IDSA recognized nine leaders in infectious diseases at IDWeek 2026 for their contributions to research, clinical care, public health, education and mentorship.
Stephen B. Calderwood, MD, FIDSA, received the Alexander Fleming Award for Lifetime Achievement, which recognizes a career marked by major contributions to the acquisition and dissemination of infectious diseases knowledge.
“The Society is honored to recognize these distinguished physicians, researchers, mentors and leaders whose contributions have helped advance the field of infectious diseases,” said IDSA President Ronald G. Nahass, MD, MHCM, FIDSA. “Their accomplishments have advanced scientific discovery, strengthened patient care and shaped the future of our field.”
Dr. Calderwood, the Morton N. Swartz, MD, Distinguished Academy Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, has conducted research spanning infectious diseases, immunology and molecular biology, with a particular focus on host-pathogen interactions and cholera.
For more than 30 years, Dr. Calderwood led research collaborations between Harvard investigators and colleagues at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Their work advanced understanding of cholera-related inflammation and protective immune responses, helping inform vaccine development and use.
Dr. Calderwood also served as chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital for 27 years and as IDSA president in 2015. During his leadership, he emphasized recruitment into the specialty, diversity and mentorship, including helping develop the IDWeek mentorship program.
Additional 2026 IDSA award recipients included:
Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH, FIDSA — Anthony Fauci Courage in Leadership Award. Dr. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, was recognized for his leadership in epidemiology, public health preparedness and scientific integrity. In 2025, he co-founded the Vaccine Integrity Project, which conducts evidence reviews of vaccine safety and effectiveness.
Rocío Hurtado, MD, DTM&H, FIDSA — Catherine Wilfert Clinical Teacher Award. Dr. Hurtado, an infectious diseases physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, was honored for her work in clinical education and mentorship. As founder and director of the MGH Mycobacterial Center, she has trained fellows in mycobacterial diseases and tropical medicine and contributed to global health initiatives addressing drug-resistant tuberculosis.
Mark J. Dougherty, MD — Community Clinician Award. Dr. Dougherty, founder and managing partner of Lexington Infectious Disease Consultants in Kentucky, was recognized for developing outpatient infectious diseases treatment services that have enabled thousands of patients to receive advanced therapies outside the hospital when appropriate. He also serves as hospital epidemiologist at Baptist Health Lexington and co-director of its antimicrobial stewardship service.
Daniel B. Jernigan, MD, MPH — D.A. Henderson Award for Outstanding Contributions to Public Health. Dr. Jernigan, a contributing scholar at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, was honored for his 31-year career at CDC. His work included leadership in influenza surveillance, emerging infectious diseases preparedness and responses to major public health emergencies, including the H1N1 influenza and COVID-19 pandemics.
Jonathan Vilasier Iralu, MD, MACP, FIDSA — Dorothy Horstmann Society Citation Award. Dr. Iralu was recognized for his work improving infectious diseases care among Native American populations, particularly in the Navajo Nation. During his 32 years at Gallup Indian Medical Center in New Mexico, he helped establish community-based HIV and tuberculosis treatment programs and promoted culturally responsive care.
Chanu Rhee, MD, MPH, FIDSA, FCCM, FSHEA — Oswald Avery Award for Early Achievement. Dr. Rhee, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, was honored for research advancing sepsis surveillance, epidemiology and management. His work helped inform CDC's Adult Sepsis Event framework, and he leads efforts supported by CDC and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to develop a digital sepsis outcome measure for hospital benchmarking.
Anna Wald, MD, MPH, FIDSA — Walter E. Stamm Mentor Award. Dr. Wald, a physician-scientist at the University of Washington, was recognized for mentoring students, fellows, faculty and other health care professionals. Her research has focused on herpes simplex virus infection, and she previously led the university's Division of Allergy & Infectious Diseases from 2017 to 2026.
John C. Christenson, MD, FIDSA — Watanakunakorn Clinician Award. Dr. Christenson, professor emeritus at Indiana University School of Medicine, was honored for his contributions to pediatric infectious diseases care and education. During his 38-year clinical career, he established the pediatric infectious diseases fellowship at Riley Hospital for Children in 2016 and served as a mentor to more than 21 fellows.
The 2026 awards also reflected changes to two IDSA honors. The Catherine Wilfert Clinical Teacher Award was newly named for the late Catherine Wilfert, MD, FIDSA, a former IDSA president and advocate for HIV prevention and treatment in infants. The Dorothy Horstmann Society Citation Award was renamed in memory of Dorothy Horstmann, MD, FIDSA, a virologist, epidemiologist and pediatrician whose research helped pave the way for the development of a polio vaccine and who became IDSA's first woman president.