Celebrating 47 women physicians recognized for inspiring others to impact the culture of medicine.

The American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 AMWA INSPIRE Award, which celebrates accomplished women in medicine who exemplify the highest values in vision, integrity, service, and collaboration in medicine and healthcare.

This annual award celebrates women physicians who exemplify the highest values of vision, integrity, service, and role-modeling in medicine and healthcare.

“During Women in Medicine Month, AMWA takes a moment to celebrate women physicians who have been recognized for their positive impact on their peers,” says Dr. Connie Newman, MD, a Past President of AMWA and Co-Chair of the AMWA Leadership Council. “Each one of this year’s honorees is an exceptional woman physician working in private practice, academia, or in a community clinic dedicated to underserved populations.”

These 47 accomplished women physicians practice in 30 different US States, and represent more than 20 different specialties ranging from neurology, endocrinology, and ENT to emergency medicine, internal medicine, and surgery.

“They are lauded for their leadership and mentorship in practice, research, and academic accomplishments, and most importantly, their impact in supporting and advancing the culture and community of women in medicine,” says Dr. Nicole Sandhu, Past President of AMWA, and co-chair of the AMWA Leadership Council. 

We present our recipients of the 2025 AMWA INSPIRE Award.

INSPIRE AWARDEES

We present the recipients of the 2025 AMWA Inspire Award:

  • Alicia M Ahn, MD, Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, Kaiser Permanente NW (Portland, OR)
  • Erika Fullwood Augustine, MD, MS, Associate Chief Science Officer, Kennedy Krieger Institute (Baltimore, MD)
  • Caitlin Bernard, Associate Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Indiana University School of Medicine (Indianapolis, IN)
  • Giovanna Caprirolo, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Southern Illinois School of Medicine (Springfield, Illinois)
  • Diana Cejas, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Neurology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine (Durham, NC)
  • Tammie Chang, MD, Co-Founder of Pink Coat, MD (Tacoma, WA)
  • Alison Christy, Clinical Director, Pediatric Neurology, Providence Health and Services (Portland, OR)
  • Nana E. Coleman, MD, EdM, Chief Academic and Scientific Officer, Common Spirit Health (Pearland, TX)
  • Dana Crosby, MD, MPH, Professor of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Southern Illinois School of Medicine (Springfield, IL)
  • Austin Dennard, DO, FACOG, OBGYN Physician, Texas Health Women’s Care; UTSW Honorary Faculty (Dallas, TX)
  • Myto Duong, MB, BCh, BAO, MSc, FAAP, Professor of Emergency Medicine, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (Springfield, IL)
  • Colleen M Fitzgerald, MD, MS, Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine; Associate Dean of Student Affairs, Academic Success and Career Advising (Maywood, IL)
  • Karen A. Friedman, MD, MS-HPPL, FACP, Vice Chair for Education, Donald and Barbara Zucker SOM at Hofstra/Northwell (Plainview, NY)
  • Elizabeth Kennedy, MD, Clerkship Director of Internal Medicine, Florida State University College of Medicine (Sarasota, FL)
  • Ijeoma Onyemelukwe Garner, MD, MPH, CEO, Sena Therapeutics (Montclair, NJ)
  • Harumi Gomi, Professor and Chair, Department of International Health Professions Education, University of Health and Welfare (Imba, Chiba)
  • Zainab Hammoud, DO, MS, Emergency Medicine Physician, Corewell Health (Dearborn, MI)
  • Renee Hilton-Rowe, Associate Professor of Surgery, Medical College of Georgia (Augusta, GA)
  • Pamela Hunter-Reach, MD, Assistant Professor and Site Medical Director, Southern Illinois University Family and Community Medicine (Carbondale, IL)
  • Mary Iftner Dobbins, MD, Professor of Family and Community Medicine, Southern Illinois University (Springfield, Illinois)
  • Kathryn Jobbins, DO, MS, FACP, Associate Professor of Medicine, UMass Chan Baystate (East Longmeadow, MA)
  • Angela Corbino Johnson, MD, Professor of Clinical Medicine, Louisiana State University School of Medicine  (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
  • Sucheta Joshi, MD, MS, FAAP, FAES, Professor of Neurology, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles & USC Keck School of Medicine (Studio City, CA)
  • Susan S. Kais, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, Ohio)
  • Corey Karlin-Zysman, MD, SFHM, FACP, Chief of Physician Enterprise, CommonSpirit Health (Las Vegas, Nevada)
  • Kathleen Kennedy, MD, Clerkship Directorof  Internal Medicine, Florida State University College of Medicine (Sarasota, FL)
  • Christine Lara Klassen, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education (Rochester, MN)
  • Deanna LaBianca, DO, Staff Physician, Norton Sound Health Corp (Gahanna, OH)
  • Veronica T. Mallett, MD, MMM, System SVP & Chief Administrative Officer, Common Spirit Health (Nashville, TN)
  • Jaclyn Martindale, DO, FAAN, FCNS, Associate Professor of Neurology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine (Winston Salem, NC)
  • Deedra McLain, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Family and Community Medicine, Southern Illinois School of Medicine (Carbondale, IL)
  • Nichole J Mirocha, DO, MHS, Associate Professor, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine  (Springfield, IL)
  • Archana Nagarajan, MD, Governance Committee Member, Abrazo medical group; Adjunct professor, St. George’s University (Phoenix, AZ)
  • Connie B Newman, MD, Adjunct Professor of Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine (Warren, NJ)
  • Jayne Marie Peterson, MD, Professor of Medicine, University of AZ College of Medicine (Phoenix, AZ)
  • Tatiana Michelle Prowell, MD, Associate Professor of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine  (Ellicott City, MD)
  • Congresswoman Kim G Schrier, MD (Issaquah, WA)
  • Fariha Shafi, MD, FACP, D-ABOM, Professor of Medicine, University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine (Overland Park, Kansas)
  • Alexis Simpkins, MD, PhD, MSCR, FAHA, FANA, FAAN, Associate Professor & Director Stroke Research, Cedars Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles, CA)
  • Cynthia D Smith, MD, FACP, Adjunct Professor of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine (Penn Valley, Pennsylvania)
  • Taraneh Soleymani, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Penn State College of Medicine; Director of Obesity Medicine; Medical Director Digital Weight Management, Penn State Virtual Health (Middletown, PA)
  • Mamata Srinivasan, MD, Professor and Chair of Anatomical Sciences, Medical University of the Americas, Nevis, St. Kitts (Nevis, St Kitts)
  • Aline Tanios, MD, FAAP, Professor of Pediatrics & Division Chief, Pediatric Hospital Medicine, St Louis University (St Louis, MO)
  • Maria Elena Tudor, DO, Associate Professor, Internal Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center (Chattanooga, TN)
  • Hannah C. Wenger, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University; Partner, The Raven Collective (Lancaster, PA)
  • Angela Weyand, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
  • Gloria Wu, MD, MBA, Instructor, UC San Francisco School of Medicine (San Jose, CA)
  • Anlin Xu, MD, President & CEO, South Bay Allergy & Asthma Group; President 2023, Santa Clara County  (Saratoga, California)

The AMWA Leadership Council conceived of the INSPIRE Awards in 2021 to recognize women physicians who inspire others through their dedication to medicine, compassion for patients, and commitment to leadership, advocacy, or community service. Recipients of the award are nominated by colleagues, mentees, supervisors, trainees, or collaborators. 

AMWA extends our congratulations to these ultimate champions, and we express appreciation to those who nominated these remarkable women leaders and for sharing their compelling stories of inspiration in making the field of medicine a better place to be. Each awardee has had a profound influence in contributing to changing the culture of medicine and enriching the lives of their colleagues, patients, and ultimately of our healthcare system.