The Alma Dea Morani, MD Renaissance Woman Award
The Alma Dea Morani Award is our most prestigious form of recognition, given to a woman who has left a significant mark on history and pivotally advanced the future. Specifically, this award will honor an outstanding woman physician or scientist who has
Furthered the practice and understanding of medicine in our lifetime and made significant contributions outside of medicine;
Utilized her own determination and spirit to carry herself beyond traditional pathways in medicine and science; and,
Challenged the status quo with a passion for learning.
Our community of awardees is second to none, with achievements that often break entirely new ground. We are proud to name the discovery of the breast cancer gene, the appointment of the first woman president of the American Psychiatric Association, and the founding of the Program in Narrative Medicine at Columbia among the many milestones our awardees have attained.
Past Award Recipients
2024 - Myrna M. Weissman, PhD
Professor of Epidemiology in Psychiatry at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and Co-Director of the Division of Translational Epidemiology and Mental Health Equity at New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI).
2023 - Nanette K. Wenger, MD, MACC, MACP, FAHA
Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the Emory University School of Medicine, Consultant to the Emory Heart and Vascular Center, and Founding Consultant, Emory Women’s Heart Center.
2022 - JoAnn Manson, MD, DrPH, MACP
Professor of Medicine and the Michael and Lee Bell Professor of Women’s Health at Harvard Medical School, Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), and Scientific Advisor to the BWH Connors Center for Women’s Health and Sex/Gender Medicine
2021 - Jennifer A. Doudna, PhD
Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Chair and Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley; Biochemist; and Nobel Prize winning co-inventor of CRISPR technology
2020 - Vivian W. Pinn, MD
Founding Director, (Retired), Office of Research on Women's Health, National Institutes of Health and Senior Scientist Emerita, National Institutes of Health
2019 - Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH
Dean and DeLamar Professor of Public Health at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and Professor of Epidemiology and of Medicine, and Senior Vice President, Columbia University Medical Center
2018 - Margaret Hamburg, MD
President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Foreign Secretary of the National Academy of Medicine
2017 - Carol Greider, PhD
Director of Molecular Genetics and Biology at Johns Hopkins University Medical School
2017 - Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD
President of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies
2016 - Paula Johnson, MD, MPH
President, Wellesley College and Executive Director and Chief of the Division of Women's Health at Brigham and Women's Hospital
2015 - Mary-Claire King, PhD
American Cancer Society Research Professor of Genetics and Medicine (Medical Genetics) at the University of Washington
2014 - Deborah German, MD
Vice President for Medical Affairs, Dean, College of Medicine at the University of Central Florida
2013 - Florence P. Haseltine, PhD, MD
Emerita Director, Center for Population Research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Public Health (NICHD) of the National Institutes of Health
2012 - N. Lynn Eckhert, MD, MPH, DrPH
Interim Dean of the Lebanese American University in Beirut and Director of Academic Programs at Partners Healthcare International in Boston; Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health, Professor in the Graduate School of Nursing and Adjunct Professor in Public Health at the University of Massachusetts Medical School; Senior Lecturer in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School
2011 - Rita Charon, MD, PhD
Professor of Clinical Medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University and Executive Director of the Program in Narrative Medicine
2010 - Marjorie S. Sirridge, MD ⚚︎
Professor of Medicine, Emerita, of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine
2009 - Carol C. Nadelson, MD
Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of Partners Office for Women’s Careers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
2008 - Ellen R. Gritz, PhD
Professor and Chair of the Department of Behavioral Science and Olla S. Stribling Distinguished Chair for Cancer Research at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
2007 - Catherine D. DeAngelis, MD, MPH
Editor-in-chief of JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
2006 - Mary Guinan, PhD, MD
Dean, School of Public Health UNLV
2005 - Audrey E. Evans, MD
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
2004 - Christine E. Haycock, MD, FACS ⚚︎
Former Professor Emeritus of Surgery, New Jersey Medical School at University Hospital
2003 - Mary Ellen Avery, MD ⚚︎
Thomas Morgan Rotch Professor of Pediatrics, Emerita, Harvard Medical School
2002 - Carola B. Eisenberg, MD
Lecturer in Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School
2001 - Barbara Barlow, MD, FACS
Director of Surgery, Columbia University, and Director, Injury Free Coalition for Kids
2000 - Alma Dea Morani, MD, FACS ⚚︎
First Woman accepted into the Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
⚚ Deceased