AAMC Awards

Through its prestigious awards program, the AAMC recognizes and celebrates the members of our community who are making significant advances in medical education, cutting-edge patient care, groundbreaking research, and outstanding community engagement.

The AAMC continually strives to attract a pool of nominees from different backgrounds for its awards program. In this context, we are mindful of all aspects of human differences such as socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, language, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, religion, geography, disability, and age.

READ ABOUT 2024 AAMC AWARD RECIPIENTS

Nominations are now closed for the 2025 Awards. 

Register for the 2025 AAMC Awards Recognition Event 

Please join us on Wednesday, Oct. 22, at 4 p.m. ET as we honor the 2025 award recipients and their achievements. The 2025 honorees will be announced soon.

Award for Excellence in Medical Education
Annually recognizes the extraordinary contributions of an individual to the medical education community.

Award for Distinguished Research in the Biomedical Sciences
Annually recognizes a faculty member who has made outstanding research contributions to advance understanding of health and disease.

Spencer Foreman Award for Outstanding Community Engagement
Annually recognizes an AAMC-member medical school or health system with a longstanding, major institutional commitment to partnering with their communities to address community-identified needs.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation David E. Rogers Award
Annually recognizes a medical school faculty member who has made major contributions to improving the health and health care of the American people.

Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award
Honors a medical school faculty physician (MD or DO degree) who exemplifies the qualities of a caring and compassionate mentor in the teaching and advising of medical students. Administered through the Organization of Student Representatives (OSR).

Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Awards
Annually recognizes up to four gifted medical educators.

Herbert W. Nickens Award
Annually recognizes an individual who has made outstanding contributions in promoting justice in medical education and the health care of the American people.

Louis W. Sullivan, MD, Award
Annually recognizes an individual who demonstrates, through their leadership, a commitment to promoting health care professionals from a variety of backgrounds and experiences to meet the highest standards of medical excellence.

AAMC Curricular Innovation Award
Recognizes the innovative ways AAMC member institutions are working to advance the education of students, residents, and practicing physicians about opioids, substance use disorder, and pain management.

AAMC Curriculum Leader Awards
This award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated exemplary service to advance curriculum with the AAMC.

AAMC Innovation in Research and Research Education Award
Annually developed in collaboration with the GREAT Group and GRAND leadership.

AAMC Nurturing Experiences for Tomorrow’s Community Leaders (NEXT) Award
The AAMC NEXT Award provides funding to develop or enhance a learning opportunity for students and trainees that addresses local community health needs. 

Group on Institutional Advancement (GIA) Awards for Excellence
Recognizes the most creative and effective approaches used to promote academic medicine by members of the GIA and their staff.

Group on Institutional Advancement (GIA) Distinguished Service Award
Recognizes recipients for significant and longstanding contributions to the group, the AAMC, and their profession.

Group on Information Resources (GIR) Excellence Award
Recognizes an individual, or institutional or cross-institutional team, that contributed to a work of excellence in academic medical information technology domain.

Group on Information Resources (GIR) Service Award
Recognizes an individual based on their contribution to the AAMC GIR Community.

AAMC Group on Business Affairs (GBA) Awards
Recognizes GBA members through three categories — emeritus, service with distinction, and honorary member — who have retired, are planning retirement, or who leave academic medicine, and have provided outstanding commitment to the GBA.

AAMC Group on Women in Medicine and Science (GWIMS) Leadership Awards
Recognizes outstanding individual and organizational contributions to advancing women leaders in academic medicine and science.

Group on Diversity and Inclusion (GDI) Exemplary Leadership Award 
This award recognizes innovative leadership and impact from an individual or team responsible for developing and implementing an outstanding and highly effective program that demonstrates evidenced-based best practices for promoting a diversity of perspectives and experiences in academic medicine and the biomedical sciences.

AAMC Group on Educational Affairs (GEA) National Grant Award
Promotes grant proposals that foster collaborations among the GEA sections and/or regions as well as schools, professions, and/or departments within an institution.

AAMC Central Group on Education Affairs Laureate Award
Recognizes senior members of the group (end of career award) and reinforces the importance of contributions from individuals from all career levels.

Group on Faculty Affairs (GFA) Carole J. Bland Phronesis Award
Honors members of the faculty affairs community who exemplify the spirit of phronesis through dedicated and selfless promotion of faculty vitality.

AAMC Group on Educational Affairs (GEA) Merrell Flair Award in Medical Education
Honors an individual who has made a major contribution to the process or administration or transmission of information regarding medical education in North America.

AAMC Group on Institutional Planning (GIP) Distinguished Service Award
Recognizes contributions of GIP members (current and/or former) who, by virtue of their effort and service, have contributed significantly to the advancement of the mission of the GIP over the course of their career.

AAMC Group on Regional Medical Campuses (GRMC) Distinguished Service Award
Recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to the GRMC and its mission over an extended period of time. Nominations are made to and decided on by the GRMC Steering Committee.

AAMC Group on Regional Medical Campuses (GRMC) Star Awards
Recognize the significant efforts of regional medical campuses to development programs that help students and strengthen ties with the communities they serve.

AAMC Group on Resident Affairs (GRA) Outstanding Service Award
Recognizes an individual who exemplifies excellence and collegiality and has made innovative contributions over a significant time period to colleagues in the DIO/institutional GME community within the GRA.

Group on Student Affairs (GSA) Exemplary Service Award
Presented to a current or former GSA representative who has demonstrated exemplary service to the GSA.

Herbert W. Nickens Faculty Fellowship
Recognizes an outstanding junior faculty member who holds the rank of assistant professor in a LCME-accredited U.S. medical school department.

Herbert W. Nickens Medical Student Scholarships
Recognizes outstanding academic achievement of medical students entering the third year in a LCME-accredited U.S. medical school.

Organization of Resident Representatives (ORR) Community Service Recognition Award
Recognizes resident physicians who have made contributions above and beyond the rigors of residency training to improve the local communities surrounding their training institution.

AAMC Paul Vick GRR Exemplary Service Award
This award recognizes current and former AAMC Government Relations Representatives (GRRs) for outstanding service and engagement.