IDSA recognizes our members' contributions to the field of infectious disease with the following awards:
Lifetime Achievement:
- Alexander Fleming Award for Lifetime Achievement
- D.A. Henderson Award for Outstanding Contributions to Public Health
- The Watanakunakorn Clinician Award
- The Walter E. Stamm Mentor Award
Early Achievement:
Exemplary Achievement:
2019 Nominations Closed
Help us celebrate the field of ID by nominating hard working clinicians, promising young researchers, outstanding mentors, and those who have had a lifetime of impact on the field.
Nominations for the 2019 awards will be reviewed by the Society Awards Committee and a final recommendation for each award will be made to the IDSA Board of Directors for approval. IDSA members who are currently serving on the IDSA Board of Directors are not eligible to be nominated for Society Awards.
Each award recipient will receive a $1,500 honorarium and will be reimbursed for IDWeek travel expenses to include coach airfare and one-night lodging to attend the award presentation.
Alexander Fleming Award
The Alexander Fleming Award for lifetime achievement is granted to an IDSA member or fellow in recognition of a career that reflects major contributions to the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge about infectious diseases.
2019 Alexander Fleming Lifetime Achievement Award Winner
Michael Scheld, MD, FIDSA, an accomplished scientist and scholar whose research has greatly expanded our knowledge of serious life-threatening infections including infective endocarditis, bacterial meningitis, and sepsis, is the recipient of IDSA’s 2019 Alexander Fleming Award for Lifetime Achievement. This award recognizes a career that reflects major contributions to the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge about infectious diseases.
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D.A. Henderson Award
New in 2017, The D.A. Henderson Award for Outstanding contributions to Public Health will recognize 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 disease 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.
2019 D.A. Henderson Award Winner
The Catherine M. Wilfert, MD, FIDSA, a driving force behind the effort to drastically reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV in the U.S. and globally, is the recipient of IDSA’s 2019 D.A. Henderson Award for Outstanding Contributions to Public Health. Named to honor the memory of Dr. Henderson, who led the successful eradication of smallpox, this award recognizes a lifetime of achievement in public health.
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Watanakunakorn Clinician Award
Named to honor the memory of Dr. Chatrchai Watanakunakorn, this award is given annually by the IDSA Education and Research Foundation to an IDSA member of fellow in recognition of outstanding achievement in the clinical practice of infectious diseases.
Nominees must have spent most of their career working predominantly in direct clinical care, whether private practice or part of a health-system group. The recipient must be in clinical practice, and exhibit excellence in one or more of the following areas:
Clinical care, clinical research, patient or community education, compassion, patient advocacy, general community service, and service to a national or state infectious diseases society. Local recognition in medical journals, newspapers, or magazines will also be taken into consideration.
2019 Watanakunakorn Clinician Award Winner
Virginia D. Banks, MD, MBA, FIDSA, who has made sustained contributions to the field and the next generation of ID specialists, is the recipient of IDSA’s 2019 Watanakunakorn Clinician Award. Named to honor the memory of Chatrchai Watanakunakorn, this award is presented by the IDSA Education and Research Foundation to recognize an IDSA member or fellow for outstanding achievement in the clinical practice of infectious diseases.
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Walter E. Stamm Mentor Award
About the Walter E. Stamm Mentor Award
Named to honor the late past-president Walter E. Stamm, MD, FIDSA, this award was created to recognize individuals who have served as exemplary mentors and is presented to an IDSA member or fellow who has been exceptional in guiding professional growth of infectious diseases professionals.
Nominations
Nominees may work in any field of infectious diseases; be involved in patient care, education, or research; and be in private practice, academia, or public health. Nominees may mentor medical students, doctoral and post-doctoral students, residents, fellows, or those early in their professional careers. Current trainees of a nominee are not eligible to write nomination letters for the Mentor Award.
Requirements for the award include:
- Availability to provide counsel, assistance, and encouragement
- Willingness to make serving as a mentor a priority
- Ability to assist in identifying and achieving goals, and developing important skills
- Ability to assist in solving problems and overcoming obstacles impeding career development
- Important role model characteristics, such as integrity and compassion
- Well-established record for training and mentoring academic and IDSA leaders over a sustained period of time
2019 Walter E. Stamm Mentor Winner
David L. Thomas, MD, MPH, FIDSA, a gifted and selfless mentor who has supported the successful careers of many trainees and junior faculty, is the recipient of IDSA’s 2019 Walter E. Stamm Mentor Award. Named to honor the memory of a former IDSA president who was renowned for nurturing the careers of others, this award recognizes individuals who have served as exemplary mentors and who have been exceptional in guiding the professional growth of infectious disease professionals.
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Oswald Avery Award for Early Achievement
About the Oswald Avery Award for Early Achievement
The Oswald Avery Award for Early Achievement recognizes outstanding achievement in an area of infectious diseases by an individual member or fellow of IDSA who is 45 or younger (on December 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.
Nominations
Nominees for the Oswald Avery Award for Early Achievement must be 45 or younger. Please take a moment to review the nomination application and ensure that an NIH biosketch is available to upload as a part of the nominations package.
2019 Oswald Avery Award for Early Achievement Winner
Nasia Safdar, MD, MS, PhD, FIDSA, FSHEA, an internationally recognized leader in healthcare-associated infection prevention research, is the recipient of IDSA’s 2019 Oswald Avery Award for Early Achievement. This honor recognizes members or fellows of IDSA age 45 or younger who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in an area of infectious diseases.
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Clinical Practice Innovation Award
About the Clinical Practice Innovation Award
The Clinical Practice Innovation Award will be awarded to members who devote the majority of their time to patient care and who have significantly advanced the clinical practice of infectious diseases within the last five years. This may be accomplished through innovation in clinical practice design or management, or advocacy on the behalf of IDSA that fosters change to better recognize the value of infectious diseases practice.
2019 Clinical Practice Innovation Award Winner
No Award Recipient
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Society Citation Award
About the Society Citation Award
The Society Citation is a discretionary award given in recognition of exemplary contribution to IDSA, and outstanding discovery in the field of infectious diseases, or a lifetime of outstanding achievement. More than one award may be given each year.
2019 Society Citation Award Winners
Brian S. Schwartz, MD
Brian S. Schwartz, MD, a nationally recognized leader in infectious diseases medical education, is the recipient of a 2019 IDSA Society Citation. First awarded in 1977, this 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.
Steven K. Schmitt, MD, FIDSA
Steven K. Schmitt, MD, FIDSA, a leading voice for the appropriate recognition of the value of the infectious diseases specialist, is the recipient of a 2019 IDSA Society Citation. First awarded in 1977, this 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.
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Clinical Teacher Award
About the Clinical Teacher Award
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.
Nominations
Particular attention will be given to nominations that document the impact of an individual on the school and community where he or she practices.
Requirements for the award include:
- Exemplary teaching skills
- Implementation of innovative educational programs
- Outstanding bedside and patient communication skills and the ability to convey these skills to others
- Evidence of teaching awards at the local or regional level
- Sustained excellence in teaching (nominees should be at least 10 years out of fellowship)
2019 Clinical Teacher Award Winner
William L. Salzer, MD, who supervised hundreds of students, residents, and fellows over nearly three decades, is the posthumous recipient of IDSA’s 2019 Clinical Teacher Award. This award honors a career dedicated to teaching clinical infectious diseases to fellows, residents, and medical students and recognizes excellence as a clinician and motivation to teach the next generation of physicians.
Salzer was director of the Division of Infectious Diseases and professor of clinical medicine at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. He was also the director of the ID fellowship program from 2004 until his passing in 2019. Passionate about patient care, physician training, medical education, community outreach, and mentorship, he contributed greatly to the patient-based learning curriculum as a case and exam writer and did so since the curriculum, in which students collaboratively learn from real clinical cases, was introduced at the University of Missouri 25 years ago. In his decades of service, he has become a legendary teacher and mentor to students, several of whom are now faculty members at his institution.
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