SGIM Announces Award and Grant Recipients from the 2026 Annual Meeting

The Society of General Internal Medicine presented numerous awards and grants at its Annual Scientific Meeting, held May 6–9, 2026 at the Gaylord Hotel and Convention Center, Oxon Hill, MD. SGIM is proud and pleased to announce the recipients by category.

Recognition Awards

The Robert J. Glaser Award – Presented to Allan S. Detsky, MD, PhD (Mount Sinai Hospital – Toronto) for outstanding contributions to research, education, or both in generalism in medicine. The award is supported by grants from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund, and individual contributors.

Herbert W. Nickens Minority Health and Representation in Medicine Award – Presented to Monica Peek, MD, MPH (University of Chicago Medical Center) for a demonstrated commitment to cultural diversity in medicine.

Elnora M. Rhodes SGIM Service Award – Presented to Carolyn Clancy, MD (Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center). This award is given to members of the Society who have demonstrated extraordinary service to SGIM and its missions.

ACLGIM Chiefs Recognition Award – Presented to Mitchell D. Feldman, MD, MPhil (University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine). This award is given annually to the general internal medicine Division Chief who best represents excellence in division leadership.

The ACLGIM UNLTD (Unified Leadership Training in Diversity) Award – Recognizing that academic leaders are expected to navigate complex structures and systems, the UNLTD Program aims to equip current and aspiring academic leaders with the essential skills to thrive and drive diversity in academic organizations. The 2026 recipient is Michael Charles, MD (University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center).

The ACLGIM Leadership Award – Given to a member of the ACLGIM who is within the first 10 years of faculty appointment, recognizing leadership skills in any number of areas of academic medicine, including clinical, educational, research, or administrative efforts. The 2026 recipient is Thomas R. Radomski, MD, MS (University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine).

The Quality and Practice Innovation Award – Recognizes a general internist and their organization that has successfully developed and implemented innovative role model systems of practice improvement in ambulatory and/or inpatient clinical practice. The 2026 award was presented to the Primary Care Behavioral Health Integration Program (PC-5HIP) at the University of Chicago (Neda Laiteerapong, MD, MS).

The Excellence in Medical Ethics Award – Recognizes original scholarship that SGIM members have done to advance medical ethics. The 2026 award was presented to Matthew DeCamp, MD, PhD (University of Colorado School of Medicine).

The John Goodson Leadership in Health Policy Scholarship – Awards funding for one incoming Leadership in Health Policy (LEAHP) scholar working in the field of clinical practice/payment reform. The 2026 recipient is Melissa Chiang, MD, MBA (University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine).

Research Awards

John M. Eisenberg National Award for Career Achievement in Research – Presented to Rachel M. Werner, MD, PhD (University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine) in recognition of a senior SGIM member whose innovative research has changed the way we care for patients, the way we conduct research, or the way we educate our students. SGIM member contributions and the Hess Foundation support this award.

Outstanding Junior Investigator of the Year – Presented to Elizabeth Tung, MD (University of Chicago Division of the Biological Sciences, The Pritzker School of Medicine) for early career achievements and overall body of work that has made a national impact on generalist research.

Mid-Career Research Mentorship Award – Presented to Anne N. Thorndike, MD, MPH (Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School) in recognition of mentoring activities as a general internal medicine investigator.

Best Published Research Paper of the Year – Presented to Eric T. Roberts, PhD (University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine) for his 2025 publication “Loss of Subsidized Drug Coverage and Mortality Among Medicare Beneficiaries.” This award is offered to help members gain recognition for papers that have significantly contributed to generalist research.

Founders’ Grant – Awarded to Joseph Nwadiuko, MD, PhD (University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine). The SGIM Founders Award provides up to $10,000 in support to junior investigators who exhibit significant potential for a successful research career and who need a “jump start” to establish a strong research funding base.

Lawrence S. Linn Needs-Based Travel Grant – Supports trainees, residents, and students presenting work in HIV, AIDS, PrEP, transgender health, and sexual and gender minority health at the SGIM26 Annual Meeting. Recipients are selected through a review process and receive $800 to help offset travel costs, advancing SGIM’s commitment to supporting emerging scholars and impactful research. The 2026 recipients are:

• Anne Peacock, MD, MSW (Emory Healthcare)
• Allison Knoedler, MD (Indiana University School of Medicine)
• Fidel Vazquez, MD (Tulane University School of Medicine)
• Shreya Shaw (Ohio State University Medical College)
• Andrew Travis (University of Chicago Division of the Biological Sciences, The Pritzker School of Medicine)
• Shana Zucker, MPH, MS (University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine)

Mary O’Flaherty Horn Scholarship – Awarded to Juan Lessing, MD (University of Colorado School of Medicine). This two-year career development grant is awarded to a junior clinician-educator to promote their academic career while maintaining a healthy balance between personal and professional responsibilities, providing the scholar with a flexible schedule and protected time to engage in meaningful career development and scholarly activities. This grant funds the scholar $30,000 yearly for two years, in addition to their institution matching $30,000 yearly for two years.

Clinician-Educator Awards

Achievement in Education and Innovation Award – Recognizes gifted teachers who have demonstrated a track record of employing innovative teaching methods, developing outstanding courses and curricula, or novel educational programs shared at a national level. The 2026 recipient is Kimberly D. Manning, MD, MACP, FAAP (Emory University School of Medicine).

Mid-Career Education Mentorship Award – Recognizes outstanding mid-career clinician educators actively engaged in education research and mentoring junior clinician educators. Presented to Craig Noronha, MD, FACP (Boston University School of Medicine).

Frederick L. Brancati Mentorship & Leadership Award – Presented to Leah Marcotte, MD, MS (University of Washington School of Medicine). The Brancati Award honors an individual at the junior faculty level who inspires and mentors trainees to pursue general internal medicine and lead the transformation of health care through innovations in research, education, and practice.

Scholarship in Medical Education Award – Presented to Sarah Merriam, MD, MS (University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine) for individual contributions to medical education in one or more of the following categories: Scholarship of Integration, Scholarship in Educational Methods and Teaching, and Scholarship in Clinical Practice.

Presentation Awards

Mack Lipkin, Sr. – Associate Member Awards – Presented to the scientific presentations considered most outstanding by students, residents, and fellows during the 2026 SGIM annual meeting. Awards are made based on participant evaluations of the presentations and are endowed by the Zlinkoff Fund for Medical Education. The 2026 award winners are:

• Amanda McArthur, PhD (Johns Hopkins Medicine) – Conversations About Diabetes Self-Management in Primary Care Encounters: When Do Patients Disclose Medication Nonadherence?
• Maisie Orsillo, DO (Yale School of Medicine) – We Are the Doctors for You – Improving Internal Medicine Resident Education to Better Serve Adults Living with Disabilities: A Randomized Controlled Trial
• Isabel Ostrer, MD (University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine) – How Many Hours Do We Work Anyway: Quantifying Work Efforts Among Primary Care Providers Nationwide

Milton W. Hamolsky – Junior Faculty Awards – Presented to the scientific presentations considered most outstanding by junior faculty during the 2026 SGIM annual meeting. Awards are made based on participant evaluations of the presentations and are endowed by the Zlinkoff Fund for Medical Education. The 2026 award winners are:

• Anand Habib, MD, MPhil, MHS (University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine) – Healthcare-Systemwide Causes and Severity of Moral Distress Among a National Sample of Practicing Physicians: A Cross-Sectional Survey
• Adam Markovitz, MD, PhD (University of Michigan Medical School) – REACH for the Best, Leave the Rest: Selection and Coding in Medicare’s Newest ACO Model
• Sumit Agarwal, MD, MPH, PhD (University of Michigan Medical School) – Cash Transfers and Birth Outcomes: A Population-Based Quasi-Experimental Study of the Rx Kids Unconditional Care Prescription during Pregnancy and Infancy

SGIM Clinical Vignette Oral Presentation Award – Recognizes the best presented clinical cases by a medical student, internal medicine resident, or GIM fellow (not faculty) at the SGIM National Meeting. This year’s recipients are Clare Nimura, BA (The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University) for Not All Hallucinations are Psychosis, and Andrew-Huy Dang, MD (University of California, San Diego) for When the Headache is More than a Migraine: An Uncommon Cause of Temporal Pain.

David E. Rogers Junior Faculty Award – Awarded to junior faculty for workshops judged to be the most outstanding among those presented at the 2026 annual meeting. The Zlinkoff Fund for Medical Education endows these awards. The 2026 recipients are:

• Matthew N. Metzinger, MD, MS (University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine) for the workshop “Mindful Self-Compassion: A Proven Way to Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength, and Thrive with Career Transitions”
• Miriam Robin, MD (SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University) for the workshop “Tiny Stories, Big Impact: Exploring Narrative Medicine in Just 100 Words”
• Amteshwar Singh, MD, FACP (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine) for the workshop “Measuring What Matters: Designing Valid and Reliable Surveys in Health Professions Education”

Innovations in Medical Education Oral Abstract Award – Lauren Phinney (University of California, San Francisco/San Francisco Health Network) for the abstract “Leveling Up for Boards: Theory-Informed Gamification of Team-Based Residency Exam Preparation.”

Distinguished Professor of Women’s Health Best Oral Abstract Award – Karly A. Murphy, MD, MHS (University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine) for the abstract “Women with Serious Mental Illness are Falling Through the Cracks in Breast Cancer Screening: A Gap Analysis Across an Urban Health System.”

Distinguished Professor of Women’s Health Best Poster Award – Nicole Luche, MD (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) for the poster “Changes in Teratogen Prescribing Patterns in States with Variable Abortion Policies Following the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court Decision.”

Distinguished Professor of Geriatrics Best Oral Abstract Award – Kathryn A. Martinez, MPH, PhD (Cleveland Clinic) for the abstract “Primary Care Physician Perspectives on Estimating Patient Life Expectancy to Guide Colorectal Cancer Screening Decisions for Older Adults.”

Distinguished Professor of Geriatrics Best Poster Award – Audrey D. Zhang, MD (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center) for the poster “Telemedicine and Health Care Contact Days Among Older Adults Under Changing Reimbursement Policies.”

Distinguished Professor of Health Equity Best Oral Abstract Award – Alana Biggers, MD, MPH (University of Illinois College of Medicine) for the abstract “My ESSENCE: A Pilot Study of a Mindfulness-Based Digital Health Intervention to Improve Sleep and Cardiovascular Risk in Black Adults with Type 2 Diabetes.”

Distinguished Professor of Health Equity Best Poster Award – Aakrsh Misra (University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine) for the poster “Trends in Cardiometabolic Risk Factor Burden and Treatment by Race and Ethnicity Among Adults with Atrial Fibrillation.”

Distinguished Professor of Hospital Medicine Best Oral Abstract Award – Teryl K. Nuckols, MD, MS (Cedars-Sinai Medical Center) for the abstract “The Cost-Effectiveness of the START Hospital Addiction Consultation Service for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment.”

Distinguished Professor of Hospital Medicine Best Poster Award – Blair Golden, MD (University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health) for the poster “Association Between Cognitive Impairment and Clinician Prescribing at Hospital Discharge: A Nested Cohort Study.”

 

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The Society of General Internal Medicine is a member-based international medical association of more than 3,000 of the world’s leading academic general internists, dedicated to improving access to care for vulnerable populations, eliminating health care disparities, and enhancing medical education. SGIM strives to be the professional home for innovators and scholars in academic general internal medicine, leading the way to better health for everyone. The members of the Society advance the practice of medicine through their commitment to providing comprehensive, coordinated, and cost-effective care to adults, educating the next generation of outstanding physicians, and conducting cutting-edge research to improve quality of care and clinical outcomes for all patients. www.sgim.org