Contact: Susan Morris
AVP, Communications
(312) 436-2624
smorris@abms.org
Eighteen scholars will receive financial awards for research in artificial intelligence (AI), competency-based evaluation (CBE), patient outcomes, and diagnostic excellence
CHICAGO – September 8, 2025—The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) has selected 18 outstanding individuals to participate in its 2025-2026 Scholars Program™. Established in 2014, this one-year, part-time program supports early-career physicians and researchers in scholarship and leadership development focusing on initial and continuing board certification. Each ABMS Scholar receives a $15,000 financial award.
“We are pleased to support this record-setting number of ABMS Scholars, all dedicated to advancing research and scholarship across the board certification community,” stated Greg Ogrinc, MD, MS, ABMS Senior Vice President, Certification Standards and Programs. “We are grateful for the generous support of ABMS Scholars sponsors, including many of the ABMS Member Boards, which allows us to invest in these future physician leaders.”
ABMS Scholars are selected based on the quality of their proposed research project, the relevance of their research to the ABMS mission and the certification community, and the potential to make significant progress on the research project during the Scholar year. Program participants remain at their home institutions; collaborate with self-selected mentors; and participate in monthly virtual sessions with research project-in-progress updates to peers, mentors, subject matter experts, and ABMS Scholar alumni.
The following ABMS Member Board participants include: Allergy and Immunology, Dermatology, Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedic Surgery, Pediatrics, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Radiology, Surgery, and Urology.
This ABMS Scholars cohort will begin in September 2025, and their term will culminate at the ABMS Conference 2026, where they will present their research before a national audience.
The 2025-2026 ABMS Scholars and their co-sponsoring organizations are:
ABMS Research and Education Foundation
- Ruchi Thanawala, MD – Oregon Health and Science University
Project: Self-Assessment: The Hidden Competency Underpinning CBE - Syed Khalid, MD – University of Illinois at Chicago
Project: Linking Milestones to Procedural Outcomes, Safety, and Value in Early Neurosurgical Practice
ABMS Research and Education Foundation and The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
- Daniel Sartori, MD – New York University Grossman School of Medicine
Project: Implementation and Evaluation of an AI-informed Diagnostic Performance Feedback System for Internal Medicine Residents - Lijia Xie, MD, MS, FACP – Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley Hospital
Project: Advancing Diagnostic Equity Through Incorporating Reflection on Implicit Bias into Standardized Clinical Reasoning Workshops for Undergraduate Medical Education - Maria Martinez-Lage Alvarez, MD – Harvard Medical School
Project: Virtual Sign-Out: A Competency-Based Assessment Pilot in Neuropathology
American Board of Allergy and Immunology
- Samantha Minnicozzi, MD – University of Virginia School of Medicine
Project: A Pilot for the Development and Implementation of Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) in Allergy and Immunology
American Board of Emergency Medicine
- The J. David Barry, MD Scholar is Adrian Haimovich, MD, PhD – Harvard Medical School
Project: Assessing Emergency Physician Decision-Making Under Uncertainty: A Vignette-Based Approach to Admission/Discharge Tendencies
American Board of Internal Medicine
- Maria Theodorou, MD, FACP, FHM – Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
Project: Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Professional Identity Among Internal Medicine Residents
American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology
- The George D. Wendel, Jr., MD Scholar is Alexandria Kraus, MD – University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Project: Entrust & Deliver: Advancing Competency-Based Training in Operative Vaginal Delivery
American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery
- Hai Le, MD, MPH – University of California, Davis
Project: Integrating Real-Time Technology to Improve Surgical Skills Assessment Compliance in Orthopaedic Residency: A Pilot Quality Improvement Study
American Board of Pediatrics
- Laura Chiel, MD MHPE – Harvard Medical School
Project: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Synthesize Narrative Assessment Comments to Enhance Decision-Making by Training Programs, Drive Learner Growth, and Customize Learning
American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
- Matthew Haas, MD – University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Project: Factors Influencing Trainee Decisions to Pursue Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine: A Mixed-Methods Study of Exposure, Motivation, and Career Pathways
American Board of Radiology
- Abdullah Alshreef, PhD, MS, MSc – Loma Linda University Medical Center
Project: Enhancing Clinical Readiness and Board Exam Preparation through Virtual Education Resources for Medical Physics - Oluwatimileyin Ojo, MD – Northwell Health Cancer Institute
Project: Evaluating and Enhancing Systemic Therapy Education in Radiation Oncology Residency Programs - Joseph Lee, MD – Virginia Commonwealth University Health System
Project: Agentic AI Platform to Enhance Radiology Oral Board Preparation and Certification Readiness
American Board of Surgery
- Han Grezenko, MD – Creighton University School of Medicine
Project: Scalpel and Code: Integrating Artificial Intelligence for Comprehensive Surgical Performance Evaluation - Rebecca Williams–Karnesky, MD, PhD, MEdPsych – Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
Project: Creation of an Implementation Science-Based Toolkit to Increase Engagement with EPAs in General Surgery
American Board of Urology
- Nicholas Lanzotti, MD, MPH – Loyola University Medical Center
Project: Inclusion of a Nonverbal Communication Assessment into the American Board of Urology’s Oral Board Certification Process
About ABMS
Established in 1933, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) is responsible for the creation of standards overseeing physician certification in the United States. Dedicated to improving the quality of care to the patients, families, and communities they serve, the 24 ABMS Member Boards develop educational and professional standards and programs of assessment to certify physicians and medical specialists. More than 997,000 physicians and medical specialists are certified by one or more of the ABMS Member Boards in one or more of 38 specialties and 89 subspecialties. For more information about ABMS, visit abms.org or call (312) 436-2600.
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