Infectious Diseases Society Honors 49 Distinguished Physicians, Scientists

July 6, 2006, The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the nation’s leading professional society in infectious disease, has honored 49 distinguished physicians and scientists from the United States and abroad who were elected this year to be fellows of IDSA.

Fellowship in IDSA honors individuals who have achieved professional excellence and provided significant service to the profession. “Fellows are recognized by their peers as leaders in the field, either nationally or locally, in their communities and in their hospitals,” said IDSA President Martin J. Blaser, MD, FIDSA. “It is an honored rank that the Society reserves for its highest achievers.”

Applicants for IDSA fellowship must be nominated by their peers, reviewed and elected by the IDSA Board of Directors, and must meet specified criteria, including continuing identification with the field of infectious disease, national or local recognition, and publication of their work. Fellows of IDSA work in clinical practice, academia, as research investigators, and administrators.

This year, the following individuals were honored as fellows:

Andrew W. Artenstein, MD, FIDSA
Memorial Hospital, Pawtucket, RI

Nesli Basgoz, MD, FIDSA
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

David Alan Bobak, MD, FIDSA
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH

Kerry Cleveland, MD, FIDSA
Memphis, TN

Robert W. Coombs, MD, PhD, FIDSA
Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA

Brian Currie, MD, MS, MPH, FIDSA
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY

Richard T. D’Aquila, MD, FIDSA
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

Catherine C. Davis, PhD, FIDSA
Proctor & Gamble Company, Cincinnati, OH

Jeffrey S. Duchin, MD, FIDSA
Seattle & King County Department of Health, Seattle, WA

Michael N. Dudley, PharmD, FIDSA
Mpex Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, CA

Michael B. Edmond, MD, MPH, FIDSA
Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, VA

Donna Felsenstein, MD, FIDSA
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

Saundra Gomph, MD, FIDSA
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL

Robert Gross, MD, FIDSA
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA

Suhasini Gudipati, MD, FIDSA
Synergy Medical Education Alliance, Saginaw, MI

David Hecht, MD, FIDSA
Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL

Howard M. Heller, MD, FIDSA
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

Linden Hu, MD, FIDSA
New England Medical Center, Boston, MA

Robert P. Johnson, MD, FIDSA
Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA

Kami Kim, MD, FIDSA
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY

Theo N. Kirkland, MD, FIDSA
University of California, San Diego, CA

Ebbing Lautenbach, MD, MPH, FIDSA
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Farrin A. Manian, MD, FIDSA
St. John’s Mercy Medical Center, St. Louis, MO

Grace McComsey, MD, FIDSA
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH

Magaret J. McElrath, MD, PhD, FIDSA
University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Clinton K. Murray, MD, FIDSA
Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, TX

John M. Norwood, MD, FIDSA
Memphis, TN

Judith A. O’Donnell, MD, FIDSA
Drexler University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA

Robert Orenstein, DO, FIDSA
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

Franco Paradisi, MD, FIDSA
University of Florence, Italy

Mark S. Pasternack, FIDSA
Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA

Richard B. Porwancher, MD, FIDSA
Mercerville, NJ

Firdausi Qadri, PhD, FIDSA
International Center for Diarrhea Diseases Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Robert Read, MD, FIDSA
Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, England

Eric S. Rosenberg, MD, FIDSA
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

John J. Ross, MD, FIDSA
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA

Edward T. Ryan, MD, FIDSA
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

Michael S. Saag, MD, FIDSA
University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL

Steven K. Schmitt, MD, FIDSA
Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH

Akshay Shah, MD, FIDSA
Wayne State University, Farmington Hills, MI

Zakir Shaikh, MD, FIDSA
Richardson, TX

Gail Skowron, MD, FIDSA
Roger Williams Hospital, Providence, RI

Nabin K. Shrestha, MD, FIDSA
Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH

Pablo Tebas, MD, FIDSA
Merion Station, PA

Ellis H. Tobin, MD, FIDSA
Upstate ID Associates, Delmar, NY

August J. Valenti, MD, FIDSA
Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME

Anna Wald, MD, MPH, FIDSA
University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Bruce D. Walker, MD, FIDSA
Partners AIDS Research Center, Charlestown, MA

C. Douglas Webb, MD, FIDSA
Tybee Island, GA


IDSA is an organization of physicians, scientists, and other health care professionals dedicated to promoting health through excellence in infectious diseases research, education, prevention, and patient care. The Society, which has 8,000 members, is based in Alexandria, VA. Nested within IDSA is the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA), the professional home for more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and other health care professionals dedicated to the field of HIV/AIDS. For more information, visit www.idsociety.org.

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Diana Olson

Media Contact

Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)

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