Wendy S. Armstrong, MD, FIDSA, named IDSA president

The Infectious Diseases Society of America is pleased to announce Wendy S. Armstrong, MD, FIDSA, as the Society’s new president beginning Oct. 25. In addition, a new vice president and three new directors were elected to serve with Dr. Armstrong. The Board of Directors will work to advance the Society’s overall strategic priorities, including building and sustaining a broad, diverse and valued ID/HIV workforce to improve patient care, advance science and promote public health; promoting IDSA as the leader and trusted source for timely, evidence-based ID content and expertise; and expanding IDSA’s leadership in preventing, preparing for and responding to ID threats to protect our communities. 

“Experts in infectious diseases are at the forefront of patient care, education, research and public health,” Dr. Armstrong said. “I’m honored to work alongside leaders in infectious diseases during these important and consequential times to advocate for the ID profession, patients and research; address workforce and compensation issues; strengthen the diversity of the membership; bolster pandemic preparedness, including addressing antimicrobial resistance; and work toward health care equity.”

A leading expert in HIV, Dr. Armstrong is head of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and is an active clinician and medical educator. Dr. Armstrong is a passionate advocate for addressing the ID/HIV workforce, including clinicians, educators, physician-scientists and public health experts.

Dr. Armstrong has actively participated in several Society committees and initiatives in recent years, working to develop programs and support policies that ensure access to high-quality health care for all patients. Her involvement includes serving as chair of HIVMA, as well as participating in the IDSA Medical Education Community of Practice, the IDWeek Program Committee, and several other IDSA committees and task forces. She has played a pivotal role in collaborations that magnify the impact of IDSA and HIVMA.

New IDSA Board members
Dr. Armstrong is pleased to be working with newly elected IDSA Board members, including:

Rajesh T. Gandhi, MD, FIDSA, was elected to serve as vice president of the IDSA Board of Directors. A professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an ID physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Gandhi also is co-director of the Harvard University Center for AIDS Research and vice chair of the ACTG. He previously served as HIVMA representative to the IDSA Board of Directors from 2022 to 2025 and as a member of the HIVMA Board of Directors Executive Committee from 2018 to 2022, including serving as HIVMA chair in 2020-2021. He has spent time as a director on the HIVMA Board of Directors and a member of the IDSA Journals Committee and was a chair of the IDWeek Program Committee in 2017. Looking to the future, Dr. Gandhi believes IDSA should hold true to its core values while building partnerships; expand and sustain the ID workforce; and expand IDSA’s engagement with research funders, public health and the private sector.

Jacinda C. Abdul-Mutakabbir (JAM), PharmD, MPH, FIDSA, was elected to serve as a director on the Board. She is an associate professor of clinical pharmacy and an antimicrobial resistance researcher at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Division of the Black Diaspora and African American Studies at the University of California-San Diego. She also is director of education at COPE Health Equity Collaborative. She has been active on IDSA’s Inclusion, Diversity, Access and Equity Committee, serving as vice chair from 2023 to 2025 and as chair in 2025-2026.  She is a reviewer and contributor for Open Forum Infectious Diseases and Clinical Infectious Diseases and a contributor to IDSA’s and HIVMA’s Science Speaks blog. Throughout her career, Dr. Abdul-Mutakabbir has been committed to developing a translational research program focused on the syndemic relationship between noncommunicable diseases and antimicrobial-resistant infections, and has leveraged her research, clinical and community engagement experiences to foster multidisciplinary collaboration and advance meaningful systemic change.

Gonzalo Bearman, MD, MPH, FIDSA, was elected to serve as a director on the Board. He is the Richard P. Wenzel Professor of Medicine and chair of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Virginia Commonwealth University; he also serves as associate chief quality and safety officer for research at VCU Health and is editor-in-chief of Antimicrobial Stewardship and Healthcare Epidemiology. Dr. Bearman has been chair of the IDSA Division Chiefs Community of Practice since 2022 and is a former faculty member of the IDSA Leadership Institute. He believes in the importance of scholarship and mentorship in ID diseases practice. As a Board member, Dr. Bearman plans to serve IDSA in its mission to elevate infectious diseases as a specialty; develop the ID workforce; advocate for reasonable work standards with equitable pay; and promote clinical excellence, public health, ID threat preparation and efforts to reduce the impact of antimicrobial resistance.

Sharon Weissman, MD, FIDSA, was elected to serve as a director on the Board. The current chair of the Department of Medicine at University of South Carolina Floyd School of Medicine, Dr. Weissman has been practicing ID in South Carolina for the past 15 years. She has participated in several IDSA committees, including serving as chair of the HIVMA/IDSA Foundation G.E.R.M. Committee in 2021; chair of the IDSA Standards and Practice Guidelines Advisory Group (2023-2026); chair and vice chair of the IDSA Standards and Practice Guidelines Subcommittee (2022-2026); and ex officio member of the IDSA Practice and Quality Committee (2023-2026). Dr. Weissman hopes to address several important issues as a member of the IDSA Board of Directors, including the ID workforce shortage, particularly in rural and underserved areas; the critical role prevention plays in ID care; and making sure policymakers and health systems understand the value ID physicians bring to patient outcomes and population health.

In addition to Drs. Armstrong and Gandhi, the IDSA Executive Committee includes President-Elect Max Brito, MD, MPH, FIDSA, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; Secretary Erin M. Bonura, MD, FIDSA, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon; Treasurer Rana Chakraborty, MD, PhD, FIDSA, University of Miami, Miami, Florida; and Immediate Past President Ronald G. Nahass, MD, MHCM, FIDSA, ID Care, Hillsborough, New Jersey.

Members continuing their service on the Board include:

• David M. Aronoff, MD, FIDSA, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana
• Adarsh Bhimraj, MD, FIDSA, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas

• Michelle S. Cespedes, MD, MS, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York (HIVMA representative)
• Robin H. Dretler, MD, FIDSA, Georgia Metro Infectious Disease Consultants, Atlanta, Georgia
• Anurag Malani, MD, FIDSA, Trinity Health Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Upinder Singh, MD, FIDSA, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
• Jeanne Marrazzo, MD, MPH, FIDSA, IDSA, Arlington, Virginia (chief executive officer, ex-officio member)

About IDSA 

The Infectious Diseases Society of America is a global community of 13,000 clinicians, scientists and public health experts working together to solve humanity’s smallest and greatest challenges, from tiny microbes to global outbreaks. Rooted in science, committed to health equity and driven by curiosity, our compassionate and knowledgeable members safeguard the health of individuals, our communities and the world by advancing the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases. Visit idsociety.org to learn more.