2022 Winner: Dr. Thomas Sebastian Valley, MD, MSc

Dr. Valley is the David A. Spahlinger Endowed Assistant Professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Michigan. He has been a member of the Behavioral Sciences and Health Services Research Assembly since 2014 and is currently a member of the Program Committee. He graduated summa cum laude in History and Chemistry from Emory University and received his medical degree from the University of Miami. He completed his residency and chief residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Texas-Southwestern. He then moved to the University of Michigan where he completed a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care and obtained a Masters in Health and Healthcare Research, where he joined the faculty in 2016. Dr. Valley’s research aims to ensure that high-quality ICU care is delivered equitably to all critically ill patients, particularly those in rural and underserved communities. His work links quantitative analyses using large administrative databases with survey and qualitative research to deeply understand the reasons behind variation in ICU care across hospitals.
Description:
The award will be given to an early career individual who has made outstanding scientific and scholarly contributions relevant to behavioral and social sciences, clinical epidemiology, statistics, health services research, health economics, comparative clinical efficacy and effectiveness research, patient-centered outcomes research, performance measurement, quality improvement, or implementation science. This award is to recognize individuals who have applied these methodologies to lung diseases, critical illness, or sleep disorders early in their career, and who have made significant contributions to the BSHSR Assembly and the ATS as a whole. The award committee encourages nominations from groups who are under-represented in medicine. Awardees will be presented with a framed certificate at the ATS International Conference.
Criteria:
- Instructor, Assistant Professor, or an equivalent rank in a non-academic institution
- Within 10 years of completing all post-doctoral or clinical training, excluding time off for personal circumstances
- Current BSHSR member (primary or secondary membership)
- Has not previously received an Early Career Achievement award from any ATS assembly
- Cannot concurrently be nominated for an Emerging Career award
- The submission package must include the candidate’s updated curriculum vitae and a nomination letter from an assembly member addressing the candidate’s achievements within the scored award domains.
Scoring:
Applicants are scored on 6 criteria using a 1-5 rating system across the following categories; summed scores provide an overall score:
- Scientific and scholarly contributions/products
- Teaching/mentoring/educational contributions
- Participation in BSHSR Assembly activities (administrative, committees, workshops, etc.)
- Participation in other ATS activities (administrative, committees, workshops, etc.)
- Other considerations from recommendations including relevant extenuating circumstances
- Overall impact/impression of the dossier submitted for award application
View Previous Award Recipients
2021 - Neeta Thakur, MD, MPH
2020 - Curtis Weiss, MD, MS
2019 - Valerie Press, MD, MPH & Meeta Prasad Kerlin, MD, MS
2018 - Laura C. Feemster, MD, MSc
2017 - Minal R. Patel, PhD, MPH
2016 - Michelle Eakin, PhD
2015 - Andrea S. Gershon, MD, MSc
2014 - Renda S. Wiener, MD, MPH
2013 - Colin Cooke, MD, MSc, MS
2012 - Christopher G. Slatore, MD, MS
2011 - Theodore J. Iwashyna, MD, PhD
2010 - Jeremy Kahn, MSc
2009 - Kristin A. Riekert, PhD
2008 - Jean-Marie Bruzzese, PhD
2007 - Vincent Fan, MD, MPH
2006 - Christopher H. Goss, MD, MSc
2005 - David Au, MD and Michael K. Gould, MD, MS
2004 - Jerry A. Krishnan, MD, PhD
2003 - Lynn B. Gerald, PhD, MSPH