Steven K. Schmitt, MD, FIDSA, appointed President of IDSA

Steven K. Schmitt, MD, FIDSA, appointed President of IDSA

The Infectious Diseases Society of America is pleased to announce that Steven K. Schmitt, MD, FIDSA, will serve as the society’s new president, effective October 16. Additionally, six new board members will join Dr. Schmitt to work alongside a dedicated and experienced leadership team. The Board will work to advance the association’s overall strategic priorities, including advocating for equitable compensation policies to attract the next generation of infectious disease specialists into the workforce and advocating for policy and regulatory solutions to address the antimicrobial resistance crisis and improve the nation’s preparedness.

“Infectious disease specialists play critical roles in patient care, education, research and public health,” said Dr. Schmidt. “This is an exciting, fulfilling career that offers so many scientific opportunities that can make a difference in people’s lives. My board colleagues and I are committed to developing the workforce of the future and attracting the next generation of leaders into infectious diseases field.”

Dr. Schmitt has been a long-time advocate for equitable payment policies for ID physicians, advocating on behalf of IDSA with policymakers and representing IDSA on several key advisory committees to the American Medical Association defining reimbursement value. Dr. Schmitt has made long-standing contributions to IDSA, serving on several IDSA committees, including the Clinical Affairs Committee, the Physician Compensation Working Group, and the Leadership Academy Working Group. As chair of the IDSA Working Group on the Value of Infectious Disease Specialists, Dr. Schmidt led the publication of two seminal publications in clinical infectious diseases that formed the backbone of efforts to demonstrate the value of infectious disease physicians to their health systems. . For his contributions to IDSA, Dr. Schmitt received the Society’s Citation Award in 2019. He served as a member of the Board of Directors from 2013 to 2016.

Dr. Schmidt is vice chair of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Cleveland Clinic and chief of the Division of Bone and Joint Infections. He also serves as associate professor of medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.

IDSA new board members
Dr. Schmitt is excited to work with the new team of IDSA board members, including:
• Maximo O. Brito, MD, MPH, FIDSA, will serve as treasurer of the association and a member of its executive committee. He is a professor of medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center. I have been the Director of the ID Scholarship Program at the University of Illinois for over 10 years, working to educate a new generation of diverse health care providers and leaders. Dr. Brito specializes in the care of individuals living with or vulnerable to HIV, with a special focus on HIV prevention, including rapid initiation of antiretroviral treatment, and improving retention in care for incarcerated individuals. Dr. Brito has served as a member of the IDSA Board of Directors since 2021.

• Robin Dretler, MD, FIDSAHe was one of the few infectious disease specialists in the Atlanta area during the early days of the AIDS epidemic, when he established the Atlanta Center for Infectious Disease Specialists, now a clinical practice staffed by five physicians. A tireless advocate for improving health care, Dr. Dretler served as president of the Infectious Diseases Society of Georgia, president of the DeKalb Medical Society, medical director and chief of staff of DeKalb Medical Center (now Emory Decatur Hospital), and Numerous other leadership positions in hospitals. Dr. Dretler also served as principal investigator on more than 115 clinical studies, conducting research that led to new treatments for HIV, hepatitis C, and other infectious diseases. Through this research, he has provided state-of-the-art treatments to countless patients, including those who are uninsured. In 2022, IDSA honored Dr. Dretler with the Watanakunakorn Clinician Award.

• Matifadza Hlatshwayo Davis, MD, MPH, FIDSAis the health director of St. Louis, Missouri, the first black female doctor to hold this position in the city. She has led the city through the COVID-19 pandemic, starting with the Omicron surge and pediatric vaccine rollout within days of joining the department, focusing on two aspects of community engagement to improve health equity. She continues to guide the department’s community-led approach to ending the federal public health emergency by continuing biweekly community COVID-19 vaccine clinics. Dr. Hlatshwayo Davis, whose research background is in HIV, is nationally known for her work promoting public health, community engagement, and improving health equity. She is an infectious disease physician at the John A. Cochran Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where she is the center’s lead HIV clinician and co-leads St. Louis’ global partnership to end the HIV epidemic. She has served on IDSA’s Medical Education Community of Practice, Emerging Researchers, and Clinician Steering Committees, and is a member of IDSA’s George Counts Minority Interest Group. For his contributions to IDSA, Dr. Hlatshwayo Davis received the Society’s Citation Award in 2022.

• Kami Kim, MD, FIDSA, is department chair at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. Dr. Kim is a medical scientist who studies human parasitic diseases, including toxoplasmosis and malaria. Her laboratory frequently collaborates with international and multidisciplinary research teams. Her current research includes research on machine learning methods to improve clinical decision-making. Throughout his career, Dr. King has served as a mentor to the next generation of scientists—mentoring junior faculty, clinical and fellow researchers, residents, medical students, and others. She has been actively involved in efforts to create opportunities for cadets from underrepresented communities.

• Ronald Nahas, MD, MHCM, FIDSA, will serve as vice president and executive committee member of the association. Dr. Nahass is a clinical professor of medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and president and co-founder of ID Care, the largest free-standing infectious disease clinic on the East Coast. Dr. Nahass has pioneered treatments for HIV, hepatitis B and C, and other complex infectious diseases. He was a committed teacher and mentor, serving as a preceptor in residency clinics, a research mentor to medical students, and was the recipient of multiple RWJMS Volunteer Faculty Awards. Dr. Nahass has served IDSA in multiple capacities over the years, including serving as chair of the Quality Committee and the Clinical Affairs Committee, the Values ​​and Governance Working Group, and the Membership Committee for the IDSA/American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Hepatitis C Guidelines. In 2020, Dr. Nahass received IDSA’s Watanakunakorn Clinician Award for outstanding achievements in infectious disease clinical practice.

• Heather Yun, MD, FIDSAis deputy commander for medical services at Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. As an active duty colonel, Dr. Yun is responsible for graduate and allied medical education; the readiness and military needs of 1,700 Army, Air Force, civilian and contract personnel; and the provision of medical services to more than 250,000 beneficiary patients in the greater San Antonio area. She is also the command liaison for Brooke Army Medical Center’s first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, responsible for creating an inclusive and equitable environment for patients and staff. Over the past 10 years, Dr. Yun has served in multiple roles at IDSA, starting with the first ID Fellowship Milestone Development Program and later helping to shape what is now the Medical Education Community of Practice.She is the president of IDSA ID

Week 2023.

In addition to Drs. Schmitt, Brito and Nahass, the IDSA Executive Committee includes President-elect Tina Tan, MD, FIDSANorthwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL; Past President Carlos del Rio, MD, FIDSAEmory School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA; and Robin Trotman Secretary, DO, FIDSACox Health Center, Springfield, MO.

Members who continue to serve on the Board include:

• Lilian M. Abbo, MD, MBA, FIDSAUniversity of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
• Adaora A. Adimora, MD, MPH, FIDSAUniversity of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC
• Erin Bonura, MD, FIDSAOregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR.
• Rajesh T. Gandhi, MD, FIDSAMassachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
• Bonnie Word, MD, FIDSAHouston Travel Medicine Clinic, Houston, TX

About IDSA
The Infectious Diseases Society of America is a community of more than 12,000 physicians, scientists and public health experts who specialize in infectious diseases. Its purpose is to improve the health of individuals, communities and society by promoting excellence in patient care, education, research, public health and infectious disease prevention. For more information, visit www.idociety.org.