Society Citation Award
The Dorothy Horstmann Society Citation Award is a discretionary award given in recognition of an exemplary contribution to IDSA, an outstanding discovery in the field of ID or a lifetime of outstanding achievement. More than one award may be given each year. Newly renamed, the award honors the memory of Dorothy Horstmann, MD, FIDSA, a virologist, epidemiologist and pediatrician whose research helped pave the way for the development of a polio vaccine. She was the first woman to serve as IDSA’s president.
2026 Dorothy Hortsmann Society Citation Awardee
Jonathan Vilasier Iralu, MD, MACP, FIDSA
Jonathan Vilasier Iralu, MD, MACP, FIDSA, a leading figure in combating infectious diseases among Native American populations, has spent decades demonstrating that high-quality, patient-centered health care can be delivered effectively even in highly resource-constrained environments.
Dr. Iralu served for 32 years at Gallup Indian Medical Center in Gallup, New Mexico, as an infectious diseases consultant for the Navajo Area Indian Health Service. He also served for many years on the national level as the Indian Health Service chief clinical consultant for infectious diseases, retiring earlier this year. In addition to his contributions in the areas of HIV, tuberculosis and sexually transmitted disease elimination, Dr. Iralu devoted much of his time to IHS clinician education and rural and urban unhoused infectious disease care delivery.
His work has been especially impactful in the Navajo Nation, where he focused on improving outcomes for patients with HIV and TB. Dr. Iralu helped establish comprehensive, community-based treatment programs that significantly improved both survival rates and quality of life for patients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when the Navajo Nation was hit extremely hard, Dr. Iralu worked on the front lines while also responding to staff across the IHS who relied on his expertise and leadership.
Dr. Iralu led the development of culturally sensitive HIV care models tailored to Native communities with an emphasis on patient education, stigma reduction and community engagement. He developed programs integrating modern antiretroviral therapies with local health systems, ensuring that patients receive consistent, long-term care despite geographic and socioeconomic barriers.
An influential educator and mentor, Dr. Iralu trained many health care professionals within the IHS system, including through the development of Project ECHO communities of practice. He has inspired a generation of younger clinicians to pursue work in tribal communities and other underserved areas.
Dr. Iralu’s research and development work has informed best practices for rural health care delivery and has been cited as a model for addressing health disparities in marginalized communities. Through collaborations with federal agencies and public health organizations, Dr. Iralu helped shape strategies that extend beyond IHS to other underserved populations.
Prior to retirement, Dr. Iralu served on the volunteer faculty at Brigham and Women’s Hospital Division of Global Health Equity in Boston and the Infectious Disease Division and Project ECHO at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
For his years of service, innovation and compassion, and his extensive work that made a profound impact on Native American health, IDSA is pleased to honor Dr. Iralu with a Society Citation Award.
Past Society Citation awardees
2025
Christopher D. Busky, CAE
Jay Butler, MD, FIDSA
Ravi Jhaveri, MD, FIDSA
Florence Momplaisir, MD, MSHP
2024
Michelle D. Collins-Ogle, MD, FAAP, FPIDS
Kimberly E. Hanson, MD, MHS, FIDSA
William G. Powderly, MD, FIDSA
2023
Dimitrios P. Kontoyiannis, MD, ScD, FIDSA
Robert T. Schooley, MD, FIDSA
2022
John Brooks, MD
Martin S. Hirsch, MD, FIDSA
Matifadza Hlatshwayo Davis, MD, MPH
H. Clifford Lane, MD, FIDSA
2021
Dial Hewlett Jr., MD, FIDSA
Suzanne F. Bradley, MD, FIDSA
Henry Masur, MD, FIDSA
Tina Tan, MD, FIDSA
2020
Adarsh Bhimraj, MD, FIDSA
Christopher A. Ohl, MD, FIDSA
2019
Brian S. Schwartz, MD
Steven K. Schmitt, MD, FIDSA
2018
Louis D. Saravolatz, MD, FIDSA
2017
Wendy S. Armstrong, MD, FIDSA
Patrick Joseph, MD, FIDSA
Dean L. Winslow, MD, FIDSA
2016
Mark A. Leasure
Bruce G. Gellin, MD, MPH, FIDSA
Martin G. Myers, MD, FIDSA, FPIDS
2015
Helen W. Boucher, MD, FIDSA
2014
David L. Thomas MD, MPH, FIDSA
2013
Marguerite A. Neill, MD
Catherine M. Wilfert, MD
2012
Myron S. Cohen, MD, FIDSA
N. Cary Engleberg, MD, FIDSA
Alan D. Tice, MD, FIDSA, FSHEA
2011
Carol J. Baker, MD, FIDSA
Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH, MPA, FIDSA
2010
John G. Bartlett, MD, FIDSA
Theodore C. Eickhoff, MD, FIDSA
2009
Warren D. Johnson Jr., MD, FIDSA
2008
Russell Petrak, MD
2007
Gary P. Wormser, MD, FIDSA
Eduardo Gotuzzo, MD, FIDSA
2006
Larry J. Strausbaugh, MD, FIDSA
2005
George G. Jackson, MD
Lawrence P. Martinelli, MD
2004
Stanley Falkow, PhD
Walter T. Hughes Jr., MD
Emanuel Wolinsky, MD
2003
Morton N. Swartz, MD
Julie Gerberding, MD, on behalf of CDC staff
2002
Marvin Turck, MD
C. Douglas Webb, PhD
2001
George W. Counts, MD
2000
Dennis George Maki, MD
Dennis L. Stevens, MD, PhD
1999
Sydney Finegold, MD
1998
Porter Anderson, PhD
John Robbins, MD
Rachel Schneerson, MD
David Smith, MD
1997
Johan Septimus Bakken, MD
1996
Donald A. Henderson, MD
1995
King Holmes, MD, PhD
1994
David Rogers, MD
Edward Hook III, MD
1993
Dorothy Horstmann, MD
Samuel Katz, MD
Harold Neu, MD
1992
Robert Austrian, MD
Jay Sanford, MD
1988
Martha Yow, MD
1987
Margaret Pittman, PhD, MS
1986
Victor Nussenzweig, MD
1985
Robert Gallo, MD
Luc Montagnier, CNRS
Sheldon Wolff, MD
1984
Allen Steere, MD
1983
Maurice Hilleman, PhD
Saul Krugman, MD
1982
James Todd, MD
1981
Don Brenner, MS, PhD
William Cherry MS, PhD, and colleagues
James Freeley, PhD
Joseph McDade, PhD
1977
Edward Kass, MD, PhD