative effectiveness study establishing increased mortality with the use of piperacillin-tazobactam for the treatment of ESBL bloodstream infections. Her highly cited review of combination antibiotic therapy changed longstanding practices around beta-lactam therapy, and her more than 250 peer-reviewed articles have significantly advanced the field of antimicrobial resistance. Her investigations have advanced our understanding of “hot spots” in the bacterial genome of P. aeruginosa. She serves as lead author of the IDSA Guidance on the Treatment of Antimicrobial-Resistant Gram-Negative Infections and as an editor at Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy — all while treating children with infectious diseases in both inpatient and outpatient settings. A mentor to more than 40 junior faculty, fellows, residents and medical students, Dr. Tamma has received numerous teaching awards at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.
IDSA is pleased to recognize Dr. Tamma’s outstanding work as a researcher and educator with the 2024 Oswald Avery Award for Early Achievement.
Society Citation Award: Kimberly E. Hanson, MD, MHS, FIDSA; Michelle D. Collins-Ogle, MD, FAAP, FPIDS; and William G. Powderly, MD, FIDSA
The Society Citation Award is a discretionary award given in recognition of exemplary contribution to IDSA, an outstanding discovery in the field of infectious diseases or a lifetime of outstanding achievement. This year, IDSA presents the award to Kimberly E. Hanson, MD, MHS, FIDSA; Michelle D. Collins-Ogle, MD, FAAP, FPIDS; and William G. Powderly, MD, FIDSA.
Kimberly E. Hanson, MD, MHS, FIDSA — professor of medicine and pathology at the University of Utah and director of the Immunocompromised Host Infectious Diseases Service — led the development of COVID-19 diagnostic guidelines that gave clinicians the most accurate and up-to-date information to diagnose and manage patients during the pandemic. As a guiding member of Utah’s COVID-19 response team, Dr. Hanson played a pivotal role in overseeing clinical testing, conducting prospective surveillance studies and spearheading specimen comparison studies for SARS-CoV-2 detection. She took the lead in authoring IDSA’s first COVID-19 diagnostic guidelines for molecular diagnostic, antigen and serologic testing. As a member of IDSA’s Diagnostic Test Committee and Board of Directors, she worked with staff participating in meetings with Congress members to advocate for legislation targeted for action by IDSA. She also serves as a deputy editor of Clinical Infectious Diseases, and her expertise is widely recognized within the academic community.
For her contributions to innovative diagnostic approaches to infectious diseases, IDSA is pleased to recognize Dr. Hanson with a 2024 Society Citation Award.
Michelle D. Collins-Ogle, MD, FAAP, FPIDS — medical director of the Montefiore Adolescent and Youth Sexual Health Clinic, attending infectious diseases and adolescent medicine pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore and associate professor of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine — champions youth and adolescents with or at risk of HIV, especially those who are transgender. The clinic she created at North Carolina’s Warren-Vance Community Health Center provides a welcoming home for transgender people in the Bible Belt. As co-chair of the HIV Medicine Association’s Ryan White Medical Providers Coalition’s Steering Committee, Dr. Collins-Ogle advocated for funding for clinics serving marginalized populations with HIV, and her advocacy with the Health Resources and Services Administration’s HIV/AIDS Bureau shined the spotlight on the need to address the unique needs of adolescents with HIV to improve their health outcomes.
She has served on IDSA’s Inclusion, Diversity, Access and Equity Committee, as the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society liaison to the HIVMA Board of Directors and on the Obama Administration’s Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. She currently serves as the vice chair of the American Academy of HIV Medicine’s board of directors. She received the Linda Bell Award for Advocacy in HIV/AIDS from the North Carolina Community AIDS Fund.
For her leadership in advocating for and providing optimal care for transgender youth and adolescents with or at risk of HIV, IDSA is honored to recognize Dr. Collins-Ogle with a 2024 Society Citation Award.
William G. Powderly, MD, FIDSA — a past president of IDSA and the Dr. J. William Campbell Professor of Medicine and the Larry J. Shapiro Director of the Institute for Public Health at Washington University School of Medicine — was part of the first generation of ID physicians to embrace the care of people with HIV. He was also the founding chair of the HIV Medicine Association. For more than 30 years, Dr. Powderly has conducted HIV-related clinical research, much of it funded by the National Institutes of Health, exploring opportunistic infections, metabolic complications and antiretroviral therapy. As IDSA president, he was instrumental in making IDSA’s leadership more reflective of its diverse membership. His commitment to inclusion fostered a culture of belonging, equity and representation across IDSA’s committees and award recipients. Dr. Powderly has authored more than 500 articles, reviews and book chapters and served on countless advisory groups on HIV and infectious diseases for NIH, CDC, the Canadian Institute for Health Research and the European Medicines Agency.
For his leadership in HIV care and research and his contributions to IDSA and HIVMA, the Society is proud to honor Dr. Powderly with a 2024 Society Citation Award.
Clinical Teacher Award: Anna K. Person, MD, FIDSA
The Clinical Teacher Award honors a career involved in teaching clinical infectious diseases to fellows, residents or medical students and recognizes excellence as a clinician and motivation to teach the next generation. This year the award goes to Anna K. Person, MD, FIDSA.
Anna K. Person, MD, FIDSA — professor of medicine and director of education and faculty development in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center — is a steadfast educator of medical students, residents, fellows and faculty; champion for empathy and equity in patient care and a mentor who explores the interplay of social determinants of health and infectious diseases. The curriculum she created as director of Vanderbilt’s Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program has become the foundation of education for infectious diseases fellows. While leading the division’s education committee, she strengthened the clinical and classroom teaching commitments of infectious diseases faculty. Vanderbilt has recognized her with numerous accolades, including the Vanderbilt Program in Interprofessional Learning Award for Outstanding Service and Leadership in Education. Outside Vanderbilt, she’s served as the clinical director and leader of the Interprofessional Education Community of Practice for the Southeast AIDS Education and Training Center, helping shape the HIV curriculum in nursing, medicine, dentistry, social work and pharmacy. Dr. Person has served on the HIVMA Board of Directors and currently serves as vice chair.
IDSA is pleased to add the 2024 Clinical Teacher Award to Dr. Person’s other awards in recognition of her excellence in education and training.
For full award descriptions, recipient biographies and information about other awards given to Society members this year, please visit idsociety.org/about-idsa/society-awards.
About the Infectious Diseases Society of America
IDSA is a leader on issues of importance to ID professionals, including education and training, policy and advocacy, setting guidelines for patient care and developing resources for clinical practice. It remains at the forefront of global health issues such as COVID-19, antimicrobial resistance and HIV/AIDS. Housed within IDSA is the HIV Medicine Association, which represents medical providers and researchers working on the front lines of HIV. More than 13,000 IDSA and HIVMA members work across the United States and in nearly 100 other countries on six different continents. For more information, visit idsociety.org. Follow IDSA on Facebook and X.