AAIM Awards Recipients

AAIM Awards

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award

About the Award

The AAIM Diversity Award was created to promote ethnic, racial, and gender diversity in departments of internal medicine. The award is presented to an individual who has effectively improved diversity within medical schools or who has worked to ensure patients of all races and ethnicities receive the highest quality of care. The award is presented during Academic Internal Medicine Week.

Special Recognition Award

About the Award

Formerly an Association of Professors of Medicine award, the Special Recognition Award is presented by the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine™ (AAIM™) to an individual who has contributed most to helping the alliance meet its mission which "fosters the advancement of learning, discovery, and caring by enhancing the professional growth of academic internal medicine faculty, administrators and physicians-in-training." The award is presented during Academic Internal Medicine Week.

Helen Heuer Memoli

Helen Heuer Memoli
Assistant Director
University of South Florida Health Morsani College of Medicine

How long have you been a member of AAIM?

I have been a member of AAIM since 2015.

What is your favorite part of your job?

Recruitment season to Match Day is my favorite part of this job. I love extracting interesting details about our candidates through ERAS. When I finally meet our applicants on interview days (in person or virtually), it is exciting to see their personalities shine through. And on Match Day, I share the excitement of those same medical students as they match at USF Health.

How has the AAIM membership been of value to you and your career?

The ability to network with other programs enables me to see the best practices showcased by fellow AAIM members. This allows me to think creatively about how to improve our own program. 

Learn more

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award

The Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) will recognize the 2021 AAIM Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Award recipient, Bessie Young, MD, MPH, during AAIM Online 2021, to be held virtually April 6-16.

The AAIM Diversity Award was created to recognize academic internal medicine physicians, administrators, and physicians-in-training whose work substantially advances diversity, equity and inclusion through systems which ensure high quality care for all patients. The award is presented to an individual or team who promotes and champions diversity, equity, and inclusion in their department of medicine.

Described by her nominators as a “trailblazer, role model, [who] never stops putting diversity and inclusion first,” her nominators note that “Dr. Young is the first African-American woman to be promoted to full professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Washington. She is deeply committed to diversity efforts in the department, school, University, and on local, regional and national levels.”  She has over 125 peer-reviewed publications, multiple awards, and mentored 16 individuals over the last 10 years in academic medicine.

Among her many achievements as a diversity researcher, her nominators explain, “Dr. Young’s research focuses primarily on chronic kidney disease (CKD), diabetes complication and comorbidities, and health disparities in minority populations with CKD. She was the first to identify a greater prevalence and incidence of diabetic nephropathy and greater risk of amputations in minority populations that in white populations…Dr. Young has also been a leader in research investigation CKD and depression…as a principal investigator on two VA grants, she is employing telemedicine to address issues of rural access to specialists and advanced care for complex chronic diseases.”

Special Recognition Award

The Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) will recognize the recipient of the 2021 AAIM Special Recognition Award, Andrew Halvorsen, MS, during AAIM Online 2021, to be held virtually April 6-16.

The AAIM Special Recognition Award is presented to an individual who has contributed most to helping the Alliance meet its mission which "promotes the advancement and professional development of its members who prepare the next generation of internal medicine physicians and leaders through education, research, engagement, and collaboration." 

Mr. Halvorsen is described as “one of the most collegial, dedicated colleagues.” His nominators explain how his contributions “have served to raise the visibility and impact of the APDIM survey committee” over the years. “He was able to transform the survey by incorporating data from publicly available data sources such as the US Census, ACGME, and FREIDA to decrease the work of program directors completing the survey. As a member of the survey committee, his skills as a statistician ensured that we developed questions relevant to the topics at hand that would allow us to take the data, distill the results and provide meaningful information to the Alliance and Internal Medicine.” 

Mr. Halvorsen’s nominators highlighted his work on the advancement of learning, discovering, and caring, noting “contributions to 13 APDIM poster presentations, at least 17 manuscripts related to his work with members of the Survey committee, and 7 additional manuscripts in press, submitted or in process. He has published with faculty from dozens of institutions.”

AAIM Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award

2021  Bessie Young, MD, MPH
2020 Emelia J. Benjamin, MD, ScM, FACC, FAHA
2019  Rachel B. Levine, MD, MPH
2018  Lisa Barkley, MD, FAAFP, FSAHM, FACSM
2017  Joseph Betancourt, MD, MPH
2015  Maria E. Maldonado, MD
2014  Maria L. Soto-Greene, MD
2013  Gerald J. Yutrzenka, PhD
2012  Omofolasade Kosoko-Lasaki, MD
2011  Joan Y. Reede, MD
2010  Neil R. Powe, MD
2009  Joe G. N. Garcia, MD
2008  Myron L. Weisfeldt, MD
2007  David S. Wilkes, MD

AAIM Special Recognition Award

2021  Andrew Halvorsen, MS
2020 T. Robert Vu, MD
2019  Furman S. McDonald, MD, FACP
2017  Cynthia “Daisy” Smith, MD
2015  Steven E. Weinberger, MD
2014  William F. Iobst, MD
2013  Kevin P. High, MD
2012  Donald R. Bordley, MD
2010  Judy A. Shea, PhD
2007  F. Daniel Duffy, MD
2006  David W. Young, DBA
2005  Molly K. O'Neill and Monte D. Brown, MD
2004  APM honored all former recipients as part of its 50th anniversary celebration
2003  Walter J. McDonald, MD
2002  Louis M. Sherwood, MD
2001  H. David Humes, MD
2000  Dema C. Daley
1999  Richard J. Glassock, MD
1998  Jordan J. Cohen, MD
1997  Linda Blank
1996  James E. Lewis, PhD
1995  R. Neil Cronin, Richard L. Gengenbach, and J. Michael Gorman