Awards

Carlos C. del Rio 
Dr. Carlos del Rio is Professor of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, Professor of Global Health at Rollins School of Public Health, and H. Cliff Sauls Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. del Rio has dedicated his research efforts to “access to care, linkage to care, and barriers to care among persons with and at risk of HIV.” His CV outlines his many NIH committee memberships dedicated to HIV/ AIDS. He has been a CDC consultant on HIV, pandemic influenza response, MSM preexposure prophylaxis implementation guidelines, and STD treatment guidelines. He is Codirector of the Emory Center for AIDS Research and was inducted into the National Academy of Medicine in 2013 (formerly the Institute of Medicine), now serving as its international secretary. He has received many awards. In 2022, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2023 he was named as one of the COVID-19 “50 most trusted experts” and recognized by the HHS Secretary as a “trusted messenger.” He has authored 366 research publications, 162 review articles and editorials, 39 book chapters, and seven books. He is Associate Editor for Vaccines and reviews manuscripts for multiple journals, including the Annals of Internal Medicine, JAMA, and the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. del Rio’s significant clinical work in HIV/AIDS has had local, regional, and national impact. Most recently, his expertise with COVID-19 has been of great importance to practicing clinicians. 

Peter Kokkinos  
Professor Peter Kokkinos, PhD, is an internationally renowned exercise physiologist affiliated with the Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Rutgers University, and George Washington University. Dr. Kokkinos is recognized for his remarkable commitment to education and research and the significant contributions to the field of preventive medicine. In 2010, he founded the Lifestyle Interventions for Veterans (LIVE) program. The innovative LIVE curriculum has been adopted by other preventive programs and is an integral part in the prevention and management of chronic disease, significantly reducing morbidity and mortality rates and improving the quality of life of thousands of veterans. Dr. Kokkinos has more than 200 publications in esteemed scientific journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Circulation, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Diabetes Care, and Hypertension. He is the lead or senior author in more than 100 of them, the author of five books, and associate editor of scientific journals on preventive medicine. Dr. Kokkinos’ groundbreaking work on medication–fitness interaction has enhanced our understanding in this area and contributed to the prevention and better management of chronic disease. His contributions to the field of cardiorespiratory fitness and health outcomes have been incorporated into national and international guidelines. His work has earned him numerous accolades, including the prestigious national Steven N. Blair Award for Excellence in Physical Activity Research. Furthermore, he has mentored and inspired a vast number of students, residents, and fellows, nurturing the next generation of researchers and health care professionals in the field.   

David A. Fleming  
David Fleming, MD, MACP, has served as President of the Missouri Society of Internal Medicine; as a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Society of Internal Medicine; and as Governor, Chair of the Board of Governors, member of the Board of Regents, and President of the American College of Physicians. Most recently, he served as member and Chair of the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs of the American Medical Association. He is a major figure in American medical ethics, contributing to the College’s Ethics Manual as well as founding and serving as the inaugural Director of the University of Missouri Center for Health Ethics. He was a wide-ranging representative, nationally and internationally, for ACP in general and the field of medical ethics and professionalism in particular.    

Robert Seder   
Robert Seder is an internal medicine physician by training and has been at the NIH for more than 35 years. He is acting Associate Director and Chief of the Cellular Immunology Section in the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Dr. Seder has been a pioneer in the development of vaccines and monoclonal antibodies to prevent global challenges, including COVID-19, malaria, tuberculosis, and personalized cancer vaccines. Working at the NIAID, he became an expert in T-cell function and cytokine biology and their roles in protective immunity, publishing numerous important discoveries in the highest impact journals. As a clinician, his goal was to translate this basic science into vaccines and biologic products to prevent disease. In 2020, Dr. Seder in collaboration with his colleagues at the Vaccine Research Center played a key role in the development of the mRNA vaccine and was a member of Operation Warp Speed. Among his accomplishments were showing that the mRNA was safe and highly effective in preclinical animal models, which was required to initiate the pivotal phase 3 trial. Moreover, his work provided the scientific basis for boosting against variants of concern. In addition, Dr. Seder has had a major focus on immune approaches to prevent malaria. Based on his scientific discoveries demonstrating that the intravenous route of vaccination could impact induction of tissue-specific T-cell immunity, he performed the first human studies using intravenous administration to achieve high-level protection with an attenuated malaria vaccine. More recently, he realigned his focus on the development of the first two human monoclonal antibodies to prevent malaria infection. In the first in human studies, he showed that both antibodies were safe and led to high-level protection against controlled human malaria challenge studies in U.S. adults. Working closely with colleagues at the NIAID and in Mali, the team demonstrated high-level protection against intense seasonal transmission in children and adults after a single dose of antibody (these studies were published in the New England Journal of Medicine). There is ongoing work to establish whether this new intervention can be the first example of developing monoclonal antibodies for prevention of infection in low- and middle-income countries at an acceptable cost across several clinical use cases and complement existing countermeasures, such as vaccines and mosquito control.     

Mone Zaidi    
Mone Zaidi graduated from King George’s Medical College in India, trained clinically at the Hammersmith Hospital in London, and obtained his PhD and MD from the University of London. He was the Founding Director of The Mount Sinai Bone Program. He is currently the Mount Sinai Professor of Clinical Medicine and Director of the Center for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology. Dr. Zaidi has made groundbreaking discoveries on mechanisms of skeletal homeostasis in health and disease. These studies, spanning more than 30 years, included the first description of calcium sensing in the osteoclast and the discovery that locally released nitric oxide acts to suppress bone cells. His work on FSH was selected by Nature Medicine as one of eight “notable advances” in biomedicine for 2017 and was editorialized in the New York Times. He was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation (2000); Association of American Physicians (2004); Interurban Clinical Club, of which he is President (2004); the Practitioners’ Society (the oldest medical society in the United States) (2016); and the Association of Professors of Medicine (2014). Dr. Zaidi holds Mastership in the American College of Physicians, received the Harrington Scholar–Innovator Award, was elected as Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the National Academy of Inventors, was elected a foreign member of Academia Europaea and the European Academy of Sciences, won the Austrian International Research Prize and the Special Recognition Award from the Association of Professors of Medicine, received an Honorary Fellowship by the British Pharmacological Society, and is the recipient of five honorary doctorates.       

The Emotional PPE Project    
The Emotional PPE Project is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization launched in early 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides free, confidential mental health care to health care professionals, including physicians, nurses, and other frontline workers. The organization was cofounded by Dan Saddawi-Konefka, MD, MBA, and Ariel Brown, PhD, who recognized the overwhelming distress health care providers were experiencing and the significant barriers they faced when seeking mental health support. The Emotional PPE Project connects licensed mental health practitioners with health care professionals in need of support through a volunteer-driven network. To date, more than 2,400 health care workers have received free, confidential mental health services through the organization. In addition to facilitating health care professionals receiving mental health care, The Emotional PPE Project has also supported important research on barriers to physicians seeking mental health care. Their groundbreaking research on licensure-related barriers, published in JAMA in 2021, helped spur a nationwide dialogue and movement to reduce such barriers. Follow-up research has demonstrated the extent of these changes. The Emotional PPE Project is in its fourth year of being a resource for ACP members through its inclusion in ACP’s own I.M. Emotional Support Hub, part of ACP’s Physician Well-Being and Professional Fulfillment initiative.    

Joel C. Diamant    
Dr. Joel Diamant graduated from the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria and the Scripps Clinic and Green Hospital IM Residency Program. He served as the IM residency program director from 1998 to 2018 and remains a master teacher, a valued colleague, mentor, and a well-respected clinician. Dr. Diamant is highly sought after as an internal medicine physician by physicians and their families as well as for the most complex patients. He currently serves as the President and CEO of Scripps Clinic Medical Group, composed of more than 1,060 physicians and APPs. He serves on the Scripps Health GME Alignment Committee, was the Scripps Clinic Site Director for the UCSD Internal Medicine M-3 Clerkship (2011–2018) and is a member of the Accreditation Council on GME Appeals Committee. Dr. Diamant is highly regarded for his ethics, integrity, and professionalism. He has won several teaching awards, including the Stan Freedman Award for Lifetime Contribution to Graduate Medical Education, Scripps Clinic and Scripps Green Hospital. He was the 2024 awardee of the ACP Southern California Chapter 3 Founder’s Award. The Joel Diamant Award for Clinical Excellence is named in his honor for the graduating senior resident chosen by peers and faculty as the most outstanding role model for exemplary patient care and communication, committed intern and student teaching, and impactful presentations to peers and the Scripps community. Dr. Diamant is consistently invited as a speaker at ACP conferences for literature reviews, board review, annual updates, and IM pre-courses.   

Richard M. Schwartzstein     
Richard M. Schwartzstein is the Ellen and Melvin Gordon Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Medical Education at Harvard Medical School, Executive Director of the Carl J. Shapiro Institute for Education and Research at Harvard Medical School, and Vice President for Education at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He has also previously served as Director of the Harvard Medical School Academy. He has been a revered teacher, mentor, and educational leader throughout the gamut of medical education. His ability to convey complicated physiologic principles and relate them to clinical medicine is legendary, with beneficiaries not only at Harvard but also nationally and internationally through textbooks he has authored and edited. In the clinical setting, he is an outstanding bedside teacher and passionate advocate of critical thinking as it applies to diagnostic reasoning, particularly through linking physiology and pathophysiology to clinical medicine. As the Executive Director of the Shapiro Institute and through its Fellowship in Medical Education, Dr. Schwartzstein has had a critical role in training numerous faculty who have gone on to educational leadership careers both at Harvard and at other institutions. He has also developed and presented a series of national Millennium Conferences on Medical Education that have fostered faculty development and educational innovation at medical schools around the country. In recognition of his teaching, educational leadership; and impact on students, trainees, and faculty, Dr. Schwartzstein has been the recipient of numerous teaching and educational awards both at Harvard and from national organizations.    

Fred J. Schiffman     
Fred J. Schiffman is a hematologist and oncologist at Brown where he serves as the inaugural Sigal Family Professor of Humanistic Medicine. He also serves as Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine at the Miriam Hospital, a major teaching affiliate of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Schiffman has served as an Associate Residency Director for Internal Medicine at Brown for more than 30 years, allowing him to make significant contributions to the professional and personal growth of thousands of students, residents, and fellows. On a national level, Dr. Schiffman has served as the Governor of the Rhode Island Chapter of the ACP and was awarded Mastership in 2015. His areas of clinical expertise include malignant and nonmalignant hematologic problems and disorders of the spleen. Dr. Schiffman has published in a broad range of hematologic areas and on a variety of subjects regarding the education of students and house staff. In this latter aspect of his body of work, Dr. Schiffman has published on the role of morning report in internal medicine graduate medical education, as well as the role of the arts and humanities in such training. The Sigal Family Professorship in Humanistic Medicine, awarded in 2010, has allowed him to initiate, lead, and promote programs incorporating the arts in clinical care, communication, and teaching. He is currently Editor in Chief of the 11th edition of Cecil Essentials of Medicine.  

Gail J. Povar      
Dr. Povar is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Cornell University who went on to the University of Vermont to recieve her MD as well as an MPH from the University of Michigan. She completed her residency at George Washington (GW) University and then remained as faculty and became the Associate Chairman for Education in the Department of Health Care Sciences. Dr. Povar entered private practice in 1994 but continued to teach and publish until this time. She has made a national reputation in the area of ethics in primary care with more than 50 publications and countless numbers of presentations around the United States and the world. She has chaired the ethics committee of the GW University Hospital from 1987 to 2018 and remains an active member. She has been a member and now Fellow of the ACP since 1984 and a member of the Ethics, Professionalism and Human Rights Committee of the ACP from 1994 to 2002. Dr. Povar was vital to the Department of Medicine in teaching ethics to residents and fellows and was the go-to lecturer for the ACP Board Review Course in the 1990s. Students and faculty at GW awarded her the AOA Voluntary Faculty Teaching Award for 2022.     

Vinod Kripalu      
Dr. Vinod Kripalu is the owner and lead physician at Trinity Medical Associates in Wilmington, Delaware, where he has made a lasting impact through his commitment to patient care and philanthropy. He cofounded two charitable organizations: Premiere Charities, which has provided more than 100,000 meals to indigent and food-insecure residents of Wilmington, and the Delaware Medical Relief Team, which organizes multiple international medical missions. These missions included seven trips to Haiti in 2009, five missions to Nepal in 2015, and a recent trip to India where his team provided assistance to several hundred in need. Dr. Kripalu has earned several prestigious awards, including the the Jefferson Award for Philanthropy (2015), Christiana Care Health System’s Commendation of Excellence (2017), The American College of Physicians Leonard Lang Award (2018), and a Certificate of Recognition for Philanthropic Work from the Governor of Delaware in 2019. In addition to his full-time medical career and philanthropic work, Dr. Kripalu is an accomplished ultramarathon runner. He has participated in several 100-mile races, setting a personal record of 23 hours and 4 minutes in his most recent race. His commitment to both his professional and personal pursuits reflects his dedication to service, resilience, and making a meaningful difference in the lives of others. 

Mark Helfand      
Dr. Mark Helfand is Professor of Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University and a staff physician at the Portland VA Medical Center. Mark is a world leader in the fields of research synthesis, clinical decision making, clinical epidemiology, and clinical guideline development. As Founding Director of the Oregon Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC), he played a major role in developing methods for the Third USPSTF and the Drug Effectiveness Review Project. Later, he served as Director of the Scientific Resource Center for the entire AHRQ EPC program. He also founded and directed the Department of Veterans Affairs Evidence-based Synthesis Program (ESP) Coordinating Center. He has garnered more than $35 million in grants as a principal investigator and served as Editor in Chief of the journal Medical Decision Making (2005–2012). While doing this, he has taken care of patients at the Veterans Affairs hospital and been a dedicated teacher to trainees. Mark’s skill, hard work, and dedication to finding the right answers to clinical questions and improving patient care have been recognized with countless awards, more than 125 peer-reviewed articles, and more than 170 invited lectures throughout the world. In 2009, he was appointed to the IOM Committee on Standards for Systematic Reviews of Comparative Effectiveness Research. Dr. Helfand has been a long-term contributor to ACP, beginning with 10 years working with the Clinical Efficacy Assessment Subcommittee (becoming the ACP Clinical Guidelines Committee) from 1997 to 2007. He is a long-term and recognized reviewer for the Annals of Internal Medicine and has published many papers in Annals (including recent work on COVID-19, which informed the work of the Population Health and Medical Science Committee). Importantly, he has served as a wonderful mentor for many people, holding leadership roles in the ACP Clinical Guidelines Committee and Population Health and Medical Science Committee.

Adam J. Obley      
Dr. Obley is Associate Professor of Medicine at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), Associate Chief of Staff for Community Care at the Portland VA Medical Center, and a member of OHSU’s Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics. He has been a clinical epidemiologist in OHSU’s Center for Evidence-based Policy at the School of Medicine since 2014, authoring or coauthoring dozens of evidence reports on a wide array of health policy issues. Dr. Obley is a nationally regarded expert in evidence-based policy development and has, with support of the Milbank Memorial Fund, developed and presented workshops to state, county, and local health policymakers across the United States. He led the Oregon ACP Chapter Health and Public Policy Committee for many years, is a member of the Chapter’s Governor’s Advisory Committee, is the Chapter Secretary, is a current member of ACP’s Clinical Guidelines Committee, and is Vice Chair of ACP’s Population Heath and Medical Science Committee. He has numerous related peer-reviewed publications. He is an outstanding clinician-teacher, who has reserved numerous teaching awards and a humanism award. ACP has recognized him for his extensive work in health policy advocacy with an Advocate for Internal Medicine Special Recognition Award and the Oregon ACP Chapter with the Outstanding Early Career Physician Award. 

Mpey K. Tabot Tabot      
Mpey Tabot Tabot is a dedicated physician currently pursuing a fellowship in cardiology. She is driven by a passion for delivering exceptional care and improving patients’ quality of life. Her commitment to servitude and patient satisfaction has earned her numerous accolades, including consecutive Resident of the Year awards and Service Superstar and Silver Award on patient quality and safety at the District of Columbia Hospital Association. Dr. Tabot Tabot has demonstrated innovative leadership by introducing point-of-care ultrasound training and curriculum in her residency program. She also represented her Chapter at the national American College of Physicians meeting after winning the research podium competition for 2 consecutive years. One of her impactful initiatives includes spearheading the Midline Project, which significantly reduced central line–associated bloodstream infection rates below national benchmarks at her hospital. Recognized for her achievements, Dr. Tabot Tabot was nominated and inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. She graduated with honors from the University of Yaoundé 1 Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Medical School in Cameroon. She then completed her internal medicine residency training at Howard University Hospital in Washington, DC, where she also served as chief resident. She is currently doing her fellowship in cardiology at Howard University Hospital. Fluent in English and French, Dr. Tabot Tabot brings a multicultural perspective, enhancing her ability to serve diverse patient populations. Since her graduation from medical school, she has been dedicated to serving underserved communities. Outside of her professional endeavors, she enjoys yoga, cooking, dancing, and watching telenovelas, balancing her demanding career with personal wellness.  

Megan Gerber        
Megan Gerber is an academic general internal medicine physician with a career-long focus on the health and well-being of trauma-exposed women. While practicing as a primary care internal medicine physician, Dr. Gerber worked with intimate partner violence programs in health care settings in Boston before joining the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in 2008. At the VHA, Dr. Gerber served in local, regional, and national leadership roles in women’s health services, culminating with a senior consultant role for the VA Central Office in Washington, DC. In 2021, she had the honor of serving as the Co-Chair for the National Domestic Violence/Intimate Partner Violence Task Force, which led to creation of the Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Program, now the largest program of its kind nationally. A native New Yorker, she returned to Albany, NY, in 2021 to serve as Division Chief, General Internal Medicine, Vice Chair of Medicine for Faculty Development, Advising Dean and Professor of Medicine at Albany Medical College. Dr. Gerber has authored or coauthored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, edited the textbook Trauma-Informed Healthcare Approaches: A Guide for Primary Care (Springer, 2019), and taught widely on trauma-informed care. In 2022, Dr. Gerber was honored by the Academy on Violence and Abuse with the Vincent J. Felitti Distinguished Scholar Award, which is given to outstanding health care professionals who have made significant contributions to advance education and research on the health effects of violence and abuse. She was selected by the Albany Medical College Class of 2024 as a faculty inductee into the Gold Humanism Honor Society.   

Robert T. Chow         
Dr. Robert “Dobbin” Chow, MD, MBA, MACP, FRCP (London), currently serves as Program Director for the Categorical Medicine and Transitional Year residency programs as well as Chair of Medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus. He is a former Governor of the American College of Physicians Maryland Chapter and completed a term as Chair of the ACP Credentials Committee. He currently chairs the Maryland ACP Chapter’s Awards Committee. He is very highly active in his Chapter, serving as a source of wisdom for the entire lineage of ACP Governors who followed in his footsteps. Dr. Chow was inducted as MACP in 2015. He formerly served as Program Director and Vice Chair of Medicine at MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital as well as the former Senior Associate Program Director at the Johns Hopkins University/Sinai Hospital Internal Medicine residency program. He has dedicated his career to medical education and has received many honors, including the Maryland Chapter’s Governor’s Service Award and the C. Lockhard Conley Resident Teaching Award. The award for Excellence in Ambulatory Medicine at his own institution was also recently renamed the Dr. Robert “Dobbin” Chow Award for Excellence in Ambulatory Medicine. Nationally, Dr. Chow was awarded the ACP Herbert S. Waxman Award for Medical Student Teaching. He has served as an associate program director for 15 years and a program director for 17 years. He has been a consummate and dedicated educator, role model, and mentor for many students and residents over his career.    

Mary Daniels          
Mary Daniels is the immediate past Executive Director of the GA Chapter of the American College of Physicians. She served in that role for 12 years. Under her directorship, the Chapter was the recipient of the Chapter Excellence Award and earned the Gold level of recognition for 4 consecutive years once available. In addition, she helped the Chapter earn three John Tooker Evergreen Awards. Mary has been the biggest advocate of the Chapter and its members. She always put the needs of the members at the forefront of the Chapter’s activities and always thought of ways to enhance the growth of the Chapter. With the breadth of experience she has, Mary has been a thoughtful mentor to many other chapter staff members, especially during ACP’s annual Internal Medicine Meeting. In addition, she served on the Chapter’s Subcommittee from April 2018 to 2020. Her contributions helped shape how chapters grow and flourish.

Mahmoud Aljurf         
Dr. Mahmoud Aljurf is the Director of Adult Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy and was appointed as the Cancer Centre Deputy Director and Adult Hematology/HSCT Head at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre. He was the Editor in Chief for the Annals of Saudi Medicine. He was the founder and is currently the Editor in Chief for the Elsevier journal Hematology/Oncology and Stem Cell Therapy. He served on the editorial boards of several high-indexed journals, including being on the international advisory board of The Lancet Haematology. Dr. Aljurf’s leadership skills were recently recognized by his election as the President of the Worldwide Network for Blood & Marrow Transplantation. He was the founding member for the regional HSCT organization for the WHO/EMRO region, the Eastern Mediterranean Blood and Marrow Transplantation Group, where he is the Scientific Director at present time. Finally, among the most important things to mention is Dr. Aljurf’s contribution and high commitment to the activities and function of ACP. Dr. Aljurf was one of the few key members who worked decisively and successfully under the leadership of Dr. Faroque Khan to establish an ACP chapter in Saudi Arabia about 10 years ago. He has been very active in supporting ACP activities, interests, and functions at national, regional, and international levels. In this regard, he worked closely with Mrs. Eve Swiacki (former ACP Director of International Activities, now retired) and has previously visited the ACP headquarters for this purpose twice in the past.

Susan Hingle       
Dr. Hingle is Professor of Internal Medicine and Medical Humanities at Southern Illinois University, where she serves as Associate Dean for Human and Organizational Potential, Chair of the Department of Medical Humanities, and Director of Professional Development and Wellness for the Department of Medicine. She has published and contributed widely on the need for and mechanisms to achieve equity in medicine, medical training, and leadership. She was lead author on the American College of Physicians’ (ACP) policy paper, “Achieving Gender Equity in Physician Compensation and Career Advancement,” and coauthored the resolution that led to the creation of ACP’s Physician Well-being and Professional Satisfaction Initiative. Dr. Hingle was awarded the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) Elizabeth Blackwell Career Award for her contributions to advancing women in medicine and now serves as AMWA’s President. She received SGIM’s Career Award for her contributions to educational research, education, leadership, and mentoring. She has also received several teaching awards, including the Golden Apple Award, the Excellence in Teaching Outstanding Teacher Award, and the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award. Dr. Hingle has been active nationally in numerous organizations, including ACP, AMWA, the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine, and the American Medical Association. She served as Governor of the Illinois Downstate Chapter, Chair of the Well-being and Professional Satisfaction Committee, Chair of the ACP Board of Governors, representative from ACP to the multiorganizational Women’s Wellness through Equity and Leadership program, and Chair of the ACP Board of Regents.    

Jonathan Ripp       
Jonathan Ripp, MD, MPH, is Professor of Medicine, Medical Education, and Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine; Dean for Well-Being and Resilience; and Chief Wellness Officer at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS). In the role of Chief Wellness Officer, Dr. Ripp oversees efforts to assess and provide direction for system- and individual-level interventions designed to improve well-being for all students, residents, fellows, and faculty at ISMMS. Dr. Ripp is the former Associate Dean of GME for Trainee Well-Being within the ISMMS Office of Graduate Medical Education, in which capacity he served to help spread well-being initiatives across the training programs of the Mount Sinai Health System. In addition, Dr. Ripp is the Cofounder, Codirector, and Inaugural President of CHARM, the Collaborative for Healing and Renewal in Medicine, a national professional society of health care well-being leaders all working to promote health care professional and learner well-being. CHARM maintains several leadership networks, including the CHARM Chief Wellness Officer Network and the CHARM GME Well-Being Leaders Network, and actively develops important content to advance the literature and field of clinician well-being. Recognized for his leadership in this area, Dr. Ripp serves on the Steering Committee of the National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience and is a board member of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation. Dr. Ripp’s primary research interest is in physician burnout and well-being, for which he has received grant support and has published and lectured widely. 

Fritz Verly Vernet       
Dr. Fritz Verly Vernet is an accomplished internal medicine physician and educator. He currently serves as the Medical Education Director for Zanmi Lasante and the Program Director for the internal medicine residency at Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais (HUM) in Haiti. In addition, he coordinates the nephrology project at HUM. Dr. Vernet earned his MD from the Haiti State University School of Medicine and completed his postgraduate training at HUM, where he also served as chief medical resident. He also holds a certification in health professions education from the University of Pennsylvania GSE. At HUM, Dr. Vernet has held several leadership roles, including Chair of the Clinical Competency Committee and Clerkship Director for Internal Medicine. His dedication to education and excellence led the internal medicine residency program to become the first in the Caribbean region to receive ACGME-I accreditation. Passionate about improving health care in Haiti, Dr. Vernet has spearheaded initiatives to enhance the renal program at HUM. Under his leadership, a kidney biopsy program was established, and the AKI dialysis program was expanded through increased capacity and the training of nurses and residents. He has also collaborated with DHMC and BIDMC to support the ISN “0 by 25” initiative and the ISN Sister Transplant Center Program. Dr. Vernet’s interests include clinical reasoning, educational innovation, point-of-care ultrasound, and research. He cofounded the Global MedEd Network, an organization dedicated to advancing medical education in low- and middle-income countries. His research focuses on medical education and the prevention of noncommunicable diseases. 

Johanna Adri Kok       
Dr. Adri Kok is a specialist physician in private practice in Alberton, South Africa, since 1991. She is an external examiner for internal medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. She has delivered and participated in numerous national and international lectures, symposia, and conferences. She is principal investigator for South Africa for several multinational clinical trials with a focus on diabetes with publications in scientific peer-reviewed journals. She made video recordings for CMEs and updated six editions of a manual on diabetes for the Foundation for Professional Development. She was an ExCo member of the Faculty of Consulting Physicians of South Africa from 1999 and elected as President in 2004 where she remained until 2021. During her tenure, she initiated the annual Internal Medicine Congress from 2012 until 2023. She received Fellowship from the American College of Physicians as well as the Royal College of Physicians of London. Dr. Kok was elected to the executive committee of the International Society of Internal Medicine (ISIM) as the first woman and first representative from Africa and took office as President of ISIM in 2018 in Cape Town at the World Congress of Internal Medicine. She attended the annual McMaster University (Canada) Internal Medicine Update with the Polish Society of Internal Medicine. In recognition of this, the Polish Society of Internal Medicine awarded Adri an honorary membership to their society in Krakow in May 2023. In August of 2023, she was awarded the Christaan Barnard Memorial Award for her outstanding contributions to the medical profession and the people of South Africa by Netcare Hospital Group.