Named to honor the late Walter E. Stamm, MD, a past president of IDSA, this award recognizes individuals who have served as exemplary mentors. It is presented to an IDSA member or fellow who has been exceptional in guiding the professional growth of infectious diseases professionals.
2023 Winner: Upinder Singh, MD, FIDSA
Upinder Singh, MD, FIDSA, is a consummate role model as a mentor and colleague who has transformed the Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine by recruiting, mentoring and retaining a diverse and highly productive faculty. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when many faculty faced burnout and fellowship positions remained unfilled, the division became more cohesive and grew.
Dr. Singh is a professor of medicine and microbiology and immunology at Stanford University School of Medicine, division chief of infectious diseases and geographic medicine and associate chair for faculty development in the Department of Medicine.
Under her leadership, the division grew to 37 full-time faculty, more than half of whom are women. Dr. Singh’s mentoring has enabled the division to achieve the highest ranking in the Stanford Department of Medicine for grants and awards, publications, honors and leadership positions. She received the Faculty Women’s Forum Outstanding Mentor Award from Stanford University.
As a mentor to fellows and junior faculty in the division and through the Department of Medicine’s mentorship program, Dr. Singh views each person as a unique human being. She works with each mentee to facilitate their own personal view of career success with a focus on wellness and family.
To reduce burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Singh created new models of care to off-load clinical burden while maintaining clinical excellence and facilitated the research of several fellows and faculty members. For example, Dr. Singh helped a fellow who could not continue work in Uganda due to travel restrictions transition to leading clinical and epidemiologic studies of COVID-19 and write papers. This fellow received a K award for her research proposal in Uganda and is now a researcher at the Kaiser Division of Research.
Another fellow wrote many COVID-19 papers during the pandemic, received a perfect score on her K award for work in Indonesia and has joined the division as a tenure-track assistant professor. Also, Dr. Singh spearheaded the construction of a BL3 laboratory so that one of the division’s faculty members could conduct research on the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This researcher published multiple studies in the highest tier journals.
IDSA is proud to recognize Dr. Singh with the 2023 Walter E. Stamm Mentor Award for her ability to nurture infectious diseases fellows and a diverse and highly productive faculty.
Past Walter E. Stamm Mentor Award Winners
| 2022 | Liise-anne Pirofski, MD, FIDSA |
| 2021 | Michael Wessels, MD, FIDSA |
| 2020 | George W. Counts, MD, FIDSA |
| 2019 | David L. Thomas, MD, MPH, FIDSA |
| 2018 | Carol A. Kauffman, MD, FIDSA, FSHEA |
| 2017 | Stephen B. Calderwood, MD, FIDSA |
| 2016 | Steve M. Holland, MD |
| 2015 | David R. Snydman, MD, FIDSA |
| 2014 | G. Ralph Corey, MD, FIDSA |
| 2013 | Lucy Tompkins, MD, PhD |
| 2012 | Robert A. Weinstein, MD, FIDSA |
| 2011 | Jane E. Koehler, MA, MD and William Schaffner, MD, FIDSA |
| 2010 | Jack S. Remington, MD, FACP, FRCP, FIDSA |
| 2009 | Richard L. Guerrant, MD, FIDSA |
| 2008 | Carol J. Baker, MD, FIDSA and Gerald Medoff, MD, FIDSA |
| 2007 | Stanley Falkow, PhD, FIDSA and Neal H. Steigbigel, MD, FIDSA |
| 2006 | Kathryn Edwards, MD, FIDSA |
| 2005 | Donald Kaye, MD |
| 2004 | Gene H. Stollerman, MD |
| 2003 | George H. McCracken, Jr., MD |
| 2002 | Leon G. Smith, MD |
| 2001 | Martin S. Hirsch, MD |