Established in 1968, the Medical Alumni Association Distinguished Awards were created to recognize those who make important contributions to the establishment and growth of the four-year medical school and to the world of medicine. The awards are designed to honor alumni and friends whose distinguished careers and unselfish contributions to society have added luster and prestige to the University and its School of Medicine. A committee appointed by the Dean of the School of Medicine selects the recipients from nominations solicited from alumni and medical school faculty.
Nomination Form Award Descriptions
Lifetime Achievement
Robert J. Lefkowitz, MD
Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator
Distinguished Alumna
Mary Louise Markert, PhD’81, MD’82, HS’82-’84,’84-’87
Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics, Division of Allergy and Immunology
Professor Emeritus of Immunology
Distinguished Alumnus
Kurt D. Newman, MD’78
Retired, President and Chief Executive Officer, Children’s National Hospital
Distinguished Faculty
E. Shelley Hwang, MD, MPH
Mary and Deryl Hart Professor of Surgery
Vice Chair of Research of Surgery
Professor of Radiology
Disease Group Leader, Breast Cancer Program, Duke Cancer Institute
Emerging Leader
Kanecia O. Zimmerman, MD’07, HS’07-’11, 12-’15, PhD, MPH
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine
Emerging Leader
Kevin O. Saunders, PhD’10
Associate Professor in Surgery
Associate Professor in the Department of Immunology
Associate Professor in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
Associate Director of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute
Transformational Leadership
LATIN-19 Executive Team
Executive Team Members:
Viviana S. Martinez-Bianchi, MD
Gabriela M. Maradiaga Panayotti, MD
Leonor Corsino, MD, HS’06-’09, MHS’09
Rosa M. Gonzalez-Guarda, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN
Irene C. Felsman, DNP, MPH, RN
Pablo Friedmann
Rosa M. Solorzano, MD, MPH
Gabriela A. Nagy, PhD
Alejandro Peña
Distinguished Alumnus
David H. Adams, BS'79, MD'83
Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Professor and chair, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; cardiac surgeon-in-chief, Mount Sinai Health System
Distinguished Faculty
Michael B. Kastan, MD, PhD
William and Jane Shingleton Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology and Professor of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine; Executive Director, Duke Cancer Institute
Distinguished Service
Diana B. McNeill, AB’78, MD’82, HS’87-’88
Professor of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine
Distinguished Alumna
Laura E. Schanberg, MD’84, HS’84-’91
Professor of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine
Honorary Alumnus
Blake S. Wilson, BSE’74, DSc, DEng, DMed (honoris causa), PhD’15
Director of the Duke Hearing Center
Adjunct Professor in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine
Adjunct Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Consulting Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University