The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the nation’s leading infectious diseases professional society, recognizes the distinguished physicians and scientists from the United States and around the world who were elected this year to be Fellows of IDSA. This year, Rachel M. Presti, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Infectious Diseases Division, was honored with this prestigious recognition. Dr. Presti is the principal I\investigator, NIH – AIDS Clinical Trials Unit at Washington University School of Medicine medical director of the Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Unit (ID CRU). Dr. Presit currently leads the Washington University effort to conduct COVID-19 vaccine trials in collaboration with Saint Louis University in addition to conducittng numerous COIVID-19 treatment trials.
Stephanie A. Fritz, MD, MSc, FIDSA, associate professor of pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, also received a FIDSA designation.
Fellowship in IDSA honors those who have achieved professional excellence and provided significant service to the profession. “From fighting an outbreak of Ebola in the DRC to containing domestic outbreaks of measles to researching the latest cures, infectious diseases doctors are on the front lines of research and clinical care, protecting individual and public health” said IDSA President Cynthia Sears, MD, FIDSA. “Receiving the FIDSA designation is the ID profession’s highest honor given to those who have demonstrated that they are true leaders in the field of infectious diseases.”
Applicants for IDSA Fellowship must be nominated by their peers and meet specified criteria that include continuing identification with the field of infectious diseases, national or regional recognition, and publication of their scholarly work. Nominees are reviewed and elected by the IDSA Board of Directors. Fellows of IDSA work in many different settings, including clinical practice, teaching, research, public health, and healthcare administration.