2025 Award Recipients
Alan J. Garber, MD, PhD, MACE, Lectureship for the Prevention and Management of the Complications of Diabetes
Anne L. Peters, MD
Dr. Peters is one of the world’s leading clinicians and researchers in diabetes, as well as an influential advocate and policy advisor for new diabetes treatment guidelines and increased access to care. She is dedicated to bringing innovative diabetes care to all walks of life, including underserved populations with lower literacy levels. Dr. Peters runs diabetes centers in Beverly Hills and underserved East Los Angeles. In addition to her clinical work, she has served as a principal investigator on multiple grants, written over 200 articles and four books, and delivered over 1,000 lectures locally, nationally, and internationally. Dr. Peters has been on numerous guideline-writing committees for the treatment of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Her primary interests involve translating research findings from lifestyle interventions into technology for people with diabetes across the socioeconomic spectrum.
Distinguished Associate Award
Jennifer N. Clements, PharmD, FCCP, FADCES
Made Possible by the Generosity of Dr. & Mrs. Sethu K. Reddy
Dr. Clements is a Clinical Professor and Director of Pharmacy Education at the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy at the School of Medicine – Greenville Campus. She is a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist, ambulatory care pharmacist, advanced diabetes manager, and she holds certification in diabetes care and education. Dr. Clements began her academic career in 2007 and developed pharmacy practice sites at a VA Medical Center and a rural family health medicine clinic, focusing on the management of chronic disease states, specifically diabetes and obesity. From 2019 to 2022, Dr. Clements provided medication management for individuals with diabetes within an interprofessional practice model in a healthcare system with over 1,000 beds and chaired the health system’s Diabetes Advisory Council. She has authored numerous publications and presentations related to diabetes and obesity pharmacotherapy.
Endocrine Care Innovation Award
The University of Michigan ThyCARE team, led by Megan Haymart, MD
Made Possible by the Generosity of Dr. & Mrs. Sethu K. Reddy
The Thyroid and Thyroid Cancer Research (ThyCARE) team is led by Dr. Megan Haymart, the Nancy Wigginton Endocrinology Research Professor in Thyroid Cancer and Professor of Medicine at the University of Michigan. The ThyCare team focuses on addressing thyroid health and improving patient care across the entire thyroid continuum, from diagnosis to management and survivorship. They focus on research in thyroid health services and thyroid clinical trials and have experience working with large cancer registries, performing survey studies and other population-based studies, and designing and implementing interventions. The goal of ThyCARE is to improve patient care through high-quality research.
Eugene T. Davidson, MD, Public Service Award
Jeffrey V. Lazarus, PHD, MIH, MA
Dr. Lazarus is a Research Professor at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, where he leads the Public Health Liver Group. He is also an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona, and a full professor at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy. In 2023, Dr. Lazarus was recognized as being at the forefront of his field with the American Liver Foundation Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award and in 2024 as a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher. Dr. Lazarus was appointed as a mentor at the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) and is on he editorial board of Liver International and the Journal of Hepatology.
Excellence in Humanities Award
R. Mack Harrell, MD, FACP, ECNU, MACE
Dr. Harrell is the Co-Director of the Memorial Center for Integrative Endocrine Surgery at Memorial Health System, with locations in Hollywood, Miramar, Weston, and Boca Raton. He is among fewer than 800 physicians worldwide who have completed the Endocrine Certification in Neck Ultrasound (ECNU) program previously administered by the American College of Endocrinology (ACE). Dr. Harrell has been a professor of clinical medicine at Nova Southeastern University since 2001. He has performed thousands of thyroid biopsies and parathyroid localization procedures, bringing unique expertise to the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal tumors. Dr. Harrell is a past President of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and the American College of Endocrinology.
Hossein Gharib, MD, MACP, MACE Educational Lectureship
Jacqueline Jonklaas, MD, PhD, MPH
Dr. Jonklaas is a professor in the Division of Endocrinology at Georgetown University Medical Center. Her area of particular interest is the management of thyroid cancer and hypothyroidism. She has published research regarding treatment and outcomes in patients with thyroid cancer and has also studied therapy for hypothyroidism and was the lead author on the American Thyroid Association’s 2014 guidelines for the treatment of hypothyroidism. Dr. Jonklaas is the Director of the Georgetown Clinical Research Unit and teaches at the national and local levels. She has held several leadership positions at the national level, including serving on the Board of Directors (BOD) of the American Thyroid Association (ATA), the editorial boards of Thyroid and the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM), and as a member of the Endocrine Board Review Faculty of the Endocrine Society. Undoubtedly, Dr. Jonklaas has made exemplary contributions to the field of thyroidology and is one of the most internationally recognized experts in the field.
Jeffrey R. Garber, MD Fund Award
Lakshmi Ravindra, MD
Dr. Ravindra attended the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine and completed her residency at Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital in 2020, where she was a member of the Women’s Health track. She remains at Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital for her Endocrinology fellowship training. After completing her clinical fellowship this summer, she will be joining the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) as an Editorial Fellow. Her clinical and scholarly interests are diverse, encompassing medical education, bone health, and thyroid disorders.
Jeffrey R. Garber, MD Fund Award
Brittany Ricci, MD
Dr. Ricci attended the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, where she earned her medical degree and graduated early in April 2020, joining the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. She completed her residency training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, an institution affiliated with Harvard Medical School, as a member of the Internal Medicine-Primary Care track. As a native Rhode Islander, Dr. Ricci returned to Rhode Island Hospital/Brown University for fellowship training in endocrinology and is planning to remain in the state as a general endocrinologist after graduation. She will be practicing within the Care New England healthcare system and will continue to participate in medical education as an Associate Professor of Medicine at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Ricci’s clinical and scholarly interests include diabetes technology, health equity and access to care, and the intersection between primary care and endocrinology.
Kahn-Tan-Faiman Frontiers in Science and Distinction in Endocrinology Award
Bess Dawson-Hughes, MD
Made Possible by The Generosity of Dr. & Mrs. Sethu Reddy
Dr. Dawson-Hughes is an internationally recognized scientist who has made significant contributions to the understanding of the role of nutrition in age-related loss of bone and muscle mass. She was a founding Director of the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space. Dr. Dawson-Hughes has been at the frontier of bone metabolism and research, including identifying dietary and hormonal determinants of bone and muscle mass and function. She has been a leader in the field, serving in various societies, including General Secretary of the International Osteoporosis Foundation and President of the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation (formerly the National Osteoporosis Foundation). Dr. Dawson-Hughes currently serves as the Director of the Bone Metabolism Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, as well as a Senior Scientist and Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine.
Kahn-Tan-Faiman Frontiers in Science and Distinction in Endocrinology Award and Honorary Master of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (MACE) Distinction
Daniel J. Drucker, MD, FRS, FECPC, OC
Kahn-Tan-Faiman Frontiers in Science and Distinction in Endocrinology Award Made Possible by The Generosity of Dr. & Mrs. Sethu Reddy
Dr. Drucker is an Endocrinologist and Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of Toronto. He holds the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre-Novo Nordisk Chair in Incretin Biology. His laboratory is based at the Lunenfeld Tanenbaum Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, where he studies the molecular biology and physiology of glucagon-like peptides. His discoveries have enabled the development of several new GLP-1-based therapies for treating diabetes and obesity, as well as GLP-2 analogues for intestinal failure. Dr. Drucker has received numerous international awards for his translational science. He has been elected to the Order of Canada and the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, was a Fellow of the Royal Society (London), and a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine (USA).
Master of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (MACE) Distinction
Anne L. Leddy, MD, FACE
Dr. Leddy, who has now retired from her twenty-five-year endocrine practice, continues to volunteer as an endocrinologist at the Gloucester Mathews Free Clinic (now the Gloucester Mathews Care Clinic). She was a founding member of the AACE Mid-Atlantic Chapter, where she served as Chair in 2008. Dr. Leddy recruited board members for the Chapter from the three states that comprised the Mid-Atlantic region, as well as from diverse areas in both Virginia and Maryland, and founded the Mid-Atlantic Legislative Advocacy Committee. Dr. Leddy served on the AACE Board of Directors for six years. Since the end of her term, she has focused on the FACE Application Committee for the past nine years, where she served as Committee Chair for four of those years.
Master of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (MACE) Distinction
Jonathan D. Leffert, MD, FACP, ECNU, FACE
Dr. Leffert entered solo practice in 1991 and co-founded the North Texas Endocrine Care Center in 2007. Throughout his private practice, he participated in teaching activities at Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas Hospital and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. He enjoys practicing Clinical Endocrinology full-time, while serving as Managing Partner of North Texas Endocrine Center, a 15-employee practice. In 2005, he was appointed as an Advisor to the AACE Board of Directors, elected a Board member from 2007 to 2013, and served as an officer and Executive Committee member from 2013 to 2020. Dr. Leffert served as the 27th President of AACE in May 2017. During his tenure at AACE, he has chaired the Legislative and Regulatory, AACEPAC, Socioeconomics, Finance, CAP Steering, Nominating, Awards, and Executive Committees. Dr. Leffert has served as the Delegate to the AMA House of Delegates and led a coalition of organizations that successfully passed an AMA resolution declaring obesity a disease in 2013. He has served on several reference committees at the AMA House of Delegates, including chairing Reference Committee A (Medical Service) in July 2018. Dr. Leffert was a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Subspecialty Board of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism from 2016 through 2023.
Master of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (MACE) Distinction
Guillermo E. Umpierrez, MD, MACP, CDCES, FACE
Dr. Umpierrez is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Emory University and the Director of the Clinical Research Center at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a clinician-scientist with extensive experience in conducting clinical and population research on diabetes and metabolic disorders. Dr. Umpierrez served as the 2022 President of Medicine & Science of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), is the author of more than 500 scientific manuscripts and book chapters, and has served as the principal investigator in several landmark clinical trials in the hospital management of diabetes in both critical and non-critical care settings.
Outstanding International Clinician Award
Aliya Aziz Khan, MD, FACE
Dr. Khan is a clinical professor of medicine with divisions in endocrinology, metabolism, and geriatrics at McMaster University, and is the Director of the Calcium Disorders Clinic at McMaster University Medical Centre. She is also the Founding Director of the Fellowship program in Metabolic Bone Disease at McMaster University. Dr. Khan has been recognized for her outstanding contributions to the science and art of endocrinology. She has chaired the development of global guidelines, which she first authored, including those on Osteonecrosis of the Jaw, Hypoparathyroidism, Hypophosphatasia, and X-linked Hypophosphatemia. These guidelines have been endorsed by AACE, as well as by numerous other endocrine societies. She has frequently spoken at AACE scientific symposia in the US and internationally. Dr. Khan has led international clinical research trials developing new molecules for Parathyroid Disease and has been recognized for her outstanding service to Medicine.
Outstanding National Clinician Award
Laurence Katznelson, MD
Dr. Katznelson received his medical degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He then completed a fellowship in Endocrinology and Metabolism at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and remained on as faculty in the Neuroendocrine Unit. Dr. Katznelson held several roles at Stanford University School of Medicine, including Professor of Neurosurgery and Medicine, Endocrinology Fellowship Program Director, and Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education. He also served as the Medical Director of the Pituitary Center at Stanford, a national referral center for patients with pituitary disorders. In May 2024, Dr. Katznelson moved to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to serve as Vice Dean of Medical Education and Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology and Metabolism). He is currently building his pituitary practice. Dr. Katznelson served on the Board of the International Pituitary Society and subsequently as its President from 2023 to 2024. As President, one of his leading platforms was to connect clinicians internationally through committees to collaborate on patient care, education, and research.
Outstanding Service Award for the Promotion of Endocrine Health to the Underserved
Lorena Alarcon-Casas Wright, MD
Dr. Alarcon-Casas Wright is currently the senior investigator sponsored by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), aiming at delivering a diabetes-focused behavioral intervention program that is accessible, culturally tailored, and data-driven for Latinx individuals. She is dedicated to providing exceptional clinical care to patients with various types of diabetes and from diverse backgrounds. Dr. Alarcon-Casas Wright is interested in diabetes care in minorities and is developing a career in diabetes disparities research. She has clinical experience working with underserved populations, particularly Latinx patients with diabetes, and has created a dedicated clinic within the University of Washington Diabetes Institute to address barriers to diabetes care in the Latinx population, to decrease healthcare disparities in Latinx patients with diabetes and address cultural and linguistic barriers to high-quality care to this underserved population.
Past Presidents’ Circle Fund Award
Ms. Sanjana Puri
Ms. Puri is a medical student at Tufts University with future aspirations to contribute to the field of Endocrinology as both a clinician and a researcher. She is eager to explore the mechanisms of endocrine diseases further and actively engages in efforts to alleviate their burden.
Rising Star in Endocrinology Award
Kaniksha Desai, MD, FACE
Dr. Desai is a board-certified Endocrinologist and Clinical Associate Professor at Stanford University. She completed her Endocrinology fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, with a focus on managing patients with thyroid cancer. Dr. Desai’s clinical practice focuses on managing patients with Thyroid Nodules and Thyroid Cancer. Additionally, she serves as the Medical Specialties Quality Director for the Department of Endocrinology. She joined AACE as an Endocrinology fellow in 2014 and has been an active member since then. Dr. Desai received her ECNU certification in 2016, and in 2021, she was awarded the FACE designation. She is the Scientific Workgroup Leader of the AACE Thyroid Disease State Network. Additionally, she served as a member at large for the AACE Nominating Committee in 2023. Dr. Desai has served as a faculty member for several AACE education programs and has given multiple lectures at the AACE annual meeting on Thyroid Diseases, including Thyroid Cancer survivorship care. She recently started The Thyroid Stimulating Podcast, where she collaborates with Medscape and the American Thyroid Association to discuss up-to-date diagnoses and management of Thyroid Diseases.
Rising Star in Endocrinology Award
William B. Horton, MD, MSc, FACP
Dr. Horton is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He is also the Associate Program Director of the University of Virginia’s Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism Fellowship Training Program. His clinical interests include Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes, Diabetes Technology, Osteoporosis, Hyperparathyroidism, Hypothyroidism, and Hyperthyroidism. Numerous grants support his research, which focuses broadly on the cardiovascular complications of Type 1 Diabetes. Specifically, his current projects aim to identify adjunct therapies for closed-loop automated insulin delivery, which will optimize glycemic control and reduce cardiovascular risk.
Rising Star in Endocrinology Award
Spyridoula Maraka, MD, MS
Dr. Maraka is a Clinician-Scientist and Chief of the Endocrine Section at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS). She is also an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and serves as the Program Director of the Endocrinology fellowship program. Dr. Maraka is a recognized leader in endocrinology, integrating her expertise in patient care, scientific research, and education to advance the field of endocrinology. She is also internationally recognized for her research on thyroid disease during pregnancy and has published a total of twenty original articles on this topic. Due to her significant contributions in this field, Dr. Maraka was invited to join the Task Force preparing the 2025 American Thyroid Association (ATA) Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Thyroid Disease During Preconception, Pregnancy, and the Postpartum Period. She has received numerous honors and awards for her academic and research activities, including the 2016 Jeffrey R. Garber, MD Fund Award from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (AACE) and the 2020 Women Advancing Thyroid Research Award from the American Thyroid Association (ATA). Dr. Maraka continues to promote excellence in endocrinology, benefiting patients, trainees, and the broader medical community through her research and clinical work.
Yank D. Coble, Jr., MD, Distinguished Service Award
Katherine Ann Roberts, MD, ECNU, FACE
Dr. Roberts practices personalized general endocrinology, focusing on the needs of the patients and their families. She received her medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia and completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine, as well as her fellowship in Endocrinology and Metabolism, at the Medical College of Virginia. Dr. Roberts has been involved with AACE since 2010, when she joined the Socioeconomic and Advocacy Committee. In 2022, Dr. Sethu Reddy tapped her for the President’s Advocacy Group, now the Advocacy Committee. Dr. Roberts has been on the Board of Directors of the Mid-Atlantic AACE Chapter from 2010 to its dissolution. Currently, she is the Treasurer of the Mid-Atlantic Society of Endocrinologists.