The annual Duncan W. Clark Lecture is named for former Academy President (1983 to 1984) and Trustee (1985 to 1989) Duncan W. Clark, MD. Dr. Clark, an honored physician, teacher, and mentor, had a distinguished record of achievement in teaching, research, and advocacy to ultimately improve the practice of medicine. Dr. Iago Galdston, a major presence at The New York Academy of Medicine from the 1920s to the 1960s, and a world-renowned medical journalist, established in 1984 this annual lecture to honor Dr. Clark, which is made possible through ongoing support from the International Foundation.
Recipients
2019
Michael S. Sparer, JD, PhD
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
“The Politics of ‘Single-Payer’ (and the Quest for an American Version of Universal Health Insurance)”
2017
Herbert Pardes, MD
New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Healthcare System
“Mental Health Reform: A Decisive Moment. Insights Into Moving Forward”
2016
John M. Colmers, MPH
Johns Hopkins Medicine
“The Future of Payment Reform: Perspectives from Maryland”
2015
Thomas H. Lee, MD, M.Sc.
Press Ganey Associates, Inc.
“Engaging Physicians in the Health Care Revolution”
2014
Robert Berenson, MD
Institute Fellow at the Urban Institute
“Provider Consolidation”
2013
John E. McDonough, DPH, MPA
Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health
“The Affordable Care Act on the Verge of Final Success … and a Nervous Breakdown”
2012
Sherry Glied, PhD
Mailman School of Health at Columbia University
“The Affordable Care Act: An Insider’s View”
2011
Donna Shalala, PhD
University of Miami
“The Future of Nursing”
Darlene Curley
The Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence
“New York State: Leading Change, Advancing Health”
2010
Karen Davis
The Commonwealth Fund
“Health Reform and the Empire State: Opportunity for a New Era in Health Care Delivery?”
2009
Benjamin K. Chu, MD, MPH, MACP
Southern California of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals
“Transforming Health Care: Lessons from the West Coast for the East”
The Brock Lecture in Pediatrics was established by Millie and Richard Brock in 1995 on the 100th anniversary of the Academy Section on Pediatrics. The Award sponsors a nationally recognized leader in pediatrics to receive the Brock Award for distinguished contributions to pediatrics and deliver the annual Brock Lecture. The Brock Lecture held at the Academy must address issues concerned with providing care for underserved children.
Recipients
2019
Benard Dreyer, MD
Professor of Pediatrics
NYU Langone Health
Academy Lecture: “Health of Immigrant Children and the Reasons Behind the Failure of Service Systems”
2017
Leonardo Trasande, MD, MPP
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Environmental Medicine & Population Health
NYU School of Medicine.
Academy Lecture: “Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: A Costly Public Health Threat to Children’s Health with Opportunities for Policy Prevention”
2015
Jan Blacher, PhD
Distinguished Professor of Education in the Graduate School of Education, and Founding Director of the SEARCH Family Autism Research Center University of California at Riverside, California
Academy Lecture: “The Collateral Effects of Autism on Families: Why Professionals Should Care”
2012
Stephen R. Cook, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics University of Rochester Medical Center
Academy Lecture: “Community Strategies for Childhood Obesity: A Five-Year Experience”
Visiting Professorship: Cohen Children’s Medical Center, of the North Shore-LIJ Medical Center (Spring of 2013)
2010
Jonathan D. Klein, MD, MPH
Associate Executive Director American Academy of Pediatrics
Academy Lecture: “Children and Tobacco 2010: Who is Winning?”
Visiting Professorship: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center
2009
Mark W. Kline, MD
Professor of Pediatrics and Chief of Retrovirology at the Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital
Academy Lecture: “Pediatric AIDS: Worlds Apart”
Visiting Professorship: Weill Cornell Medical Center
2008
Glenn Flores, MD, FAAP
Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health, Director of General Pediatrics, the Judith and Charles Ginsburg Chair in Pediatrics, and the Director of the Academic General Pediatrics Fellowship at University of Texas Southwestern and Children’s Medical Center Dallas
Academy Lecture: “Racial and Ethnic Disparities in US Children’s Health and Healthcare: How We Can Level the Playing Field”
Visiting Professorship: New York University School of Medicine
2007
No award given
2006
John M. Leventhal, MD
Professor of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine Medical Director for Child Abuse Programs, Yale-New Haven Hospital
Academy Lecture: “Child Maltreatment: Can America Stop Hurting its Children?”
Visiting Professorship: St. Barnabas Hospital
2005
Moira Szilagyi, MD, PhD
Medical Director, Foster Care Pediatrics Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Rochester
Academy Lecture: “Wellness Outcomes of Maltreated Children: An Oxymoron”
Visiting Professorship: New York University School of Medicine
2004
No award given
2003
Samuel Broder, MD
Chief Medical Officer Celera Genomics
Academy Lecture: “Implications of the Human Genome in Human Biology, Medicine and Social Policy”
2002
Otis W. Brawley, MD
Professor of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine
Academy Lecture: “Social Deprivation in Childhood and Life Long Health Habits”
Visiting Professorship: Mount Sinai School of Medicine
2001
Paul H. Wise, MD
Director, Social & Health Policy Research Boston University School of Medicine
Academy Lecture: “Child Beauty, Modern Medicine, and the Devaluation of Women”
Visiting Professorship: Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
2000
Abraham B. Bergman, MD
Chief of Pediatrics, Harborview Medical Center
Academy Lecture: “Effectiveness in Child Advocacy”
Visiting Professorship: Montefiore Medical Center
1999
Heinz F. Eichenwald, MD
William Buchanan Professor of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School
Academy Lecture: “What Else Is Out There? The Challenge of New Infections”
Visiting Professorship: Jacobi Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine
1998
Judith Palfrey, MD
Chief of the Division of General Pediatrics Children’s Hospital, Boston
Academy Lecture: “Community Child Health”
Visiting Professorship: Maimonides Medical Center
1997
William H. Dietz, Jr., MD, PhD
Professor of Pediatrics, Tufts University School of Medicine
Academy Lecture: “Pediatric Obesity and Urban Health: Clinical and Prevention Strategies”
Visiting Professorship: Maimonides Medical Center
1996
Stephen Ludwig, MD
Associate Chair for Medical Education, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Professor of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Academy Lecture: “Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy: A Common Yet Unrecognized Form of Child Abuse in Pediatric Practice” Visiting Professorship: Albert Einstein College of Medicine
1995
Gwendolyn Scott, MD*
Professor of Pediatrics, University of Miami School of Medicine
Academy Lecture: “Pediatric HIV Infection: Prevention, Therapy, & Future Challenges”
Visiting Professorship: New York University School of Medicine
* First recipient of The Millie & Richard Brock Lectureship Visiting Professorship and Lectureship in Pediatrics
Exceptional service to the Academy has been recognized since 1952 with an award of distinction for Fellows and affiliates of the Academy. Individuals are recognized for sustained engagement with the Academy over an extended period, making major contributions to the success of the Academy’s mission and programs, its role in the broader community or its organizational growth and development.
Eligibility Requirements
Award candidates demonstrating exceptional service to the Academy must be nominated via the Nominations Committee’s process (see Application Process below). The awardee must be available to accept the award in-person at the Academy’s Anniversary Discourse and Awards ceremony in November.
Application Process
During the first quarter of the year, a message is sent on behalf of the Nominations Committee to all Academy Fellows and Members soliciting nominations for the Academy’s five annual awards that are bestowed at the Annual Meeting of the Fellows and Discourse and Awards Ceremony in November. The task of the Nominations Committee is to recommend a list of nominees (two individuals per award, allowing for an alternate in case the first choice is unable to attend the November meeting) based on the submitted nominations. The nominees are discussed at great length and it is decided as a group which two names for each award should be advanced for consideration—there is the first candidate and then an alternate if the first choice cannot accept. The Academy President extends the invitations to those selected.
Award Information
The award recipient accepts the award in-person at the Academy’s Anniversary Discourse and Awards ceremony in November.
Previous Recipients
- 2024 Mark Kaplan and David Vlahov, PhD, RN, FAAN
- 2023 Edward H. Shortliffe, MD, PhD
- 2021 James Flynn, MS
- 2019 George E. Thibault, MD
- 2018 Jo Ivey Boufford
- 2017 Barry S. Coller and Bobbi Coller
- 2016 Terry Fulmer
- 2015 Ruby P. Hearn
- 2014 Leslie Goldman
- 2013 Claire M. Fagin
- 2012 Gerald E. Thomson
- 2011 Anne Moore
- 2010 Corinne Rieder
- 2009 Jack Barchas
- 2008 Jack Rudin
- 2007 Jeremiah A. Barondess
- 2006 Gordon H. DeFriese
- 2005 Peter F. Vallone
- 2004 William H. Helfand
- 2003 Marvin Lieberman, Jacqueline Messite
- 2002 William N. Hubbard, Jr.
- 2001 Stanley Brezenoff
- 2000 Michael R. McGarvey
- 1999 Richard L. Menschel
- 1998 Ralph A. O’Connell
- 1997 Thomas Q. Morris
- 1996 Saul J. Farber
- 1995 Robert J. Haggerty
- 1994 William C. Stubing
- 1993 Margaret E. Mahoney
- 1992 Martin Cherkasky
- 1991 Mary Ann Payne
- 1990 Fidelio A. Jimenez
- 1989 Maurice E. Shils
- 1988 Bernard J. Pisani
- 1987 Norbert J. Roberts
- 1986 Duncan W. Clark
- 1985 John V. Waller
- 1984 August H. Groeschel
- 1983 Iago Galdston
- 1982 Joseph Post
- 1981 Edward E. Fischel
- 1980 John L. Madden
- 1979 Saul Jarcho
- 1978 George A. Perera
- 1977 Frank Glenn
- 1976 Paul Reznikoff
- 1975 Albert C. Santy
- 1974 Gertrude L. Annan, Janet Doe
- 1973 Jerome P. Webster
- 1972 Frank B. Berry
- 1971 Samuel W. Lambert, Jr.
- 1970 J. Burns Amberson, Jr.
- 1969 Peter Marshall Murray
- 1968 Claude Heaton
- 1967 Howard Reid Craig
- 1966 Benjamin P. Watson
- 1965 Arthur M. Master
- 1964 William Barclay Parsons
- 1963 Asa Liggett Lincoln
- 1962 Robert L. Levy
- 1961 George Baehr
- 1960 Shepard Krech
- 1959 Montgomery B. Angell
- 1958 Charles C. Morchand
- 1956 Malcolm Goodridge
- 1955 Haven Emerson
- 1954 Seth Minot Milliken
- 1953 John W. Davis
- 1952 Orrin Sage Wightman
The Academy has been awarding a medal for distinguished contributions in biomedical science since 1929 to an eminent scientist in biomedicine. The recipient should be a senior investigator with evidence of sustained accomplishments in biomedical research and a special interest in translating research findings to advance human health. The recipient must have made identifiable, unique contribution(s) to a field or discipline with demonstrated impact on both research and training.
Eligibility Requirements
Award candidates demonstrating extraordinary contributions in biomedical science must be nominated via the Nominations Committee’s process (see Application Process below). The awardee must be available to accept the award in-person at the Academy’s Anniversary Discourse and Awards ceremony in November.
Application Process
During the first quarter of the year, a message is sent on behalf of the Nominations Committee to all Academy Fellows and Members soliciting nominations for the Academy’s five annual awards that are bestowed at the Annual Meeting of the Fellows and Discourse and Awards Ceremony in November. The task of the Nominations Committee is to recommend a list of nominees (two individuals per award, allowing for an alternate in case the first choice is unable to attend the November meeting) based on the submitted nominations. The nominees are discussed at great length and it is decided as a group which two names for each award should be advanced for consideration—there is the first candidate and then an alternate if the first choice cannot accept. The Academy President, Dr. Judith A. Salerno, extends the invitations to those selected.
Award Information
The award recipient accepts the award in-person at the Academy’s Anniversary Discourse and Awards ceremony in November.
Previous Recipients
- 2024 Gary H. Gibbons, MD
- 2023 Claire M. Fraser, PhD
- 2023 Charles Rotimi, PhD
- 2021 Katalin Karikó, PhD
- 2021 Drew Weissman, MD, PhD
- 2019 Nancy S. Wexler
- 2018 Wendy K. Chung
- 2017 Nancy E. Adler
- 2016 Richard P. Lifton
- 2015 Charles L. Sawyers
- 2014 Stuart Schreiber
- 2013 Rudolf Jaenisch
- 2012 Elaine Fuchs
- 2011 Susan Band Horwitz
- 2010 James S. Jackson
- 2009 Eric S. Lander
- 2008 Joan A. Steitz
- 2007 Stanley N. Cohen
- 2006 Bert Vogelstein
- 2005 Elizabeth H. Blackburn
- 2004 Irving L. Weissman
- 2003 Wayne A. Hendrickson
- 2002 James E. Darnell, Jr.
- 2001 Richard Axel
- 2000 Harold Varmus
- 1999 James D. Watson
- 1998 Judah Folkman
- 1997 David Baltimore
- 1996 Eric R. Kandel
- 1995 William Trager
- 1994 Harold S. Ginsberg
- 1993 John H. Laragh
- 1992 Robert F. Furchgott
- 1991 Maria I. New
- 1990 Matthew Scharff
- 1989 Elvin A. Kabat
- 1988 Paul F. Cranefield, Brian Hoffman
- 1987 Thomas C. Chalmers
- 1986 Irving S. Wright
- 1985 Lloyd J. Old
- 1984 Vincent P. Dole
- 1983 Edwin D. Kilbourne
- 1982 Rene Dubos
- 1981 Karl Meyer
- 1980 Erwin Chargaff
- 1979 Maclyn McCarty
- 1978 Saul Krugman
- 1977 Henry G. Kunkel
- 1976 Charles A. Ragan, Jr.
- 1975 George Hirst
- 1974 H. Sherwood Lawrence
- 1973 Rebecca Lancefield
- 1972 James A. Shannon
- 1971 Solomon Berson
- 1970 Harry Eagle
- 1969 Harold W. Brown
- 1968 Michael Heidelberger
- 1967 Donald D. Van Slyke
- 1966 Samuel Z. Levine, Rustin McIntosh
- 1965 Richard E. Shope
- 1964 Gilbert J. Dalldorf
- 1963 Andre Cournand, Dickinson W. Richards
- 1962 Paul Klemperer
- 1961 E. V. McCollum
- 1960 Eugene L. Opie
- 1959 Peyton Rous
- 1958 Alphonse R. Dochez
- 1956 Eugene F. DuBois
- 1955 Allen O. Whipple
- 1954 Edwards A. Park
- 1953 Rufus Cole
- 1947 James Alexander Miller
- 1944 Oswald T. Avery
- 1938 Bela Schick
- 1936 Alfred Newton Richards
- 1934 Charles Norris
- 1931 David Marine
- 1929 Carl Koller
The award for distinguished contributions in health policy, established in 2008, recognizes an individual who has created evidence through their own research and/or applied evidence and experience through their public service, community service, or advocacy to promote significant policy change in the health system to improve the health of the public and eliminate health disparities.
Eligibility Requirements
Award candidates demonstrating extraordinary contributions in health policy must be nominated via the Nominations Committee’s process (see Application Process below). The awardee must be available to accept the award in-person at the Academy’s Anniversary Discourse and Awards ceremony in November.
Application Process
During the first quarter of the year, a message is sent on behalf of the Nominations Committee to all Academy Fellows and Members soliciting nominations for the Academy’s five annual awards that are bestowed at the Annual Meeting of the Fellows and Discourse and Awards Ceremony in November. The task of the Nominations Committee is to recommend a list of nominees (two individuals per award, allowing for an alternate in case the first choice is unable to attend the November meeting) based on the submitted nominations. The nominees are discussed at great length and it is decided as a group which two names for each award should be advanced for consideration—there is the first candidate and then an alternate if the first choice cannot accept. The Academy President extends the invitations to those selected.
Award Information
The award recipient accepts the event in-person at the Academy’s Anniversary Discourse and Awards ceremony in November.
Previous Recipients
- 2024 Atul Gawande, MD, MPH
- 2023 Denis Mukwege, MD
- 2021 The Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation represented by Co-Founders Jennifer Breen Feist, JD, and J. Corey Feist, JD, MBA
- 2019 Diana J. Mason
- 2018 Freeman A. Hrabowski, III
- 2017 Donald M. Berwick
- 2016 David Blumenthal
- 2015 Margaret A. Hamburg
- 2014 Uwe Reinhardt
- 2013 Carolyn M. Clancy
- 2012 Karen Davis
- 2011 Vivian Pinn
- 2010 Ada Sue Hinshaw
- 2009 John E. Wennberg
- 2008 John K. Iglehart
The medal for lifetime achievement in public health, first awarded in 2005, was named for Stephen Smith, an Academy Fellow and pioneer in the field of public health. The recipient should have led or significantly contributed to work that effected a significant change in public health policy or practice to improve population health, including work on the broad determinants of health, with a special emphasis on eliminating health disparities.
Eligibility Requirements
Award candidates demonstrating extraordinary contributions to the field of public health must be nominated via the Nominations Committee’s process (see Application Process below). The awardee must be available to accept the award in-person at the Academy’s Anniversary Discourse and Awards ceremony in November.
Application Process
During the first quarter of the year, a message is sent on behalf of the Nominations Committee to all Academy Fellows and Members soliciting nominations for the Academy’s five annual awards that are bestowed at the Annual Meeting of the Fellows and Discourse and Awards Ceremony in November. The task of the Nominations Committee is to recommend a list of nominees (two individuals per award, allowing for an alternate in case the first choice is unable to attend the November meeting) based on the submitted nominations. The nominees are discussed at great length and it is decided as a group which two names for each award should be advanced for consideration—there is the first candidate and then an alternate if the first choice cannot accept. The Academy President extends the invitations to those selected.
Award Information
The award recipient accepts the event in-person at the Academy’s Anniversary Discourse and Awards ceremony in November.
Previous Recipients:
- 2024 Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH
- 2023 Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH
- 2021 Reed Tuckson, MD, FACP
- 2019 Mary T. Bassett
- 2018 Wafaa El-Sadr
- 2017 Paula A. Johnson
- 2016 Linda Rosenstock
- 2015 Alfred Sommer
- 2014 Sir Michael Marmot
- 2013 David R. Williams
- 2012 Honorable Michael R. Bloomberg
- 2011 Thomas Frieden
- 2010 Lisa Berkman
- 2009 Philip J. Landrigan
- 2008 Harvey V. Fineberg
- 2007 William H. Foege
- 2006 William B. Kannel, Allan Rosenfield
- 2005 Lester Breslow
The medal for lifetime achievement in medicine established in 1992 and named for John Stearns, the first president of the Academy, is awarded for extraordinary contributions to the clinical practice of medicine. These contributions can be in disease prevention, treatment, rehabilitation; physician-patient communication; clinical medical education; or medical ethics.
Eligibility Requirements
Award candidates demonstrating extraordinary contributions to the clinical practice of medicine must be nominated via the Committee’s process (see Application Process below). The awardee must be available to accept the award in-person at the Academy’s Anniversary Discourse and Awards ceremony in November.
Application Process
During the first quarter of the year, a message is sent on behalf of the Nominations Committee to all Academy Fellows and Members soliciting nominations for the Academy’s five annual awards that are bestowed at the Annual Meeting of the Fellows and Discourse and Awards Ceremony in November. The task of the Nominations Committee is to recommend a list of nominees (two individuals per award, allowing for an alternate in case the first choice is unable to attend the November meeting) based on the submitted nominations. The nominees are discussed at great length and it is decided as a group which two names for each award should be advanced for consideration—there is the first candidate and then an alternate if the first choice cannot accept. The Academy President extends the invitations to those selected.
Award Information
The award recipient accepts the event in-person at the Academy’s Anniversary Discourse and Awards ceremony in November.
Previous Recipients
- 2024 Robert L. Johnson, MD
- 2023 Mary-Claire King, PhD
- 2023 Clyde W. Yancy, MD, MSc
- 2021 Kizzmekia S. Corbett, PhD
- 2021 Barney S. Graham, MD, PhD
- 2021 William Gruber, MD
- 2019 Philip A. Pizzo
- 2018 Patricia Bath
- 2017 Herbert Pardes
- 2016 David L. Olds
- 2015 Diane E. Meier
- 2014 Elaine Larson
- 2013 Daniel D. Federman
- 2012 Antonio M. Gotto, Jr.
- 2011 Rita Charon
- 2010 Kathleen M. Foley
- 2009 David G. Nathan
- 2008 Richard Mayeaux
- 2007 Arthur H. Rubenstein
- 2006 Victor A. McKusick
- 2005 Samuel O. Thier
- 2004 Mary Ellen Avery
- 2003 David A. Hamburg
- 2002 Paul A. Marks
- 2001 Paul B. Beeson
- 2000 Robert J. Glaser
- 1999 Julius B. Richmond
- 1998 Torsten N. Wiesel
- 1997 David Satcher
- 1996 Joshua Lederberg
- 1995 Donald A. Henderson
- 1994 David E. Rogers
- 1993 Maclyn McCarty
- 1992 Lewis Thomas